Route 66

Hey, look at that.  Two posts in two days!  The Passion Planner must be working.

Stocking Cap

It's way past time I shared the Route 66 stocking cap with you.  It was one of the things I knit while binge watching Making a Murder.

Wool Stocking Cap

It didn't turn out quite as long as I'd hoped (another example of gauge's importance) so I added a button to the brim and a button hole loop on the crown.  Now it can be worn slouchy & loosey-goosey.

Route 66 Stocking Cap

Or not.

The yarn is Patons Kroy Socks in the Route 66 colorway and if you don't want to knit your own, you can find the hat for sale here in my Etsy shop.

On the needles

Just a quick OTN post today...

Candy Cane Hat

A Christmasy red & white striped slouchy hat.  The yarn is Knit Pick's Felici in "Cheer."  I'm knitting the hat on US 1 needles so it may be next Christmas before I finish it.  I'm loving the knitted fabric though.  There's just enough pink mixed in that it looks like a slightly sticky candy cane.  In fact, sometimes, I swear I can smell peppermint when I'm knitting.

Giving Thanks to my Etsy Customers

Yikes, I just realized it's Friday 13th.  That wouldn't normally bother me because while I was raised to be superstitious about it, in all  honesty, I tend to have better than average luck on Friday 13th's.  But, today, my baby girl has taken my car for the day and I'm still a little twitchy about her driving by herself.  I'll admit, she'll be 55 years old & I'll still be nervous about my 'baby girl' driving but cut me some slack about it today.  It's Friday the 13th.

But, this post is supposed to be about what I'm thankful for, not what weird little things freak me out.

So...

Today I am oh so thankful for my Etsy customers.  Y'all are the best!  Not only have you all been pleasant in our interactions and I've enjoyed creating the custom orders you've requested, you also give me a reason to knit.  Okay, you give me a reason to knit more.  And buy more yarn.  And while I may occasionally grumble about not having time to knit for myself, I'm sort of glad I don't.  I really don't have the drawer space for another pair of hand knit socks.   But all sarcasm aside, I really am very appreciative of your business.  It makes me so happy when you trust in me and hand over your hard earned cash to purchase something I've knit.  Each and every transaction warms my heart.  The shop has been open for four years now and I still do the Happy Dance each time I'm notified of a sale.  I hope I never loose that sense of excitement.  As a small token of my appreciation, please use coupon code "JGKTHANKSYOU" to receive 10% off your entire purchase from Jeannie Gray Knits.

Meanwhile, there's a new listing in the shop.  This slouchy hat went from

to

to being listed in the shop almost over night.  I love the simple design, the hemmed brim and the decorative hanging loop on the crown.

I can't remember the last time I knit anything with a hemmed edge.  I'm not sure what motivated me to put one on this hat because at the time, I was dreading it.  The whole time I was knitting the hemmed part, I was giving myself the 'you can get through this, it's not That bad' speech.  I must have had a bad experience at some point with knitting a hemmed edge, so bad in fact that I've blocked it from memory.  But this hem knit up smoothly and now I'm slightly obsessed with knitting more.  So thanks again, Etsy customers.  You've gotten me over my fear of knitting hemmed edges.

Slouchy hats

I recently had an Etsy customer request a slouchy hat in a particular shade of purple.

Custom Ordered Purple Slouchy Hat

While shopping for the right shade of purple yarn, I discovered the red and green yarns were on sale.

Green Slouchy Hat

After knitting & shipping the purple hat, I knit a green one and the red hat is on the needles now. I expected to complete the red one while at work over the weekend, but it turned out to be a gorgeous fall weathered weekend.  Since the weather was so beautiful, the park was busy and when the park is busy, I'm busy and when I'm busy, I have to work and not knit.  But tonight or maybe tomorrow if I get lazy, I'll have a red hat finished as well.

I really like this hat design.  The hat is slouchy enough to hold either dreadlocks or my crazy-thick hair.  The yarn is acrylic so it's easily washed.  The pattern is an open weave so it's probably not the hat for making snow angels, but it's warm enough for most southern climate fall and winter days but not so hot that it can't be worn indoors as a fashion accessory.  If you're interested, you'll find the green hat, plus several other color options, in my Etsy shop, Jeannie Gray Knits.  While I hesitate to mention it while I'm still enjoying candy corn, it's never too early to begin Christmas shopping.