Excused Absence . . . and a Free Knitting Pattern

I typically publish a new blog post once or twice a week, but have been negligent lately.  The span of time since my October 9 post has been filled, however, with trying to complete one of my own designs and many school demands.  After pages and pages of madly scrawled math, too many shapes sketched out on graph paper, and numerous trying on sessions (courtesy of my husband), my Asheville hat pattern, however, is finally finished.  

 

Click the link here to access the PDF:  Asheville Hat.

 

This is one of many pages of notes and numbers, shown
with a template for the hat band and ear flaps.

This hat is definitely for a man, one with a large head 21-23 inches in circumference.  I haven't changed the design to accommodate women and children yet, but will get there. . . .  

I created five equally spaced decreases around the hat, using knit two together, so the decreases all slant the same way, radiating out from the center.  

A co-worker, who is a Clemson fan and alumnus, asked me to knit him a hat to wear to his alma mater's football games.  His request precipitated the creation of the Asheville hat pattern.  Since I didn't want to write a pattern and share it on my blog with a Clemson paw logo--for fear of copyright issues, I knit a striped prototype first and decided to simply publish the pattern for that hat.  Asheville is an artsy mountain town a few hours away from where I live, and it has a cooler climate, one where this hat would come in handy. 

 

I'll show you the Clemson hat in progress here.  It isn't blocked yet, and I still need to knit the lining, but, so far, I'm happy with the results.  I used Knit Picks yarn for this project--their yarns are a good value and are of consistent high quality.  I still need to knit up the lining for this hat, though, before passing it on to my co-worker.  

  



This Trendsetter Curly yarn, which I used for the ear flap lining,
 knits up wonderfully thick and cozy. 

I also finished my Miss Marple scarf recently.  I really like this easy pattern, and the Rowan Lima yarn I used is wonderfully soft around my neck.  

I had to travel to Lenoir, NC this past Wednesday for a teaching workshop.  A co-worker (an avid crocheter) and I managed to squeeze in a trip to a local knitting store.  This shop had quite a diverse selection of yarn, and I was able to pick up two skeins of Lamb's Pride to make another Asheville hat in a heavier weight. 

It was fun to have a fellow yarn lover attend the teaching
workshop with me.  Tonya and I are planning a big trip
to another fiber event--details will follow.