Some people write journals for the sake of self-discovery. They look back and see patterns in their behavior and learn from this.

It is fortunate that this is not my goal. The patterns revealed in my journal are just tiresome.

For example, I frequently suggest that I am going to do some mad, wild thing — continue knitting instead of frogging back to a mistake, skip all my housework, stuff like that. Then, the next day, having apparently gotten that out of my system, I report that I frogged back and fixed the error, did the housework, etc.

Not that I never do anything wrong. But I seem not to plan it. I do not see myself announcing that I will snitch cookies from the Christmas boxes in the freezer, snarl up my bank account, or delay my fact-checking for two weeks past the deadline. In fact, I don’t even seem to report such misbehavior, let alone fantasize about it.

And what’s with the sins I suggest I will commit? Is improper knitting the worst thing I can come up with? Since I never end up doing them anyway, I ought to have better plans to kick over the traces. Why don’t I say I’ll run off and join the circus, or sabotage a performance, or something?

In any case, having said that I was going to ditch the Christmas gifts and do something new, I predictably enough started off the next day with a pair of Fuzzy Feet and a bawk.

But then — I got bold! Determined to overcome the pattern revealed in my blog, I did something quite new. I cast aside the Fuzzy Foot and began a hat! This hat, to be specific.

It is Tychus, from knitty.com, and it is — as advertised — very easy. It is also clever and satisfying, and #1 son says it is cool. He tells me that cuffs are not comme il faut this season, so I made it without the cuff. In fact, the pattern is written for #9 needles and a double strand of worsted, and I made mine in sport yarn on #3 needles. Now I wanted it shorter — so it would be cuff-less — but not too small, so I added an extra buffer of white between the wedges. It turned out just right. That is one thing to keep in mind with this pattern — it is a clever idea, and could be a neat way to make a hat even without stripes, but what you cast on is what you end up with. None of this “knit till you think it is long enough” business. If I made one for myself, though, I think I might pick up stitches along the completed edge and knit a ribbed cuff. This is because I am not stylish, and I think an un-cuffed hat might not be as warming for the ears.

#1 son is trying it on here, and wanted to keep it. However, that is not to be.

My picture does not show the wedges properly. There appears to be some kind of op-art distortion where really there are simple arches. I have no explanation for this.

Um, yes, it is a Christmas gift. I can’t be expected to change my ways so quickly as all that.

Fortunately, I have Crazy Aunt Purl’s special Christmas gift filter that makes it impossible for a gift’s recipient to see it without a magic decoder ring. Therefore, if you can see this hat, you can be confident that it isn’t for you.

It is, by the way, now officially High Time to get going on those Christmas gifts if you haven’t done so yet. Since Tychus can be made in one day of fairly solid knitting, this would be a good choice if you haven’t gotten started yet.

Or check out the Buy Nothing Christmas catalog. Really. Go check it out. Send in your suggestions, even. I found the link to this at My Adventures in Simple Living.

Today I will make a second Tychus, for #1 son. And maybe another for #2 son as well. Then it will be back to the Fuzzy Feet and bawks. The HGP recommends ending all adults-only crafting by December 10th, which gives me four weeks of knitting time. I think I can, I think I can…

I used to disagree with that December 10th deadline, but I have come, over the years that I have been doing this, to appreciate it a lot. It has eliminated last-minute rushes to complete things, and given me time to enjoy making things with the kids when they are on their school vacation.