Emergency Hat Knitting

This week has been the week of emergency hat knitting!
Tony’s mum, Pat, had chemo at the start of the year before having a stem cell transplant. (Her Aplastic Anaemia returned in November, and this is the only solution for a long term cure.)
She is now feeling well enough to get out and about and was invited out to dinner on Thursday evening by her neighbours. The chemo made her lose her hair. and although it is growing back, it is still very short and patchy, so she asked if I would make her a “dressy” hat that she could wear to go out for dinner in. Tony asked in a very casual way before I headed off to Skip North last weekend... I said yes, of course. It was only when I returned home on Sunday evening that I found out the meal out was this Thursday - 3 days to knit a hat - and I had no idea what she wanted!
I invited them over for dinner on Monday, and spent the evening searching Ravelry for ideas. She wanted a cream hat, with a brim that detracted from the fact she has no hair. I suggested Odessa but with a roll brim and maybe a flower or something similar. I’ve knit this hat before and knew it would work well in Rowan Calmer, which met with her, “it can’t be wool and it needs to be a bit stretchy” requirement. House of Fraser in Brum has a ball of cream Calmer in the rejects bin for 50p on Tuesday. Bingo!
I cast on during my commute home, knit up to the first or second pattern repeat on Tuesday night before falling asleep. I was convinced I wasn’t going to finish it in time. I knit like the wind on Wednesday; on the bus, on the train, at lunchtime in a cafe. Beading on a bus is certainly interesting! I cast off and crocheted the flower at about 10.30pm on Wednesday evening and delivered it to Pat. (I even remembered to take a picture first). Luckily (a) it fit and (b) she really liked it. Phew.

Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina. Originally from Magknits, now available from Ravelry
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Cream (no ball band, sorry!)
Beads: Left over from my Swallowtail shawl
Needles: 4mm addi turbos
Started: 24th March
Finished: 25th March
Comments: I cast on 10 more stitches than the pattern recommends and did 8 rows of stocking stitch to make the roll brim before decreasing 10 stitches evenly around and following the pattern as normal.
The flower was a last minute addition, crocheted and completely made up on a 4.5mm hook (it was the first one that came out of the bag!)

Now I can go back to the spinnng! I made a right mess of some BFL last night :o)