one of the rabbit holes, hats

Instagram is not always the best place for me.  Not because I get sucked in but because there are so many ideas!  I wear hats.  Mostly because I burn so easily.  I had come across artisans on Instagram that make hats.  Lovely hats.  It started because one of the hat makers uses plant dye to color her felt.  There is the logic why this rabbit hole started!  I liked what I saw and she teaches a finishing course where you can finish your own hat.  Learn a little bit.

But then, I started thinking I wanted to make my own hat.  I looked for other hat makers and found interesting ones.  Then, I found the artisans who took an old hat, refurbished it, reshaped it, and add their own personality.  That is what got me thinking.  I could do that!

I had two beaver felt hats I had not worn recently.  They were dusty and more then a bit moth eaten.  I decided I could play with these.  Also, the fur felt can be shaped many times.  It just takes steam.  And being moth eaten meant they were distressed looking without me needing to set fire to them.  Yes, that is done.

I brushed these hats well.  I got all the dust off or as much as I could.  Then, I took steam, my hands, an old t-shirt, and a potato to change their shape.  I wanted what is called an open crown.  I think of it as a round crown.  Also, I felt like the brim of the light brown hat needed some attention.  Steam and time.  Pressure but not too much.

I used a light touch and got close to the actual shape I wanted.  I can do more later but one of the cautions was not to get the felt too wet.  Hot but not wet.  I am pleased.  I cut off the hat bands and replaced them with silk ribbons.  I had purchased the ribbon many years ago.  I think it was Taos.

I have been wearing this black one around a lot.  I have turquoise earrings I wear a lot and it just fits.  Then I add a long black skirt.  Or the blue cotton one I made?  I feel put together.

This one took longer to dry because of the brim.  I will probably do more work on both hats soon.  I got the hat band on it today.  It will be my go to hat when I wear less black!  The brim is wider as well so it is better for the sun.

Now, I have two hats I can change the hat bands on them easily.  I can look for small things that I wish to use to create new hat bands.  I especially thought it would be cool while I travel to find new bits for hat bands.  Or they may stay as they are.  I really like the ribbons.

There are other rabbit holes I am going down which will probably cause those hat bands to change.  It is all good.  I am thinking about making an autumn/winter coat.  And pigment.  I wish to play with more dye and pigment!  Even hunt for pigment.  With the coat I might make myself.  I am looking at fabric that is also in the blues I have been liking.  Just babbling now.  I will have to see what else gets done this week.  I have the boys a lot.

life

There are days that this is as creative as I get.  I cut the skirt off a linen nightgown that the bodice was giving up the ghost.  The skirt of the nightgown will become a skirt with some alteration and dye.  Part of me wishes a lot more linen and wool were in my wardrobe but only the linen truly makes since.  I have a linen sheet that will meet the scissors sometime soon.  That dress or skirt will start out being mended!

My days are currently full of learning to sharpen, feeding people, mending, moving people around, coaching, and watching Koda Bear and Blue.  I have some large projects going on that are just not very interesting to photograph or talk about.  And the truck cabin will soon be on the radar.

I am just trying to be gentle with myself when the only thing I feel like I have gotten done in a day is some food being made, errands run, and people moved around.  That was yesterday.  And I am dealing with anemia again.  Which is just a sigh.  I have started to go down some creative rabbit holes, mostly researching but the time and energy is limited.  

And on top of that, I have a quilt to quilt and a quilt that is waiting to be made in my head!  But that is how life goes somedays or weeks.  The quilting is always a good meditative place.

a gift of yarn

My best friend and I are both pretty well addicted to yarn.  We both crochet.  She has been working on a blanket for a certain someone for years.  Her crocheting has gotten better.  She decided to change the yarns and pattern.  Someday he will get it. 

But she also buys yarn.  Bits that appeal to her.  She bought the yarn in the sweater above.  Not sure what she was going to do with it.  It spoke to me.  She tracked down a couple more skeins and sent it to me.  I am making a sweater.  A boxy (on purpose) sweater to be worn with skirts and jeans.  Or over dresses.

I have other yarn that is supposed to become sweaters.  I have other sweaters in process.  But I looked at this yarn for a couple weeks and then just had to.  It is coming together quite well.

I am making it top down and writing down measurements so I can repeat the process.  I find I like a lot of the same shapes over time.  Most of my clothes are similar shapes.  Very classic.  I look at my sweaters, they had stayed over time.  I am not very trendy.  The most I can do is try not to wear black all the time.

I am excited to see how this sweater turns out.  The angle of the sunlight during the day is starting to change.  It gives me hope that it will not be 90 plus degrees for months on end!  Sweater weather should arrive in November or December.  Oh well.

a shirt

My Beloved was looking at his work shirts and realized that he needed more.  His idea was to add shirts that were new and he could wear shirts that were wearing out.  That did not really work though because he got work shirts with the company logo and his name on it!  I have my own as well.  I use them for when I am learning to sharpen and when I do all the carpentry.

That does mean I have three shirts planned out for him.  Even though he does not really need them.  This is the first of those shirts.  The background is black which REALLY works for him.  He cannot keep anything light colored clean.  I have started overdyeing everything to make it last longer.

He had very definite requirements for the pocket so it is his design.  A place for a pen.  A button.  And he likes color so the plackets, pocket, and collar all need to be color.  The next shirt has squirrels on the colorful fabric.

I keep thinking I need to start using this pattern or something similar for myself.  I do like white but I would have to be willing to overdye my own sometime later in its life.  I am making an old white nightgown into a skirt and part of the process is overdyeing.  I keep thinking I have too many clothes but I keep repairing and changing what I already have. 

The sewing is a nice change but I have really gone down a rabbit hole with a sweater I am making.  Maybe soon it will be done!

playing with indigo

I am going to say I am still learning a lot when it comes to indigo.  I think it should be permanent and it is not.  I think it should dye with out anything added to it.  It does not.

But I am getting there.  I have blue hands to prove it.  Part of why I as working with the indigo was I had two shirts and one dress that were just too light.  Or white.  They needed to be another a color to be wearable.  My Beloved does not wear white because he gets it too dirty too fast.  I do the same. 

Two of these garments are further changing by me making the short sleeved.  I like to wear things out before I throw them out.  But the colors are such that they will become cool quilts if they still do not work when worn.

I was also trying to change a length of weld dyed silk into more of a green.  When it was on the line, it looked very aqua or ocean blue.  It has dried and washed more of a light green.  Someday I will figure out this color.

I have lots of fleece that I will wish to have a different color then the natural.  Especially the whites and greys.  I lean towards greens or blues naturally.  If it is not black or brown.

More playing with this does need to happen.  But maybe I will do a few other things first.  There are only so many hours in the day.  A corner shelf unit and a truck cabin may be soon!