I used Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in the Purple Mystery color. I bought this skein early last year, and had been saving it for a time when I could make myself something for a treat. I think right after Christmas and a year of baby knitting qualifies! I only used about half the skein, so I'm trying to decide whether to make another hat or some matching fingerless mitts. I'll probably make the mitts.
This was a super fast project. I cast on on Wednesday, January 5th and finished on Saturday the 8th. I really enjoyed working with this yarn; it's a fluffy single. I also really like the pattern and love the finished hat. I haven't left the house without it since it finished blocking. On the recommendation of Alisha, who has made at least five of these hats, I went down a needle size and used #9 (5.5mm) for the ribbing and #10.5 (6.5mm) for the body of the hat. I'm quite glad I did because I like the fabric better this way, but I would have liked to have a slightly larger pie plate to use for blocking it -- just to give it a little extra slouch.
You can see the cables a little better in this picture, but not the colors (there aren't many good picture-taking opportunities in January, I'm afraid).
This was a great start to a new year of knitting!
