knitting school dropout: tweedy owl hat

sorry about the extended silence here. i could begin to explain the MANY reasons i haven't been blogging, but that would make for a very long entry. so, i'll just give you two.

during the month of august (which also turned into paperwork overload at the full-time job), i knit and wrote patterns for 3 garments. unfortunately, i can't show them yet. one will be hitting the newsstands a little later this year, though, so it won't be too long of a wait.

lately, i've been trying to get some other projects finished up, but it just isn't happening. a week and a half ago, our apartment was partially flooded by a leak in an upstairs apartment. the water wasn't so hard to clean up, but the process of trying to remove all the water from the walls has been a little hard to deal with. the industrial dehumidifiers and fans are extremely loud, and we have to yell to even have a conversation, only a few feet apart. after listening to it for 11 days with only a few hour break on one day, i'm pretty much losing my mind. did i mention that our apartment was 98f with 2 air conditioners on last night? those dehumidifiers are going to kill me!

i've had to move my knitting to our tiny little porch. amongst the mosquitoes and tomatoes, i managed to squeak out this owl hat.

on ravelry

the chart i made was just cobbled together from various owl imagery. i ended up simplifying it as i knit, because i hate intarsia with a fiery passion. i thought i just might hate it less, because i really like the hat, but no, intarsia will never be my thing. ever.
the yarn is just yorkshire and scottish tweed aran scraps, plus some dark brown beaverslide.

ETA: i added my hand-drawn owl chart as a ravelry download. it's not a hat pattern, just an owl.
you can download the chart here, if you'd like.
if you're looking for some basic hat patterns, i think the knitter's handy book of patterns would be a great resource for patterns in any gauge.

i was planning a baby hat with the same image, but i think i'd like to get back to sweaters first. i'll have 2 baby sweaters to show in a few days, then it's back to a sweater for me. i've been swatching like crazy.

more later,
melissa

Comments

Yay! I'm going to be the first to get my mitts on that sweater pattern in Knit1. Sorry about all the water issues. Water can be an awful thing. It can make it's way anywhere, even uphill!

Posted by: Janet | September 5, 2008 11:25 AM

That owl is so kick ass! I'd love to see your chart. He's so cute for fall.

Posted by: k | September 5, 2008 11:43 AM

Three published patterns?! Woo hoo! Can't wait :)
So, do the fans have to be on 24 hrs a day?! How can you sleep? That is insane...

Posted by: Veronique | September 5, 2008 11:47 AM

What exciting news - I can't wait to see the patterns. You have such fun personal style. PS: the owl hat is très cool.

Posted by: Stefanie | September 5, 2008 12:12 PM

so sorry to hear about your flooding and loud fan issues! that sounds terrible...especially in hot, sticky august. but i am so excited about your patterns! i can't wait to see what you have coming out.

and also...cute owl! :)

Posted by: melissa | September 5, 2008 12:30 PM

intarsia is not for me either... but that hat is DANG cute!! hope september bodes better and i'm excited about your new patterns.

Posted by: cosette | September 5, 2008 12:44 PM

That owl is adorable, but I'm still not going to do intarsia yet. I can't wait to see your patterns published. That's so exciting. Congratulations.

Posted by: Cassy | September 5, 2008 01:30 PM

I am so sorry to hear about your water situation. Here I was thinking you were on an all-expenses paid world tour...kidding. I'm surprised you did any knitting especially intarsia with all that noise and everything.
I hope things get better real soon!

Posted by: Debbie | September 5, 2008 01:33 PM

Sorry to hear about the leak. This is something I've had to deal with twice (once from a misfit washer upstairs and another from bad plumbing) and I know it's a big headache. I'm impressed you could get anything done at all in that environment.

And the hat...I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Posted by: sara | September 5, 2008 04:36 PM

That hat is so adorable! I wish I were better at intarsia. Your leak situation sounds hellish - I'm not sure I would have survived the heat. Here's hoping September treats you better...

Posted by: Elizabeth | September 5, 2008 04:59 PM

This hat is adorable!
It sounds like you have had a hard time lately - I hope the autumn gets better. I am so excited about the prospects of patterns from you!

Posted by: lolly | September 5, 2008 06:45 PM

Love the hat pattern! I'm so sorry about all the fans and the garbage you have been through lately but I am VERY excited to see some new published patterns from you!!

Posted by: Leah | September 5, 2008 07:23 PM

A lovely and cute hat. Love it.

Posted by: handknit168 | September 6, 2008 03:25 AM

I hope your life settles down soon. Love the hat!

Posted by: Corvus | September 6, 2008 09:40 AM

I saw this being fav'ed on Ravelry....it's adorable!!

Booooo on the apartment being flooded!

Posted by: Heidi | September 7, 2008 10:05 AM

a-doorbell!!!!!!!!! i love it.

Posted by: KnitXcore | September 7, 2008 03:03 PM

Sorry things have been sucky for you lately. But seriously? That owl hat? Best. Thing. EVER.
Can't wait for the other patterns!

Posted by: claire | September 8, 2008 05:42 AM