The Hairy Knitter

Jen a.k.a. @everything.shapes.us (IG) bade me join the Easy Peasy Scrappy Socks KAL 2026, running now through August 31. I'm certainly not one to resist knitting another pair of pirate socks (knit with leftover yarn).

I used my scraps of colorful self-striping yarn during #ScrapAlong2026 but these solid color remnants should do nicely. They're bound to include some helical knitting. If I remember, I'll track my project time.

How much do I want you to knit my Furrow Cap? Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/furrow-cap

I’ll make you a deal.

• Add Furrow Cap and any of my other patterns to your Ravelry cart. • Use coupon code FURROW. • Get Furrow Cap for free!

💃

My Furrow Cap knitting pattern is now live on Ravelry!

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/furrow-cap

I didn't start out to design a hat. Everything about my Furrow Cap is the result of tinkering with the details of many knitted hats that came before.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, thick knit hats can be impractical. Fingering weight yarn and a wide folded brim let Furrow Cap adapt to conditions from tsunami to temperate. Its crown decreases more closely follow the curve of a cranium, so blocking or wearing-in are unnecessary. Ribbing lets one size fit more heads comfortably.

Of course, aesthetics play their part; for example, the subtle contrast between brim and body ribbing, the visual appeal of ribbing, and attractive decreases that merge politely into ribbing of the crown.

Altogether, you have in your hands the pattern for a good, solid, satisfying cap. It's become one of my favorite hats.

I don't have any new knitting to post today, so this is a UFO that sits to one side, mocking me. They're a pair of pirate gloves; that is, they are knit from leftover yarn.

It's been a little more than a year since I stalled at the point of dividing for fingers. Why, I don't know. I'm comfortable knitting thumbs on mittens and forefingers on glittens, but I seem to be intimidated by whole hands' worth of fingers.

Sometimes I have to make myself stop working to enjoy some personal knitting. I enjoyed knitting this short sock so much today that I sped past the beginning of the toe. Fortunately it was just three rounds.

Paused the pattern process to post pretty pictures. This is the pattern sample of my Furrow Hat. To think that after knitting a ribbed cap for the first time, I said “Never again.” 😆

Coats & Clark Red Heart’s Heart & Sole 3960 Spring Stripe

Knitting on the interisland ferry is still one of my favorite things. Instead of sitting in a fluorescent-lit room somewhere, I happily knit as the ferry makes its loop around the four largest islands.

The view never fails to impress… islands behind islands, faint and misty in the distance… brilliant blue skies, so often full of artistically rendered clouds piled to the horizon.

Water traffic is a wonder. The machinery of ferry landings looks alike, of course, but immediately beyond, each island is unique… buildings clustered along winding roads that disappear into green forests.

Ah, my island life. I get to live here.

Thirty-four and one-half years ago. This is the only Pride shirt I’ve ever gotten at a Pride event. I had just finished my twenties, and I was thoroughly, comically excited to be planning my move from one of the most dismal places I’d ever lived to Madison WI. Even there, however… the Berkeley of the Midwest… the “rights and pride march” omitted the bisexual B and transgender T. 2S and QIA were years away.

More than a generation later, many people have grown into a more comprehensive, deeper understanding of orientation and identity. Many have not. If there is ever to be broad acceptance of the differences among people, I doubt that I will be alive to see it.

Suffice it to say, 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride histories and futures live beyond any one month. Our narratives are heartwarming and heartbreaking. Our successes always follow setbacks. We persist and protest, celebrate and commiserate. We are not going away.

I’m not wise. I’m just hanging on.

Happy Pride

Slipper socks

Slipper socks, my last spring knitting project. Obviously, they're a pair of short socks knit in bulky yarn to fit my sock-clad feet. Nevertheless, they are perfect for chilly rooms and sore soles.

Yarn: Tahki Imports Donegal Bulky Tweeds colorway 313

Ribbed Cap

The last ribbed cap I knit this spring. The colorway seemed dark and murky until I looked and saw gorgeous eggplant colors - stem, flesh, seeds, skin, calyx. The yarn is heavier than usual, so it's wonderfully thick and squooshy. The ribbing makes it a good fit.

I ran out of yarn, of course, and ripped back to hide a dark green stripe behind the brim. It looked so good that I let it peek out above the edge.

Short socks

My first short socks of the year. Top down, heel flap, and gusset. They're 100% cotton, a little heavier weight than usual, and a little stiff (for now). They fit my feet exactly, though, so they are very comfortable! Bring it on, summer!

Ribbed Cap

I've knit a ribbed cap from leftover yarn for practically every mood. This one merges misty rainy colors of the Pacific Northwest — subdued shades of blue, green, gray, and purple — into cozy comfort for chilly days of early spring and late autumn.

I'll be publishing the pattern as my Furrow Cap, sooner rather than later.

Ribbed Cap

I sometimes knit things personally that I'd never put into a published pattern. I liked the K3p2 right side of this hat's brim much more than the k2p3 wrong side. When the brim is folded, however, the wrong side is what normally shows.

I turned the brim inside out to show the former right side when folded and continued in the opposite direction. 😋

This week's work in progress is the first of a pair of short socks for summer. Socks are still my favorite knitting to bring along when I may be waiting or biding my time. I'm about halfway through the gusset on this sock. Time for some ferry knitting!

Universal Yarn Filly, 101 Bloom (46/33/12/9 Cotton/Superwash Merino/Polymide/PBT

I tried my clip-on lens kit for the first time today. Imagine my glee and "d'oh" at finding that I wasn't holding my phone close enough. These are my attempts with plants and yarn and geodes and a bit of pottery.

Things I've already learned:

My hand has a mind of its own 😮

Dust is not my friend 😋

Ribbed Cap

This is the first of four ribbed caps I've quietly finished. I was "meh" about the first pass at this one in early March. This time I used helical knitting with a second strand except for the red stripes. I'm very happy with the result.

Most of the fourteen ribbed caps in this pile reflect changes I made for the fit and aesthetic I wanted. The rest are steps along the way, each one nice enough but not quite what I was aiming for.

My designs are usually things I can't find. It might be a matter of size, yarn weight, or practicality. Sometimes I wander into surprising projects like jockstraps without elastic, a counterweight basket, and a knitted balloon dog.