Free on Fridays

We're always looking for great free patterns to share with our customers, so we're going to start sharing some with you each week in our Friday posts, and we'll call them "Free on Fridays". (At least that's the goal... remember Mannequin Mondays? Well that's coming back... she took quite the summer holiday!)

So today's free pattern is Spry, which is a current freebie on knitty.com. I just finished it recently, and it was a really fun pattern to knit. See, I really love sock yarn. Love the great selection of variegated and self patterning yarns out there.

But I confess... I'm not really a sock knitter. I like the process of making socks. But I am not a hand knitted sock WEARER. (GASP! I hear the shocking inhalations out there!) I'm pretty picky when it comes to footwear. I have a specific sock I run in, a specific sock I snowboard in, and a specific sock I wear each day, from fall to spring. And none of them are hand knitted.

But just because I don't like wearing hand knit socks, doesn't mean I can't enjoy all of the great sock yarns that are available. So the Spry beanie really caught my attention. One: I could grab a ball of sock yarn that I'd been admiring (Berroco Sox) and two: it's intarsia! So another chance to brush up on that skill, which I use, but not often enough, so a little practice would be perfect. And voila! The finished hat. Very cute! And quick. And easy. If you're not a small needle knitter (although the body of this hat is actually worked on a 5 US...) the pattern is also written for worsted. And Noro Silk Garden, Noro Kureyon and Plymouth Kudo would all be lovely!