The Almost Hat

Originally

I wrote this post around March of this year. One of the biggest hurdles I have had in regards to blogging is getting pictures taken, uploaded, edited and then in the right place at the right time.  Truthfully, it is also a challenge when it comes to getting items into my Etsy shop.  I mean, you take ALL that time to make something and you feel so good that you got it done, Hooray! but yhen, there is still. so. much. work. to do.  Anyone else out there know what I mean?

So I have been working on some solutions (by which I mean whining to the husband that my life is too hard) and think that things are coming along nicely.  We still don't quite have a handle on this whole cloud thing, but once we do, I think it is going to be great!

Anywho, this (almost) project is still a fun little story that I wanted to share, even if it is a few months out of season :)

The Presenting Complaint

Here's the thing, I have a small head.  This means that hats are a challenge for me and given that I live the glorious Pacific Northwest, they are often necessary.  I have been finding particular need for them lately during agility practice and trials.  Given my small headedness, I have two choices: have a hat that covers my ears (my preference) but is too big and sinks down over my eyes, or a hat that doesn't impede my vision, but also does not cover the ears.  Booger.  Generally, I have been opting for the latter since not being able to see doesn't work out so well when you are running around an obstacle course :-P

The Proposed Solution

To make my own hat of course!  I had been eyeballing a pattern for a cute pilot hat in a book I recently got, Sewn by Hand, but I needed an excuse to make one.  

This definitely counts!  I set about gathering materials.  I didn't really want to make it out of recycled sweaters, truthfully, I am not really a big fan of upcyling used goods.  Plus, I wanted to line the inside with fleece to make it a little extra cozy.  Overall, I was thinking of a bit more polished look for my hat.  I was with my mom and brother at a super cute local fabric store, Bolt, and found this great home dec weight plaid by Joel Dewberry.  Then there was a trip to Fabric Depot for fleece and trim :)  I got home with my goodies and set out to get started.
 

First, I traced the pattern pieces onto a sheet of paper.  Trying to maneuver a book around in the printer/copier and not get a contorted image is pretty challenging so I avoid that if I can.  I took my tracing and enlarged the pieces the 200% that it called for in the book.  Then I cut out.

Cute right?

Next, I traced the pattern pieces onto my fabric and cut those out.  Yippee, the plaid is going to be awesome!  The ear flaps looked like the were going to be just the right too.  The even better part was that I would have a new hat TODAY.  I love quilts, but they take time to come together.  I need to be a little better about interspersing these little projects that can be completed in a single afternoon. 

The Not So Much

I started sewing my pieces together (yes, according to the directions) and this is when I started to get a little worried.  The hat was looking small and since I already know I have a small head, that's not good.

I pretty quickly got the rest of it completed and here is what I ended up with:

Wha, wha.  Not so much on the one size fits most there.  Maybe one size fits most kids . . . even though that isn't what is pictured in the book.  Perhaps I didn't enlarge correctly?


And then I was stuck.  Do I just enlarge the whole thing and then trim down the ear flaps so they aren't gi-huge-ic?  Do I just try and draft my own pattern so that I am sure it will fit even though that sounds difficult and the proportions might be off?  Hmmm, not really sure.  Disappointed, not enough brain power, so, no hat for Whitney today.  I went back to working on my Hopscotch quilt.



As for the hat, the next step, when it happens, it to make a muslin mock-up of my next pattern, whatever that may be.  I have enough plaid to make the actual hat but I don't have enough for several more rounds of mistakes.  I will make to sure to post an update on the process once I return to it.  Depending on what the weather here does, that could be awhile.

If anyone has worked with this pattern, let me know!

Starting Hopscotch

Needing a little reset

At the beginning of the year I made a pretty big push to get more items completed and listed in my Etsy shop.  I managed to add eight more things, which doubled my inventory, woo hoo!  The main reason for this was that I was trying to get into the o-so coveted Crafty Wonderland show in May.  Despite all my best efforts, this did not happen.  I wasn't terribly surprised, but still kinda bummed.  

At that point, I decided that I needed to take some time and make something for me.  It has been awhile since I have done this.  I was going to make myself the perfect sized make-up bag to put in my gym bag, but that ended up in my Etsy shop.  Also on my list is a case for my Kindle Paperwhite, an awesome Christmas present from my hubby.  I even have the fabrics picked out, but since I need to make some pattern tweaks, it just hasn't happened.

Have to have it!

I did not start reading quilt blogs (or any blogs for that matter) until pretty recently.  One of the first blogs that caught my attention was Jolene's.  I saw a cute granny square quilt somewhere and went looking for a tutorial.  It lead me straight to her lovely blog!  Recently she posted this beauty.  OMG, love, love, love!  Instantly, I knew what my project for me was going to be.  My very own hopscotch quilt!  Truthfully, I would have preferred to be a total copy cat because the yellows and pinks in that fabric line are to die for, but, alas, despite thorough web searching, there is very little Dream On left to be found.  The other thing I love about those fabrics is that they have that vintage sheet feel of which I am a total fan.

I was not dismayed for long though, because Miss Spain has a new fabric line out, Honey Honey.  There isn't any yellow in the line, but there are all of these bright, yet pastel-ly fabrics that are so fresh and so spring.  Plus, it also has some of the vintage sheet feel to it.  Hooray!  I did not delay in purchase of the pattern or Honey Honey jelly roll.  The only thing that gave me a little pause was what color to use for the stars.  I have been trying to push myself not to make things so matchy matchy. The safe bet was a blue that would look lovely with everything, but I knew I wanted the stars to stick out a bit more.  Being brave, I decided to make my stars out my new favorite color, mint, and purchased Kona Cotton in Pool. 

Getting Started

Something that I have found to be useful in my time as a sewist is to search the blogosphere for tips and tricks on popular projects.  It helped me out quite a bit when I made my Amy Butler Weekender Bag (god, what a chore that one was).  First, I learned from Jolene that making a template is a good thing, so I did that, even though I only ended up really using the triangle and  trapezoid.  Next, I learned the two most important things about making this quilt here: 1. Press seams open 2. Do not trim the dog ears (I can't tell you how much this helped me with lining things up).  With all of my found knowledge I set about making my blocks.

This is by far the most complicated quilt that I have ever made and I was pleased as punch when most of points lined up!  There are some not so stellar examples, but instead of fretting about it, I decided that I could just put them on the edges that would end up being cut off :)

Not so good points.

Good points here.

And good points here.

Several sessions later, voila, my blocks are done!

I am feeling pretty good about my choice of mint for the stars, I am kind of obsessed with that color.

Laying the blocks out is going to be so much, I just need to have some time.  I know it won't be this weekend, the husband and I have an out of town wedding to go to!