H is for . . .

Hats.

In spite of all my dishcloth output this year, the item that comes off my needles the most frequently is a hat.  Hats have many advantages - they are small, portable, there's only one of them (no second sock syndrome), there are usually only two ends to weave in (only one if you work that first end in as you go), there's only about six to eight inches of slog before you start rapidly decreasing and poof, you have a hat.  Hats can be made flat when you're a beginner, but I highly recommend learning to knit in the round as soon as possible because ZOOM! You weave in that last end and you are done, no seaming!

If you crochet it, you can have a hat in a couple hours,
great when you need a last minute costume

Baby hats are extremely satisfying to knit.  Unless you're intentionally making preemie hats, my advice is to aim big; babies grow quickly, and wrestling a slightly too small hat onto a head with a wobbly neck is not especially fun.  Either way, baby hats take very little time, are adorable, and can be donated to great causes.

A month's work worth of baby hats

You may have heard of the Boyfriend Sweater Curse, but it doesn't apply to hats as far as I know.  However, a boyfriend may lose a hat you made for him, which is frustrating when you haven't had a chance to take a picture of it yet.

I married him anyway

Hats rarely require more than one skein of yarn, so they're a great place to use a special skein of expensive yarn, or to stash-bust that skein of yarn that you have no idea where it came from, what it is, or where to get more.

Truth be told I don't even know where this hat is anymore

Hat patterns that I love:

Bloody Stupid Johnson - a Discworld tribute (free!)
Anthropologie-inspired Bohemian slouch hat
Twizzler - crochet (free!)
Rue du Collège
Star-crossed Slouchy Beret (free!)
Guernsey Potato Peel hat - great fair-isle (free!)
Koolhaas - epic travelling cables