Snow Day? I'll have one, please.

It seems to have become a point of pride with our school district that we don't need no stinking snow days. True, the temperature is above zero, but wouldn't you think that a foot of snow on the roads and white out conditions would influence the decision? No? All righty, then. We shall just say a prayer of thanks for 4-wheel drive and please grant us clear intersections. Are you somewhere warm? Would you like a cooling shot of a pretty blizzard? I shall oblige...

You know what? I'm going to stop playing coy and just spit out all the stupid things whirling in my brain. I get too caught up in worrying about the possibility of my idiocy, as revealed on the internet--not just the regular real-life dorkiness, coming back to haunt me in the future. Who cares? And I like crafty blogs with opinions. So. Henceforth I shall be unburdening myself of my strongly-held and perhaps even controversial beliefs about knitting, spinning, dyeing, and crocheting!

Yes, that's right--I have returned to my crochet roots. All it took was a polite request from a sister-in-law and BAM! A cute little crocheted cloche for my darlink neice. You want instant gratification? I give you the Hailey Hat. Vee-oh-la! Here it is as modeled by LB, my 7-year-old. She picked out this particular shot and I must agree that the I'm-holding-my-breath-until-you-let-me-stay-home-from-school look is rather engaging.

Pattern: Hailey Hat (It's mine own! I have grand plans to present it all tidy and spiffy in a PDF, linked on the side bar--so if you read this months from now and don't see it, please contact me and nag profusely.)

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease--But any worsted weight yarn would do. Low maintenance was a high priority for us on this one, thus the cotton-acrylic blend.

Rating: I give this one a 10, Bob. It's got a nice beat and I think I could dance in it. It's fast and CUTE, just like your favorite Hollywood cheerleader stereotype. You'll be weaving in the ends before you can say "Ready? Okay!" The top has a wee bit of a doinky point that I'll need to fix, but as a whole, I'm irritatingly smug about the little thing.

I remember reading years ago in Maggie Righetti's Crocheting in Plain English about how she was entranced when she first saw someone creating crocheted lace out of thin air. I agree, beloved Maggie, it is magic. (It looks like Maggie Righetti's "Plain English" books are in new printings and I'm so pleased. I highly recommend them.)