On the day that I took my spinning lesson, I sat with a knitting group while waiting for my class to begin and woman was knitting a sweater out of alapca and she let a few of us touch it.

Oh. My. Gawd! I was not expecting such softness. I wanted more of that softness.

So what did I do the next weekend (November 29th)? I bought some alapaca yarn, an alpaca/silk blend to be exact – Plymouth Earth Mainland in #4 colorway.

That same day I used it to start the Gretel hat.

I’d been admiring it for a while so I just took the plunge and started it knitting. I learned the long tail tubular cast-on from a video on the designer’s website and after that I was off and running. I knit fast and furious on this hat. It has been great knit therapy when the stress and/or melancholy of the holiday season get to me.

This hat is definitely a labor of love. I love the yarn. I love the pattern. I love the person for whom this hat is for.