Hat Yarn: by Kathy’s Fibres
Hat Pattern: Latu

Some time ago I tried cranking the base for the Latu hat on the larger circular knitting machine with the intention of dropping and latching up the rib and cables. But the gauge was way off and I ended up slowly knitting it by hand.

Most of my knitted hats are fitted. The slouchy volume of this design appealed to me. I can pull it down over my ears if I want to.

Of course, it’s now getting a bit on the warm side for hats.

My Stylebooking continues. Yes, it has become a verb. I’ve added bags and jackets and travel clothes and summer hats and belts. I’ve culled a piece or two almost every time I added a category, but not a lot. Except for the belts. I had heaps of belts. I don’t wear belts so why the heck did I have so many? Most of those went the op shop.

I got rid of a black bag that I bought because it has all the pockets and handles I like and was the right size… but I finally admitted to myself that I hated it. So. Ugly. I found one I liked on the way out of the op shop. Bag in, bag out.

(And then when I went through box of things I reserve for travelling I discovered I already had a bag just like it. Doh!)

Oh, and that cowl? It was once a bag:

I never used it. I took it apart and sewed the ends together. Ta-dah! Cowl. Which happens to go nicely with the gardening hat.

It’s not been all about the culling and refashioning, though. When I added my jackets to Stylebook I realised I wasn’t using my denim jacket, even though I like it. Why not? Well, it turns out I’m deathly afraid of double-deniming. So I used the ‘looks’ feature of the app to come up with outfits that I could wear the jacket with. And then I wore one. Win.

All this has been a welcome distraction whenever I have a few minutes free. I’m back working on the book. Paul has had back surgery. I’m going to have my first tooth filling in years on Monday. The weeds are going nuts. I haven’t done much weaving in ages. I haven’t even finished sewing up the red cardigan. I’ve run out of energy and inspiration, just getting through each week. But we’re not unhappy. Just exhausted.