Hat Season

No. Absolutely not.
It's in the triple digits here,
with no end in sight.

But should Texas ever dip down into frigidity,
I'll be ready.

Extremely ready.

Cheers,

A

Hat Envy

This is Anda.

I started blog stalking her earlier this year.
I adore her style.
Personally.
Professionally.

She's a fellow 'Sconnie Girl
who came to Austin in November
to shoot a wedding.

We met up for a three hour cup of coffee
some camera pointers
and a lot of laughs.

I am honored to call her a friend.
And hope she knows that she's also
a mentor.
A source of constant inspiration.

As a token of my appreciation,
I sent her a gorgeous grey
cabled hat
that I was soooooo ready to keep
all to my greedy little self.

But just look at her in this hat
through the lens of yet another
phenomenal Wisconsin talent
Nikki of Nikki-N Photography.

(Thank you, so much, for graciously allowing me to use these amazing images)

I saw these photos
and missed that hat.
A lot.

And I had this skein of yarn
just sitting around
waiting
patiently
to be turned into something
fabulous.

It's not the same yarn I used for Anda's hat
if you remember,
I never make the exact same hat
twice.

But I used it to make a cabled hat.
Just for me.

Sadly,
I don't have a Nikki
Or an Anda
nearby to take gorgeous photos
of me wearing it.

So the mannequin head photos will have to suffice.

Anda,
thank you.
For all the little ways you inspire.

Stay fabulous.
every single amazing one of you.

Cheers,
A

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

Enough about flowers

Winter brings cold snow showers

So I knit you a hat, dontchya know!

I suck at poetry.

But I'm a darn good knitter.

An impeccable flower maker.

Originally,
I didn't worry that I would want to keep
the hat I was making for Mary.
Gold.
Blech.
Sooooo not my color.

Then I put it on.
And I am
In
Love
with this hat.

I would marry it.

If I weren't already married.
And if partnership with inanimate objects was legal.
Which it's not.
Turns out hats aren't the only ones
who are not allowed
to wed....

But I digress.

If it didn't itch my head,
This hat:

It would be mine.

Forever and ever.
Amen.

Take Two for Megan, & Another Giveaway!

I made a hat for Megan.

She liked it. 

Didn't love it.

Only because she had her heart set

on a hat with a brim.

I set off on a new hat

for Megan

working as hard as my little fingers could carry me

in the hope of having it ready Thanksgiving weekend.

Then DRL went to San Diego.

Then Belle broke her leg.

Then I fell down the stairs.

And I didn't knit a stitch last weekend.

I finally finished it this morning

and will send it off in the mail this afternoon.

Megan,

I hope

hope 

hope

this hat fits the bill.

No pun intended.

It's my favorite brand of yarn:

Malabrigo.

In a color called Pearl.

A gorgeous grey

with the faintest hint

of pink and white.

My favorite yarn in my favorite colorway.

Made into one of my favorite hats.

And,

since it's Saturday

since I took a day off from blogging,

and since it is the fourth day of Chanukah

I am giving away another hat!

Also made with Malabrigo worsted merino wool.

Obviously,

it is a woman's hat

and it'll fit {most} heads.

All you have to do to enter is post a comment answering the following question:

What is your favorite gift to give?

Are you the type that likes to pick out the perfect gift?

Or are gift certificates more your gift-giving style?

Are you a scented candle giver-outer?

Or do you agonize over what to give and wait until the last minute to complete your shopping?

(raises hand)

I will pick one random commenter

(with the help of random.org)

and announce the winner on Wednesday. 

Therefore, 

entries must be received by 12:00PM (CST) on TUESDAY December 7th.

The day that will go down

in 

Infamy.

Cheers,

A

A Happy Union

Last winter I made over 50 hats.
Five Zero.
I was a knitting machine.

Of course, last winter
(the hat making portion of it)
I had only one child
no photography 'business'
and 3 less quilts to finish.

This year, I've only made a few hats.
As gifts.
I haven't had any paid orders.
Until now.

A friend of a friend commented on my giveaway post
asking how she could get her hands on
one of my hats.

We chatted back and forth a bit
so I could get a feel for what it was that she was looking for.
She loved the "itchless" warm hat that I peddled
so shamelessly
as the giveaway prize.

And she mentioned she would
maybe
like
"a nice, pretty grey."

I was almost going to do another brimmed hat for Megan.
But I was desperate for my signature.
My side-flower beanie.

So I married the two best parts
of both hats.

The great yarn and cable pattern of the brim chapeau
and my signature flower.

I am so happy with the way that it turned out!
Megan,
I do hope you love it, too!

And the yarn?
Oh. Em. Gee
It is SOOOO soft.
Itch factor: Negative zero.

(Elena is still a great hat model!)

Cheers,
A

A Giveaway!

As most of you know

I spent the majority of last winter

knitting hats.

Special order hats.

I was asked, 

on more than one occasion,

if I could make a hat with a brim.

I said I probably could, I just never had.

The conversation never went beyond that.

As in,

no one officially ordered a brimmed hat.

This year,

I have only had a couple hat orders,

but I have had just as many inquiries about 

a hat

with a brim.

ENOUGH!

I said to myself.

I shall make one.

And I shall give it away!

Yarn: Mossy green merino wool (Itch factor-ZERO)
Size: Fits most women.

How to Enter:  Leave a comment on this blog post no later than midnight CST on Tuesday.  I will randomly select one comment and announce the winner on Wednesday.
(So be sure to leave your name with your comment!)

Good luck!

