A birthday hat

I don't know about you, but I find it pretty much impossible to buy a great gift for my dad. Don't get me wrong, I have given him plenty of good gifts in the past, which I'm happily reminded when I go home and find kitchen gadgets that I bought him being used or on display. I assume that he wouldn't go through the trouble of staging them to make me feel good... who knows. But this year, he was turning 60, and it was a big deal. The kind of big deal that made us fly home to spend the week. Tickets were booked, but the question remained, what to give him? My dad is pretty tech savvy, and good at buying himself the latest Apple technology that he wants. He is also good at not wanting that much, and so what he wants and doesn't already have usually outrageously exceeds my budget. It typically involves a European import luminaire, or something from Dwell. So this year, I decided to make him a gift. I had been eying the Madeline Tosh superwash merino for a while, and thought it would be perfect to knit him a hat for the long winter months in Quebec city. Even though summer is now finally around the corner, and no one wants to see another hat for quite some time. It's not my fault if he was born in the low knitwear-appropriate season.

My dad is a pretty classic guy, unless he decided to go a little wild, like at our wedding. He usually dresses pretty conservatively, so the Madeline Tosh DK in faded parka seemed like the perfect yarn to give some interesting textures, while remaining something simple and classic that he would wear over and over. Unlike a certain bear hat. 

Photo credit Veronique Gagnon, shared with permission

I opted for cables to add the intricate feel, and try out something a little more complicated. I really loved the pattern of the Men's ski hat by Irina Dmitrieva. It was well written and easy enough to follow, as long as everything in the house was quiet. No playing with Noodle, chatting with Graham or watching TV while keeping track of rows and cable repeats! I was so happy to see that the hat was a perfect fit, and that my dad agreed to a little photo shoot session along the St-Laurent river. I hope he stays warm next winter!