Little Boy Hats

DD#2, in Stockholm for spring semester, is living with a host family who are generously providing her with a room, meals, cultural help, practical help, and two young sons to get to know. Molly, who is majoring in Child Development and interning in an English speaking elementary in Stockholm as part of her semester studies abroad, thrives when she is spending time with little sprites.

And these two, a six year old and his two-year-old brother, are fun, funny, and lively. My favorite story so far is of the family driving Molly home from the airport the day she first arrived, and William, the six year old, being a bit silly and outrageous on the drive. He told Molly, "We live in a garbage pail," and so she quickly replied (I am sure without batting an eye), "I hope it has HEAT!" So she's game for the adventures one undertakes with little kids, that's for sure.

Molly's host parents, both of whom work full time, are quite kind, generous, and helpful. Her host mother went out of her way to help Molly navigate a mail delivery problem recently when Molly couldn't get it sorted out. This sort of generosity towards one's children inspires generosity in repayment, of a kind.

So I started knitting. (You knew that's where we were headed, no?) I know it's silly to knit Fair Isle for a Scandinavian family, but that's what grabbed me, so I made this little hat for Elliot, and another in ombre blue wool for William. Elliot's is of various alpaca yarns (small-person hats are a great way to finish up partial balls of yarn!). PS: the Fair Isle pattern was partly adapted from Vyridia (a great simple first Fair Isle hat) and experiments with little birdseye stitches and what I call railroad tracks (see red and cream at below).

Who knows? Maybe they'll need them for another month or two in Sweden! LOL.

 This is Molly in her red hat and red balloon. She and some of her new program friends got the balloons at a small concert, and she decided to take them back to her host family on the subway and through the frozen streets of Solna, a suburb of Stockholm. She knew when the boys woke up the next morning, they would be excited to see two huge balloons in their living room. She was right!