Abalone, solo

Whilst we were up staying with Susan Crawford at Monkley Ghyll farm again this summer, Susan gave me an old, old sample of Abalone that she'd had knitted back when ArbourHouse published Going Straight. Back then, Susan had had a few part knit samples made of GS Hats to demonstrate their unique construction, and how they might look prior to grafting. And so, one of the last samples found it's way out of it's hiding spot and came home with me.

The sample was in surprisingly good condition, considering that the provisional cast on had been removed, and the needles had long since been reclaimed for something else. Despite being on the loose for the best part of 6 or 7 years, few had unravelled or gotten into a mess. And that in turn meant it was relatively easy for me to finish the sample, which has made me rather happy.

I sold all my GS samples to fund our original travels, and having this Hat again feels great - not only have I got something to take to shows but I also have a little piece of history, something that reminds me of work that I'm proud of; it's provided a renewed sense of achievement.

And in turn, it got me thinking that it might now be possible to publish Abalone as a single pattern.

Many of the Hats in Going Straight were never published as single patterns, because they required a combination of too many tutorials. The Hats in themselves aren't necessarily complicated, Abalone being a great example of one of the simpler Hats from the book. It requires two grafting methods, that with the right tutorials isn't daunting - yet a single pattern layout only provides so much room, and the original photo tutorials were pages and pages each.

Now though, now I have a new pattern template and illustrated tutorials, which pack a lot more info into much less space. And it's been possible for me to fit everything comfortably into a 4 page layout!

And here it is. The pattern includes 3 sizes, size specific yardages (which is something new I'm adding to the GS singles), written and charted instructions AND illustrated tutorials for provisional cast-on, short rows, and both stocking stitch and garter stitch grafting. It's all in there!

Abalone is perfect for gradient or variegated yarns, for handspun or self striping. It's a clever little Hat that will showcase your favourite yarns. Gotta love sideways Hats!