I've been wanting to make this hat for a while, and this wintry weather finally pushed me over the edge! I got the yarn at Piedmont Yarn near my house, and the pattern here. It's a wee bit small, but my big head should stretch it out.

Projects projects projects....

I've got a lot of projects brewing in my mind right now. It's exciting to have ideas! Here's the project I'm most set on doing (and the one I'm most likely to finish). I'm no great embroiderer, but I love how stitched prayers and sayings look; there's something about embroidered words that seems extra meaningful. My parents have a beautiful cross-stitch of the Irish Blessing (less cool version above) that hangs in my brother's room; it's one of my favorite things.

When I came across this poem last week while doing my "lunchtime literary studies" (browsing various authors on Wikipedia at work while eating my cup-o-soup), I knew what my fall project would be.

Late Fragment

And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.

--Raymond Carver

Carver wrote this poem when he was getting his last book in order before his death. I love it very much. I've only ever read his short stories, which I also love very much, but now I'm definitely going to read his poems too. I think this would be really special to stitch by hand and hang in my house.

The question is, how do I find a good embroidery font? Everything online is just cheesy or made for machine stitching. I want to do something like the below; I think I'll just end up using my own handwriting though. Any advice?

Am I Done Yet?

I'm working on a large wholesale order right now for a company showcasing bicycle-related products. It's kind of fun to pump out a bunch of the same thing, but a little exhausting as well, and projects like this always take longer than I expect. Most things take longer than I expect, actually (saving money, losing weight, achieving important life goals, etc).

I love this fabric from Kokka; it's more of a canvas than cotton and is nice and sturdy. Expensive, but worth it! I'll be making a few extra things out of this to add to my Etsy shop. Click on the pic if you want some for yourself!