Two Hats

Here are two more hats based on the Grow With Me Baby Hat I found at Hither Yarn blog. Or at least I hope by the time I get around to publishing this post I will have two photos. These dang blasted hats are not easy to photograph -- I swear they are harder to photograph than the admittedly terrified mice my cat releases into the bathroom -- even hiding behind the toilet and sitting on the pipes, they are easier to photograph and capture than these hats -- maybe it is just practice and eventually photographing hats will be as easy as knitting them.

Knit with acrylic and bamboo

Knit with a lilac heather acrylic I bought years ago

Taken almost from above

From a bit more to the side

I really like the way this hat decreases in 6 sections -- the cute little star shape that forms at the top, but then I like the hats that increase or decrease in eight segments too.

One Hat

Finally a hat post.

I have been making progress on my 52 Hats Project, but unfortunately I have not been finishing the blasted little things and even less have I been successfully photographing them. I think I am more or less on target, except for the finishing touches. I just cannot seem to get around to making the pompoms or knitting the flowers -- actually I am quite keen to try knitting the flowers, but I did not find appropriate yarn.


This hat is based on the Grow With Me Baby Hat by Hither and Yarn



This version, probably sized to fit a six month old, was knit in an acrylic bamboo blend by Caron. I knit this with the left overs from a scarf I knit for my aunt. The yarn is quite soft and pleasant to knit with and I have a couple of balls in other colours, so I will undoubtedly use more of it for baby hats.

A Couple Potholders

Months ago my neighbour gave me a cute little stuffed mouse toy for my cat. The Mousie arrived wrapped in a piece of fabric. She told me that she had bought an entire bolt of the fabric to cover a chair, when she was done with that, there was fabric left over. She could not bear to throw it away, so she was using the left overs for gift wrap.

On the same principle -- I could bear to throw away the bit of fabric she had given me, I decided to use some of it to make potholders to give to her -- theoretically for Christmas, now a few months past. I am not yet done, but I am making progress.

One of the two potholders with the first layer of quilting worked through four layers -- its usually three, but because the weave on the upholstery fabric is a little loose, I added a thin muslin fabric to prevent the batting from escaping.




The other potholder -- this one is a little further along in the process. The first four layers have been quilted and the fifth and sixth layers have been basted together and quilted. The basting thread is still very visible.


The center area is quilted through four layers and only the outer most row of quilting is through the whole thing. I try to limit quilting of all thicknesses to a small portion of the outer area of the potholder as the sewing holes are a perfect avenue for heat to travel.

Coasters

Honestly I haven't been doing much creating in the last month or so and hardly any quilting. I am beginning to feel a bit depressed and stressed about my lack of progress. It is a bit of a chicken and egg problem, I am not really sure which came first, the stress or the depression. What I do know, is that I have got to get back to work.

In my defense, I have been doing a fair bit of tutoring and somehow when I get home I am just not up to much. Further in my defense, I have several quilts worked to the point that they need borders, a stage which seems to require immense quantities of thought and mental dexterity. I've laid the quilts out on all kinds of fabric, but I am not yet, quite ready to cut. I promise I will get on with it.

In the mean time, I clearly have not met my minimum goal of one blog post a week, but I am getting close to being up to date on my one hat a week, or 52 hats in the year, knitting project. Knitting hats, children's or otherwise is the prefect project when you don't have the mental energy to do much thinking. I will take a few photos later in the week so I can post some evidence of my progress.



What I have completed are these four coasters. I made them from partial bits of blocks, which turned out to be unnecessary for use in a wall quilt I finished months ago. A friend bought the quilt, and I think I will go ahead and ship these coasters off to her -- doesn't every body need coasters to match their wall quilts?