Last Sunday, my sister Liz and I took Dad (aka “Opa”) along with super-boyfriend Kerb to the town of Bolinas on the Northern California coast. I received a tip from someone in Portland who had recently visited and she recommended this place highly. It’s an amazing locale and you really should visit if you ever get the chance.

I couldn’t get over how lush and green it was.

The beach we visited is called Agate Beach which is also home to the Duxbury Reef Reserve and as luck would have it, we arrived at a point of very low tide. There were many people out on this warm January day exploring the tide pools rich with sea life.

Alas, though, no agates to be found this time of year.

I also had the foresight to throw my latest hat in the car, a hat which I am calling the “Explorer Helmut” in honor of my sister’s love of nature and exploration.

Kerb looks a bit perplexed or perhaps askance. Always difficult to read Kerb’s poker face. It was really too warm for this hat which will work nicely on a chilly, snowy day – if I ever experience that again. I dunno. Maybe Ashland.

Bolinas and the surrounding beaches are not far from the city of SF. You can even see Sutro Tower in the distance. This is the view from the Muir Beach overlook down Hwy 1 a few miles.

I can safely say that I am past the hat obsession and well into my newest one: baby socks. Stay tuned.

I’ve been completely obsessed with hats recently churning them out at the rate of one every few days. This is my kind of project requiring absolutely no sewing except for weaving in the ends. Fantastic! So quick and easy but I have to work on not making them quite so BIG!

Max is modeling the extra large one at Muir Beach (80 stitches on 10.5 US with double strand of Patons Classic Wool Merino). Remember, this hat is a variation on the pattern Thorpe by Kristen Kapur and starts from the crown of the head. Each hat I make is a new adventure and I modify every subsequent version every so slightly. Currently I’m working on a grey one with pointier ear flaps – more of a “V” shape.

I’ve even started Nell on her first hat in the round – the Adults-Only Devil Hat from Stitch ‘n Bitch. Also a blue hat like the one she’s modeling below. This hat obsession show no signs of abating. My next hat will be striped using all the colors of PCWM that I have on hand.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Alice recently requested a south-american-andes style ear flap hat – a style that is all the rage right now. You know…the ski hats with the long braids down the sides and colorful stitch patterns made with thick, bulky wool (and are usually lined with fleece). So with my usual zeal I immediately concentrated all my energy and threw myself into replicating this hat. I became quickly obsessed and as chance would have it, stumbled upon a pattern called Thorpe by Kristen Kapur which I’ve been using as my starting point in this experiment.

My first version, knit with Patons in shades of blue that I had on hand using 10.5 needles and 72 stitches, came out too flimsy and too small. It might be ok for a child.

So I got a little more daring on my second version still in progress. For this hat I doubled the Patons, increased stitches to 80 (still on 10.5) and adapted a snowflake pattern that I found on the internet. I plan on omitting the garter stitch brim and shortening the ear flaps as the hat is already a tad long but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna rip it back again.

This is turning into a nice quick knit and I already have plans for a third. In my usual manic knitting MO, I have to make multiples whenever I’ve got a quickie project like this.  And it’s so lovely isn’t it?

Sometimes a project comes out exactly as written/pictured/anticipated and sometimes it doesn’t come out that way at all. Today I have examples of both. The Sideways Grande Hat (rav link) from the book Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin is an example of the former. A splendidly simple yet original, well-written and easy-to-follow knit here modeled by an unwilling Alice (“Mom, I have to go!!!!!!!). It’s a little on the big side even for my ginormous head and were I to knit it again (unlikely) I would probably cast on fewer stitches. But then I’m notorious for NOT knitting swatches and I should have known better and used smaller needles to begin with. Ah well I think it’s a lovely hat nonetheless. It’s one of frecklegirl’s favorite hats.

Now onto the second FO featured in this post which is an example of a project that did not come out as planned but was transformed into something completely different by the suggestion of a fellow knitter. What started life as the Fall Poncho (ravelry link) morphed into the Fall Poncho PILLOW (It’s actually the Union Square Shawl/Poncho from the book Weekend Knitting).

After months of knitting those phony little cables the resulting rectangle was much too small for a poncho (should have used BIGger needles in this case) but hey, who couldn’t use another pillow? Thanks Kirsten!

This was definitely a very interesting hat in terms of construction, working from the top down and then turning it inside out and working from the wrong side. I modified the pattern by using only two strands of Paton’s Classic Wool Merino held together instead of the called for five strands.

I did however find what I think is an error in the way the pattern is written. In Rnd 3 of the diagonal stitch pattern I believe there should only be a K1 once, at the very beginning of the round and the asterisk should start after the K1. Does that make sense? As written it looks like the knitter should keep knitting K1, K2tog – a total of three stitches – throughout the round.

