Confessions of a Mad Hattknitter
Ready for the mad hat confessions? READ ON:
As a newbie knitter, I thought hat-making, in my innocence, was a lighthearted adventure. A junior in college, I'd moved in with my first serious boyfriend in Spain--he was half Spanish--and I eagerly knitted hats to keep us warm. There was no central heating in our stone home in chilly Galicia, and I got used to cooking and even sleeping in multiple layers of woolens. Unfortunately, the building was not the only chill factor in Spain, as my ex unceremoniously dumped me. He cast off the hats I'd knitted just as callously. Somehow, they became inexorably linked with the pain of that separation, and I never knitted a hat again.
Some twenty years later, I learned how to crochet a hat (it was crochet, not knitting, so it was safe) and I wondered what the fuss had been all about. Making the hat was pleasurable and I could hardly remember that long-ago boyfriend’s face anymore. I was happily married, full of zest, and brightly-colored beanies, turbans and caps were catching my eye.
You see, even while I avoided them, certain hats would coyly wink at me from knitting catalogues. I indulged secret longings for the Gem hat, pictured above, and sighed over Little Pumpkin when no one was looking.
It was the arrival of my baby niece, Marie, that finally broke me down. I just couldn’t resist making her a Chouette!
A hat for my father-in-law followed, and then more gifts.
It’s official, I am a hat knitter again. There’s just one small problem--I don’t seem to be able to stop!
This last month, I can’t seem to wait even one day between finishing one hat and starting another. The door of the forbidden treasure trove is open, and I am diving in!
The Simple Brioche Beanie by Fruityknitting
It seems I don’t just love knitting hats, I adore them. So I don’t think I’m going to stop any time soon.
Watch out, people! There’s a MAD HATknittTER on the loose!