Handspun Halfdome in progress

Knitting with handspun is a strange experience for me because I know this yarn.  I knew it in roving form, when it was the softest of the 4oz balls of chocolate and vanilla fuzz on the shelf.  Over several months I spun it onto a bobbin of singles, taking care to stripe the two undyed colours.  This was the first full size skein I used the Navajo plying technique on.  Last week I pulled the skein from the storage box, wound it into a ball, and tried to treat it like any other yarn, but it's impossible.  I know this yarn.

It's going to be a handspun Halfdome hat.  The child size should work once it's corrected for different gauge and needles and I love the look of the four raglan decreases.  According to the pattern, I have enough yarn for two hats and some leftovers.

As I swatched I was looking at each ply of the yarn checking for evenness and remembering what it felt like to spin.  Jacob fleece is no merino for softness, but it feels sturdy and hard wearing, perfect for an autumn or winter hat.