At the beginning of February each year in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the city holds Winter Carnival. This week long celebration of winter includes street events (like the shovel race where, on our snowladen main street, contestants attempt to sit on shovels pulled by galloping horses), a parade, fireworks and the famous Lighted Man, a fellow who straps an arsenal of fireworks and belts of christmas lights onto himself and launches down the ski hill directly behind our downtown area.

This hat is meant to represent that moment where the Lighted Man zips down the hill behind the torchlight parade and the firework display erupts into the sky. Knit from the bottom up, the hat starts with a simple variation on the feather and fan to evoke the foothills at the bottom of the Rockies. Then, a simple intarsia technique (which leaves only two ends to weave in) draws a light gray ski run through the dark gray hill. Finally, the torchlight parade is created with duplicate stitch and a giant pompom lights up the night!

And, with only 40 rows in the whole hat, this piece zips together quickly in a single evening.

This pattern uses three different colors, Schachenmayr SMC Boston (60 yds/70% Acrylic, 30% Virgin Wool), 1 skein Storm Gray Heather; 1 skein Charcoal Heather, 1 skein Gold. The Gold is only used for the pompom and duplicate stitch “Lights” coming down the mountain.