Knitting beanies

should be a fairly mindless task unless the pattern within them is a complex one.

Could I make a mindless beanie? I have done of course. I have even been known to stand in an aisle of the supermarket and give someone else the time to write down the instructions as I dictated them. (Believe me, this is not nearly as clever as it sounds - not for that sort of beanie.)

But then there are other beanies that have patterns. The patterns can be simple or complex. Beanies are the ideal place to "try things out". I have explored the mysteries of charted Japanese patterns by making beanies. I have explored different Fair Isle colours by making beanies. I have also explored other textures and colours and stitches. 

I was asked to make a beanie recently and there was a specific request. Would I make one with dinosaurs on it? I thought about this for less than five seconds before saying "yes" because the person who asked me told me that it was for a young friend who is seriously ill.  He is now recovering from major brain surgery and he is going to need beanies for a long time to come. 

And so I am making the beanie, rather I am making two beanies. I am making one for him and, rather than waste all that design effort, I am making one for another young person I know who also happens to be very interested in dinosaurs. She knows far more about dinosaurs than I do. 

I looked for dinosaur patterns on various knitting sites. As always none of them seemed quite right to me. I am not into the business of knitting other people's patterns. It is simply too much bother to follow them exactly as they are written. But I found things I could use. I have put them together and charted the result.

I think it works but there is no rhythm to this sort of knitting. Each round requires concentration. I knit one round on one and then one round on the other. That way, while I don't have the pattern memorised, I have some awareness of what comes next on the second beanie.

The friend who asked me to make the beanie asked me what I was going to knit after I had finished them. I said, "Something simple" but I know it won't be. I don't want to do any more dinosaurs but I am thinking about something else. I might have to make another beanie to try the idea out.