New Year, New Pirate

You know how it goes: I finished the Dread Pirate Jeffery hat, plopped it on my head just long enough to take a terrible selfie to show you, and gave the hat away.

And THEN tried to write the pattern. Yeah.

Fortunately, my dumb can be used for your smart. I made another hat, and photographed it properly (on someone ELSE's head) which you now can see much better:

This pirate is actually Dread Pirate Jeffery's bother, the Dread Pirate Phillip. He's an easily accessible model, and my dog really likes him. Bailey always notices the minute I grab my camera, and hurries to get into the shot:

NOTE: Bailey would like you to know that yes, he is an actual Scottish Terrier, even if he doesn't look much like it at present. Bailey was lately the unwitting victim of an inexperienced dog groomer (not me!). I frequently reassure him that his beard and dust ruffles will grow back. In the meantime, we are telling him he looks athletic. And sometimes I make him wear coats.

Since Boxing Day, I knitted the (second) hat, wrote the pattern (includes detailed instructions for knitting Latvian Braid and notes on sizing), formatted the chart and graphics and shot the photos. Then I realized that I now have enough work in this pattern that you probably won't mind if I charge a little something for downloads. Inside you'll see credits and links to the original motif chart, too. CLICK HERE for the complete pattern.

I hope you enjoy this one, and please do share photos.

A triumph for me, A present for you

I did it! I finished the Brother In Law's Deathflake hat in time for Christmas. It's now known as "The Dread Pirate Jeffery". I completely love it and I'm thinking about making another one with the miles of yarn I have left.

I'm not going to publish the pattern because I didn't draw that great chart myself, but if you're interested, send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to tell you how I knitted it.

In other news, I made you a present!

How cute is that? It's called "Wink", and it's a free download for you, on Ravelry. CLICK HERE to get it.

I know it's the 11th hour, and for those who are all done with Christmas knitting, Congratulations! You are superior beings and we love you for it. For the rest of us, I offer this quick "Holy-Cow-How-Could-I-Have-Forgotten" pattern. You can seriously knit one of these in less than an hour. And no, you don't have to embroider a monogram like I did, unless you just want to. Here is a great place to find beautiful monogram patterns, if you're interested. I think it's super cute au natural, or you could add any kind of embellishment. How about applique, or a fabric ruffle? What about leather trim, or beads? Go big. You can get this done in no time flat.

Merry Christmas, Gentle Readers. I love you.

Delusional, As Usual

So there I was in the yarn store, because, you know, Tuesday. And I'm asking the nice lady, is there any hand dyed sportweight superwash in a soft gray for my brother-in-law's Christmas present. Sure, she says, right over here, etc etc and what are you making?

Oh, do you know the DeathFlake chart from Ravelry? Yes, she does. Well I'm making a hat for my BIL, who, though knitworthy, has somehow never received knitting from me.

I love, she says, that you are starting a stranded colorwork project four days before Christmas.

Sound of needle skipping off record.

Four days? I say.

Huh. 

Turns out there's this whole time limit notion around Christmas Knitting. 

Now I've knit on deadlines, like, A LOT. It seems like that experience would have informed my gift-giving decision regarding my BIL. But no. It did not. I literally did not consider, even briefly, the time available between my clever idea to knit a hat, and the day on which said hat would be required.

Nor did I consider, not even for a minute, that my Brother In Law, though very much a decent sort, is a non-knitter. A non-knitter for whom the presentation of a box of unknit yarn and a heartfelt promise would be confusing and bewildering.

So, intrusions of reality notwithstanding, I'm knitting it. What care I for the laws of time and space? Since when is a knitter of my calibre (*snort*) governed by the petty idiosyncrasies of the static universe?

Yeah, I know: Good Luck with that.

Like any cunning plan that begins with the phrase "Oh, I'll Just...", Operation Dread Pirate Jeffery has commenced, hand dyed gray yarn and all:

Ain't it swell? Dig that sexy Malabrigo Arryo in "VAA" in the background! And the gray one is Black Trillium "Little Mouse". These yarns are very friendly to each other, and to stranded colorwork, which is kind of unusual for superwash, but I'm not telling the yarn that. I'm loving this knit so much I kinda don't care how long it takes. I'm just gonna sit here under the Christmas tree, defiantly knitting, and denying completely that time is running out.

Watch this space.