Stafford Park et al...

This has been a busy week, a whirlwind trip to Maine lasting just over one full day, the round trip drive time was approximate to the time spent there, but it was lovely to see the picturesque landscape and we met some wonderful people up there who welcomed us with great kindness.  It seems that something up there causes H's allergies to flare up nearly upon arrival, by the time we arrived back home she was doing better and by the next morning all traces of reaction had disappeared.  It was good fun anyway.  There was an outing to Frying Pan with friends, I helped out one day at H's preschool and met many fine young people there and enjoyed myself quite a bit more than I expected to, and after all the rain we've had we managed yet another muddy park outing requiring H to be stripped down to the bare essentials for the car ride home (thank goodness for unseasonably warm weather, I need to start packing more changes of clothes and wipes).

But out of all this I only managed to get pictures of this earlier today, an outing to Stafford Park, a last minute decision after traffic was looking bad on our way to Clemyjontri.  We met a few new friends here who we hope to see again soon.

This was followed by an impromptu "soccer" game, lots of play with a very well mannered dog named Steve who can go down slides in laps and is content to sit in the small kid's swing and be gently pushed, and a good bit of wet fun mastering the art of using a drinking fountain.

Burke Lake et al...

Met up with JJE for a nice afternoon of exploring the woods around Burke Lake...

 J was holding on to H to make sure she didn't fall in!  :)

In addition to geese and ducks the kids enjoyed investigating several varieties of insects and also a water snake sighting...

Afterwards off to the local park for some swinging and sliding, lots of play today...

Hooray for static electricity!

Fall again...

Just before this time last year I started this blog, to share with folks far from us the moments with our kids that we didn't want to forget.  I had no idea how things would change shortly after, but I'm thankful that we started this journal before our lives took a turn, those few posts mean a lot.  Today feels like fall again, summer seems to be blowing away before our eyes and it was a cool gray day.  We decided to head to Clemyjontri Park.

 Lots to ride and climb...

 Mazes and fun house mirrors...

 The world in her hand...

 Did I mention lots of things to ride?...

 We had a good hour before the rain started...

H started preschool this week too, she seems to be taking to it well.

Great Falls again...

We last saw the river swollen in spring.  After all the rain we've been having, we figured we'd go back on the first sunny day we've had in a while.

 Inspecting a mantis...

 There is a rainbow just barely visible in the torrent below...

 More butterflies...

 Fall tones...

Museum of Natural History...

Today we joined R2 and family for an outing to one of the local museums, the small ones had a great time, a few of the moments captured follow...

 This one is for Grandpa, great lover of bison that he is...

 :)

 The Nemos and Dorrys were a hit...

 Lots of skeletons which I don't recall from before, this room had light effects with appearing and disappearing grave sites which the kids enjoyed chasing...

 The butterfly exhibit, H loved watching them, very carefully and quietly, whispering so as to not frighten them away...  :)

 This one especially...

None landed on her unfortunately, that would have been really special to her (though one kept landing on me :), but one of the entomologists in the exhibit did let her hold one on a paintbrush to inspect it up close...

It was a nice outing and a good end to the long weekend.

Drop Stitch Tam Knitting Pattern

Drop Stitch Tam
Inspired by knitting the Drop Stitch Scarf by Christine Vogel, I wanted a hat to fit the style of my good friend JD, so I came up with this. The drop stitch pattern really opens up so this may not be the warmest hat but should still be good for spring and fall, and makes a nice set with the scarf I think. This is my first pattern to share so I would love to hear back from anyone who makes one, here or on Ravelry.

Needles: U.S. Size 10 (6.0 mm) Circulars, a minimum of 16” or larger if looping, or the size required to obtain gauge. Same size double pointed needles if preferred for end of decrease rounds.
Yarn used: One skein of Amber Beck Fiber Arts Handspun Merino in colorway “Celeste”, 116 yards / 3.5 ounces.  I used about 140 - 160 yards of worsted for my first hat in this pattern and I think that more closely represents minimum yardage required.
Gauge: 16 stitches & 24 rows for a 4 inch square in stockinette (4 stitches per inch).
Good to have:  2 stitch markers and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Note on yarn and gauge: Pattern may be adapted to use yarns of different weights. I recommend swatching to find your preferred fabric density and needle size for yarn, then adjusting the stitches noted accordingly. The pattern calls for around 15.5 - 16 inches at cast on, increasing up to around 26 - 27 inches at the widest section. For example if using a lighter weight yarn at 5 spi, adjust cast on to 80 (16 x 5), then increase 50 stitches over the 2 increase rows up to 130 (26 x 5) and adjust the decrease rounds if needed. The drop stitch section must be divisible by 10 to work the stitch pattern.

