The Hat

As we all know how cold it can get up here in the North (at least those of us who live up here know what I am talking about :-) ) going outside can be a tad painful. No matter how many layers you stick on your head, your ears always freeze up turning red and then burning for hours later (I know, I could just pull the hood of my parka up, but then my glasses fog up and I can't see where I am going).

A couple of weeks ago I figured well, I like my ears. I want to keep my ears. So, I begun my search for an earflap hat. There were none here in town :-( and none to be found anywheres else either. Bummer. Right?

Since I already knit most of my hats (nice ribbed watch hats) I figured well, I might as well take a crack at knitting an earflap hat. It was an experiment - had no idea what I was doing. Luckily there were a couple of free patterns online (here and here and here) that I adapted and I did eventually wind up with my earflap hat. It's not quite perfect, as there are a couple of adjustments that I still need to do when I begin knitting the next one (once my wool arrives), but for a first time earflap hat knitter, I didn't do too shabby.



And for anyone who is looking for an online store to order wool from (cause we all know how much of a pain it can be finding it up North) there are two places that I found that have reasonable shipping charges and they ship to the North! (which is a biggie!).

Yarn Forward - a knitting / crochet supply store out of Ontario (really good selection of wools in a variety of colors) who was originally a mail-order online knitting retailer that has branched out into two retail stores as well.

Wool Trends - a great store out of Newfoundland that has a variety of wools.

Mary Maxim Canada - a nice online store for all your knitting and craft needs. Has really good shipping rates.

Herrschners Canada - another good online store for all of your knitting and craft needs.