Homespun, Homeknitted Hat. Hurrah!

I’ve finished it! This little hat is so exciting. To me, at least. This is the first item I’ve finished that is knitted with yarn that I spun myself. On my spinning wheel. Other than raising the alpaca and hand shearing it, I’m not sure that I could have made this more from scratch. The alpaca was one of my early attempts at spinning, so it is uneven and chunky, but I reckon that its rustic feel works perfectly for this style of hat.

I started off using this pattern, but then I just decreased when I wanted to (ravelry notes here). Shaping it into a more stocking shaped hat. TF has his pom-pom. The pom-pom is heavy enough that it pulls the top part down.

I’m still figuring out the style that TF likes. He is growing and changing in so many ways at the moment, that he is getting harder to predict. Some days his negotiating skills seem beyond his age. Other days he can kick up a fuss in a shop, because I’ve said “No”. His curiosity is focused. Yesterday as we all sat quietly, there was a sudden bang from behind my chair. He appeared, holding a needle, with the remains of wrinkled balloon. As he passed it to me, he said, in a matter of fact voice, “It really is a needle.” Apparently the proper test for a needle is to see if it can actually pop a balloon. We live and learn.

He has his hat now, because we have some wonderful, windy, wintery weather. Waiting another week for Christmas just seems silly when his head needs it now.

So I hope he will forgive me that it is not a beanie hat as he wanted. It does have a pom-pom. Lets hope that is enough to make it into a hat he wants to wear. Time will tell.

13 comments

  1. That is a really lovely hat. 😀 😀 😀 .
    Hope he approves..it seems like one minute everything is lovely and then all of a sudden almost from nowhere there appears a strong willed small human with decided opinions and we forget it at our peril 😯
    So whilst I think the pompoms great I understand if it gets converted to a beanie..I’d suggest adding a bell to the pompom but that might be awful (or wonderful ?) Gosh darn it Mother’s need a crystal ball

    1. He loves the hat and the pom pom. Especially keen of swinging the pompom around in a circle. He was slightly upset when he realised that he’d left his hat at home on Thursday, so I guess he likes it. 🙂

    1. You’ve made me blush, Fiona. I’ve not taken commissions, but I’m sure I can spin up some more alpaca if you’re after a hat.

  2. It’s just beautiful Cheryl! Your yarn is wonderful.. Isn’t it amazing? I want to hold a bag of fiber and shake it at the recipients of my gifts and say, “You need to understand, the whole thing started out as this”!! 🙂

    Blessings, Debbie

    1. You have made me laugh, Debbie. I have such an image of you doing just that. Woe betide anyone not appreciating your effort. 😀 😀

  3. It is gorgeous! Well done you. Homespun and hand knitted, next you’ll have to shear the sheep! 😉 . Jokes apart, I love the look and feel of handspun and hand knitted items. It’s lovely to re-visit you blog, Cheryl. You do so many inspiring things. I have been quite busy and not on the computer so much lately. I barely update my own blog. I’ll take the opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and all the best for 2012.
    Luciana

Comments are closed.