It’s unusual for me, but I’m actually making another pattern from the same issue of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Winter 2008/2009). I immediately cast on the the Cabled Socks in the exact same wool which I plan to make knee high length. I mean c’mon, this is Paton’s Classic Wool Merino which is a good all around (ahem) inexpensive wool so why not make them knee highs. Last year I was obsessed with the charcoal gray color but this year I’m making everything in the Natural Mix. So far this year anyway.

an unoriginal hat, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

People who follow this blog regularly are familiar with my fondness for the color gray. Or is it grey? I suppose it depends on what country you live in.

I do indeed like gray but even more so when punctuated by a brightly colored (coloured?) accessory. And yellow is my most recent bright color of choice.

The hat modeled is the unoriginal hat pattern designed by the yarn harlot, which I knit up on 10.5US needles with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick&Quick. The hat has a lovely sculptural quality and though quite dense, it’s very comfortable.

What can I say about this hat that hasn’t already been said? With only 56 stitches and 36 rows it knits up in a breeze. Don’t be frightened by the cables. As a matter of fact, this is my first official FO for 2009. Have you finished anything yet? Do tell.

asymetrical cable hat, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

I finished this little gem, the asymmetrical cable hat, a few weeks ago but couldn’t find a suitable until just recently. It looks adorable on my neice Juliana don’t you think?

The hat is a quickie knit from the book One Skein (by Portlander Leigh Radford) and if you love cables as much as I do, you’ll have fun making this hat. The hat construction is straightforward – no dcreases. I used some Cascade Bulky that I bought at Close Knit earlier this year and of course I ran out so I made the pom pom out of white. Then I actually found another ball of pink in my stash!

The hat is really comfy and cozy and also looks pretty groovy on Juli’s Dad, my brother Steve.

I’m back from celebrating Thanksgiving with family in the Bay Area. Here’s the whole gang.

Only a few people missing but it’s always a great feast at my sister’s house. Many thanks to Karen and Jeff.

red foliage times four, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Lately I haven’t had much time for knitting or blogging. I’ve been too busy running around Portland, shooting night shots and tending to my new blog. The weather’s been great and I really must take advantage of these dry days before the rain settles in for the next six months.

I finished the foliage hat about a month ago. Really quick, really fun little knit. I know, I know I say that and people get annoyed with me. But try it anyway. You’ll see how fun it is. The pattern is free on knitty.

My friend Patsy was a good sport modeling the hat for me and I snapped the red leaves before they were all blown off during a windy storm last week. I don’t usually block hats so yes, it is a little lumpy. Nevertheless I’m very happy with it.

I’m still knitting gifts so I can’t show too many FOs at this point. Oh and I’m off to California next week so my next post will be from the sunny Bay Area.

epic yarn, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Some of you may have thought that I’d given up knitting altogether and honestly I have been quite busy lately starting my new blog and running around town capturing Portland at night. No, I haven’t stopped knitting. In fact I’ve been knitting a LOT but mostly in stealth mode. Yes, dear reader, it’s that time of year when I’m busy knitting holiday gifts and some of the recipients are regular readers of this blog. Shhhhhhhhh.

Outside of the super secret knitting, I’ve been making a lot of hats. It seems that my interest in socks is finally waning and I’m on a hat knitting high. A few weeks ago I lost my favorite hat – my dearly beloved hat. I must have had a black out or something because one moment the hat was on my head and the next, it was gone forever.

Which brings me to the epic hat:

The Noro Hat is very similar to the beloved hat I lost but in lieu of the called for yarn, Noro Kureyon, I used a super soft, super warm acrylic/alpaca blend that someone gave me and I’ve re-christened it the Epic Hat. Epic because it took two and half, almost three balls, of the yarn. Seriously, I didn’t think this hat was ever going to end. But end it did, and it’s wonderful.

On Alice, it reminds me of wood sprite or gnome. It definitely speaks to the German ancestry in me. tee hee.

I originally saw the hat on flickr and it was this photo that inspired me to cast on.

I also finished an Asymmetrical Cable Hat and I’ll blog about that one when I get some good photos. Foliage too. The days are soggy and gray and wet but it makes for great knitting and blogging weather.

preemie cap, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Last Friday I went to the Knit and Crochet show at the convention center in Portland, Oregon where I browsed vendors and tried hawking my t-shirts. Among the yarn vendors, stood a quiet little booth for Knit One, Save One, a program sponsored by Save the Children. I was instantly intrigued. It wasn’t long before I had knit my first preemie cap, day before yesterday actually, and wondered to myself “Why have I never made one before?”

They’re fast. They’re easy. They use up leftover yarn. They’re for a good cause. They’re for babies. I mean what’s NOT to love about these little caps. Please get involved if you can.

The campaign requires only three things of you: 1) Knit or crochet a cap. 2) Write a letter to the president elect telling him how much you care about the needs of newborns around the world and 3) donate $10 toward a newborn care kit. The deadline is December 31. Visit the Knit One, Save One website or write me at heavydutydesign (AT) gmail (DOT) com if you have more questions.