New Challenge

I received a new challenge tonight. My sister-in-law phoned and asked if I could quilt her a hat for our family wedding reception next weekend. She has had radiation treatments for cancer and has shaved off most of her hair. I'll admit my first reaction was not positive. It was more like, "Yah, right. I'll add it to my list of things to do in the next 7 days. Besides I wouldn't know where to start." Then I whined about having had the flu for the last 3 days.

But after hanging up the phone I thought about it. I knew I didn't have a hat pattern in any of my books or magazines so I went on the internet to see if I could find a pattern for a hat. After much going around in circles, I found some patterns where you had to either send them money or you had to be a member. I tried signing up to be a member but got an error message. Then when I tried again it said that my email address indicated that I was already in their system, but hadn't activated my membership. If I wanted to activate it, click on the link!

"Bonus!" I thought.

However after clicking the link I got another error message. But I can be pretty stubborn when necessary so I started over, changed the wording of the request and BINGO! I found 2 free patterns that looked simple enough which I thought might work.

I printed the directions and phoned my sister-in-law back to tell her to measure her fat head so I could make something that might have a chance of fitting. Now for the fabric. I have all kinds in my stash. Did she want something staid and ordinary or something wild and funky. She's a wild and funky kind of gal, but she nixed the green turtles with red hearts fabric that I suggested and went with the plain brown or green.

"Okay let's give this a whirl," I thought. My helpful husband helped me to decode the directions and also suggested a pot lid to use to trace the circle for the top of the hat. I was on a roll!

When on a roll, however, it's important not to get too carried away and look carefully at your creation as you go from step to step. The reason I say this is because I didn't! I was so thrilled about getting it all sewn together before supper, that I ended up sewing it inside out the first time, but I had the general idea now, so I quickly dug out my trusty seam ripper ( getting dull quickly with frequent use, I'm ashamed to say...) and sewed it right side out.

Hmmm! The finished product looked more like a surgeons hat partly due to the green color, I think, but not really what one would want to wear to a reception.

"Okay time for pattern B," I thought. This pattern is more of a beret. To heck with the boring solid colors. I cut the pieces from a turquoise and beige bird of paradise kind of print and I'm almost finished that now. It took a while to draw two 13 inch circles for the beret and cut a 6 inch hole in one of them as I have no pot lids that size. I wanted to trace the fabric circle on some cardboard to keep for possible future hats before I sewed it together.

Then I had a Eureka moment! I could use 2 of these very same 13 inch circles with the donut holes in the middle as a hat brim (put fusible web in between to give it some body) and then make the middle hat part the same as in pattern 1!

Okay now I'm becoming obsessed again! Guess I won't be finishing the edge trim this weekend on the pink butterfly first birthday quilt I've been working on all week. I'll be making hats! LOL!