Out of the Darkness

I fell down another rather dark and deep hole over the weekend. Not really surprising; experience tells me that a few days without panic attacks and suicide ideation doesn't mark the beginning of the end of a depressive period. But I'm coming out of the latest pit slowly this morning, and I'm wanting to get back on track with blogging about achievements and other such *good* things.

And what could be more apt than a pattern named Out Of The Darkness?

Out of the Darkness is a design commissioned by Joy of The Knitting Goddess last year. Joy asked if I'd design a Hat in their latest yarn, Britsock, for her yarn club.

I'd made the mistake of thinking that life was starting to settle down, only to discover that nope, it had a few more surprises in store (the week when a scan revealed a further need for surgery, when my Nan died and when we lost our appeal wasn't exactly the greatest of weeks) and that in turn set me back a bit.

Thankfully Joy has been fully understanding. When we agreed upon the work we discussed that an exact deadline may not be fruitful or possible, and having that flexibility made everything much easier. I've been making a point of only taking on jobs where I have that room, time wise - anything that's come in with a deadline, albeit one that may be months ahead, has generally had a polite but firm "no". I don't want to let anyone down.

The pattern features two designs - a beanie and a tam - that are both based on the same mathematical structure. I did try and fight the spirals - they do appear a lot in my work and I had plans to venture along a different path. Yet that's where this design went and I wasn't going to argue; I'd struggled to bend the yarn into something different, and why fight when there's a clear path ahead?

And so spirals it was. 

There is an element of tyre tread in there - Joy asked for something unisex and when swatching the spirals I tried a few different ways to mix them up, wanting to move away from the more feminine ways in which I've used them before. I think I succeeded in getting a bit of both.

Joy chose the name for the Hat. Very appropriate, given the spiral nature and the context, don't you think?

As you'd expect, there's a whole range of sizes included, and the Body and Crown patterns are fully charted. It's not the quickest knit at a fine 4ply gauge, but it is a rewarding one, and the pattern is pretty instinctive, too. Certainly a project that can be worked on whilst out and about (I did - it was on my needles when I was running up and down the country last October/November!). 

The Britsock will no doubt please lovers of sock yarn - it's incredibly firm and durable and of course comes in all the wonderful colours that The Knitting Goddess is known for. You may think that a 4ply/sock weight Hat may not be the warmest, but you may want to think again with the deep folded brim of the beanie. And if you want something a little lighter, the tam will serve you well. The yarn itself seems so much warmer than other yarns of this gauge, too. 

The pattern is currently only available through The Knitting Goddess - the rights will revert to me sometime next year and I'll likely republish then. I know many of you want to support me directly and prefer to buy your patterns from me, but please don't hesitate to purchase this one from Joy - they're a great indie company who have supported me many times, and are worth your support, too.