Every year, central Arizona waits waits waits waits waits for cool weather, and we’re teased, and disappointed, and then wham bang it’s a scant 55º at the bus stop in the morning. Hat weather!

Good thing I’ve got a new tam…

Above you see the Vega Beret, as it is properly named, in progress. This project marks my first serious foray into Knitting American. You can read my original Knit American post here; in a nutshell, I was inspired by the growing number of American-grown and -spun yarns to do a series of projects that would explore the different yarns and what they had to offer knitters looking to be more socially/environmentally responsible.

Vega was a quick knit, and I finished it back before Labor Day, but a wonky blocking job and 100º weather meant that I couldn’t do a finished object photoshoot.

This morning, the stars aligned, and I had cold weather, the hat, my camera, and an extra 15 minutes before work, so I dashed off to the nearest park, found a wall, and set the timer.

Pattern: Vega Beret
Yarn: BrooklynTweed Shelter, ~ 1/2 skein each Ember and Woodsmoke
Needles: Size 6
Mods: none intentional; I knitted the hat according to the Tam directions, but had a slightly longer-than-usual row gauge, so I ended up with a hat somewhere between the Tam and Slouchy versions.

I am quite pleased with this hat: it was fun to knit, and the yarn blocked out beautifully. It is slightly crunchy, so maybe not the best idea to gift to someone with very sensitive skin, but the combo of the weight and the earthy finish makes it perfect for outerwear.

My hats to date have been less structured than Vega, so learning how to rock the Tam Look will take a while. The muffiny shape is rawther surprising, and takes a bit of adjusting so it doesn’t make my head look like its a funny shape. But overall, I’d say Project One in the Knit American series was a success.

Looking back to my response to hat weather almost exactly four years ago, I am pleased to note that my self-photoshoot skills seem to be improving. Then: flashtastic picture-on-bed, dimly lit (cringe) sideways (double cringe) mirror picture. Now: natural light, check, proper orientation, check. Maybe this means that next year, my pictures will look like Jared Flood’s.