That's How You Sing Amazing Grace

The dress has been progressing nicely and I've been thinking about making a hat too, but nothing too ambitious this time. It's many years since I made a hat, and although I still have two hat blocks and a spiral spring, I got rid of my stash of felt hoods and blocking net a long time ago. So it actually works out cheaper just now to buy a blocked shape and stick some flowers on (which I suppose is cheating a bit).

Coffee Bean felt hat

I've been looking at blocked shapes and after consulting my friend Kath (in whose honour I will be wearing the hat), this is the one we decided looked least like an air hostess's hat. The other two looked decidedly British Airways circa 1980s. The selected coffee bean is from Macculloch and Wallis, so not cheap. I ordered it yesterday; I hope it's larger than an actual coffee bean. I have already made one bad micro-millinery choice this month, more on that later... 

In my teens I used to wear hats a lot. I wouldn't have gone out to the shop without sticking on a beret or an old charity shop breton. These days it's more for practical reasons like not getting frozen ears. In my younger days I was convinced that more people spoke to me when I had a hat on than not. I will have to see if this theory still holds...as I live in a fairly small community it's difficult not to have some kind of human interaction when out, and most folk are wearing hats at this time of year anyway (not usually ones with flowers on them). Here are my nice red flowers:

Velvet flowers to go on coffee bean hat

I bought these online along with a little black sinamay hat base called a "cookie". They weren't kidding, it's not much bigger than a biscuit. I must have misread the measurements; I thought I'd get something the size of a side plate. I've been wondering where the line is between cocktail hat (quite like) and fascinator (definitely not ok) and I think the cookie is on the wrong side of the line for me. 

Sirdar Nomad Jacket design e

I've not been doing any sewing for the past few days as it was my turn to get the virus that's doing the rounds, but I did start some knitting for my November project a couple of days ago. Knitting feels more sedate than sewing, and I can watch telly too. I'm trying another one of these Sirdar Nomad jackets using their new brushed yarn Babouska. In spite of my initial disappointment with the last one I made earlier this year (aka the Heffalump jacket), I have actually worn it a lot, and it is surviving quite well in its various roles as dressing gown, work jacket, and fetching-the-coal jacket. I should add, it washes very well! 

The new one is in a plum coloured yarn and a size smaller so I'm hoping to get something more like the shape of the one in the picture.

Well as the week moves on, this virus is looking suspiciously like hand foot and mouth. Luckily Mr K and LC shook it off in a matter of days. I am feeling quite sorry for myself and frustrated that I can't get on with the dress. Having made the toile recently, I have a fair idea of how long it will take so I'm not too worried about the timescale although I don't want to leave it to the last minute. My hands are nowhere near as sore as my feet so I could be sewing tomorrow, or the next day.

Earlier, Little Creature and I were sitting in a cafe waiting for Mr K to come out of the dentist. I'd bought him a magazine with a free camera (with little revolving picture disc in the viewfinder). He was pretending to take snaps of people in the cafe. The waitress obliged him with a toothy smile. "It' doesn't really work," he explained earnestly. "The batteries have died." He gave me a commentary of what people were doing in the cafe, and the street, as he worked on a teacake. My cup of tea seemed to stay hot for ages. I forgot about my sore feet. Time goes at a nice pace when small folk remind you of how interesting now can be.