FO- A child in sheep's clothing

A friend of mine, Ta, has this habit of spawning children that cause anyone with a beating heart to seize up and die from their cuteness.



I'm not one to fawn over babies but I can't help but wanting to steal one of hers just to blow raspberries on their tummies. Look at her Sophia Loren lashes!



I'm pretty sure that cuteness on this level should not be allowed. Plus, my friend is a rocking mom who sends me pictures of her spawn wearing knits that I made. I'm always curious as to whether things I make and give will get some use, so it is really nice and appreciated to have a bit of evidence that it did.

Anyway, I got a birth announcement from Ta in the mail the other day as she outdoes herself once again with another round of smooshy cute awesomeness. I right away made this:



It's the Baby Sheep Hat by Melissa Burt. This caused me some confusion at first as I was wondering how a baby sheep was to wear a hat. Oh, I see...it's a hat with sheep on it meant to be worn by a baby human! That explains everything.

I cast on Monday morning on the bus, and finished during my ride home on the subway. Vrrooom. Naturally, I didn't read the instructions....the black parts of the sheep are supposed to be duplicated stitched at the end, but I just triple-stranded and kept my floats loose in back.



The specs:
I used less than a half skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK (which may or may not have actual cashmere in it) for the main taupe color, a tiny bit of Cashmereino DK in black for the face and feet (I would have used even less if I would have duplicate stitched). The white yarn is some merino handspun that I had leftover from another project. It's soft and lofty and loosely spun, giving it a fluffy sheep texture.



I did one modification, which was I added a couple rows of 2x1 ribbing at the bottom so that the brim wouldn't flip up. It hasn't been washed or blocked yet (and I'm hiding the ends that need to be sewn in) but I'll do that tonight and send it out tomorrow.

It's not machine washable (I'm usually a big fan of washable cotton knitwear for children) but really, how dirty can an infant's hat get? Something tells me that I might be happiest remaining ignorant of that answer.