It won’t surprise my friends or family when I admit to being a bit of a control freak. I like to plan ahead and make lists and have every last little detail taken care of ahead of time.

But, I recognized that parenthood was likely to change all of that.  I really wanted to be more of a ‘go with the flow’ kind of mom and since we had no idea what to expect when Sprout (our baby nickname during pregnancy) came into the world, we decided to keep the gender a surprise.  Crazy, I know!  What to knit? Pink or Blue?  The answer, both.

Naturally, I wanted one of my knits to be the first thing placed on little Sprout’s head, so I knitted two of these simple newborn Birthday Hats.  FYI:  The mitts are Susan B Anderson’s Baby Mitts.

Here’s my pattern for the hats.

Yarn:  Worsted weight blend.

I used Martha Stewart’s extra soft wool blend.  Anything with a bit of acrylic so it will stretch to fit.

Needle:  Size 5 circulars (12″) or Size 5 Double Pointed Needles.

Cast on 56 stitches and place a marker at the end of the first row.

Knit in 1×1 rib (K1, P1) for 1.5″

Switch to stockinette and knit every row until the hat measures 4.5″ from cast on edge.

Start decreasing.

Decrease row 1: *Knit 6, K2tog* Repeat ** to end of row.

Decrease row 2 (and every even # row):  Knit

Decrease row 3: *Knit 4, K2tog* Repeat ** to end of row.

Decrease row 5: *Knit 3, K2tog*  Repeat ** to end of row.

Decrease row 7: *Knit 2, K2tog*  Repeat ** to end of row.

Decrease row 9: *Knit 1, K2tog* Repeat ** to end of row.

Decrease row 10:  K2tog until you have 8 stitches remaining and cut yarn leaving a long tail to cinch the remaining 8 stitches.  Weave in the loose ends and you’re ready for a baby!  (Ha!  like anyone was ever ready for a newborn baby)

Well, at 12:34 AM on April 10th,  I had the pleasure of putting one of these little hats on my

BABY GIRL!!!!

Meet Miss Margot Louise.  7lbs 2 oz of pure joy.  Talk about a muse – we couldn’t be any happier!  She is an absolute delight.  Being her mom is the best thing ever.