One of the things I love best about crochet is the friends I have made over the years.

This past Friday while we were in Wrightsville Beach enjoying what remained of the Thanksgiving weekend, my youngest son informed me that my friend Eileen (the crochet genius behind TepperWear crochet designs) had posted a picture of dog at Facebook, and that she was in Wilmington, which, as it happened, was a stone’s throw from where we were staying.

I hadn’t seen Eileen since June of 2013 when I had gone to New York City to pick up a pair of the Google Glass, a project that never quite got past the beta testing, but I went to my Facebook Messenger app, and after the search failed to find the information I knew was there, I simply scrolled back through the messages until I found her phone number.

Then I sent her a text.

In short order, she texted back, and we arranged to meet at the lobby of the hotel where she was staying.

There was a lot to catch up on, and while we no doubt missed a lot of things we covered as much ground as we could in 90 minutes, and thing one of the things we discussed was her impromptu appearance on Harry Connick Jr.’s talk show, Harry.

Like so many things in life, being a member of a studio audience is more than meets the eye. You don’t just walk in and sit down right before the show. You buy tickets, and then you walk in (after you are searched), and then you wait for the show to begin, and my friend Eileen, while she was waiting, managed to crochet one of her signature Crochet Newsboy Hats, a project I have made not once:

but twice:

Unlike me with my yarn splitting myriad ends to weave in ways, Eileen has a more minimalist (and some might think elegant) approach to crochet, and her projects work up quickly.

So if you need well-fitting hat that works up quickly to give as gift that’s the kind of thing Harry Connick Jr. might wear, this crochet ribbed newsboy hat pattern designed by my friend, Eileen, might be just the thing.