Saturday 10 January 2015

Autumn Leaves Hats and Hat-Selfie


Since my Polar Bear post, where I have said that the only thing that keeps me awake at night is thinking about my next pattern, I have hardly given that bear a thought, daytime or night. Almost the next day my mum, who is 94, had a fall in her flat and fractured her leg. She is now in a residential care home. It has been quite a difficult time, as my mum does not live close to either me or my sister, but the reassuring thing now is she is at least at the end of a phone so we can talk to her daily and get down to see her as often as possible.

Before this all happened my mum had said she would like a new knitted hat, so while I was waiting for her to be discharged from hospital, this is what I made. The hat was delivered on Boxing Day, and although she won't be going out for a while, she did seem to like it and I am hoping she will be up and about again wearing it before too long. She was also making good use of her birthday shawl.

The pattern I used was Autumn Leaves Slouchy Gotland Hat by Sue Blacker.  I did not use the suggested wool or needle size, so there was quite a bit of guess work. I do like ravelry pattern search - I just typed in doubleknit, worked flat, free and hat, and they come up with a choice of patterns. 

I think the hat on the pattern looks nicer than mine, but I know that my mum wanted a close fitting hat so was pleased with the result. I used the recommended number of stitches, and one of the good things about this pattern is the leaves on the crown of the hat have a 8 stitch repeat, so you can make it bigger or smaller very easily. The wool I used was James C. Brett - Marble. I really like this wool as it comes in such great colours, and I buy in a small hardware shop in Teddington. There among the brushes and buckets is a small rack of wool. My mum has a small head so for the size I just looked at one of my own hats, and cast on so it was a good few inches smaller. (I have a large head!) In these pictures I was just trying it on my daughter for size thinking she would be about the same size as my mum. (I probably have enough wool left from the one ball I used to make another hat.) You can't really see the leaf pattern on the top, and I forgot take my camera to photograph it on Granny, but it did fit. 


The photo above was taken after our Christmas lunch. I really like it as it sort of sums up what we all do after Christmas lunch: I guess half of us play with our new toys, and the other half have a bit of a snooze. You can at least see what a lovely colour the wool is.

Update on The Hat: So here is the second version of Autumn Leaves, made with the rest of the wool. Here I added in an extra two leaf repeats, and knitted the rib section deeper. I also added a few plain rows between the rib and the leaf section, which you can see in the photo below. I am really pleased with how it has turned out, and it will be my standing in the playground hat for the next few months. It is very hard to take a photo of yourself in a hat. Is that called a hat-selfie? The second photo was my best one after many attempts.



19 comments:

  1. I hope your Mum soon recovers from her fall. The hats look great, nice and warm. It looks like an interesting pattern to knit.

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  2. Another beautiful creation! I'm sure your mum will get lots of use out of the hat and think of you every time she wears it. I hope she recovers quickly from her fall.
    Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG

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  3. Great hat! And what a lovely gift for your mum. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  4. Ow, I hope your mom recovers quickly!

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  5. What a great knitter you are. I looked back to your polar bear and it's fab! Hope your mum is well on the way to recovery. I know how stressful it can be, my mum had a fall a few months ago and has taken quite a knock in her confidence. Sending best wishes. Xx

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  6. Nice hat, looks comfortable too! I hope your Mum is ok.

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  7. So pretty, and I love the colour! I really want to learn how to knit. Hope your mum feels better soon!

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  8. Yes, I hope your Mum is up and around again soon. At least she will have a pretty hat when she does- something made by a family member is special.

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  9. I hope your Mum is recovering well. Beautiful hat! I love the hat selfie!

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  10. I hope your mum recovers quickly. I love the Christmas photo - sums up many a Christmas!! Love the hat and well done on the mods. Lovely colour.

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  11. All the best to your mum and I love the hat! x

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  12. I hope your Mum gets well soon!

    The hat is so pretty! Great color. That's too funny that you got it at a hardware store!

    (As always, I would love to have you link up to my Yarn Fanatic Party! http://philwife.blogspot.com/2015/01/yarn-fanatic-party-19.html)

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  13. I like how they came out...and I'm sorry to hear about your mom...one of my best friends is dealing with some health issues and her mom right now...its so hard....my mom does not live near me either and it would be tough....

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  14. Lovely hats :) Hope your Mum has a swift recovery

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  15. Hope your Mum is doing better and I love the hat. The color would cheer up anyone. Love the pictures after lunch.

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  16. Sending good vibes to your mum for a speedy recovery. The hat is lovely. I really like the colour. And, I jsut saw your sandollar pattern. I know what I'm making my SIL for her tree this year :)

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  17. This is such a lovely hat you have made. I love the color of the yarn, too. I hope your Mom's recovery is going well. I wish her a speedy recovery.

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  18. Also sending good vibes for your mom :) The hats are just gorgeous and I love being able to just pop in a few criteria on Ravelry and have the perfect thing pop up. Hat-selfies are the hardest to take!!! I usually end up taking them in the bathroom where I have a mirror and can see the screen of the camera/phone in the mirror...now getting a good picture of the top of the hat on your head? Have not mastered that! Thanks for linking up :)

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