Hill Country Hat is included in Clara Parkes Knitters’ Book of Wool and Parkes has generously released it as a free pdf on her Knitters Review website. This is my third time knitting the pattern, shown here again in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky. 85% wool, 15% mohair, in a wonderful palette of 98 different colors.

This pattern knits up lickety-split, at 4 stitches to the inch. I (basically) got gauge with 10.5 needles. One skein was all I needed, even though I made one extra repeat of the Hills and Valley pattern, knitting 16 rather than 12 rows in the body of the hat before beginning the crown decreases.

Cold weather is bound to come to Michigan soon. A day here and a night there just won’t do. This hat will keep all heads toasty as can be. In fact, I may wear this to the dog sled races at Clear Lake State Park this weekend. The Mid-Union Sled Haulers (M.U.S.H.) will be racing as long as there’s enough snow on the ground and the weather conditions are proper to allow the dogs to work safely.