This is the story of two hats.
Pattern: The Vermonter by Abi Gregorio
Yarn: Araucania Tolten (100% wool), colorway 4
Needles: U.S. 11 36″ Harmony wood Options circulars (magic-loop)
It all started with Thick Yarn Thunderdome. In an effort to reduce my stash, which covers an entire wall of our bedroom without counting the 55-gallon tub of leftovers and assorted skeins that don’t fit in the wall unit, I joined a Ravelry group last year and challenged myself to acquire yarn at a negative rate. Periodic competitions and goals, posted by the enthusiastic moderators of the group, motivated me to use what I had instead of always buying more.
So almost as soon as the October challenge (use worsted-weight or heavier) was announced, I was eagerly digging through those bins to find possibilities. On the weekend before my fiftieth birthday, I took a stray skein of this beautiful wool (the only one of its colorway I found at Tuesday Morning back in the heady non-stash-down days of spring 2014) and cast on for a delicious bulky hat. Two hours later, I had made a hat. Where there never was a hat.
Pattern: Three-Spiral Hat by Elizabeth Zimmermann, from The Opinionated Knitter
Yarn: Universal Ferris Wool (70% wool, 30% acrylic), colorway 802 Cream
Needles: U.S. 11 Harmony wood Options 36″ circular needle (magic-loop)
I might have gotten a little excited after producing the first hat. More digging in the Tuesday Morning bulky bin, a little deeper this time (summer 2013), combined with the vague idea that it would be fun to knit along with EZ for a bit, et voila. Another hat in another few hours.
I need not add to the millions of words spilled on our culture’s knitblogs about Elizabeth Zimmermann. Suffice it to say that sharing her mindspace with needles in hand is a heady experience. How does she see what she sees? How does she communicate it so intimately?
The next day we put on our hats for a Sunday walk. One day, two hats. From yarn to headwarmer to pom-pom to sculpted soft-serve swirls. Just in case you had forgotten that knitting is magic.