Yeah yeah yeah, this is taken all of a few dozen stitches later than the previous pic. Totally true. But really, that's worth seeing. And in just a second here, it's going to get Even Niftier.

Oh...oh you're going to like this. Or at least I'm going to like it, which is usually a pretty good indication that a fair number of you are going to like it. Hold tight, we're almost there!

I do not normally embrace this kind of chaos, but wow am I finding this satisfying these days. Just...knit. Don't count. Don't follow a chart. Just knit. When you get to a colorful bit, make a wee little blobby. Then knit some more.⁠ It's the closest I've come to turning my brain off in a long time, and I'm kind of loving it...

Insert lecture about blocking right about here.⁠ See how much more even and regular the orange hat is compared to the purple one? Yeah. That's because I blocked the orange one already.⁠ I'm actually going to block it a second time while doing A Sneaky Trick here in a little bit. But even the most basic blocking (get it truly soaked, squeeze out the water, smooth it out flatish, and let it dry) makes a tremendous difference. ⁠ No pins. No props. Just a bowl of water and five minutes of active time (time spent soaking or drying doesn't really [...]

Did I mention the bit about purple? About purple with tiny bits of pink in there? ⁠ I strongly suspect this going to be this winter's new hat (you know, after pattern photos...pattern photos always happen before I get to actually wear the thing).⁠ ⁠

Ahem. I'm pleased! Now, allow me to offer a few general notes, because I'm like that and can never ever ever stop the barrage of words.⁠ 1) Yes! Pattern soon! This will almost certainly be the first pattern of the new year, which means almost certainly January or February. But the world is weird and scary right now, so I can't tell you a firm date. Do the mailing list thing (link in my profile, click this picture) if you want to be sure to hear.⁠ 2) Yarn is from @gaugedyeworks. It's amazingly nifty, astonishingly carefully dyed yarn that does [...]

To the folks who occasionally ask some version of 'wait, are you telling me you just have a pile of rocks and sticks and pine cones and other nature trash out in your office All The Time?!?' I say yes! Yes I do! I have it out all the time because I use it more days than not, and it would be silly to drag all that out and put it away every time I needed it. I have an old bench from Target (meant to go in the front hall for changing shoes but I totally stole it because [...]

Ahem. See? See I told you it was unspeakably nifty. ⁠ And I mean yes, it will be Even More unspeakably nifty once I've blocked it and fiddled with it a little bit, but that's totally normal and absolutely to be expected. I've yet to meet knitting that didn't benefit from a bit of a soak and primp.⁠ But wow is this enough to prove that good things are on the way!⁠ As always, yes it totally will be a pattern. But first...first I need to see about willing a couple of other variations of this hat into being...because options [...]

This project is hitting every single happy button in my brain.⁠ It's mellow enough that I do not have to think about it at all. It's pretty enough that I love it. And it's forcing me to accept randomness and eschew structure in a way that feels somehow...beneficial, without actually throwing my tidy little order muppet soul into too much distress. ⁠ Which really, is a lot to get out of a hat!⁠ This will be one of the first patterns that comes out in the new year, but I can't tell you exactly when (I don't know if you've [...]