Wintery Birthday Presents

My grandma’s birthday was this past week, and with wintery temperatures and storms and such this time of year what better present than a matching scarf and hat set. Wow, that was a long sentence.

Lotus Stitch Scarf and Hat

The hat is made from the Third Base Line’s Lotus Hat, and the scarf is just the lotus chart twice each row with a garter stitch border for five feet.

Detail of scarf
Detail of hat

They were both made from Loops & Threads “Incredible”. Eventually I will become better about posting these things to Craftsy and Ravelry with actual information…

Slouchy Hat

I had never knit anything other than a beanie (okay, a LOT of beanies) before I found this pattern. I had been wanting one, but couldn’t bring myself to buy one before I tried making one myself.

This one is made from the Olympic Tam pattern by Lisa Gaskell. It has bobbles and a yarn-over pattern. I omitted the pompom on top.

One of the interesting things about this project was that you block it over a dinner plate to get the slouchy look.

Do you prefer to make something first, or buy it? What kind of accessories do you like to make instead of buying?

(Also, what kind of information about these projects would you like to see?)