Today I did get all the knitting out, but it seems reasonable to just blog about hats today. The number of mittens is obscene and they deserve their own day to shine. Here are all the hats that live in my house that I could locate:

From top left, clockwise.

My self-published designs: 9
Self-published in The Red Collection: 13
Elizabeth Zimmermann hats: 5
Hats for which designs should appear eventually: 5
My designs published elsewhere: 4
Hats under surveillance for moths (in the plastic bag): 1
Improvised hats with no patterns: 9
Hats I keep, but were not made by me: 2 (more about these below)
Knit from other people’s patterns: 16

If my math is correct, that’s 64 hats on the table.

According to what’s been recorded in Ravelry, there are 2 hats not pictured that should be (one is in Gerald’s work truck, one is missing). I have knit 15 hats that were given as gifts, donations or samples.

I have at least 3 hats that are currently on the needles.

There’s gotta be plenty more that I don’t have a record of that are hiding in the house, or given away pre-Ravelry, or who knows what.

I like knitting hats.

About the two pictured above that I didn’t knit: The pink one is the one Maggie wore home from the hospital when she was born. It is handknit and had the world’s saddest pompom. The brown and orange one is from J.Crew. I borrowed/stole it from a guy I once knew in college. I’ve lost touch with him, but he was one of the coolest and most fun guys I ever had the pleasure of knowing. I keep the hat to remember him, and because it looks really good on me.

Warning: Tomorrow is mittens, and there are a lot.

You know, I looked for the size 5 needle that I needed to work on the hat I wanted to make and I couldn’t find it. I just used it for all those Asheboro Hats! I can’t imagine where it’s gone to. On the plus side, I found this beautiful gray hat that I started, finished, unraveled and started again months ago. It’s knit with Rowan Lima, a blend of wool, alpaca and nylon that is hard to resist. I checked to see that the needle being used for this hat wasn’t a 5 (it’s an 8 ) but once I touched the hat I couldn’t put it down. A few more decrease rounds and this will be a hat.

It’s gray and rainy outside today but I spied something yellow on the front porch.

And I spied something black sitting near me. Always near me. Walking on my head at 5:15 am. But now he wants to sleep! How about you try sleeping at 5:15 am? Want me to walk on your head while you’re sleeping? Didn’t think so.

I would say “you’re lucky you’re cute” but I’m really not that mad at him. He’s a good cat and I like him. Mostly.

I’ve decided to call it the Asheboro Hat, in honor of that city down the road where I’ll be attending school come next year. I’ll be spending a lot of time in Asheboro! I’m so excited.

I know I’ve said it already, but the Asheboro Hat is a great knit. Perfect if you’re just starting with colorwork! And if you’re experienced with two-color knitting, you can knit this hat in a day or two.

We love our new hats! The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn knit at 5.5 sts/inch. I knit ours in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. It’s  a great yarn for colorwork, and when you block the hat it’s softer than you can imagine! The Child size can will use one skein of Shelter, plus about 20 yards of a contrasting color. For the Adult Medium and Adult Large, you’ll need two skeins of Shelter for the main color.

For more pattern details, and to queue, fave or purchase the pattern, please visit the Asheboro Hat page on Ravelry. And because I’m so excited to be releasing a new pattern, through the month of November the pattern will be available for just $3! Woohoo! You’ll see the discount when you add the pattern to your cart. Or if you’re ready to buy it right this instant, use the link below.

Asheboro Hat – $3 for a limited time only

Thanks so much, everyone! First for reading, but also for the support!

Three hats have been knit, and I love each one. When I mowed the lawn today (with the bag on, thereby negating my need to rake, yay!) I wore the dark grey (SHELTER in SOOT), the one at the bottom. The hat is, if you’ll allow me to boast for a minute, the perfect hat. It snugs just so around the ears, making it highly functional for its intended purpose. It is an interesting and quick knit with worsted weight wool, and fun for knitters of all skill levels. The colorwork design is gender neutral and through color choice, the hat is well suited for girls and boys, men and women. And lastly, it’s a great looking hat.

Well, that was enough boasting for one day. I’m working on getting the pattern ready and then you can knit the perfect hat for yourself!

I showed Jerry the hat when he came home from school yesterday and he asked if he could keep it for himself. So much meaning bundled up in that one request! Mostly the fact that he likes it makes me a very happy Mom and Knitter. The hat fits him and me both, so I was kinda thinking it would be mine, but it’s already his seeing as he wore it to school today. I took these pictures in the glorious daylight as we waited for the bus to arrive. They usually play tag and today was no different.

Maggie was headed to her very first fieldtrip, and she was over the moon. As she ran to the bus, I told her to remember everything so she could tell me all about it. I know I’ll get an earful, as usual. She’ll be home soon with the full report, and I can’t wait.  When she gets here I’ll get to show her the hat I knit her; the same as Jerry’s but her size and different colors. Hope it fits! Then, as I write up the pattern and have it tested by my trusty tester, do I dare knit a third for myself? One can’t have too many hats, I say.

I was able to take the swatch from yesterday and turn it into a hat that is blocking right now on Maggie’s bed. Although I did spend some time searching my notes, I was not able to find out/remember what needle I used for that swatch. Instead of knitting another swatch, I dove right in with the needle that seemed most likely. Not a very scientific way to go about it, but whatever. I’ve got a new hat and it turned out Very Nice. It will be a pattern soon. It feels right for my first pattern after a big break to be a simple but sweet hat. Getting my toes wet, if you will.

The pattern is the Wood Hollow Hat from Kirsten Kapur. I love it so much; it’s fun to knit and very intuitive. Gerald chose his favorite color – blue – in a beautiful shade of Cascade 220 that I had in my stash. If there was ever a wool yarn that could be described as “denim” this would be it. I love the 220 Heathers.

