Hats

Last night I was on a conference call for some consulting with some business folks. It was one of those things where everyone sounded so smart and they all used the lingo that business people use these days (although no one said they were going to drill down on the issue it was close). At the end of the call one of the women who I have never met in another city said, "excuse me are you the Barbara who has written for Threads?" Yes a wrote I some things, but it made me laugh, it was so odd to have my real life, my sewing person, come out in that context.

Sewing is about who you really are and most people who see you only as you go about your business don't realize that there is this real person with another life who is really herself when she sews.

So I woke up this morning thinking about that, about blogging and about all the women I have met in this virtual world who really are this sewing person and I want you to know that I know who you really are. I think of you this morning, it's 6:30 a.m. getting on buses and maybe trains or in cars going to work in something you made, or getting up to take care of family or taking care of your own business and thinking of how you are going to fit sewing into your day today.

We all wear hats, but we are all sewers.

And speaking of which some time ago in a moment of low self-perception I bought a bunch of shocking pink wool jersey to make a dress from. After a while I decided that would be a lot of shocking pink on this body and I decided I wouldn't feel all that comfortable wearing it, and that after a couple of years of lack of nerve that I would end up throwing it out.

So I went into a trance and washed and dried the whole lot of it and shrank it into something felted that was really cool. And then I made this hat and this scarf out of it from this season's Ottobre and you know I have worn this very warm hat and scarf nearly every day, after all I live in Canada, and this was the right decision for this particular fabric as all my winter coats are black.

The pictures this morning are not that great, the colour seems to vibrate, but hopefully you get the idea. Two great patterns.

Oh BTW if anyone hasn't seen the latest Ottobre for spring, it is simply kick ass. Great plus sized patterns and some wonderful real life older women as models. I love those guys at Ottobre.