My first knitting project! I learned to knit when I was very young and it bored me very quickly. I only made a small blanket for a Barbie doll. I saw Lyra's Knit Hood from "The Golden Compass" featured at Lion Brand's website and I had to make it. I wanted to teach myself to knit (since I had forgotten) again and I was looking for a good beginner's project. I have never seen the movie "The Golden Compass" but this hood is totally cute!

This was quite an endeavor for me. First I did not understand this knitting needle business with two numbers for sizes. I needed size 19 needles, but I accidentally bought size 35 needles (which are 19mm so that is what threw me off!), and being only one size larger than 19, I wanted to make them work. Secondly, I could not find Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, so I just bought a ball of Wool-Ease thick and quick (color: butterscotch) to substitute for the color Amber. I also used Wool-Ease T&Q: Wheat, instead of Oatmeal. Upon returning home I decided to check to see what yarn substituted for WE Chunky, and I saw that using WE T&Q was not appropriate. Luckily, I had a ball of Jiffy Rust laying around which matched perfectly! So I used those two colors with my size 35 needles and I am VERY satisfied with my result. I had trouble knitting the back of the hood together but I believe I was successful! This is a great project for any beginner knitter!