This whole owl trend of the past few years is quite convenient for my family. See, my grandma had a bit of an owl obsession. “Obsession” might even be an understatement. Her avocado fridge was cluttered with owl magnets – felt, ceramic, you name it. Owl figurines jockeyed for space on crowded window sills; cross stitch owl cushions adorned her couches. You get the picture. When she passed away in 2003, I could think of no better way to preserve her memory than by snagging one of her countless sets of owl salt and pepper shakers and a pair of owl mugs for my house. 
I always chalked the owls up to a fondness for a 1970s trend that wouldn’t quit. That was until a couple weekends ago when I shared my theory with my mom, who laughed and informed me that the owl was my grandparents’ college mascot. I guess that makes sense, although I can’t image a day where my house would be decorated with a myriad of royal bulldogs.
Even though it’s been awhile since my grandma has gone, she seems to have passed her owl affinity on to us all. When Alice was born, my cousin, Kris, bought Alice a little owl outfit with a note enclosed about my grandma. My sister admitted this past weekend that she always reaches for the owl mugs first when she’s visiting. Whenever we see anything owl-related, we’re inexplicably drawn to it. It helps that owls are everywhere these days.
So while it’s a shame Alice never got to meet her great-grandmother, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that Alice can help carry on my grandma’s tradition. So, when I saw this hat I knew I had to make it. It didn’t hurt that it’s one of the cutest new knits of the season.
Project Details.
Pattern: Hoot Hat, Spud & Chloe Pattern by Susan B. Anderson
Yarn: Mirasol Miski in Wine held double, Mirasol Sulka in Horseradish + scraps of cascade, lamb’s pride, and berocco ultra alpaca for face.
Needles: I’m pretty sure I used size 10 Addis. Maybe size 9, but I think 10…
Time to knit: 5 seconds. Okay, more like a couple hours.
Comments:
- I didn’t feel like dropping a ton of money on a baby hat for a baby who hates hats, so I went to knitters bargain basement aka my stash. I doubled up the miski to match the gauge of the sulka, but my gauge was still smaller than the pattern yarn. I read a number of people found the hat to be HUGE, so I knit the 6-12 month size for my 11 month old daughter. Even with the smaller gauge, it fits her but won’t for long.
I always chalked the owls up to a fondness for a 1970s trend that wouldn’t quit. That was until a couple weekends ago when I shared my theory with my mom, who laughed and informed me that the owl was my grandparents’ college mascot. I guess that makes sense, although I can’t image a day where my house would be decorated with a myriad of royal bulldogs.
Even though it’s been awhile since my grandma has gone, she seems to have passed her owl affinity on to us all. When Alice was born, my cousin, Kris, bought Alice a little owl outfit with a note enclosed about my grandma. My sister admitted this past weekend that she always reaches for the owl mugs first when she’s visiting. Whenever we see anything owl-related, we’re inexplicably drawn to it. It helps that owls are everywhere these days.
So while it’s a shame Alice never got to meet her great-grandmother, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that Alice can help carry on my grandma’s tradition. So, when I saw this hat I knew I had to make it. It didn’t hurt that it’s one of the cutest new knits of the season.
Project Details.
Pattern: Hoot Hat, Spud & Chloe Pattern by Susan B. Anderson
Yarn: Mirasol Miski in Wine held double, Mirasol Sulka in Horseradish + scraps of cascade, lamb’s pride, and berocco ultra alpaca for face.
Needles: I’m pretty sure I used size 10 Addis. Maybe size 9, but I think 10…
Time to knit: 5 seconds. Okay, more like a couple hours.
Comments:
-The real effort with this hat is in the finishing. The extra time spent seaming the hat flap to the main section and the time knitting the face will make or break this hat.
- I didn’t feel like dropping a ton of money on a baby hat for a baby who hates hats, so I went to knitters bargain basement aka my stash. I doubled up the miski to match the gauge of the sulka, but my gauge was still smaller than the pattern yarn. I read a number of people found the hat to be HUGE, so I knit the 6-12 month size for my 11 month old daughter. Even with the smaller gauge, it fits her but won’t for long.
- I would like to line all of my clothing with Mirasol Miski. Or at the very least, buy a bunch of baby llamas just so I can pet them.
Comments
BTW, great inventive stashbusting, too. Color me impressed.