Candy Cane

Some friends of ours shared the news last spring that they were expecting their first baby in November.  Mr. Man has known the husband for many, many years and we were so excited to hear about their growing family!  It was especially neat she was due the same month as me!  Although we don’t live anywhere near one another, it was fun to hear little tidbits here and there about how the pregnancy was going, and so forth.  We even got a chance to visit when they were in Iowa this summer.

In planning all that I wanted to knit for Lovebug, I also knew I needed to make something for their little baby.  Originally, I had intended to knit the Lil’ Pumpkin hat by Susan B. Anderson because she was due in November and what’s better than a pumpkin?  But, I didn’t have a chance to even cast on for the hat before their baby arrived. 

They chose to wait until the birth to find out sex, so all the knits I had been looking at needed to be a bit unisex.  Again, the pumpkin hat fit that description, but by the time I HAD time, pumpkins were a bit out of season (or would be very shortly). 

I pulled out Susan’s trusty Itty Bitty Hats and went to it.  Of course, going into the Christmas season it only seemed right to send a Candy Cane hat.  (You saw one version I sent with the Advent Swap package to Nina and her daughter.)  The book calls for red and white, but I also added green. 

I really love the three colors together. Festive, but not overwhelming as some hats can sometimes be. And it’s not too Christmas so it can be worn throughout the winter.  (I don’t mind the idea of a Christmas hat worn after Christmas, but when knitting for other people, I take these factors into consideration.) 

I was so happy to receive a text message from J after she and K received the package (I sent a couple other goodies as well…) saying how much they loved the hat.  She even included a picture of their baby girl wearing the hat!  If that’s not a great thank-you, I don’t know what is. It’s so nice to know these things are appreciated. 

(Lovebug modeled the hat for me before we mailed it off!)

And imagine our surprise when a couple weeks later we received a Christmas card from them – that adorable little girl wearing her hat!  Mr. Man and I both agreed it was so neat that out of all the things they could have chosen for a Christmas card picture, the hat we sent made the cut! (I would share the card with you, but I didn’t ask for their permission to share a photo online of their daughter.) 

So if you’re looking for a hat that’s guaranteed to be a hit, I’d recommend this one.  It doesn’t have to be holiday colors.  You could make it any color you wanted, I promise the baby will still look cute!