2016: Year of knitting hats

I am resolved that 2016 will be the year of knitting hats.

My first project is “Rolled-Brim Hat” by Karen Turcotte from Knitting for Peace by Betty Christiansen (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2006).

This is my first attempt at constructing a hat on needles, but it is technically not my first knitted hat. I created several others with a knitting loom, which allowed me freedom to explore the craft when I had not yet mastered the needles.

‘Hogwarts’ cardigan featured on Ravelry

My “Hogwarts” crocheted cardigan, completed in 2007, is now a featured photo on the Ravelry page for “Oversized Nubby Cardigan,” a pattern by Melissa Leapman.

(For those readers unfamiliar with either Ravelry or “Hogwarts,” Ravelry is a social network for people who knit and crochet, and “Hogwarts” is the name of the school in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, fantasy books for youths or teens that were adapted into films).

Leapman’s pattern was published in Crochet With Style (Taunton Press, 2000), and I crocheted this sweater with Lion Brand “Wool-Ease” worsted-weight yarn.

While Leapman’s pattern was not originally a “Hogwarts” cardigan, I used the colors of House Gryffindor (one of four “houses” within Hogwarts) as a substitute for the dark- and light-gray striped cardigan that was Leapman’s original design. From Lion Brand, these are No. 152: Oxford Grey, No. 138: Cranberry and No. 171: Gold.

‘How to Capture an Invisible Cat’ by Paul Tobin

Every Friday the 13th, sixth-grader and genius Nate Bannister keeps his life interesting by doing three not-so-smart things.

This is why a super-sized, invisible cat is tearing at the Bannister home’s roof as our story opens in Paul Tobin’s How to Capture an Invisible Cat (Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, March 2016). It’s the first volume in The Genius Factor, a children’s adventure series.

The key to reducing the cat is scrambled in numerical codes that Nate placed on school classmates. He and his new (and only) friend Delphine scramble to recover the codes from their unwitting carriers.

Library yarn bombers distribute scarves

Source of image: Fairfield Public Library

In Fairfield, Conn., the Purls of Wisdom Knitting Group and Fairfield Public Library staff knit, crocheted and sewed nearly 100 scarves and attached them to trees and light posts. As related in an essay published by the Fairfield Sun, each scarf had a removable tag that said, “Need a scarf, Please take a scarf. Hand made with love.” The scarves were attached on Sunday and by Monday morning according to the article, only 12 scarves remained.

Posted to Yarn Bombing at Your Library on Facebook

Student IDs provide access to libraries

Cartoon image created with Bitstrips

In many public schools, each student has been issued a numerical ID. For American Libraries Magazine​, Timothy Inklebarger highlights the practice of linking students’ identification numbers to their local public library system. The students’ numerical IDs act as “library cards” and allow the students access to books and online databases of downloadable content. Imagine it, an entire library system’s resources available for students’ use, and without the barrier of the child first having to apply for a public library card. I’m excited about students becoming lifetime users of libraries through such simplified and streamlined access.