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.

Hat's off!

I've always enjoyed knitting and crocheting.  I learned how to when I was a little girl living in Austria where it was required curriculum in school.  Many of my peers from that time gave up the handcrafting, but somehow this was something that stuck with me my whole life.  Now, after many, many years of practice (approximately 20 to be exact), I find myself quite skilled (if I do say so myself) and as such, have decided to take on a little project for this next year.

My son Henry was born on September 17th of this year.  What better way to put my mad knitting skills to use than to make little wee hats for him (and sometimes his friends)?  I thought it might be fun to make him one new hat every week for the next year.  At the end of the year, I will donate all our hats to a charity or hospital of some sort (yet to be determined).  I'll feature each hat here on this blog so you can all enjoy the photo ops with me.  I'll also share the occasional pattern when it's mine to share and direct you all to where you can find your own patterns.

With no further ado, here is a little preview of some of Henry's hats to date:

 These are both pictures of the same hat, which was his Halloween/Fall hat.

 Around 2 months, all Henry's hair fell out on the top of his head, here I have resolved that problem for him.

 Daddy and Henry with matching hats.

I will update again soon so we can get all caught up on the hat situation as it stands now, then we'll just dive right in!
Gillian