Is it a Hat, is it a Wig?

My latest variation of one of my basic hat/wig patterns.

Here is the original

I have added rows of DK yarn in between the main rows of the chunky yarn.

I’m thinking I might make another with multicolured yarns of all different weights – it could be a great stash-buster.

The hat/wigs have been worn for fancy dress:  a multi-coloured one, modelled here by my lovely daughter-in-law

They have been bought for wearing in college plays, as fun chemo wigs, by my nephew and his mates on a zany night out and of course Halloween

Cruella Deville anyone

Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along

The book I am re-reading and the moment is  

An oldie but goodie.

Advertisement

A Good Day

Some days go by and I feel I have done very little and then other days – like today, I feel full of energy having achieved much – it is no coincidence that the sun has been shining ALL day:

I woke early and cleared out some 150 or so emails from my Inbox – my how they increase when you are not on it! (up to just over 900, which is ridiculous!).

Checked in on Ravelry and Etsy and answered emails and messages.

Finished off a knitted Hat Wig (or Wig Hat – which sounds better? hmmm?) with a 3 needle cast off, my new favourite finishing technique,

I rarely get up before doing a bit of knitting or crochet, with my first cuppa of the day – green tea.

Charged phone, lap top, and camera ready to go to a meeting at work (this is some work I do with groups of children) and set off for the weekly market in my local town to buy snowdrops ‘in the green’, and some wonderful local produce.

I bought 20 little bunches of snowdrops from a local grower

and he kindly threw in a few extra and some advice to plant them at least 5″ deep to prevent them from being dug up by mice and squirrels for a tasty snack.

And then to work – I was a bit earlier than I needed to be so I sat in the car listening to ’12 Years a Slave’ on BBC Radio 4. and carrying on with some knitting – I was so engrossed in both that I was nearly late for my meeting – oops!

I’ve come up with this kinda wavy pattern for the Flick Wig – it’s probably a well known pattern, but it pleases me because it is a cable that does not need a cable needle,

and it gives the wig a bit of texture and creates a snugger fit, which is especially important for chemo caps/hats/wigs.

A very productive meeting at work, and then back home to plant snowdrops in the sunshine

I am planting them in front of my new espalier pear trees – Concorde, Conference, Clapps Favourite and Baronne de Mello which I got from Thornhayes Nursery in Devon. They were planted in early December.

And in front of the snowdrops will be a mass of forget-me-knots, from the seeds I was given last year and grew in my fabulous Veg Trugs

The heart is made of poppy seedlings, the ‘kisses’ are black cornflowers, and the sprinkling around the edge is the forget-me-knots.

I love how the shapes grew

I planted the snowdrops with a little of my own home made compost to give them a good start – you can see the amazing whizzo black rotary compost maker in the background

There is very little that gives me more pleasure than using my own compost! It ticks so many boxes for me – using up waste (the hoarder in me LOVES this!), environmentally fabulous, creative, and just so magical how kitchen waste can turn into rich earth so quickly to give my food and flower plants such a good start. Heavenly bliss!!! My children roll their eyes at my glee and delight!!!

And now the sun is going down so it’s back inside for a currant bun, vanilla chai and a cosy log fire – and more knitting of course!

How was your day?

Fun Chemo Caps, Hats, wigs

A couple of years ago, I was hopping around the internet looking for knitting inspiration when I saw a picture of a knitted wig. I couldn’t find a pattern for it so I made one up myself. To get the pattern right I had knitted several wigs.

which we had fun with at Stonechat – but what to do with them – so i put them in my Etsy shop.

I had no idea what a wonderful journey this would take me on. The first to sell was the Daisy Wig, which  was bought by a woman in America for her friend who was going through chemo and I was told  “she absolutely went nuts for it!”

And since then I have had such heartwarming messages from people who have bought a wig and say it has cheered up an otherwise grim time for them and their families – other members of the family wanting to wear the wigs too!

And of course they still come in handy for fancy dress parties

This is my lovely daughter-in-law modelling the multi-coloured clown style wig, getting ready to go to a ‘Bright and Tight’ Fancy Dress party.

I have also been asked to make some patterns using double knit rather than chunky yarn

and I have come up with these bob-styles.

It has taken several attempts to get the shape right – and now to get the pattern perfect for others to follow …….

So that is what I was working on whilst putting my feet up in the Middle East

swapping our little .beach hut studio at dear old wind-battered Portland Bill (crumbs, have we had some storms in the UK this winter!) for a different ambience altogether.

You can see my new toy in the picture – an iPad – mainly bought so that I could work on the patterns on the beach!!!

So, at one point I was 4, 410 miles from home, on the beach, listening to English radio live on the iPad, whilst reading a Thomas Hardy novel downloaded for free onto the iPad and knitting wigs – surreal?

I love my life!!!!

Fun way to keep your ears warm this Winter

Wigs and patterns have been flying off the shelves of my Etsy shop, so I am busy making more and improving the patterns as I go.

I’ve had some fun requests too which I can’t share with you yet – but hopefully when I have perfected to new designs I will be able to tell you all about it.

Let me know if you have any crazy ideas for styles of wigs I could make.

Looking forward to creating new designs in January when I take my knitting needles all the way to Abu Dhabi for some winter sun, R and R and a sort of knitting retreat – can’t wait!