And Last--But Not Least . . .

And for my final gift wrap up: part of this gift was completed early one, while the rest was a last minute add-on 'cuz I had enough yarn left over.

Almost finished hat

First off, the kitty-kat hat. I started this one early on in September (remember my complaints posted here? ). It took a little longer than the bulky and worsted hats because it was DK.  Then I waited to weave in all those ends (ugh, hate that necessary part of "finishing").

In-progress "pom-pom"

I also dragged my feet on making pom-poms 'cuz my experience with the process has not been positive.  However, I did find a couple of interesting links to modified pom-poms--or acceptable alternatives (check out this link from Repeat Crafter Me on how secure your traditional pom-pom).  I chose the alternative option which was a small crochet ball using this pattern (crocheted pom-pom, a free pattern on Ravelry.com).  Well actually, my first one was a HUGE ball that was much too heavy.  I re-worked the pattern to make it smaller.  These are my mods (somewhat following the pattern, except with different stitch counts):

Round 1: chain 4, slip stitch & then work only 4 sc.  
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc (8 st)
Round 3: sc in each sc (8 st)
Round 4: sc in first stitch and then 2 sc in next stitch (12 st)
Rounds 5-7: sc in each stitch
Round 8: sc in 1st stitch, then draw loop through 2 sc to decrease (8 st)
Round 9: sc in each sc
Round 10: stuff ball with filling & then decrease by drawing loop through 2 sc (4 st)
Cut long piece & then draw yarn through last 4 sc. Pull tight & secure.

Finished hat complete with faux pom-poms

What do you think of the finished hat?  The balls actually look like pom-poms 'cuz the yarn is so fuzzy.  Bonus: my niece loves it so much, she's been wearing it non-stop (she loves hats anyways, so this gift was a no-brainer).

My niece in her hat

I wasn't sure she would like the wrist-warmers, but she loved them too.  Sadly I have NO photos of these--not even in-progress shots. 

Poor substitute for finished photo of wrist-warmers

So I'll share a lovely photo of the yarn used.  I really liked the pattern, Cleckheaton Country Silk Fingerless Gloves (which is a free download at Ravelry.com).  It's an easy-to-follow pattern and the gloves fit well (I think it's the ribbing).  For the striping, I worked a plain knit row when adding a new colour.  No real mods, but I'd recommend changing thumb placement:  I wish I had knit the first 2 stitches BEFORE binding off the 6 stitches for the thumb opening. For the second mitt, I worked the round till the last 8 stitches, bound off 6 stitches and then continued in ribbing for last 2 stitches.

Now I can get back to knitting for l'il ol' me. ;)