First, an announcement. After years of debating, I’ve finally decided to open an Etsy  shop. I’m planning to focus on handmade housewares and accessories, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Thanks so much to everyone who has encouraged me to do this; I’m so excited to make it happen! I’m aiming for a launch date of May 1, and you’ll be hearing a lot more from me on that front in the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support!!

So on Monday I told you I’ve been making stuff like crazy lately. It’s been making me pretty happy. It started with hats–I had been thinking about making hats for a month or so, and last week I decided to give it a try, carving up some thrifted shirts and fashioning a cycling cap pattern based loosely on this one. I wasn’t happy with the way some of the seams lay, and the brim was a little wonky. I know cycling caps are suppose to have low brims, but this one nearly rested on my forehead when I tried it on. After some tweaking, I wound up with a cap (and a pattern) I was pretty happy with, tested the pattern once more, and my first two hats were complete:

Next up: a reversible red and black lumberjack hat I’d been daydreaming about making. I freehanded a pattern by taking some measurements from a hat I got from an Army Surplus store a few months ago. It turned out really well, but a little loose and a little floppy. Here I am, modeling the cap in all its glory:

For the next attempt, I used 100% wool felt for the lining and underside of the cap, which gave it structure, and added elastic at the back to keep it tight. And did I mention it’s reversible?

Ok, so obviously I have a hat-making bug, and over the weekend I churned out two more cycling caps:

But after all that excitement, my sewing machine decided I needed a break. I spent most of Monday trying to fix a tension issue, and eventually took the machine in to a shop to be looked at. It’s currently with the mechanic, giving me a nice little vacation from my new hat-making gig. I’ve cut a few new patterns, though, so I should be ready to hit the ground running as soon as they can fix the poor machine. Here are six or seven hats, ready for stitching:

And I’ve got a few other fun things in the works–I was piecing together this perfect summery chevron pattern when my machine gave out:

But first, I’m off to the booming metropolis of Boise, Idaho, for a long weekend. Hopefully next week I’ll be back at it, with lots more to share here.