Of Pointy Hats and Comfy Work Shirts

Its been a busy couple of weeks round here. I find pointy hat orders are a bit like buses, its all quiet for a while then several come in all at once, and this round was no exception. In the last fortnight I've made three very different pointy hats for clients, but utterly bizarrely, all three of those lovely gentlemen had the same first name, despite living in very different parts of the world!

So, we've had a hat for Snufkin, one for Gandalf, and one in graduated shades of purple with moons and stars applied:

All huge fun to work on, and I hope their new owners have many happy adventures in their hats.

I've also been catching up on my articles for the Downsizer site, I've put up a recipe for lip balm, plus a couple of very simple patterns. One for a knitted triangular shawl which lends itself very well to handspun or to odds and ends of cheerful yarn, and also a basic shirt pattern. This isn't anything new for those of you used to historically inspired sewing, but its a good shape for people who work hard and need room to move in their clothes, and well worth having a go at if you haven't before tried making your own shirts. This version is about as simple as they come, and can easily be made more elaborate if you are feeling so inclined.