Horatio Hornbobber

Of one of the pure joys of fall is being able to fire up the hat assembly line and crank out hats in pure Fordist fashion. Nothing is more exciting to this knitter than making hats. Sweaters are fine and dandy but oh when you have a lot of real estate to cover they're decidedly less exciting--can I get an amen from the XLs among you? Scarves start with a bang and invariably lost their luster when it's clear you're in it for the long haul. Mittens and socks are fun and games until you have to replicate the whole thing--suddenly not so fun! But the hat is a perfect project, from start to finish. No time to fizzle out, you are just going great guns from start to finish.

The Specs
Pattern: Horatio by Knitting Kninja (Kristen Hanley Cardozo)
Size: Adult M/L
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in "Vaa", .85 of a skein
Needles: size 7
Modifications: None except accidentally doing slightly more on the brim that was called for in the pattern. Oops!

I have pure, unbridled enthusiasm for this pattern. Is saw Kristen post it on Flickr and was immediately hot to trot for it. I shamelessly asked when the pattern would be ready because I was dying to make it and luck would have it, it was ready earlier than expected. I am leading such a charmed life.

The pattern is loads of fun because it's composed of the semaphore stitch which keeps a potential stockinette snoozefest interesting and visually appealing. The Malabrigo knit-up on a 7 gives such a nice, tight gauge. This hat is going to be a warm one, folks.

I have dubbed my particular version of this hat Horatio Hornbobber to fit the individual you see pictured here. Similar to the Little Girl with a Curl, when he is good he is very, very good but when he is bad, he is...a hornbobber! This is term that we have invented amongst ourselves and are trying to have gain traction and become a term for general usage. To hornbob is to ceaselessly complain, belly ache and generally grouse about insignificant details that one has inevitably blown out of proportion. It is a behavior that does not endear the hornbobber to those around him. The individual you see pictured here is the person most likely to hornbob in our household, hence the masculine pronoun in the previous sentence. This photo shoot was done post-hornbobbing fit, the topic of which I honestly can't recall, but it is likely that the complaints involved the number of lip balms owned by your truly, the mounting number of yogurts in the fridge and their impending expiration dates of doom, or some other matter of great import. I'm sure you might know a few hornbobbers, please do not hesitate to categorize them as such and let them know of their horrid hornbobbing ways. Hornbobbing will only be tolerated in small amounts!