I finally got back to the Ultimate Sweater Machine this past weekend! I was feeling inspired after Cari had the machine set up here in the office to do some swatches. And of course, we get these amazing projects from Kathy Perry every month. Just wait until you see what’s coming up!
My experience on the USM was much more rewarding and much less frustrating than when I was first trying to learn how to use it. I am thrilled to say that I made several hats over the weekend! Though I’ve only done straight knitting (no shaping or fancy stitches), I am VERY happy with my accomplishments! How cool to be able to make a hat from start to finish in two hours! Everyone on my Christmas list will be getting hats this year! 
I made the hat pictured in Simply Soft Raspberry and Grey Heather by following the pattern that is in the USM book. The other hats I made by knitting a large square, folding it in half, sewing up the side to create a tube, pulling one end up inside the tube until it meets the other end, gathering the ends up, and stitching them together. This creates a really warm, double layer hat. I even got into making stripes! And as I am typing this, it occurred to me that this same method could easily be used to make a reversible hat. So now I’m fealing inspired to get started on another hat, and this time reversible!!!!!!
