it's Mystery Hat time!

whoop whoop!

There are two patterns! Two entirely different patterns.

They cost £3.50 each here, or you can get both for £5.50. On Ravelry they are $5 each or $9 for the pair. The newsletter is going out shortly to let everyone know, but the patterns won't be further discounted so do go ahead and sign up if you're a subscriber! (the patterns are already discounted, and the bundle feature makes them even cheaper if you sign up for both)

This year I've collaborated with two fantastic yarnies - Stolen Stitches and Miss Babs - and each has a thank you offer inside in the Introduction files (this is the first file you'll receive after signing up) - do support these yarnies if you can, and we've allowed plenty of shipping time.

Installment dates are a little different this year:

Pt. 1 – 1st November
Pt. 2 – 8th November
Pt. 3 – 15th November
Pt. 4 - 22nd November
Final pattern release – 29th November

There are 4 installments, not the usual 3, as our Hats are a little different and allow us to work with weekly challenges. There's a mix of construction methods, a mix of stitch patterns, and a mix of yarns.

Hat A is a slouchy beanie, but can be made as a regular beanie - notes will be included.

Hat B is also a slouchy beanie, but not the same shape as Hat A, and there are notes for altering this one, too. If you're thinking more beret like, Hat B is the one for you.

We've already for a discussion thread going so do pop over there with any questions! As always, every inch of help is available via the forum, and I won't be able to answer questions via other avenues - thanks for your understanding :)

See you there?

Another Hat in need of a name!

You'd think I have a store of suitable names, right? I used to have, in my old phone, before it died...

You may have seen this one over on Instagram, when I shared a shot straight after the shoot. I was so pleased with how these photos came out that I just popped one straight up, unedited.

We went with a different kind of styling with these shots, and I think it worked - the formal jacket with it's strong collar and harsh shoulders isn't something I'd normally use, but I'd been given this jacket and wanted to try it somewhere. Molly suits the classic look well, and especially suits smarter suit-like jackets. It's not a style I want to use too often, but I think we pulled it off OK (there are something other photos, of something Mystery, where the jacket looks even better)

This Hat is knit sideways, using a garter stitch lace pattern and all the short row shaping incorporated. It's an awful lot simpler to knit than it looks! When the pattern is published - end of October - I'll share more about the details but I will say it's knit in Miss Bab's Yummy 3-ply and it makes good use of the skein.

This Hat is packed FULL of texture! That stitch pattern really adds dimension and makes the most of the yarn and stitch properties.

Want to fire away with name suggestions? There's a copy of the pattern in it for you, and a very big thank you from me :)

ps/ please leave comments on this post, not elsewhere around the internet - it makes it much easier for me to keep track! And don't forget to leave your email addy in the relevant field so i can let you know you've won. ta!

pps/ don't forget to sign up to my newsletter to hear when it will be released! You can also sign up at Miss Babs too, as there may be a mention from them :)

5 years owned

It's 5 years since the Princess decided that our bus was going to be her home.

We were happy sharing the vagabond and communal cats; we didn't want a cat of our own again for so many reasons but this lady changed all of that for us. 

After she'd been with us for about 5 or 6 weeks, when we knew she was here to stay, I wrote this post back in 2012 to introduce her:

We've been adopted

She's not the mature cat we thought she was - she's barely aged or changed that much. We've still no idea where she came from, what her previous life was like or how old she might be. She's been slow to trust humans and fully fit into the family pet role - it was well over a year before she'd even stay sitting on the sofa when Tom and Aran came into the bus - but just a few weeks ago she started cuddling up on my lap and I could not have been happier.

She's very comfortable in her territory; she'll not wander outside of her patch but she'll defend it with all her might, even from dogs. Yet for such a settled, home-bound cat, she seems to tolerate us wandering..  she's got used to the idea that we always come back. The community help us by keeping an eye on her when we're not there, and keeping her well fed and watered.

And she's got quite the fan club over on Instagram.

Here's to another 5 years, Princess Fi. Thank you for gracing us with your presence and for making our lives that much brighter.

Garter Stitch Intarsia

All of the free patterns and tutorials on this website are supported by my amazing Patreons! If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be able to continue to produce or host freebies. We'd love to have you join us and in return, you get exclusive behind-the-scenes material, member-only discounts and early access to new free content. Membership starts at $1 per month. You can also say thanks for the freebie via the Tip Jar.

This tutorial was filmed to support my Parallelo pattern, but it’ll also be helpful with several of the Elemental hat patterns, too.

Short row colourwork, which the Elemental Hats and Parallelo feature, is a type of intarsia. It’s not just intarsia, as sometimes stranded techniques are used and of course it’s all about the short rows. But having some intarsia skills under your belt will be a useful skill indeed.

There’s a slight difference in the method between changing the colours on the right side and wrong side, and the two videos below cover them both for you.

Support

As always, if you have a question about this technique or need some help with it, leave a comment below! I’m afraid I’m unable to offer help via email or private message but you’re welcome to post in our forums.

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Scourie - a special collaboration

Today I'm introducing a new design that I've worked on with Ripples Crafts yarns. Together we thought it'd be pretty cool to do something special for Loch Ness Knit Fest and here it is.

Scourie is sideways knit, with short row colourwork. With this design I wanted try something different with this technique to show that short row colourwork isn't just intarsia - it can be stranded, too. Several of the Elemental Hats use stranded techniques but not obviously so and not to this extent, and so I started to explore shapes and details that could look effective as well as not be too tricksy to knit!

This pattern will have you changing colours at short row points, but given a little practice with tension, it's not something that should trip anyone up. Don't tug the yarn too hard, but similarly don't let it slacken off too much - firm and gently is the right approach, and you'll find it easier than you think.

The instructions are provided as a panel map - a method I first put to use with the Elemental Hats that has proved to be pretty popular. It's a directional map, so the symbols show you which direction you're knitting and how many stitches are worked in any given row, to make it easier to keep track of the short rows. I've a blog post about this method of charting in the works, so do keep an eye out for that.

Scourie will be available in print only initially. As this is a special project for LNKF, we thought it best to offer it in print only for a limited time. Helen will have plenty of yarn on her stand to put together for kits, and I'll be ordering plenty of copies of the pattern.

Fear not, though - Scourie *will* be available as a digital single pattern in due course! I've the MKAL coming up (our 10th!), and another special pattern for another KAL (busy is an understatement) and I don't want to release Scourie and have it lost in the crowd. I will let you know as soon as it's available, I promise (and if you haven't already, do sign up to the newsletter)

Did I introduce you to Molly yet? We've only started working together in this last week and it's already clear that not only does the camera love her, but also that she's a natural at modelling. Molly grew up around these parts and I'm really pleased to able to work with her.

Scourie uses Ripples Crafts merino sport weight, which is such a lovely yarn - such bounce and definition, and it takes the dye beautifully. Different sizes in the pattern are achieved via panel repeats, but gauge can also help play a part - with a finer gauge, a short Hat can be achieved, and vice versa. The panel width is pretty narrow so you can repeat it until it fits just so (that try-it-on-as-you-knit aspect of sideways Hats is pretty dandy)

And there we have it! See you at LNKF?

ps/ there are still some places on my workshops, so do sign up now if you want to take a class with me - all events need a minimum number of bums on seats to run classes and it helps everyone to book in advance.