Plunder and Pillage!!! Or...holy crap I'm actually updating!!! (And some hats.)

I know it's been a long time...but I have good excuses. Ok, not really.

I have been working my little booty off though. I had quite a few custom crochet pieces to get through...(still not nearly finished) and a craft fair to do...and it's coming up on Christmas time...and we all know what that means. My poor little butt is going to be more concerned with how to manage my regular job without punching people in the face while secretly enjoying ruining as many small children's holidays that I can. Evil, who me?

Anyhow...just because we all know what a little picture whore I am...and because I want to be a bit of a show off...this blog post is going to be all about the hat patterns I've been working on. One is a recreations of something somebody showed me on this great interweb of ours. Another is a modified free pattern I found somewhere. The third is a completely random creation by me myself. I had some yarn...a hook...and time to kill. I'm a doodler by nature. If there is paper around, and a writing implement...I'm on it like white on rice. The margins of all my notes at work are filled with tentacles...and fish...and eyes...and whatever else. The same goes for yarn. Sometimes I don't have any ideas...and I just start messing around to see what I can come up with. Most of the time it ends up getting pulled out because it resembles a freshly hacked up hairball. Other times...unfortunately the rarer of these two scenarios, it comes out useable. This was one of those times.

Onward!

This was a custom request by a friend of mine. The hat is for her husband which is why it's just a bit big on me. Please pardon my complete lack of makeup...and my "I just woke up...only the killing will make me feel better" look.

There are little medallions up the middle and on the sides of the hat. I tried to stuff them to make them stand out but the hat itself is sort of loosely crochet (so as not to make the wearer swelter) and the stuffing kept coming out the back.

Ps...I'm really digging this new way Blogger is dealing with photo posting. It makes me happy in my heart. 

Hat number 2 is basically the same pattern as the viking hat. It's just teal...for me. Last year, I made myself a scarf for every snowflake that came down from the sky...this year it's hats. I'm also planning to make some thrummed mittens to go along with it. (That's where you put little balls of roving on the inside of the mitten so when you put your hand inside...it feels like awesome!) I got some beautiful teal and gold roving when I went to the Sheep and Wool festival in Rhinebeck (NY) this year.

As you can see, it's a bit slouchy. I don't think I look very good in hats. Previously I only wore a crazy black wool beret I snapped up somewhere in my childhood. I think that's why all the hats I make for myself sort of follow that general shape...

The pattern uses a front post triple crochet to make the ribbing. It's nice and stretchy and such a warm hat. I was looking about and I can't find the original pattern but I did modify it quite a bit at the bottom there. I also had to do a tiny bit of correcting at the top...unless it's just that I can't read crochet patterns, which is entirely possible. That's why I make up my own most of the time. 

Hat number 3 came out of boredom and the aforementioned yarn doodling. Whilst I was manning my craft fair booth last weekend...I had a lot of time to kill. It was rainy...and slow. Although I did manage to make a few bucks, there were large bunches of time where we were just sitting there. This pattern is what came out of my complete inability to sit still for more than five minutes.

That's the top view. I haven't worn it out yet...so I am unsure as to how warm it will keep your head with all those holes in it. But I thought it looked pretty...and sometimes you just need to sacrifice function for some form.

The next three pictures are different ways it can be worn. It's kind of like a convertible for your head!

Set back like a slouchy hat:

To the side a bit, more like a traditional beret:

And pushed forward, like a newsboy:

Enjoy that little snarl. It's free.

I made this one smaller also for my niece's birthday...and in typical me fashion, I forgot to take pictures. Her's was a white wool with tiny bits of pastel blue, pink and yellow variegation throughout. I also took a pale blue baby yarn and made a long chain with a little rosebud on the end and wove it into the band for a little added accent.

There you go. My first blog post in months and it's long winded as usual. As always, feel free to contact me if you like any of the things I post. This time of year I am a little backed up but I am always open to custom orders...questions...random pimpings...and whatnot. Feel free to pass me along too! I'll send you an air high-five for it!

The end.