I made this hat, and I can't believe it!

For the first time I can remember, I am actually keeping my New Year's resolution. It is easy to do when you choose something you believe in. I promised to create something new every day of the new year. Over the past few weeks I have written, learned to sew, studied crochet tutorials, and curated quite a few Pinterest boards. I have organized a Thirty-One fundraiser to support a friend's effort to get a service dog for his daughter with autism. And I made a hat. And actual HAT.

There it is! I chose this pattern for a few important reasons:

The pattern was easy to understand

The pattern was accompanied by a video tutorial to help me understand the pattern shorthand that has always stymied me.

The project helps me learn

This project required the use of stitch markers to keep track of the round crocheting that has often troubled me. It incorporates a new stitch, the Front Post Back Post Double Crochet, and starts with the Magic Circle, an alternate way of starting crocheting in the round.

I get to create something I can use

I have always wanted a slouch hat and, since moving to a town with very cold winters, I needed a new hat to keep my head warm while walking around town.

I absolutely LOVE the pattern I used! I found a very helpful tutorial video created by crochet maven April Draven. She offers this pattern for free here, on her blog.

And the best part? It took me a few hours over two days, and I ended up with something I really, really love! These pictures, taken with my phone, don't do it justice, so hopefully I will soon be able to replace these with pics from my DSLR.

Oh, and this is meant to be a slouch hat, not a Dr. Seuss hat. I didn't have the nerve to model it for my blog, so more pics will have to wait for a better hair day.

Tomorrow I plan to share my progress making my first ever crocheted bag!