Henry the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Hey everyone!  To start, I'd like to mention that you can now follow @hatsofftohenry on twitter (I added a handy button).  I also added some buttons so you can easily share posts on facebook and twitter (should you feel so inclined).  Oh, and of course, the mad hatter background :) Enough housekeeping, onto the hat!

With less than 2 weeks until Christmas, I thought it would be appropriate to have a few holiday themed hats.  This week is a bit of a hybrid on last weeks' hat, with a few epic elaborations.  To be honest, it may be too elaborate to wear out in public, but we'll probably do so anyways.  When I say elaborate, I mean elaborate to the point of having to stuff part of it so it would stand up.  I ended up using part of last weeks' hat pattern and another pattern for a christmas tree ornament (the ornament was awesome btw, see it here: Rory the Reindeer) to complete the look.

Making this hat brought me back to my childhood when I used to make pompoms by the dozen.  This one worked out well, nice to know I've still got it after not having made a pompom in at least 15 years. 

With no further ado, here is the hat!  (I had to take a few pictures so you can get the full picture)

 I know, he's asleep in every picture, it's easier to pose him this way!

 Next week: another holiday hat!  (Maybe a little less elaborate than this one, no antlers or ears).

G.

Barrel of Monkeys

Ok, so we will call this the official start of the project.  Our hat this week is a sock monkey hat!  I had actually started this hat a long time ago, but I hate doing the finishing touches, so I had set it aside to finish later.  The other day I thought to myself, "You really ought to finish the sock monkey hat" so I did and here we are!  I am quite pleased with it, I think I sewed the mouth on a little sideways, but I'm not so much of a perfectionist and I don't think anyone would notice unless I told them (whoops, foot in mouth)!

This particular hat is crocheted which is kind of unusual for me, I typically make knit hats because I find it easier to go in the round that way.  This hat uses a kind of a hybrid amigurumi pattern.  It was pretty easy considering my inexperience with crocheted hats, not to mention this particular style of crocheting.

I bought the pattern for this hat (along with 2 other patterns for similarly adorable hats) off Etsy (the seller was Beezy Mom's Creations in case you are interested).  If you've never heard of Etsy, I have to say, I highly recommend the website.  It's essentially a hand crafters marketplace which allows individuals to sell their items without having to set up an independent website and have to pay for advertising.  In most cases you pay by paypal (which I prefer anyways).  I recommend you go check it out next time you're in the mood for some online shopping.  You can run a search or just start with the featured items on the etsy homepage.  

Now, with no further ado, here is a sleepy Henry in his car seat:

Stay tuned: the next few weeks we'll be featuring holiday themed hats!

G.