Too Hip for Me

So here's a little something I've been working on....my first mitten pattern with a hip, slouchy hat to match.  You can see that I'm trying my very hardest to pull off a hat that I'm not sure I'm cool enough to wear.  I know that plenty of knitters are that cool though, so I'm looking forward to publishing this pattern for them! 

The lovely folks at Knit Picks have accepted this pattern into their Independent Designers Program and provided the yarn for me to knit up a couple samples.  I've got the pattern written for my size and just need to grade it before I can get this test knit going.  I've been working on getting the cardigan graded, as well, and I'm actually all the way through the body and just need to finish the sleeves & hood portion of the pattern.  It's been a little slow-going though, because I'm using the cardigan pattern along with a "Sizing Knitwear" class I'm taking on-line.  My main objective in taking the class is to learn how to use Excel spreadsheets to do my grading because I know it will be a big time-saver in the long-run.  But for a person who is not terribly tech-inclined at the core of her being, it's been a little slow-going to get it all figured out.

My husband and I are looking forward to attending a friend's wedding tomorrow and a one-year-old's birthday party on Sunday, so getting these test knits started will most likely have to wait until next week.  But if you need a hat or mittens (or both!) for someone special, check back on Monday or Tuesday because I'll link to the test knit thread as soon as I get it started!