No, I haven't forgotten you Jacob!!

Quite the contrary in fact!
So here's what I've got on your hat so far.... I hope it pleases you and all your troupes!

A one flapped earflap cap
( the other ear will be on soon!)


Usually, ear flaps attached to the hem of a hat end up being more of a chin warmer than an ear warmer don't they? Because of this I decided to sew the flap right on top of the hat. You want two layers to keep warm, right?? I also thought a strong line between pale blue and brown would be nice for the flaps, since I didn't have enough brown to make them one color. Once finished however, I found the divide a bit too intense, so I turned the flap over to show the little echo stripe that's created when switching colors. Usually people put this on the backside, but I like it showing. I'm also particularly fond of the mustard seam. It reminds me of the stitching on jeans and the color of your Carharts.
There's a folded hem with contrasting blue turning row.


Now, when worn with the stockinette side facing out, the folded hem kind of flared out in a pretty girly way, so I flipped it. Again the traditional 'backside' becomes the front and will fit snuggly on your head this way, with no flare outs! It'll contain your mop quite nicely I'm sure!

Originally I had wanted to do some crazy fair isle thing for Jacob, perhaps as a flap to keep his neck warm. As I finished this piece though, I started getting second thoughts about sending the poor boy out into East Boston wrapped in colorful trees and anchors. I like it a lot though, especially the lone blue tree.


My plan all along was to make it double layered, with a solid color background. I'm really loving the mustard with peach checks section though. Maybe that should be the backside instead of a solid? If Jacob wants, I'll make it for him, as a thing that can attach by button to his flap hat, for those extra cold and windy adventures!


So
What do you think Mr???

A good yarn for Jacob

This yarn is from Blue Sky Alpacas (my favorite of course!) It is 100% baby alpaca in a sport weight. It knits up to be thin and lightweight, but very warm. I think it would do well for some color patterning. This is just a sampling of colors I think might be nice in combination. Rich and harvesty, with a punch of excitement!Wouldn't it be sooooooooo nice to line your neck with a nice cashmere?

Or perhaps include baby camel?

Manos Del Uruguay is beautiful and also supports/sustains a cooperative of women.




This yarn is called Pemaquid by the Fiber Company in Maine! I'm not sure if the blended colors would work, but the yarn sure is gorgeous!

All images are from purlsoho.com

Jacob's Hat (finally... well, sort of)


Yeah! This kid deserves some ideas already, right? It's getting cold in the north and I want him to look cuter than cute. So I've been pondering and have come up with a couple of preliminary designs. Everything is mix and match of course... I just wanted to see if Jacob might like any of these things... let's see!

My first thought was that with all the snowy outdoor activities in Maine... the boy would need some earflaps for sure! I thought we could play with a very traditional hunter type cap with earflaps or an extra layer that wraps around the back of the neck.

I thought I could find a very nice wool and double layer those earflaps with something soft! I think it would look nice to try a textured stitch pattern like this crossing diamond :

So I would use this stitch, or another texturey one for the body with a defining ridge between them something like this...

I found this version on the Paul Smith Website
Hey, do you like that leather buckle?? I think it could totally work!

Ok, then for a totally different thing I was thinking more old school and doing it up with some crazy fairisle!

Again, thought some earflaps, but what about nice little Maine pine trees and snowflakes? In great, non traditional colors of course!

I found these fairisle examples from the twenties that are just exquisite. I like the trees... but would flip them to be more Maine-ly, like in my drawing. I like the checker pattern too.


What do you think Jacob? How adventurous are you? I can see that Paul Smith hat with a patterned neck part even, and a solid top and of course a leather strap, but that might be too crazy! I love earflaps with long ties too.

I think a mustard gold would be great with your eyes, and some browns. (I totally stole this photo of him off facebook!)

Jacob

I'm so excited about my next project!!! It's hopefully the first of many here at Inspired Living! Here's Jacob....

I met Him at my Bennington Alumni weekend, sitting on the floor before a dance performance. He was an easy breezy smiley, young man and I was happy to find out he was also from Maine. Rad. Even though we met briefly, his awesomeness was apparent from the get go, which is why I was so excited that he contacted me about knitting him a hat.

So in true Bennington fashion, I'm turning it into a full on collaborative project! I'm going to share our 'process' openly here on my blog and you'll get to witness the whole thing! Let's go!

I started by asking dear Jacob some questions:

Where are you going to be this winter? Maine. Mexico? But mostly in Maine…with occasional visits to the vast metropolises of Boston and NYC. Oh, I hope you'll come visit and maybe I will see you in Maine too!

What do you want the hat for? To keep my little ears from turning blue, and to look terrific whilst doing so… That was a pretty dumb question Kim! I guess someone might want to keep their hair out of their face or something...

What are you going to do in your new hat? Work and play…hopefully more of the latter. I almost failed my last year of high school because I spent so much time working on a sled run in my back yard…I am hoping to return to this juvenile passion, and will need the appropriate headgear for a winter in vacationland. Now I'm definitely coming to visit!!!!

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being a lot) how much do you care about your hair? Hmmmm…I care about it, but…I don’t know…maybe a 6. It’s gone through many transformations…I was going for the Eddie Vedder thing when I was like 13 (I was more often confused for a homely girl than a rock star) and then again in high school (see photo id’s). It’s been pretty short for a while, and I’ve gotten used to hacking away at it myself when it needs a trim…it will always come back, right? I was thinking more of how tight the hat is. Any hat is going to mess up your hair... but if you really care if it's all messy and stuff I could try to make the hat interfere less. My first impression is that you might not mind a scruffy mop so much...am I right?

Do you want people to notice your hat and ask you about it? Sure! Because then I’ll get to shamelessly plug Keep It Moving Design! Yippee! Thank you!

Which is more important to you: warmth or cuteness? Yes. Just what I thought!!

What color are your eyes?

What color do you dislike the most?(an image would be good here) vinyl siding palate = puke. Hilarious. I'm with you there pal!

How do you feel about reindeer? I honestly don’t give them much thought. I think that Rudolf’s celebrity made him a real liability to the rest of the reindeer population though. His song is just terrible! Yeah Rudolph. So there.

If you could only wear one tee shirt for the rest of your life, how would you make that work for you? Say what now?! Maybe I’d just wear the shirt on very special occasions, and let my chest hair be the primary barrier between my skin and the elements…it springs forth in abundance…but even with this luxury of fur, locating the right climatic conditions would be of great concern…hmmm Yet another funny question. I guess I was thinking that you could wear other stuff, but always that one t shirt. In other words, no. Never mind. Answer this one.... what's your favorite article of clothing??

Do you have any hopes for your hat and if so, what are they? Just for it to be fucking rad, and a good fit. Ooops. We've gotta measure your noggin!! Do you have a fabric tape measure? You could also wrap a string around your head and then measure it flat if you don't.

Ok readers... soon I'll do my part and post some hat proposal drawings. Are you excited or what??

Hey Jacob!
In the meantime why don't you tell us more about yourself.....