Things like this are exactly why I taught myself to knit: insanely cute yet functional baby stuff like these Viking helmet caps, in both male and female versions. Baby projects are especially great for their tiny size—what better way to practice a new knitting skill than to do it on a small enough scale that you won't have to rip too much of it out when you screw it up (that's how I learned to do intarsia)? And you have a pretty decent chance of finishing it before the baby actually comes along, too.
A complete kit to knit a Viking cap is available for $24.50 from Bella Knitting and includes the yarn (although, it doesn't seem to include the yarn for the optional Valkyrie braids, but you'd want to customize those based on whatever color of hair you think the baby girl might end up having anyway). And the yarn, Aurora merino, is machine washable. And that's good, because the various baby spews seem to show up in the darndest places.
The kit also comes with an explanation of how a baby is like a Viking, which...well, I don't need anyone to tell me that, but a first-time parent might appreciate the heads-up.
(via BoingBoing, via Craft)
