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 ;)

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 ;)

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

Okaaaay...so I made another hat :)

I've been wanting to knit this one for a long time, ever since I got to try the test knit of it on at Woolfest 2007.... its from WoollyWormhead's Book Going Straight and it's called Rainbow Warrior......
I've finally got to knit it as part of a Ravelry Forum Knit-a-long......and I am so pleased with it!! I knit it with some gorgeous squooshy handspun I bought from Kari (Up the Mud Creek) on etsy especially for this project....as she designs her yarn especially to do the job of striping wonderfully :) Perfect for this hat!

HatsHatsHats!!!

I've got a small knitting window, between custom orders, and have been itching to knit up my "Spunky Mama" 3 ply.....

So, I decided I needed a new Cable Twist beanie, as I gave the other one away...

Then I was flicking through Woollywormhead's new eBook, Wee Woolly Toppers and saw Tubey and fell in love with it, instantly :) I had enough handspun left, so I cast it on yesterday. As I was nearing the end, i remembered the kids saying I wasn't allowed to make myself a Jester HAt, so I put some Jester hat increases into the last stockingette pattern repeat, and Voila.....I have a Tubey Jester!!!

So here endeth the interesting knitterly content, for now......

Ho Hum.....