Fantasy Knitting: The Hat Queue

I want to talk a little about the projects I want to knit, things that are currently in the queue and waiting to be cast on, because I'm working on accountability both for purchasing patterns and for purchasing yarn. According to ravelry, if I limit a pattern search to ones in my library (and I always start there), I have over 3,000 to search from, and over 80 "units" of yarn. That's a lot of stash and surely I should be able to find something to suit my needs and inclinations.

"Units" of yarn vary. Something it's three units for three different skeins of the same yarn, eg sock yarn from the same place in different colours, and sometimes it's 10 different colours in one unit, eg the acrylic I bought for toy making where it's the same brand just different colours, and sometimes it's multiple skeins of the same yarn in the same colour, eg enough "a sweater's worth". Some are full skeins, some are partial bits, though I try to move things out of my stash and into the "finished up" category. And sometimes I move them back into active stash when I know I have enough to knit, say, a pair of socks for Little Djinn.

With that out of the way, these are the hats I currently have in my queue and want to make:

Pleiades Hat by Ann Kingstone
Cornish Tin from Blacker Yarns I was lucky enough to buy two skeins of Cornish Tin, Blacker Yarn's 10-year anniversary yarn in a special blend of British breed sheep, alpaca, and mohair in the natural grey shade and a bright blue which should lend themselves beautifully to Ann Kingstone's lovely colourwork hat. I am hoping to have enough left-over to make the matching mitts, but will have to wait and see. This is a limited edition wool which already sold out, so if I am short for the knits I will have to see if other knitters have left-overs they're willing to sell or trade.

Ilkley Moor Hat by Ann Kingstone
Titus from Baa Ram Ewe
Another pattern from Ms Kingstone, this one a beautiful tam with twisted stitch cables creating an elaborate Celtic cross. I have the recommended wool for this, Titus, in their limited edition holiday colour "wesley bob" (cranberry) which I picked up at Stephen + Penelope when we were in Amsterdam. The irony of going to Amsterdam to buy British breed wool produced for an English company is not lost on me, but when you live in Northern Scotland "local" is relative. This project will probably sit in my inspiration bowl and taunt me with it's loveliness for a while longer as elaborate patterns are not the easiest things to knit when one has a toddler.

Artichoke Beret by Anni Howard
Mystery Purple Wool
Another beret, and if that sounds like a coincidence it really isn't. I've come to the conclusion that beanies and slouchies just do not suit me and, while you can have my snawheid when you pry it from my dead, clutching fingers, I'm going to try and avoid them in the future. It's tams and berets for me all the way. This one is blocked a bit like a slouchy hat, but I'm hoping it will work out and if it doesn't, maybe I can convince Little Djinn to wear it and let me have my beautiful Baskerville back. I never get to wear it and that makes me sad. Maybe if I knit her her own Baskerville in a sportweight?

Bedraggoned by Woolly Wormhead
I don't yet have yarn for this one - I want something really bright, with all the colours of the rainbow and a few others besides. Did you see how neat that brim is?