The Man Hat

Feel the fear and do it anyway!  Download a PDF for this pattern here:

Download Pattern

Knitting on 2.25mm needles with fuzzy black wool is interesting.  It's almost impossible to see the stitches, they blur into a black fuzzy..... fuzziness.  Which is all very lovely when you're done, but hard as hell to count or keep track of rounds without using a row counter.  Do use a row counter, I generally don't and often suffer for my foolishness.

Anyhoo this is a hat for your man to wear under his bike helmet on chilly mornings.  Black so he can be cool, soft so he won't be itchy, possum/wool blend so he'll be super warm, light and thin so he can roll it up and put it in his pocket when the sun comes out.  Cool for girls too of course.

Here's the recipe for an average man sized hat (should fit snugly):

1 ball Supreme Possum Merino with Silk 4 ply, preferably black.
2.25mm needles or size to get gauge.  Normal people will probably get gauge with 3mm needles, but I knit loose.
Gauge = 30sts/4"

CO 144 sts
K2 P2 ribbing for 1/2 an inch.
Continue in stocking stitch until hat measures 4" from CO edge.

Knit 1 round placing markers as follows: k12, pm, then pm every 24 sts.

Dec round:  k to 2sts before marker, k2tog, sm, ssk repeat to end of round.
K 5 rnds
work dec round
k 5 rnds
work dec round.

k 3 rounds
work dec round.
repeat these 4 rnds 'til you have 48sts.

Then work decs every other round 'til you have 24sts.

Cut yarn thread tail through remaining sts and pull tight, fasten to inside of hat sewing up any hole in the top.

Give it to a man or cyclist you love and bask in the warmth of their gratitude.  Or put it on your art deco lamp, whatever.

Grandma's Jersey

Found in an op-shop:

Found in the sea:

Tee hee :-)  Sadly mine has stains on - red wine was involved I fear.  Knitted by my Grandmother many years ago, and worn almost to death by me in the past few years.  This wool does not pill or fluff one bit, either they spun miracle wool in them olden days, or it's moved past it's pilling stage.

I was stoked to find this pattern on one of my op-shop trawls, that strange woman chortling in the corner of the Sallies shop is probably me - either me or a proper crazy lady from the half way house round the corner.... 

I love stumbling upon coincidence, reminds me that everything is connected - we are all moving in the same dance and sometimes we meet the most unexpected things.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Why do children love that song so much?  I think it must be built into the human psyche - both my children could sing it before they could talk.

Matariki

Matariki is the Maori name for the constellation the Pleiades - the Seven Sisters.  Matariki is also the name given to the Maori New Year, which begins in June when Matariki appears in the southern skies.
Matariki was traditionally a time of being indoors, the harvest is in and the storehouses are full.  It was a time for stories, being with friends and family, and for making and mending.  In that spirit I've spent the day snuggled on the couch in front of the fire and while my kids are home "sick" playing Club Penguin, I'm working on a new design for Matariki.  It's my take on a traditional shawl collared fair isle sweater, reinterpreted as a top down raglan for the seam adverse modern knitter (i.e., me!).

Like trying to count the stars in Matariki/Pleiades the stars on this jersey vary from 5 to 8 stars, but depending on the size rather than how much you squint.

I really enjoy this bit of working out a pattern, even though pretty much anyone with half a brain, a tape measure and a calculator could do it, it makes me feel smart.  I'm feeling particularly brainy today having charted out my stars to fit my stitch counts all by myself - and it's all worked out beautifully logical and simple.  I've got this one sorted I think, just have to knit it to be sure.

My notebook also contains thoughts on one of my still-in-the-head designs - the Goth Sweater.  Thinking about names:
April Skies
Happy When it Rains
Just Like Honey
Taste of Cindy
Psychocandy

Oh yes, I was a teenager in the '80s.  The goth sweater involves black mohair and a big lace cowl, it's either going to be very, very cool or really, really bad.

Kia pai tenei tau hau.

Any young kiwi ....

More joy to share from Fontana. Knits for the little ones this time, 1940s style:

Those pocket posies are so beautifully embroidered.  Too cute?  Try these:

I am going to have to knit those aeroplanes - it's called Nosedive!  I shall not be knitting the intarsia deer, Frisky as they may be.

I love this from the Delightful Designs for Toddlers book:

And finally:

"Any young Kiwi will be comfy and warm in this Fontana knitted".  My youngest kiwi turns 6 next week, and still loves to wear his mama's hand knits.  But apparently kids at school pull on his jerseys and stretch them.  He told me, sadly, that some kids weren't treating his jersey very nicely, even though he told them they should because his mum made it.  Well, I'm not a Homemade-Nazi, and I don't want the boy to feel picked on, so I bought him a couple of nasty cheap slave labour fleece hoodies that aren't so satisfying to stretch.  He says he feels too cold in them.  Hah!  Say it loud and say it proud:

HANDKNITS ARE COOL!

Just take a wander down Cuba Street and marvel at all the hip young things wearing '80s picture knits I wouldn't be caught dead in.  I'm starting to understand why my Mum laughed when I used to wear full skirted frocks and penny loafers.

Raining

It's raining.  A lot.

Three months worth of rain in one day, and my children finally agree to wear their raincoats.  Should we ever get 6 feet of snow I might even get them to put on a sweater.  Or socks!

The knitting bit: Miss Z is wearing the result of my third testing wench experience.  Olearia by the very clever Georgie Hallam/Tikki.  This is a lovely design in sizes from baby up to 8 years (Z is wearing the 8), with a range of options - shrug or long; runching at the top or all the ways down; capped, short or long sleeves; plain sleeves or fancy edged.....  And like most Tikki designs Olearia is knit top down in the round with simple raglan shaping - perfect knitting for mums!  I've made 2 so far.  Are ya sold yet? ;-)

Disclaimer:  Wellington has not had 3 months worth of rain today, I made that up.  But parts of the country are supposed to be having up to 300mm of rain and that sounds like 3 months worth of rain to me.  I would Google average monthly rainfall, but that's too dull and geeky, even for a weather obsessed fact freak me.  All I know is it's pouring with rain.  And somehow one of my cats is covered in concrete.

Couldn't resist this now could I?