Finished Project: Musselburgh x Oslo in Manos del Uruguay Alegria and Cabrito

Y'all. This is going to blow your minds: if you stop casting on new things, dig out your pile of WIPs, and actually work on finishing what you've started, you'll find yourself with a stack of new knits! 

Wild. I know.This hat came about on a bit of a whim. We brought in some mill ends, odd lots, and mis-dyes from Manos del Uruguay distributor Fairmount Fibers as part of the inaugural Philly Yarn Crawl last March. I was immediately taken with their mohair blend, Cabrito and one of the Alegria colors, a speckly space dye. 

In a fit of uncharacteristic impatience I was unwilling to do a gauge swatch, so I grabbed a Musselburg pattern, some size 3 needles, and cast on. After a few inches, I checked my gauge (26 stitches to 4" (10 cm), and just..kept..knitting. The hat was already so fuzzy and warm thanks to the mohair, (and the thought of knitting another 10" would mean there was no heckin' way it would ever get done), so I opted to not work it doubled as per the Musselburgh instructions. Once I had some good length, I switched over to the Oslo hat pattern and followed those measurements (albeit upside down), including the reverse stockinette portion.
As it happens, the urge to finish a mohair hat wanes as the weather heats up, so it was put away for most of the summer. I dug it out last month after surgery provided me with a week or so of couch rest while I healed and gained my energy back. The finishing was a little finicky - since I had live stitches at the hem, I ended up finishing them off by sewing them to the body of the hat in lieu of a whip stitch. (My best guess at describing it would be a kitchener from a live stitch to fabric - so a kitchener duplicate?) The end result is the warmest and softest hat I own, and the pairing of the mohair with the speckly Alegria adds just enough subtle interest to make it really fun! 

We have a few skeins of the Alegria left in-store, as well as the Cabrito. If you're looking for something beyond the basic stockinette, you could also go for the Crocus Hat, which is worked with the Cabrito and our limited edition Cashmere Blend!