The Happiest of Hats!!

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago, I got a mystery birthday package in the post from my friend, WoollyWormhead ... all wrapped up and looking very squishy.

It was SOOO hard not to open it on the spot, I can tell you, because I am a very impatient person.... and I just knew it was gonna be a new Hat :)

I kept going back to look at this irresistable and intriguing package, poking it and shaking it...

*whispers* at one point I even peeled back a bit of the cellotape...

My awesome Husbeast surprised me too, with a Birthday weekend away to Westward Ho!, so I got to open this, and many more breathtaking gifts, by the seaside.

It was all so magical...!

I was just so completely blown away by this awesome gesture. A unique gift made with me in mind.

The colours are just perfect, they bring out the green in my eyes and it is so comfortable...

It's completely fit for its purpose, as a hat FuLL of HaPPeH, and just shows how much she knows me.

We had a chat about how it should be published, and we both agreed, wholeheartedly, that it should be available as a free pattern. Making money off the back off something so uniquely personal to us just felt ... wrong?

It's made from scraps of stash yarn she had available, so you don't even need to make it with my yarn... everyone is a winner :D

WoollyWormHead has blogged about it herself, here ...

Buttonette

This is WoollyWormhead's latest design, Buttonette, which I test knitted....yes, I had time to test knit!!! As soon as I saw it I knew I HAD to make it, it's just the right shape of hat for me.....like Urbanista only a completely different construction...

I made two of them, the first one in some Posh Yarn Martha DK... that one has now gone off to a new home, as a good friend of mine needs a happy Hat at the moment :)

This one is made with my own handspun, "Rambos Whirled" and the seed stitch brim just picks out all the colours of the handspun and gives just the most stunning depth of colour....

My new favourite Hat, for sure....

Colourwork WIN !!!

So, have loved this hat, Urbanista, ever since it was first published in last Summer's Knitty, but have never had the courage to start making it, as I just thought I'd get cross with it/myself/the world for not being able to do it.

Plucked up courage to make a start on it, and had to do some really serious stash diving to find the perfect colours to go with my handspun panels (the greeny ones)

It knitted up a dream, so NOT complicated at all!

As always, Woolly explained everything perfectly...AND I worked from a chart AND I didn't muck up the graft!!

So...a general all round WIN situation I'd say ;)

Hayley Too

"Rambo's Whirled"

"Hayley Too"

This hat pattern is my contribution to the 4!Oz!Challenge!, I WILL write it up, promise!
I have already made one using the challenge yarn, but it needed another handspun test knit, so I chose this yarn for it, a 3ply, made from ITW Merino “Emerald City” and some Rambo from Julie Spins.

I am so glad I did, as it’s knitted up wonderfully and I am now wishing for cold weather so I can wear it all the time :D

Hayley

So.

This is what I came up with to compliment my 4! Ounce! Challenge! Handspun.

Called her "Hayley", because the idea was conceived whilst on a beach in Hayle, watching all 3 of my beautiful boys having the time of their lives in the sea.

Now, as you know, I test knit hats for the venerable WoollyWormhead, and I have to say I was a bit worried that this looked a lot like one of hers, but when you have a friend who is one of the most innovative hat designers ever, it'd be hard not to design something totally different.

I am not really a pattern designer, but when I do dip my toes in to the arena, I do it with care.

This hat flew out of my brain and onto the needles, no question, the yarn knew what it wanted to be.

It is my design, 100%, as it was designed for the yarn I spun from scratch.

It does translate over to millspun, as I test knitted it twice with some Radiance I took with me on holiday, but they don't drape and shine like this one does. They don't have the uniqueness of pure inspiration this one does.

I'll be writing the pattern up over the next week or so, as my deadline to be eligible to be a player for nice prizes is the end of September.

It'd be nice to win a prize, don't get me wrong, everyone likes to win something and be recognised for their work...but I took part in this challenge for me.

To see if I could do something like this, from start to finish, without having to invent some elaborate wimping out excuse and then hide for a while so peeps could forget I said I'd do something when I couldn't ;)

HaHa....that's me...I am an artist you know, dahhhling ;)

Aeonium

Here is my latest hat, from WoollyWormhead's new book Twisted Woolly Toppers, "Aeonium"

Made from my own hand~dyed British merino Aran, in a colourway called "Frosty Skies"....

A really fantastic and intuitive pattern, looks like it will be really complicated to do, but it isn't. And, it's actually the first hat of Woolly's I havn't made a mistake on!!

So, if I can do it, anyone can ;)

One tip though, use really pointy DPNs when you get near the end of the crown decreases ;)

Noma

This is Noma, a hat designed in my handspun, by WoollyWormhead. It has just been published in Issue 127 of the Knitting and Crochet Guild's magazine, SlipKnot along with my very first print advertisement!! Heehee.....
It is knit completely in Garter stitch, which shows the depth of colour in the yarn beautifully, and as well as the pattern there is a short article about head measuring and getting a good fit for Hats.
You may recognise the handspun, as I made Dulcie from "Going Straight" with the other skein ;)

"BudgieBoo" Guimauve

I have wanted to make this hat since WoollyWormhead's book "Going Straight" was first published, but never quite had the perfect yarn for it.



I spun this yarn a month or so ago, and it's perfect for the modular, sideways design. There's meant to be ten panels in it, but because of my gauge and the fact I used handspun instead of Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Spirit DK, it would have been way too big. I knit the medium size first, and that came out too big at 8 panels, so I frogged (sobs) and made the small instead.....

Woolfest Jester

I finally have made myself a Jester Hat
Just in time for Woolfest....will be wearing it there, so If you see me...come and say hello!!!

Another picture of my uglee mug :)

Summer Knitty is up.....and WoollyWormhead has a fantastic sideways colourwork pattern in there, called "Urbanista"
And here is me, wearing the original hat....hahaha.....can I have a crazed fangirl moment??
*giggles*
I can't wait to knit it....it'll be my first stab at colourwork, and I can't think of a better way to start, because as you all know I am a bit of a hat nut.

*whsipers* you know it has got to the stage now where if I even look at a hat pattern by anyone else, I feel disloyal ;)

Cable Twist III

My other two Cable Twists have found themselves new homes, so I felt the need for a new one :)

And what better yarn to use than my new Polwarth 3ply Handspun, "Cairns II"

I am so pleased with the fullness of the colours.....it looks so much nicer in real life :)

Knitterly content :)

Finally got around to knitting up my "Ode to Vincent" 3 ply handspun. Woollywormhead has used her half of the yarn, and said it looked lovely in reverse stocking stitch/garter stitch, so I followed her lead and knit one of her hats, Dulcie, from her book "Going Straight" :)

Its a really good fit, and has a wonderful drape!!! I started another straight away, for a neighbours daugher, and I'm just grafting it together now.....well not right now but its nearly finished anyway :)

Have been missing my wheel a lot since we've been so busy, so I am dedicating tonight to a new spinning project :)

Okay, so I reknit Tubey.........

Cable Twist Handspun beanie

I am really pleased with it, the yarn has striped beautifully....exactly the effect I was looking for when I spun Guinevere up. I have used the cable twist pattern in quite a few projects now, and it works well with either plain or variegated yarn.....

I just want it to be cold so I can wear it!!!!

Dan's Hat!!!

An extremely quick knit.....finished it in about 3 hours :)
Dan loves it, and the yarn was a joy to knit with, and the colours are great.....