That's what The Beloved calls this hat. What a little charmer!

Lyra's Hat
Size: Large (To fit a large child or small adult)
Yarn: Reynold's Blizzard colorways 688 and 673
Purchased at: A Loom with a View, Newburyport, MA
Needles: KA circular needles, US size 19/15 mm.
So, on Wednesday I visited my friend Libby for tea and a knitting lesson. Libby reported on the fabulous knitwear in The Golden Compass after she saw it and said to me, Saisquoi, I want this hat that Lyra wears when she's with the polar bears. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't look hard. Do you think I can do it? Of course! So, we bought yarn, went back to her place, and had some knitting fun. She learned the cable cast on and how to purl before the end of the evening. I'm happy to see she taught herself the three-needle bind-off and has a completed hat! Yay for the finished object!!

I brought mine home and finished it off whilst watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the Beloved. It was quick and easy and very satisfying.







The Beloved is probably right and I look like a garden gnome gone bad, but the hat is warm and fuzzy and kind of cute. I fully intend on wearing it if the weather gets cold again. I will likely make the hat again...but probably for a small child and not for myself.

I've also decided to pony up and do this, which I've seen around blogtopia for a while: The Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. I'm coming in because of Marianne's post.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months--or 9 months by Marianne's rules) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!

And, remember…you have 6 months (or 9 months, to be 'fair') to get your gifts done!
Also, you don’t have to knit or crochet to participate, anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join.

Any takers?