(11/26/25)
I started this hat for Cuzzies handmade gift exchange when we left on our trip to Hawaii and even though its some of the finest yarn I've knit with, and it used size 3 needles, it actually came together pretty quickly. I like the construction of the pattern a lot - you knit the brim and then fold it in half and graft it together so the brim is doubled up making this a warm hat around the ears which has always been a complaint of mine for these handknit hats. My favorite stocking caps have a piece of felt around the ears to keep the wind out and this pattern mimics that with the double brim.
(11/26/25)
I knit this one in size "large" figuring it needed to be sized to fit either a man or woman and Ryan thought it was a little too big so when I started the inverse color version of this hat, I made it one size down to see if we liked that better. I'm trying to capture the details here because this may become a standard knit hat pattern I reuse for other projects.
(12/12/25)
It took me about 3 weeks of focused knitting to get the second version made and I finished it just in time to be able to take both versions to Murphy Christmas so whoever ended up with the hat in the end could pick which color and size they liked better. Cousin Jess (Nick son of Michael's girlfriend) won my hat and I'm so happy she got it because she's a maker too so I know she'll appreciate it. She picked the blue (smaller) version for herself.
(12/28/25)
(1/4/26)
Next up - my winter quilts. I had fabric to make 3 more quilts all lined up and ready to start whipping them out as soon as the Christmas decorations came down and I reclaimed my quilting table from the Christmas train. The pattern for this quilt is made with fat quarters but I couldn't order the fabric I wanted in fat quarters so I picked up half yards and had enough to make two of these at the same time. Batch quilting takes marginally longer than a single quilt because you're already in the groove of whatever step you are on.
(1/4/26)
I went back in the blog to find when I started this purple sampler blanket and it was June 14th meaning it took me about 6 months to get this one done. I'm really happy with how it turned out and the yarn for this one came on a giant cone so there were only two ends to tie in along the way. A sampler is fun too because you get to switch up the pattern every few inches so it keeps it interesting. I finished and blocked this one in early January.
Next up - the bird hat for Mom. This was a real process, it should have been simple! Mom picked up the kit to make this Nancy Bates hat (the same designer that does all of the National Park hats I've made over the last few years). I knew they knitted up quick so when she gave me the kit over Ritterbusch Christmas, I thought it might be possible to get the hat done by the time they came for Christmas day. I had about 5 days to knit it so I put down my purple blanket and set to finishing her hat in time to have it wrapped under the tree for her Christmas day. I had it totally finished (except adding a pom on top) and ready to go Christmas eve but I decided to block it quick.
The pattern called out that the red yarn could bleed so you should use a color catcher in the water when blocking. I followed all the directions and it was coming out great until I gave the hat a little squeeeeezzzeee to get the water out and that was what the red needed to release and I ended up with red splotches all over the white background. I was so bummed but I wrapped it up anyways and gave it to Mom. The next day I decided to weigh the yarn I had left to see if I'd have enough to try and get a second hat out of it. I knew I'd be short on the white but I had some leftover from another project and that it would be close with the other colors, but I decided to do a second run at it. I was so sad that it bled and I just wanted it to be nice for Mom.
Knowing what I knew about the first time I did it, I handled this blocking process with extreme care. I didn't jostle or squeeze the had at all - I simply let it sit in the water (with the color catcher) and then pulled it out, let it drip dry as much as it could and they laid it down flat on a few rag towels. Sure enough, it bled through onto the towels, but the hat itself (and most importantly the white parts of the hat) were undisturbed.
(1/12/26)
My next knit project is a pinwheel blanket. It took me a solid three evenings of casting on and trying to understand the pattern before I finally figured it out. I realized that I've been knitting for nearly 14 years at this point and it's been a long time since I didn't understand the pattern or had to learn a new stitch. I had to learn two new things for this blanket!! A provisional cast on - which leaves you with live stitches that you can pick up later (the green thread in the photo above) and "Twisted wrap and knit" stitch. It acts sort of as a decrease - but without actually getting rid of a stitch. It's what forms the triangle shape of the block which you'll see in the photos below. The pattern promised to be "easy and fun to knit" and now that I'm passed learning new things, it is in fact fun and easy to knit!
(1/17/26)
After blocking and drying I saved the final step (adding black beaks and the pompom) for when I was back home in Freeport. In the end, it turned out pretty good! Mom's happy so I'm happy!
Block one complete! This blanket is similar to a granny square in that you knit up a bunch of blocks and then seam them together. It'll be a fun project because I can knit a block over a few days and each new block is a new color.
(1/19/26)
Quilt #3 is up - my goal is to finish this and ship 4 quilts to for quilting by the end of March. This one is more complicated than the triangle quilts I showed from December. Its much more traditional looking and more complicated piecing. I'm excited for this one - it'll be a great quilt for a wedding gift.
(1/22/26)
Block #2 is nearly complete! It's -40 windchills this weekend so I expect lots of sitting and knitting. Good thing I packed enough yarn to whip out 4 blocks this weekend!
Since I craft so much in the winter months I'm going to end this roundup post from December and January and start a new one for Jan/Feb/March.