Abbreviations:
k2tog - Knit 2 together (decrease)
m1 - Make 1 (increase)
k - Knit
p – Purl
yo – Yarn Over, if yo2 or yo3, make 2 or 3 yarn overs consecutively
spi – Stitches per Inch

Ribbing and Increases:
Cast On 64 stitches using a stretchy cast on, then join to work in the round taking care not to twist stitches. Place a marker on the right needle to note start of round.
Rows 1-10: Knit in 2x2 rib *k2, p2*
Row 11: Knit around
Row 12: *k4, m1* repeat around (80 stitches)
Row 13: Knit around
Row 14: *k4, m1* repeat around (100 stitches)

Garter Stitch Pattern:
Row 15: Remove stitch marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle purlwise with yarn in back. Replace marker on right needle. Purl all until you return to the marker. Remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle purlwise with yarn in back. Replace marker on right needle.

Row 16: Knit all to marker. Remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle purlwise with yarn in back. Replace marker on right needle.

Row 17: Purl all to marker. Remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle purlwise with yarn in back. Replace marker on right needle.

Notes for Drop Stitch Rows 18 - 33: You can use just 1 marker if you prefer, but I used 2 as I knit with interruptions and it helps me to keep my place in this section (I can count the stitches in between markers and cross reference with the chart to see where I am).  If using a single marker you will slip it to the left at the end of each row following the instructions for marker2 (slipping the 1st stitch in each row helps disguise the seam effect of garter stitch in the round).  If following the chart which starts with row 18, note that marker2 will move to the left of the red shaded stitch for each row on the chart, knitting for each row begins to the left of the shaded stitch and the 10 stitch pattern for the row (not including yarn overs) is repeated for one full round until returning to marker2.

Note:  If using 2 markers, place your second marker (marker2) now next to the first.

Row 18:  k1, *yo, k1, yo2, k1, yo3, k1, yo2, k1, yo, k6*, repeat pattern within * * to marker2 (ending with k5), remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 19:  purl all knit stitches and drop all yarn overs until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 20:  Knit all stitches until you reach marker2, remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 21:  Purl all stitches until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 22:  k2, *yo, k1, yo2, k1, yo3, k1, yo2, k1, yo, k6*, repeat pattern within * * to marker2 (ending with k4), remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 23:  purl all knit stitches and drop all yarn overs until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 24:  Knit all stitches until you reach marker2, remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 25:  Purl all stitches until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 26:  k3, *yo, k1, yo2, k1, yo3, k1, yo2, k1, yo, k6*, repeat pattern within * * to marker2 (ending with k3), remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 27:  purl all knit stitches and drop all yarn overs until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 28:  Knit all stitches until you reach marker2, remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 29:  Purl all stitches until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 30:  k4, *yo, k1, yo2, k1, yo3, k1, yo2, k1, yo, k6*, repeat pattern within * * to marker2 (ending with k2), remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 31:  purl all knit stitches and drop all yarn overs until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 32:  Knit all stitches until you reach marker2, remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Row 33:  Purl all stitches until you reach marker2,  remove marker, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle, replace marker2 on right needle.

Note:  You can add more drop stitch pattern sets here if you want a slouchier hat, keep slipping 1st stitch and then start with k5 on next yo row, k6 for next set, then start on a yo, then back to row 18.

Row 34: Knit all stitches to marker1 then remove it, you will no longer use it. Knit to marker2, remove it, slip 1st stitch on left needle to right needle purlwise with yarn in back. Replace marker2 on right needle. From this point on marker2 will remain fixed and knitting will continue in stockinette.

Row 35: Knit all stitches.

Decreases:
Row 36: *k3, k2tog* repeat around (80 stitches)
Rows 37-39: Knit around
Row 40: *k2, k2tog* repeat around (60 stitches)
Rows 41-43: Knit around
Row 44: *k1, k2tog* repeat around (40 stitches)
Rows 45-47: Knit around
Row 48: k2tog around, switch to double pointed needles if preferred (20 stitches)
Row 49: Knit around
Repeat rows 48-49 until 6 stitches remain then break yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. Using a tapestry needle thread tail through remaining live stitches, pull tight and weave in all ends.  

Hand wash and block wet over something round, like a 10 - 12 inch diameter plate, to shape the hat.