Tag Archives: yarn hats

Oct18

Winter Is Coming (But Your Head Doesn’t Have to Be Cold)

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Blaize Sun

Each of these three pink and purple cuties is extra large and has a rolled edge. They cost $15 each, including shipping.

I’ve been on a hat-making kick. I love to see the way colors come together and working with colorful yarn allows me to have such an experience. I like to keep my hands busy when I listen to a podcast or do a Spanish lesson, and making hats is good for that too.

Both of these hats are extra large and have a rolled edge. Either can be yours for only $15, including shipping.

At the end of last winter, I’d said I was out of the hat business. Rolls of yarn seemed too bulky to store in the van, and I had so many hats already in stock. I don’t really get a good financial payoff from selling hats either; because it takes me over an hour to make a hat, I barely make minimum wage on my labor when I sell a hat for 10 or even 15 bucks. Making more hats barely seemed worth it to me.

These three greenies will take you through to St. Patrick’s Day! Each is extra large with a rolled edge. Each will keep your head warm and save you from being pinched for only $15, including shipping.

Then, in the spring, a sweet New Mexico friend cleaned out her craft larder and offered me all the yarn she decided she wouldn’t use after all. I couldn’t turn down her kindness, and I was back in the hat business.

This hat is brown and yellow and pale blue. It’s extra large for a comfy fit for the big of head or hair and has a rolled edge. It can grace your head for only $15, including shipping.

I noticed the last few times I set up my sales table, the extra-large hats were getting all the attention. Very interesting. Most people, it seems, want a loose hat. Personally, I like a snug hat I can keep pulled down over my ears, but as my dad used to say, if everyone liked the same thing, there wouldn’t be enough to go around. Because more people seem to be interested in extra-large hats, lately I’ve concentrated my efforts on making extra-large hats. I’m asking a couple dollars more for the bigger hats because making them requires more of my time and materials.

Red and grey and brightly colored, both of these hats pop! Each is extra large with a rolled edge. Each will cost you only $15, including shipping.

Most of the hats you’ll see in the this post are new, handmade by me in the last few weeks. Each is extra-large and has a rolled edge. Each costs $15, including shipping. (As always, if you buy more and I can consolidate your items into one package going to one address, I’ll give you a break on shipping.)

The money job was slow one day, so I made a purple and blue hat while I was stuck there. It’s extra large, with a rolled edge and was made from yarn my friend sent me. For only $15, including shipping, it can keep your head warm now and into the future.

If none of these hats entice you, have a look at my newly updated Hats for Sale page. All of the hats shown in this post are also shown on that page, as well as plenty of large hats for folks with smaller heads or those who want a snugger fit.

On another slow day at the mercantile, I whipped up this colorful cutie with more yarn sent by my friend. It’s extra large, with a rolled edge. You can wear it on your head for only $15, including shipping.

Winter is coming, yes, but you can keep your head warm with a hat from the heart and hands of the Rubber Tramp Artist.

Dec1

The Last of the Hats

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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These two large hats are for sale. Both have rolled edges, and both are suitable for adults. Each costs $13, including postage.

These two large hats are for sale. Both have rolled edges, and both are suitable for people over the age of five (depending on head size). Each costs $13, including postage.

I’m not making any more hats for a long time. I’ve reached this decision for a number of reasons.

#1 Yarn takes up storage space. While yarn doesn’t weigh much, it does take up space. Of course, living in a van, my storage space is limited. I’ve decided drawers or bags full of yarn is not space well used.

#2 The completed hats take up up space too. I have a bag intended to store a sleeping bag stuffed with handmade hats. It’s shoved in my passenger seat area. I could probably do something better with the space.

These two extra large hats have rolled edges and are suitable for adults with a large head or lots of hear. Each has a rolled edge and costs $13, including postage.

These two extra-large hats have rolled edges and are suitable for people with a large head or lots of hair. Each costs $13, including postage.

#3 Yarn cost money. Sure, I buy most of my yarn at thrift stores, so I’m getting bargains. However, a bargain is not really a bargain when I’m buying something I don’t need.

#4 I’m not really selling enough hats to make creating them worth the effort. Yes, I sell a hat every now and again, and that’s awesome. But months go by between hat sales and the hats just sit in their bag and take up precious space.

#5 A friend in New Mexico sells my hats while she is out selling the jewelry she makes, but frankly, it’s not worth the cost of sending the hats to her. It costs me about $1 per hat to mail them to my friend. She sells the hats for $10 each, keeps $5 for herself and sends $5 to me. Making $4 per hat means I’m earning around $2 per hour to make the hats. The amount of money is just not worth my effort.

These two extra-large hats have rolled edges and are suitable for people with large heads or a lot of hair. Each costs $13, including postage. The hat on the right has a whimsical pompom on the front.

Of course, I enjoy making the hats. I enjoy making the hats so much, I’ve given similar handmade hats to friends. I have given my handmade hats to friends I suspect will never wear them. The joy I get from making the hats is simply not greater than the money I spend to make them and the space I lose hauling them (or the yarn they’re made from) around.

I currently have 43 hats for big people available, including the six featured in this post. I also have six hats available for small children. The six featured here are the last I am going to make for a long while, unless I take on custom orders. Get ’em while you still can.

Nov16

Bigger Hats

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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The weather’s getting cooler, and it might be time to think of a warm winter hat.

