Hats, Hats, and more Hats!

I have news about three different hat patterns.

The first is an update to my last blog entry. I decided on the name Vinculum, the Latin word for binding or chaining. It is now available for free in my Ravelry Store.

 The second is a free pattern designed for cancer patients. The Hogwarts at Ravelry group is having a hat drive for Cancer Care of Maine to support Holly, who recently lost her husband to cancer. The goal of the hat drive is for Ravelry to donate 500 hats before Christmas, with an emphasis on hats for men as those are the most in need. I pledged to donate a few and started to think about a good unisex pattern. My geeky mind automatically went for the hat I saw Mickey Smith wearing in Doctor Who's "Christmas Invasion" episode and a somewhat similar one worn by Nigel at the Second Task in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Both were ribbed hats which I know from experience can fit a wide range of head sizes. So I mixed the two together, pulling out different elements from each, added my own touch to it, and Voila! The Mickey Hat was born. It is a beginner level hat that works up very quickly (I did it in an evening). The complete directions can be found on the side bar.

Mickey

The third hat is called Venetia (for now- me being me, that is likely to change before release). It is another pattern I created a while back and never wrote up. This time it was because I had done the original by slipping and cabling the stitches at the same time and my software didn't have a good way to express that. when I started thinking about hat patterns again, I decided to see how it would work if the steps were spread over two rows and it worked. I knit it at a smaller gauge this time and it ended up a nice sized beanie. The pattern is now in testing and should be available by the end of the month.