'Jingle bells, electric lights'

Things are winding down finally. I've been listening to my favorite "Christmas" song, "Christmas Katie," on repeat—I like the name! It's been cooler than 80 degrees in New Orleans this week. So it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


I'm 99% done with my Christmas crafts, shopping, and wrapping. And I'm 85% done with my deadline work that needs to be done before this weekend. After that, it's ten glorious days of watching "Lost" DVDs, playing with new Christmas toys, eating yummy things, and knitting! I can't wait. And I'm planning ahead.

I chopped nine inches of hair off earlier this month, which means getting used to short hair again and contemplating all the fun things I can do with it. Like wearing hats. I have a large head, so I always think hats look wonky on me. But I may be able to pull one off with my spunky new coif. I'm leaning towards a beret because I'm going to Paris this spring, and "when in Rome..."

I've been trolling Ravelry. I briefly considered Grumperina's Art Deco Beret from Knitscene, but I don't think I'm ready to commit to sparkly beads all over my head just yet. So I moved on to Wendy Bernard's Last-Minute Purled Beret and Le Slouch. But neither really jumped out and grabbed me. I was just about ready to give up and focus on finishing WIPs during my vacation. Until this morning. When by complete accident, I rediscovered this gem:


And all at once, it all came back. I remembered how much I loved this pattern when I first saw it last year (Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006). I imagined myself sitting in a lovely little Parisian sidewalk cafe, sipping café au lait and eating a crêpe—or maybe a baguette, no let's stick with the crêpe. I saw my sassy new haircut peeking out from under the hat. And I was sold. I went to the yarn store during my lunch break. Now I'm $40 poorer (size 13 circular needles don't come cheap), optimistic, and not destined to focus on boring, old WIPs over break! J'adore le chapeau!


Photos: apta.com, Vogue Knitting, and Rowan