Before I left the mountain, I took out the largest of the looms I work with and made some bigger hats.

If you think my other hats might be too small for you, or if you have a lot of hair to pull a hat over, any of the hats pictured in this post might be for you.

Any of the hats shown here are available for $13, including shipping. All of the hats are made with my own two hands and have a rolled edge.

If you don’t like these hats or think they might be too big for your head, you can click on “Hats I’ve Made (For Sale)” to see what else is available, or send me an email message.

Nov4

Fan Letter

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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I’m a big fan of writing fan letters. Although I don’t do it nearly enough, I think it’s important to let people know when I appreciate their work.

Recently, I wrote a fan letter to the two women who do one of my favorite podcasts, Stuff You Missed in History Class. Since Holly (Frey) and Tracy (V. Wilson) enjoy knowing what activities people engage in while listening to the show, along with my letter, I sent some of the handicrafts I made while listing to them. What follows is the letter I sent:

Dear Holly and Tracy,

During camping season (mid-May to mid-October), I am a camp host in a remote mountain area of California. The area where I work offers no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no landline, and no internet access. When I’m not assisting visitors or scrubbing pit toilets or writing about my experiences for my blog, I make winter hats from yarn and jewelry from hemp. While my fingers are busy, I like listening to podcasts, including Stuff You Missed in History Class. I especially enjoy episodes dealing with feisty women and LGBTQ rights.

At one point this past summer, in order to save money, I decided to stay on the mountain for two weeks instead of going to civilization during my days off. I had plenty of food, so sitting tight was no problem. I had several episodes of Stuff You Missed in History Class on my phone and many more stored on my laptop. After I listened to all of the episode on my phone, I pulled out my laptop and used the last of its battery trying to transfer episodes. For some reason I don’t understand, my laptop wouldn’t recognize my phone, so I was unable to add any episodes. Oh well! I simply listened to the dozen or so episodes on my phone until I went back to civilization and my laptop and phone decided to communicate with one another.

Listening to an episode multiple times allowed me to learn new information with each exposure to the material. And it was grand to hear human voices when I had no campers in the campground and was feeling lonely.

These are the hats I sent to Holly and Tracy.

To thank you for keeping me company, I decided to send you things I made while listening to you. I made the hats while on a yarn bender. I made the necklaces especially for you ladies.

When I decided to make necklaces, I knew I wanted to use pendants with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” While her actual quote uses the word “seldom,” I could only find pendants with “seldom” replaced by “rarely.” I haven’t read Ulrich’s book named after her quote , so I don’t know if she is she addresses how and when and why the quote was changed. I wonder how this quote came to be attributed to Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt. Finally, I wonder how Ulrich feels about seeing her quote (from her 1976 academic paper in the journal “American Quarterly”) plastered on pendants, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, and t-shirts.

In any case, Tracy and Holly, I appreciate all you two do to bring history to the people. I’ve certainly learned a lot from listening to you.

All the best,

Blaize Sun

I took the photos in this post.

Oct13

Gifts for a Family

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Blaize Sun

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I always thought I’d have a family, Lou said to me on more than once occasion as we passed through our late 20s, our 30s, our late 30s. She has her family now.

The husband came first. Lou and I had been out of touch for years when she met him. She and I had just rekindled our friendship when they got married. (By rekindled our friendship, I mean Lou was one of my old friends who worked to find me after I disappeared into the New Mexico night. I remember calling Lou on my new cell phone after I’d been found, and she asked if we could talk later. I’m driving in LA with my boyfriend and his parents, she said, but left out the part about on the way to my wedding.)

Lou’s husband is a nice man. He’s a computer guy and athletic. He’s a good cook too, especially of Korean food and smoked brisket. He generously shared the home he’s made with Lou when I needed a place to stay in late 2012.

After a couple of years of marriage, Lou and her man had a baby, a boy. He’s two, but I haven’t met him yet. I’ve had to be satisfied with viewing his adorableness via photos on Facebook.

And now Lou is pregnant again, this time with a girl. It’s a family for sure.

Some of the first hats I made were fro Lou and her family. The colors of the hats for the adults were weird, and I’d only taught myself the basic hat-making technique. Still, Lou sent me a photo of the three of them grinning

This is the infinity scarf I made for Lou.

broadly while wearing the hats I’d made.

I’ve been on a yarn kick this summer. I decided to make an infinity scarf for Lou. I used a pink and brown color scheme.

This is the tiny pink hat I made for the upcoming baby.

Then I cam across some soft pink yarn and decided to make a little hat for the upcoming baby. The hat turned out so tiny! I couldn’t believe how small it was. It seemed impossibly small. Then I thought of something that size coming out of my vagina, and the hat seemed impossibly large.

Since it’s not fair to send the baby a present and nothing for the older kid, and since the boy’s surely outgrown the tiny hat I made for him nearly two years ago, I made a colorful hat for him.

While Lou’s husband probably does not need another winter hat, I didn’t want to exclude him. Besides, he’ll probably like the colors and design of the new hat better.

This is the hat I made for Lou’s husband.

If they don’t like the hats and scarf, I’m cool with that. They can take whatever they don’t like downtown and pass it along to people in unconventional living situations.

This is the colorful hat I made for Lou’s little son.

I took all the photos in this post.