Bits and Bobs

I'm doing super secret things in the Briney Deep. The kind of things which lead me to take mysterious photos like this just to have an image of my crafting to share:

But don't worry, not only am I counting down the weeks until the end of this super-crazy-out-of-control semester (3 weeks plus finals), I will have a whole pile of things to show off post-Christmas. I honestly can't wait until January arrives; I have so many things I want to make once I have free time again.

In other news, I cut my hair and bought a new hat. I might have a bit of a hat problem, if my recent blog posts are any evidence. An intervention may be necessary before this becomes a blog all about hats.

Warming Up

I always dread blogging in November and December. There is so much crafting going on during these two months but it’s all secret-do-not-share-until-Christmas stuff. This year, it’s infinitely worse because I have so little free time that the only crafting that I’m currently doing is gift crafting. First world problems, I know.

I am, however, working on one project that I can talk about right now: knitting blanket squares for Warm Up America. One of the academic libraries on campus is organizing a square-drive and a bunch of us are getting together to knit/crochet blanket squares (photo above) each Friday from now until the end of the semester. It’s been a great way to spend a lunch hour and I feel good knowing that the squares I’ve made will keep someone warm this winter. So while you’re doing your holiday crafting, don’t forget to make something for those that could use a little extra warmth in their lives!

The Right Materials

Every crafter knows that having the right materials and tools makes a difference. Whether choosing fabric scissors over regular scissors or superwash wool yarn over regular wool yarn, there are times when it is really important to have the right material to do the job. Case in point is this hat.

This hat is yet another design from the book Hat Shop (blogged here). It's very attractive, is built from only 5 pieces of felt, and is ridiculously easy to knock together--traditional seams are replaced with a zigzag stitch that holds two adjacent pieces of felt together at the edges. The one issue with this hat? The thickness of the felt is incredibly important.

The first time I made this hat, I used some blue felt I had on hand. The 2mm felt simply did not provide enough structure and the resultant hat was not attractive. So I ordered some 4-5mm felt and made a new version, which is the grey hat shown here. The thicker felt just makes this hat work.

So now I'm the proud owner of a pretty felt hat, not to mention a fair bit of 4-5mm felt. But seeing as these hats take about 30 minutes to cut out and sew together, I don't think you've seen the last of the handmade felt hats on this blog.