Vineyard Rows, from Hill Country Weavers

As it happens, the recent Prairie Bliss collection from Hill Country Weavers included not just one but two of my original patterns. The first was Rockabilly Soft, and the second is Vineyard Rows: so named for the textured horizontal stripes, and because that's exactly the sort of luxurious thing you might wear while touring the vineyards of the Texas Hill Country.

Thanks, Hill Country Weavers!

On a more serious note, those of you keeping one eye on the news will know that the greater Austin area spent much of Labor Day weekend burning. Fortunately, the fires have thus far spared Austin itself, but the surrounding communities have suffered immensely, especially Bastrop. Over 600 homes have been lost.

If you have spare change, please consider donating to the Red Cross of Central Texas - or barring that, your local Red Cross. These are the people who come to help those who find themselves in a terrible place without warning. We should all be good neighbors and help now, when we can.

Lesser-Known Rav Patterns

One of the pleasures of Ravelry is discovering a gem of a pattern that has few FOs. Maybe the designer didn't have the time or the desire to promote the pattern heavily - maybe it got overlooked by other publications. Regardless, I always take special delight in making a project from a great pattern that hasn't yet gotten much attention.

Also... I really love monkeys. (If you have three hours to waste, go look at the monkeys on Zoo Borns.)

Monkeying Around by Lori Sands is a quick and fairly easy crochet pattern for a baby/toddler hat. I imagine it could be converted to an adult size. I used Universal Cotton Supreme, a very soft worsted-weight cotton recommended by the fine ladies at Gauge Knits.