It was pretty warm this year on Thanksgiving–I didn’t even have to wear my puffer coat. The day AFTER Thanksgiving, however, was very cold. So cold that I said to Adam, I am going to buy some yarn right now, even though I have a huge stash, and knit myself a hat. He scoffed, but [...]

Pattern: My own top-down helmet, following instructions in Barbara Walker’s Knitting From the Top. A similar free pattern for heavier (worsted-weight) yarn is here (or in Stitch and Bitch).
Yarn: One ball of Rowan Felted Tweed in camel, bought on sale when The Yarn Connection closed. I think it was about $5, after discount.
Needles: Size 5 [...]

I’m supposed to be writing a book review, but I’m procrastinating a bit…by blogging! And knitting, of course. I didn’t finish this hat in time for my grandmother’s b-day, though I did give her the never-worn  Ella shawl instead, which she seemed to like a lot. I’m going to give this to her once I’m [...]

I’m trying to knit a quick hat for my grandmother (if you’re reading this and know my grandmother, shhh, it’s a surprise), and looking at it today, with the ball of yarn stuffed into it, I realized that it looked awfully like a knitted breast. Ha! Well, I am hoping it’s going to turn into [...]

Pattern: Patterned watch cap, with the Double Irish Chain pattern, from Robin Hansen’s Favorite Mittens.
Yarn: Two skeins of Colinette Cadenza, in Slate, $10/skein; 1 skein of white Zara Merino extrafine, $10; both from Downtown Yarns. If you make the brim shorter, like 1.5″ and no pompom, you could probably get away with one skein of Cadenza.
Needles: [...]

Oh, by the way, if you’re interested in making a Dairy Queen hat, with that crisp fold and not my weird holes, Meg Swansen is holding a knit-along on the Schoolhouse Press website, complete with instructions and photos.

In an attempt to show off my gloves, I have chosen possibly the twee-est pose of all time.
Pattern: Three-spiral hat or the Dairy Queen hat, by Elizabeth Zimmerman, from The Opinionated Knitter
Yarn: Less than 1 skein of Morehouse Merino Bulky, in Silver, $16.50 from Brooklyn General. (There was a lot of straw in this yarn!)
Needles: Clover bamboo [...]

Pattern: Odessa hat from Grumperina
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft Aran from Purl Soho, 1 skein plus just a little of the second skein. Color is foxglove. Each skein was $9.50. If you use the aran weight, you do need the second skein, but only barely.
Needles: 16 inches circular in size 4 and size 6 DPNs. The brand [...]

As part of my never-ending analysis of this simple project, I shall now continue my epic recounting of how it came to be. So, anyway, once at The Yarn Tree (see below), I decided I could not figure out how to thrum a bonnet or hat on my own. My sister had requested a gray [...]

This is a very belated Christmas present for my sister. It’s kind of a knitted helmet-meshed with a scarf.
Pattern: The hat part is from this pattern here. It is the Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap, and apparently designed for chemo patients. Cute, even if you are not undergoing chemo. Some other knitter made it into a [...]

I do actually occasionally knit, instead of just going to yarn stores on my vacation.
I’m almost done with a project, actually. Here’s part one of it (above). It’s a hat, that I’m going to attach to a scarf and give to my sister.
(That photo is taken at the Met–the art museum, not the opera house–when [...]

Kim says her hat is a little too short, which I suspected might be a problem. Here’s the thing — when I started making the decreases, I was worried I would run out of yarn (I also did the decreases two or three times because I was having problems) even though I also knd of [...]

Pattern:I started with the calculations from this site, and then I ended up switching to the instructions on Crazy Aunt Purl’s site here.
Yarn: A little less than one skein of Louet Sales Gems Sapphire (their bulky weight yarn) from Seaport Yarn
Needles: Most of it was done on Clover 9 circular (24″) and then at the [...]

Samurai Kabuto front
Originally uploaded by truegod.

(1) The sweater is stuck until my colleague, a knitting guru, is able to look at the bind off for the neck.
(2) Kim’s hat is stalled because I am running out of yarn, despite the fact that the owner of Seaport Yarn felt that one skein would be enough because:
(a) [...]

Photograph by baba lu.

Here’s F-Ro wearing the first hat I ever knit. I didn’t use a pattern–I just winged it using some number 8 circular needles and sport-weight wool-ease. The top is a little messed up, due to the lack of pattern, but all in all, I think it [...]