Knitty

The Original Kitten Hat Girl

the original kitten hat girlimage.jpg

My middle daughter Flory loves cats. When she was young and we wrote stories together, many were about a little girl who wanted a cat. She was that little girl. But sadly, I'm allergic to cats, so getting one was out of the question. But that didn't stop Flory from asking. Often. Finally, one day, frustrated by my allergies and what they meant for her future as a cat owner, she asked me a more important question -- could she have a cat when I died?

Last summer, living far away from home, Flory moved into a house with a cat. A long awaited dream come true. Soon she'll be moving to a new house in a new city. The cat will stay behind with its owners. Will there be other cats in her future?  I am betting on it.

Knitting and Kitten Hats

The kitten hat Flory is wearing in the above picture is a heavy worsted weight version of a baby hat pattern that appeared in a Patons pattern book I picked up decades ago. It's a great pattern, quick and sweet. 

I have knit this hat so many times, my copy is worn. The pages are bent, the type is fading. But lucky for those interested knitters, blogger WHATZIKNITZ wrote about the hat and received permission from Patons to share it with readers.  Start your own kitten hat journey by clicking shere.

 

Stitches MidWest 2011

 

Years ago, when we lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, I took my daughters to Stitches MidWest. Back then, it was held in Minneapolis.

“Now I know how Harry Potter felt when he arrived at Hogwarts,” I told them. Everywhere we looked there were knitters--knitting, examining wool, sharing patterns, spinning, and talking about knitting.

Stitches MidWest was my first glimpse of the knitting world.

On Saturday, I’ll be back at Stitches MidWest. If you are attending, please stop by The Yarn Barn of Kansas (Booth 501). I will be signing copies of A Knitter’s Home Companion at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  I have A Knitter’s Home Companion buttons ( featured in the photo at the top of the blog post) to give away with each book.

If you can’t make it to Stitches Midwest, here’s a chance to get your very own A Knitter’s Home Companion button. I’m giving away ten. Send me an email and let me know where you would pin your button. The contest closes on September 4th.

Notes:

Our most treasured Stitches discovery was a silk hankie. They are also know as silk caps. They do look like a hankie, but don’t be fooled. With a little effort, you can pull and spin yards of lovely silk yarn.

Read the excellent Knitty tutorial on how to spin a silk hankie.

Look for them at yarn stores and fiber festivals.