The Hairy Knitter

Last night I had a “nope” moment, realizing that the sock I’ve been knitting just wasn’t working. I started over today. Again. 🙄😋 I’ll use the same yarn and pattern stitch but in a more planned, intentional way.

The orange ribbed cuff gave me something to knit on the interisland ferry. What a perfect day for ferry knitting - mild, sunny, and peaceful. I never tire of the long views between misty green islands.

The gusset is… better. 🤔

I added a row to the heel flap and picked up an additional stitch at the top and bottom, for a total of six more stitches.

Next time I'll also add a couple stitches to each end of the instep. Maybe add stitches along the sides of the heel flap.

Well. I finished this gusset in the wee hours of the morning. As nice as it looks here, the fit just isn't right. Not too small, but kind of skewed.

Today I worked the entire heel flap of my pirate sock and turned the heel. Yay me!

Now I'm faced with a quandry. I've been asked to write a pattern for this sock. (You know who you are 😋) I have a few sock designs that I think are pattern worthy. The lack of sock patterns in my size is one of the main reasons I started designing.

I thought “I’ll just keep it simple” for the Easy Peasy Scrappy Socks KAL 2026.

Silly me. 😜 I spent most of yesterday trying different stitches and yarn choices. I was determined to have something I like before calling it a night. At 12:34 I succeeded.

This is the Twill Stripe Pattern from Barbara Walker’s second treasury, adapted for my stitch count. I’m knitting the blue marled and olive green yarn helically, so the traveling slipped stitches contrast wonderfully against the background. The colors look so different in different light.

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!