Acadius

Hey gang,

So it's been pretty hectic lately. I've just traveled back from Chicago for a conference; I wish I would have had more time to explore! I spent most of my time in Evanston, which is a suburb outside of Chicago and is home to Northwestern University. A very lovely little place.

Updates: I'm still working on my dissertation, obvs. I should have finished it during the summer but I was not feeling...inspired. Let's put it that way. In any case, even though I'm currently busier with grading and commuting and such, I'm more motivated and have worked more consistently on my thesis now than during the summer. It's strange how the human brain works.

Interestingly, I've also carved some time out for myself to work on my knitting. And I've finally accomplished something that I've been meaning to do for a while:

I DESIGNED MY OWN PATTERN!

I'm very excited about this. It's a very simple design, but I was able to create something that I'll definitely wear. Score one for me!

The story with this knit begins with me shopping, as I do (to the detriment of my wallet). I came across an awesome knit hat and was really taken by the cables. However, being a poor grad student I thought: I can totally make something like this myself. So after quickly sketching my design (including making some tweaks from the original hat) and researching the cables, I discovered that the cable pattern is quite similar to the owl cable that is used in many knits found on Ravelry. And so I started researching owls and came across Aegolius acadius, or the northern saw-whet owl. This little guy is difficult to spot, but can be found over much of North America and is recognized for its repeated, monotonous whistle.

Cute little guy, isn't he?
(By Gerald and Buff Corsi)

So there you have it - my first hat design. Again, it's very simple so I would say it's very appropriate for beginners who want to try cabling for the first time. Here are the details:

Acadius by Luz Ospina
Needles: 3 and 7 circulars, 16 inches
Yarn: Berroco Vintage, Purple Heather
Skeins: 1 (I used less than the entire skein)
Size: 21-23" head circumference

A little bit of slouch

I've used the yarn, Berroco Vintage, before and I think it's a sturdy worsted-weight yarn. I had a couple of skeins laying around and so decided to make my project a stash-buster as well. I have one skein left over so I might make matching gloves/mittens or something. We'll see.

Further back 

Total back

I tried my best taking pictures, but I have neither a fancy camera nor friends with a photography hobby to help me out. And obviously, I don't know the particulars of lighting, composition, etc. (Something else that I'll have to research.) All the images of my knits have been taken with a regular point and shoot Cannon camera or my cellphone. And the talented photographer is my mom. :)

In the sun...

So onto the pattern: I think I wrote it pretty clearly and simply, but I'm open to opinions and critiques! And I hope you let me know what you think, because I'm making it available to everyone for free. You can download the file from Ravelry itself, or you can download it here. Just take a look at the links on the right and you'll find it under "My Patterns." Let me know if you have any issues with the pattern itself or downloading the file.

Further notes:

• If I were to do this again, I may knit the ribbing a bit longer. Maybe an inch and a half?
• I like how the crown (i.e., decreases) looks, but I definitely want to play around to see what other effects I can get. Crossed cables? Hmm.
• Row 53 in the pattern is kind of a doozy. The effect I was trying to go for is to close the "circles" near the crown. If you have any other ideas regarding how to cleanly close a cabled "circle," try it out! (And let me know, please; it took me a while to figure this out on my own.)
• I think you can totally add a pompom. My original skein has approx 200 yards, and I have enough yarn left over to make one.

I guess that's it for now. Get started on that holiday knitting!