The Hat I Fell in Love With

This is the hat that started the idea for this blog.  I fell in love with the pattern in Utah and had to purchase my very own copy of Weekend Hats.
On a recent trip to Kemah, TX, I visited Park Avenue Yarns.  The yarn shop carries a few brands of yarn that my nearest shop, WC Mercantile, does not.  The skein that caught my eye was a beautiful ruby red Suri Merino by Blue Sky Alpaca.  I knew this was it.  THIS has to become the Ruche Beret.
The Ruche Beret by Susan B. Anderson is a very simple pattern that is knit top-down in a stockinette stitch.  Then  you make these three awesome pleats.  Those were the booger.  The first one was tricky.  I felt like Edward Scissorhands with all the double pointed needles pointing in every direction.  All I can say is that I'm glad I only had to do three of them.  After that, it was easy-peasy ribbing.
Voila!

The finished hat has a soft silky haze to it and drapes nicely.  I would absolutely knit with this yarn again, and I'd also make the hat again (but for someone else).  I just don't think I could outdo this hat in this gorgeous color.

Now that I've shown you the hat, I have tell you more about Park Avenue Yarns.  I visited the store by myself.  I'm quite proud that I can navigate with my iPhone.  After I perused (and lovingly petted) their luxurious yarn selection, I settled down among some other knitters working on their projects.  After titillating conversations about David Tennant and a snooty owner of another yarn store (completely unrelated), I felt a kindred spirit among these ladies.  I do need to take a sentence or two to comment that knitters come in all ages.  It's not just your grandmother's hobby.
These lovely people encouraged me to come back during my week in Kemah to sit and knit some more.  Unfortunately, I was not able to do so, but I will make another trip with Park Avenue Yarns as my destination.