Jerry’s hat was knit on a US 5 needle, and with no adjustments to the pattern, it is a perfect fit. Because Gerald’s head is bigger, I meant to cast on with a 6, but couldn’t find a 6. So I grabbed a size 7 needle and as far as I can tell (without having knit a swatch) it’s going to fit him perfectly.

I’m doing the cables, even the small ones, without a cable needle. I feel very, very smart when I cable without a cable needle.

The behind-the-scenes work on the blog is progressing, if slowly. I worked on one particular page on Saturday – ALL DAY – and there’s some glitch that I don’t understand and it is driving me absolutely nutso. So instead of working on the blog, I’ve decided instead to work on my “sewing area”.  I wasn’t going to post a “before” picture here because it is truly awful. But then I decided there would be a strong impetus to show you the “after” photo if I posted the embarrassing “before” photo. So here it is, the corner of my bedroom where sewing (and knitting) supplies are…stored.

Although you can barely tell, there is a long table where all that stuff is piled. I’ve already removed enough stuff from the table to take the first picture that appears in this post, so I’m making progress. Today I’m going to make the table shorter by slicing it in half with my circular saw. Tomorrow I’m taking a road trip to IKEA to buy a shelf and other organizy things. And by Wednesday it’ll be done! (pray for me)

Luckily, I have someone who benefits from my mistakes.

My sister, Holly! Every time she visits I give her something handknit. I don’t plan it, but she always leaves with something! Last time she got the Northman Mittens. She is a knitter herself, and she lives in Alaska where it is cold, so she deserves these things.

I asked her to try the hat on and when I realized it fit her perfectly, I said, “Oh good! I just have to make a quick pompom and it’ll be finished!” And you know what? She didn’t want the pompom. Blasphemy!

Not everyone loves a pompom, and I’m coming to terms with that. I don’t understand it, but at least I can try to accept it.

Pattern: Talkeetna, free on Petite Purls, or download the free PDF here.
Yarn: Lanaloft Sports Weight
To knit the adult size, work at a gauge of 6 sts per inch, instead of the gauge shown in the pattern.

Last night, after spending the day attempting to clean up my room and fill up my new filing cabinet (not a hard task, but a big one I’ll tell you), I sat down to the computer to find a tweet and forum post alerting me to some awesome news.

Knitty is live!

In the new issue is my Undergrowth pattern, a color stranded hat with a double! braid! The hat is worked in Nature Spun Sport, and you achieve different sizes (18.5, 20, 21.5″) by adjusting your needles. Best of all, because this is Knitty, it’s free! I hope you enjoy it.

I’m headed out to Durham for my book signing soon, so I won’t be updating my pattern shop until later today. In the mean time, you can find more details about Undergrowth on Ravelry or head over to Knitty to print out the pattern.

In this issue of Knitty, you’ll also find a pretty rockin’ review of The Red Collection by the editorial staff. So cool! Here’s a snapshot of the review, if you’re interested.

I must thank my gorgeous model, Mallory. She really knows how to show off the handknits.

And my favorite part of the hat, the top:

Isn’t she just gorgeous?

Here we go with the next set of patterns from the book, Ziggity. The Ziggity Hat at is super-slouchy. I have a distinct memory of knitting the hat and thinking, “Man, this is taking a while.” It did take a while, because the hat is huge. But huge in that look-how-cool-i-look-in-my-huge-slouchy-hat kind of way.

The hat begins with 1×1 Ribbing, then has a jaunty little picot trim. I love that picot! If you buy the Print Edition of the book, there are detailed instructions for knitting the picot.

Then come the wide zigzags. Four pattern rows of colorwork and four single colored rows  – the knitting of this one is easy. It would be a good first colorwork project if you haven’t knit with two colors in the same row of knitting before.

The big slouchy hat (in the pattern I refer to it as “floppy”) is good, but some people prefer something a little less floppy. So I also include instructions for a non-floppy version of the Ziggity hat:

The mittens have the same 1×1 Ribbing and picot edge, which takes these from plain ziggity mittens to Ziggity Mittens with Picot! Can’t get enough of the picot, I’m telling you.

The Ziggity set is knit out of Ultra Alpaca from Berroco. A great yarn for this project, but also an easy yarn to substitute…you probably have some worsted weight yarn in your stash already!

So what are you waiting for? Fall is coming, with winter right on it’s heels! You’ll need mittens and hats, I’m sure!

Learn more about the Ziggity Hat & Mittens:
Ziggity pattern details on my blog.
Ziggity pattern page on Ravelry.

About The Red Collection

The Red Collection has 12 patterns for hats and matching mittens (or mitts, or wristers). This is a self-published book and I’ve been working on these patterns, photographs, book design, and marketing for the last year!

The Print Edition of the book can be pre-ordered now, and will ship in October.

Please note: The Print Edition includes special sections on yarn, gauge, and finishing, and also has a special techniques section to help you knit the projects from the book. These sections are not included in digital versions of the patterns.

Ways to Get The Red Collection

For the best price per pattern, please consider purchasing the complete collection of patterns. The digital versions of the patterns are available for instant download (click the links below for more details).

The Red Collection: Print Edition – $20 + shipping
The Red Collection: Print Edition + Complete Digital Pattern Pack – $23 + shipping
The Red Collection: Complete Digital Pattern Pack – $20
Single Pattern or 2-Pattern Pack – from $6

Just want Ziggity? Use these links:

Pattern Pack: $9	Ziggity Hat: $6	Ziggity Mittens: $6

The last Red Collection pattern pack — Radio Frequency — is coming up next!