Sometimes I search out comfort, things that resonate in my mind as safe and inviting. Tea with orange blossom honey, my grandmother’s lemon meringue pie or even better, a good book.
There are some books that just holding them brings back a flood of memories and a sensation of falling into a time when life was just less complicated. The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss was the first romance book I ever read and it was enjoyed by the fireplace because we had lost power to the blizzard that took over the entire midwest that year. Perfect setting for romance I might add. When my grandfather was dying, I turned to The Stand by Stephen King. It may seem an odd choice, it’s content largely based around life and death, but the characters being so rich, so familiar brought ease to my troubled mind.
Certain things just bring us back to a place where we can be fearless, where we can handle anything. I am a lucky girl, because I can add knitting to the list of happy places.
My Happy Place Hat
For the life of me, I have no idea where this pattern came from. I have looked through all my books, magazines and scoured knitting websites looking for its origin. All I have is a pattern my scrawl to go by – Bonus for you because I am going to put it at the bottom of the page though!
This was the first hat I made in the round, the first project that had cables in it and the knitted object I have made the most. I have made dozens of these hats, they fly off my needles and into my friends and families hands like hotcakes. Even my niece wanted her own, which made me giddy. So, when I am stressed or need to feel like a superhero, I do this pattern.
As an added bonus to saving time knitting, I spent more time with Photoshop than I think is healthy. I have all the books I can handle and have been playing around with it all night. So you get to see the fruits of my labor, misguided and goofy as they may be. This is the best way to learn I suppose, trying things over and over till you feel you got it down. I am most certainly not there yet, but hey….step in the right direction.
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- Full Frontal
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- Full Frontal – Edited
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- Close Up Top
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- Close Up Top – Edited
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- Left Side
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- Left Side – Edited
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- Close Up Back
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- Close Up Back -Edited
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- Right Side
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- Slouchy Beret
Sure, it’s amateur hour here at All Night Knits but who cares? It was fun to play around with the filters, concentrations, hues, saturation, blah blah blah…yada yada yada. I was working my way through an instructional book and it built up my confidence – a bit. Either way, it feel like a step in the right direction
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The Pattern
(If you find this pattern’s origin, please contact me and let me know. I want to acknowledge its creator and thank them for years of fantastic knitting!)
Needles: Sizes 9US and 11US
Yarn: Worsted
The Cables: C3 over 3 Left: Slip 3 Sts. onto cable needle, hold in back, K3, K3 from cable needle. C3 over3 Right: Slip 3 Sts. onto cable needle, hold in front, K3, K3 from cable needle.
With size 9 Needles, Cast on 72 Stitches (long tail cast on). Join in the round and Place stitch marker.
Knit 5 rows in 1by 1 (K1,P1) .
Change to size 11 Needles and work cable pattern as follows:
-Rounds 1-4, 6-10 and 12: Knit
-Round 5: *C3 over 3 Left, K3. Repeat from * till end of round.
-Round 11: * K3, C3 over 3 Right. Repeat from * till end of round.
Work rounds 1-12 1(one) time as written above.
-Next round (increasing round): *K2, M1. Repeat from * to end of round.
-Work rows 2-12 of cable pattern one time, then work rows 1-6 one time.
-Next round Being Decreasing: *K7, K2tog, K7, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.
-Next round: *K6, K2tog, K6, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.
-Next round: *K5, K2tog, K5, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.
– Next round: Work row 11 from Cable Pattern the work one round even.
-Next round: K10, K2tog till end of round.
-Next round: K9, K2tog till end of round.
-Next round: K8, K2tog till end of round
-Next round: K7, K2tog till end of round.
Continue in this manner decreasing your knit stitches by one until you K2tog across the round, Leaving you with 6 sts.
Cut a long tail and weave through live stitches twice. Pull tight and weave in the ends.
Block lightly over a plate or pie tin by lightly misting the hat.
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So there it is friends and neighbors, I hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I did. I wonder, is there anyone out there reading this that has a happy place? Found in either a place, food, book, pattern or the multitude of things I didn’t list? Please share if you would like to, I would love to listen!
All Night Knits 