Madewell Made Yarn

Check out the window displays at the Madewell store in Soho.

So cute, right? Click on the image if you wanna see it bigger.

I had to snap a photo. I want to knit something BIG now.

Autumn in Central Park

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Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to spend most of my day in Central Park. It was chilly (but no uncomfortably so) and very windy but really beautiful

I spent about an hour sitting by the boat pond, listening to This American Life and watching the little radio-controlled boats struggle against the wind.

Lovely.

Bulky Beanie

Have you started making holiday gifts yet?

I'm working on it.

Sort of.

Slowly.

But I think this new hat pattern is really going to speed things up for me.

I designed this hat as a pattern that can be knit in a day or two and then given away. It looks good on women and men and even older kids and the hat can be thrown in the washing machine so there's no chance of your lovely handmade item being ruined in the wash. It's definitely not revolutionary or anything but it's the kind of thing I like; simple and classic. Also, I was able to use yarn that was left over from knitting my Acorn Head which makes me feel like the yarn was free!

It's the kind of thing you could knit a pile of and then decide who to give each one to later. I like to do that. Do you do that?

I think you could wrap up a this hat with some homemade cookies, or a box of tea, or a book and it would make a very sweet gift. Can you tell I'm starting to get excited for the holidays?

Well, anyway, here's the pattern. I hope you like it.

Bulky Beanie

You Will Need:

- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (The colors I used were Denim and Cilantro, less than half a ball per hat)

- Size 13 Circular Needles or DPNs

- 1 Stitch Marker

- 1 Tapestry Needle or Crochet Hook (to weave in ends)

Cast on 36 sts.

Place stitch marker and join to knit in the round.

Work K2, P1 rib for 6 rows (feel free to use a 1x1 or 2x2 rib if that's what you prefer, I just think the 2x1 rib looks nice and tidy).

*K6, M1* repeat to end of round (42 sts).

Knit stockinette until hat measures 6" from cast-on edge.

*K5, K2tog* repeat to end of round (36 sts).

Knit one round.

*K4, K2tog* repeat to end of round (30 sts).

Knit one round.

*K3, K2tog* repeat to end of round (24 sts).

Knit one round.

*K2, K2tog* repeat to end of round (18 sts).

Knit one round.

*K1, K2tog* repeat to end of round (12 sts).

*K2tog* repeat to end of round (6 sts).

Cut yarn, thread through remaining 6 stitches and pull to close up the hole. Weave in ends and you're ready to do some gift giving!

p.s. If you like the sample hats I knit, they are both for sale at Treehouse.

Jonathan

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. A lot of Jonathan Richman in general. He's just great, I think. A girl actually got mad at me at a Jonathan Richman concert in Chicago because I guess she thought I was yelling too much between the songs. I was just really excited... gosh.

But anyway... this is a really great song. Sorry about the weird video.

I'm working on a couple of new patterns right now. One is the pattern for mitts that I mentioned a few days ago (still writing that out so that it makes sense on paper) and a beanie pattern in some super bulky yarn. The hat will probably come out first because it's just a lot easier to write out. It might even be here tomorrow...

Olek Again

I know I've written about Olek before... but her work is incredible.

Find out more here.

Hexagon Love

The lovely and sweet Pip, of Meet me at Mike's, has posted a new tutorial on how to crochet hexagons!

So cute, right? I learned how to crochet granny squares from one of Pip's tutorials so I'm excited to learn how to make hexagons too. I think you could make a few of these in red and green and give them as Christmas presents with a little loop tied at the top. Little crocheted tree ornaments? I bet they'd be a hit.

p.s. Remember those crocheted pearl necklaces I made a few months ago? I've made some more... They are for sale at Treehouse along with some of my knit stuff. Hooray!

New Pattern Soon

Hi. I've got a lot of projects going right now. One of them is a pair of mitts. I wrote up this pattern last winter and now I'm test knitting it in hopes to have a new (free) pattern for you within the next few days. I'll also have a new pair of pretty green Malabrigo mitts for myself so it's a win-win situation...

100

Hello hello hello

So, did you know that this is my 100th post? It is.

And the time between this post and my last post has been quite a while.... Why? Because I thought, "Oh gosh. One hundred posts. People do something cool when they reach 100 posts like giving away a cool prize or doing some meme or something. I should do something like that!"

And I thought and thought and then forgot about it for a while and then resumed thinking but well I don't know. I guess I didn't think of anything. But I missed writing in this space the last couple weeks and so I decided to just say thanks. Thank you for reading the words I type. Even if you don't comment or whatever. I love looking at the numbers on my Google Analytics page and wondering who's knitting the patterns I've written or maybe being inspired by something I've tried making or maybe just cringed at one of my horrible jokes... I like feeling like people are crafting along with me...

So yeah, thanks.

And because I can't stand to have a photo-free post, I thought I'd just post something a bit random. A Halloween photo!

I made this costume about an hour before going out on Halloween. Can you tell what I was? I'll give you a clue.