three hats!

Perhaps it is the time of year, but I definitely find myself in full-on hat-knitting mode. I’ve finished the first clue of my Woolly Wormhead Mystery hat . . . I’m not sure whether or not the next photograph warrants a SPOILER ALERT warning, since it is purposely rather cryptic and unrepresentative, but if you are involved in the KAL and would rather not see, then look away now!

I am using Fyberspates Rural Charm (70% Bluefaced Leicester 20% Silk & 10% Cashmere) in shade “Forest,” a birthday gift from Jen and Nic (thanks, ladies). This deliciously luxe, and slightly variegated yarn is quite unlike anything I’ve been knitting with recently, and I absolutely love it. It is soft and smooth in the hand, with an amazing sheen, but the high proportion of Blueface Leicester means that it also springs up with a little bit of steam – the stitches bloom and puff out to fill their available space in a most pleasing manner. The ‘forest’ colourway is a beautifully complex green, with some dark undernotes and a lot of Autumnal gold in the finish. . this is beginning to sound like a whisky tasting . . . in any case, it is a very tasty skein indeed, and I’m looking forward to my next clue, so that I can continue working with it.

Clearly knitting Woolly’s brim has made me hungry for head coverings, as I immediately cast on another:

This is not, strictly speaking, a hat, but Anna Elliott’s Spirograph Headband which appeared in a Summer Issue of Knit Now, and whose neat simplicity I have admired for some time. One of the perils of working from home is the inevitable neglect of one’s personal appearance. Recently, I have been working very hard, and I would frankly rather spend time on my book and other important stuff than superfluous matters like, um, brushing and styling my hair. The only person I tend to see during the day is the postie (who doesn’t seem to care that I am dishevelled) and I only leave the building to go for a walk with Bruce (who happily has said nothing along the lines of ‘she’s letting herself go a bit’ etc). Anyway, some days when walking time arrives, I just want to gather up my unruly mane, squirrel its hideousness away in a pleasing TUBE, get out of the house, and go for a good four mile stomp. Until the book is done and I can be arsed dealing with my increasingly unkempt appearance, this headband will hopefully fulfill that function. I am using Kid Classic, one of my Rowan favourites, in shade ‘Nightly’ (846).

And finally, some yarn that has not yet begun to be a hat, but will certainly do so soon. The yarn is grey Shetland 4 ply from the lovely folk at Shetland Organics. This yarn has a great bouncy hand, a proper Wintery sheepy feel, and a real depth of hue in its natural fleece shades. I have been gripped by a familiar compulsion to make lots of festive things, and fear I am about to design a hat whose seasonal theme will make Boreal look quite restrained. We will see how this goes . . .