SailingKnitter

So what's a gal to do when it's hot and steamy outside and on the boat? Knit a Shetland wool hat of course! I've been playing around with charting traditional patterns and my own designs in Excel for some years now. That's one of the things I do for fun when we don't have internet access.

Once I got the layout charted, I spread my stash of Jamieson & Smith's 2-ply jumper weight wool from Shetland, Scotland out on my berth and played with colors. The final hat has 11 different shades of wool and a lot of color changes. So much fun! I wrote up the pattern in 2 sizes which was easy to do because the motif is 20-stitches wide - about 2" of fabric. The medium size has 7 repeats and the large size has 8 repeats of the motif. So, looking down at the top of the hat you can see 7 points on the star so you know that I knit the medium size. The large size will have 8 points.

Okay - back to finishing up my UFO's. This hat was a happy break from my current self-discipline about finishing up hibernating knitting projects. Today, I actually worked on TWO of these neglected projects so I'm back on track. Gotta go knit before the sun disappears...