Chemo Hats Always Free

If you need one for you or a loved one, email me at Pigglewiggins (at) gmail.com. and let me know your favorite color. Also, do you prefer solids or stripes or anything goes. Make sure you tell me if it's for a child, teen, or adult so I get the size right. And I'll need a complete address to send it to.

And if any of you are in the Anaheim area I also accept donations of yarn and knitting and crocheting supplies, as long as they are from a smoke free environment. That way I can keep the caps coming, and you can get your closet cleaned out of all the yarn Aunt Martha left you. And if you could never figure out that new fangled knitting loom, I'll be happy to have those too. That way I can put the local teens to work making hats as well.

Crochet Book From 1975

I was walking past my bookcase this morning when my eye fell upon a vintage crochet book that I bought when I was in high school (1975). I thought it would be fun to make the top with squares that's on the cover. Of course I can't get into that size so I'll just have to use it for inspiration. But I took a photo of the book just in case it might bring back memories to you as well.
Since I want to use different thicknesses of yarn I had to alter the directions or use two strands of the thinner yarns. But the main idea is to make all the squares the same size so I can put a border around them (like stained glass) and fashion them into a top.

Slouch Hats

Right now I'm getting ready to make some slouch hats. Once I visualized in my mind that the shape is the same as a snood, only with a solid fabric instead of a netted one, I realized how easy it will be to make some. It's pretty much the same thing as a bag cap we wore at the Renaissance Faires. Some of the slouch cap patterns I googled up yesterday aren't really baggy at all and look just like beanies. I think they missed the point.

One pattern I read said that these 'slouch hats' would only be in style a few months so make them super big out of wool, so when the trend passes you can shrink them down and felt them to be a normal hat. Evidentally she doesn't know her hat history because this classic style has been around for centuries. When Pete Seeger wore one to the Obama Inaguration, I seriously doubt he was trying to be trendy. Ah well, that's fashionistas for you.

Camo Hat

My boyfriend bought me some great camo yarn. I'm really happy with the way it's shaping up. Most camo yarn somehow doesn't come out camo-ish enough. This yarn looks funny on the skein but works up great. I never would have picked it myself, but then again he's the camo expert.

Making Squid Legs

Next time I decide to crochet something with eight legs, someone stop me.

Little Balls of Fun

I made my first crocheted monster with eyes yesterday. Actually, I made four, stuffed them as far as I could, and then spent the rest of the day looking for the box with the eye parts in it. I finally spotted it after dinner last night and got eyes added to 4 of them. Now I have to finish up the other three. If you want to order one before I list them in a shop somewhere,let me know. I'm providing free shipping until July 31, 2009.

Hats

On Sunday afternoon I had 4 1/2 hats ready for my friend to choose from. He picked the gray one which was the first one I made, and then he wanted the dark brown one, which I had only just started that morning. So I finished it up so he'd have it in time to take home.

As far as I can tell there isn't much difference between a tam and a beret. Most people assume they are berets. While my friend was paying for his hats, another guy sitting there ordered a purple one. I don't think I have any purple yarn so I may have to go buy some. Isn't that always the way it is?

Another Tam in Tan

I finished another tam today in light brown and mint green. It was going to be a solid tam, and I thought it was a different shade of brown than the one I made a few days ago. One skein was Red Heart and the other was a different brand, so imagine my surprise when I laid them on top of each other and the yarn matched! I didn't want two hats the same; I wanted to give the guy a selection. So I decided to make it a two color hat. It's after midnight so I'll add the photos later.