Cheers,
A

(P.S> If you win, and the hat doesn't fit, I will allow you to return it and I'll craft you one to fit your noggin!)

The Cooper Beanie

I have had an idea for this hat for Luc's new baby, lovingly referred to by her as "the bean," since I learned of his existence.

I wanted a way to honor his brother, Cooper, while creating something new.

Something made especially with the bean in mind.

And so the "Cooper Beanie" was born.

I shipped it off to Lucinda last week.
I am happy to report that she loved it.

I am still waiting for news of the bean's arrival.
I can't wait to see him in it.

I am so happy that knitting has given me an outlet to be creative, to design, and to make special things for others.

I am thankful for it.

There truly is nothing better than receiving a hand-made gift.

Except maybe diamonds.
And camera lenses.

And 5 year aged cheddar.

And Lindor Truffles.

But that's it.

Cheers!
A

Flaking It

This hat took me 6 attempts to complete.  

Ok fine.

Eight.

Nine if you count the snowflake hat I made for my brother last year as an attempt.
I didn't carry the yarn well.
It didn't even stretch enough to fit Elena's head.
For you fellow knitters...you know that's bad.
90 stitches on size 8's and the hat didn't fit a one year old.
Ouch.

After that failure, I gave up on fair isle.
Until I heard Lucinda  was pregnant.
Then I just knew I had to learn. Had to master the art of it.

After 6 failed attempts (ok ok! Eight) I enlisted the internets for help.
I typed "Fair Isle" into You Tube's search box and watched two videos.
I read a page in Stitch and Bitch.
Then I tried again.
Because I had to.

I am a hat maker, see.
I love to make hats for babies.
If I know you and I know you're having a baby, you will get a hat from me.
It's what I do.

But Luc's hat had to be special.

A plain ol cap just wouldn't do.
Not for her.
Not for the bean.
Not for Cooper's little brother.

So I set off designing a hat for her new little one.

This is not that hat.

But it had to be completed for me to feel confident enough to put into stitches the pattern I have written for the bean.

I started on it tonight. 

I'm skipping the gym to work on it.

He could come any day now so time....

as they say...

is of the essence.

Cheers,

A

Sleep When Baby Sleeps

That's what the experts say.

That's what everyone says.

But me?

I'm not a napper, you see.  

Never have been.

I wake up from naps feeling groggy.

Bogged down.

Like I'm moving through Corn Syrup.

So while Stella, DRL and Elena nap everyday from noon to 2...

I knit.

I blame my utter lack of any baby blues or postpartum depression on this one simple hobby.

It's also why my head and neck will be warm for the remainder of the winter.

(If I ever manage to get out of the house again!)

I made a hat.  Elena and Stella each got one that looks EXactly like this one.

And I made a Neckie.  I prefer to call it a Cowl.  Or a neck-warmer. 

I'll let you pick your own favorite nomenclature.

(I'm starting on matching mittens during tomorrow's nap!)

Now, I couldn't have done any of this knitting as easily or neatly as I have done it without this gift from my dear friend Rebecca:
What is it? you ask...

Let me unroll it and show you:

Ta Da!
Thank You Thank You Thank You Rebecca.  I LOVE this thing. 

Maybe "love" isn't a strong enough word....

My spidey-sense is tingling...and Stella is stirring.

Cheers!

A

Mobile Uploads

Because it's Friday.

Because I have a cold.

Because I'm horrible at using my good camera to take photos of my finished hats.

Thanks to facebook and my iPhone I can upload photos of my hats directly to my facebook page--showing them off instantly upon completion.

Sadly, this means they rarely get posted on the blog for your viewing pleasure. So: shoddy quality and all, here are some of my latest creations:

A Raspberry Beret:

One for me: Organic Cotton

One for Elena: Supersoft Acrylic blend

One for a co-worker: Malabrigo

Birthday gift for a friend: Malabrigo

One for a baby girl: Cotton

One for a paying customer: Superwash Wool

Another customer (child's size): Acrylic Tweed

Now you know why I have carpal tunnel syndrome and am severely lacking sleep.

Want one?

Wishing You Warm Heads,
A

Black Friday

Black Friday has absolutely nothing to do with this post.  

Except that it's black friday today. 

A small part of me wants to go shopping. 

(The impatient, insane, glutton-for-punishment side of me.)

I decided to do this instead:  

Here is a hat for my friend Nadia for her birthday. I tried a new pattern that I found on Ravelry.  It's slouchy. It's pretty. It's made out of Malabrigo.

I should probably also mention that my Aunt Kristy gave me this mannequin head to display my hats on.  

Thank you thank you thank you Auntie K!  This is SOOO much better than a pickle jar.  

Here are a couple photos of the quilt I'm currently working on for Elena.  I don't have a walking foot so I can't free motion quilt.  

Because I'm cheap and didn't feel like buying one, I had to devise a different way to quilt this.  After careful consideration, and helpful input from DRL, I decided to quilt the squares using...well...squares.  

I really like how it's turning out.  Even though it means I'm likely going to have to redecorate the nursery to match the quilts.

It's a small price to pay, really.

Did I mention that the birth of my second daughter is about 6 weeks away?

Talk about CRAZY!

In Disbelief,

A

Hats!

This is what I've been doing at night.

And in the morning.

And on my lunch break.

And while sleeping...

I've been making hats.

Brown hats:

Blue hats:

Fuzzy Maroon hats:
Green Stripey hats:

Earflap Ski hats:

Soft, Teal Malabrigo Hats:

Creamy Organic Cotton and Superwash Wool hats:

Little Boy Earflap hats:

Oh, and a cabled scarf.

Cheers!

A