The Lizzie Hat

The Bell Sisters on Ravelry have some very cute knitting patterns.  This is The Lizzie Hat and the pattern link may be found HERE.  This pattern inspires creativity and is a great stash buster.  You can vary the types of yarns used (of course) but you can change colors as little or as much as you would like.  I started with white at the brim and switched to a varigated sort of yarn (with strands of white, blue, and lavendar twisted together).  The braided portion is created as you knit in a very unique and clever way over a few rows; a VERY COOL technique that I now have in my bag tricks.  For the bulk of the hat, I used a heathery blue/lavendar colored yarn and then alternated between this yarn and white yarn for the decreases at the crown.  The nice texture in the hat is a basket weave pattern.  I altered the decreases a bit, not because I was being creative... I just re-read the pattern incorrectly (ummm, multi-tasking... tv watching and knitting... and too lazy to unknit a round).  Next time I will follow the pattern! Doh!