Really early or really late

I would imagine that a hat is one of the last things on the average knitter's mind right now; it's a gorgeous spring day, and my thoughts are certainly turning to, if not knit bikinis (never!), then sleeveless, short sleeves, lace--that sort of thing.   Well, this hat is kind of lacy, anyway; I've decided I like lace patterns for hats because they get stretched on the wearer's head and display the stitches nicely.  As simple as this little number looks, it has gone through a number of alterations; I added the ribbed edging so it grips the head better (although I'm also working on a version that has no ribbing), and I re-worked the crown decreases probably a half-dozen times.  I think what I've ended up with carries the pattern nicely to the top.  I used the "spiral" pattern I found here.  The yarn is Jo Sharp's Desert Garden Aran Cotton, color "Solstice".  I like this yarn a lot; it's an aran weight blend of cotton (65%) and microfiber (35%), and springy and soft to work with.  When I finish the version without ribs (and in which I tried using SSKs instead of k2togs), in Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran "Merlot", I'll post both patterns gratis (the only real work involved was figuring out the decreases, which I take a geeky pleasure in doing anyway).