Appalachia KAL Recap

The May KAL for Appalachia is finished. I am so happy and proud to have so many people knit one of my designs. And I was impressed to see that every color combination that was chosen looked amazing. The overall feedback the pattern was that Appalachia was fun to knit. It is a fairly easy introduction to stranded color work. Here are a few hats in no particular order that came out of the KAL (used with permission of course)

Amy Herner did this with Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi and Plymouth Yarn's Happy Feet. I am impressed with how bright the black is with the pastel colors. It is a really snazzy hat.

ememknits did this version with Mini Mochi and Patons Kroy Socks 4ply. I love the subtle purple and green that shows up in the sea of blue.

Hooknneedler did her hat with Bernat Softee Baby Solids & Marls. Although I didn't mention it anywhere, I was secretly hoping someone would choose a yarn with short color repeats. I'm so happy Hookneedler did. I think it looks wonderful!

Jessica Myers did this version with knit Picks Wool of The Andes and Noro Silk Garden. I can honestly say that I would have never thought of pairing the warm orange with the cool grey. But both colors really play off of each other well. (Jessica also said, "It was a really fun knit and the decreases on the crown are really cleverly done." on her blog, which really made my day. I spent a lot of time making sure the decreases were well incorporated into the pattern)

Lily Giddings did her version in Mini Mochi and Malabrigo Sock, which were the recommended yarns in the pattern. Although I love that she chose completely different colors than I chose.

LizzieHelen did this version with hand dyed Red Heart Ltd. Heart & Sole. I wouldn't have thought about hand dying the yarn for this hat. I'm so impressed with the colors that LizzieHelen was able to get!

Donna Kinkead did this version with Knit Picks Chroma and Knit Picks Bare. Even though I recommended that the variegated yarn be the counter color, I think I might like it as the main color even better! (Donna was the first to finish the KAL. I was so stoked to see this hat pop up in the KAL thread)

Sandyham did this version with Lana Gatto Wool Gatto and Noro Silk Garden Sock. She ended up using three different noro balls in the hat to get the colors she was looking for. I think that was a clever idea.

This version of Appalachia was also done with Online Supersocke 100 and Zitron Trekking (XXL). I liked seeing another hat with a short color repeat variegated yarn. And that color combination is stunning.

Some hats did turn out a little small, which probably happened because some people do their stranding a bit tighter than I do. But the pattern is flexible enough to allow for extra repeats of the triangle to be put in the hat without affecting the shaping at the crown of the hat.

Appalachia KAL

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is going to be a KAL (Knit along) for Appalachia. For those who join the KAL, the pattern will be free. You heard me correctly. FREE!

Here's what you have to do:

1) You will need to be a part of Ravelry, if you aren't already.

2) Join the group 11 Hats In 2011!

3) Say you'd like to make the hat on May KAL thread.

4) Cast on the hat May 1st.

The pattern will only be free to those who join the KAL by April 30th, 11:59PM PST. After that, the pattern will be for sale.

I will be sending the pattern out to those who join the KAL on May 1st. Probably around 1PM PST.

I'd love to have as many people as possible be a part of this KAL. The hat is made from a skein of Mini Mochi (Lake Trail) and a skein of Malabrigo Sock (Chocolate Amargo). But any sock weight yarn would do, preferably with a high wool content. The needle sizes needed are 2 (2.75mm) and 3 (3.25mm). I used small circulars, but dpns would be fine too.