I Offer You Sunflowers

Hello Everyone, Today on the blog I offer you all things Sunflower. Is there anything that better symbolizes hope, optimism and beauty? We can’t stop darkness, but we can create light.

While I do still have my daily six o’clock news despair hour, I’m mostly enjoying my life. I have come to the conclusion that the best I can do is offer some help in some way and then get on with living. My help is coming in floral form because that’s what I do best.

I have made these pretty little sunflowers from hand dyed organic cotton and hemp jersey. They are available in the form of a pin or a hair clip. I have also discovered that they look beautiful on just about anything, so I have put them on hats and headbands as well. Five dollars from each sale will go towards Ukrainian relief. To be honest, I’m not sure yet to which organization I will donate. The Red Cross has always been my first choice, but I am hearing some complaints about them, so if you have an organization you really believe in please let me know.

I do now have a local pick up option at check out, but if you need your sunflower shipped it might be more economical to order a hat or a headband (or a few sunflowers).

At first I was focused on blue and yellow, but then these sunflowers landed on a brown and green Margaret hat and it quickly became my favourite combination. Do you agree?

I mean, tell me that’s not adorable.

But then again, blue and yellow is also quite sweet….Decisions, decisions.

I told you these little sunflowers work on just about anything.

In non sunflower related news, I just finished making a lot of hats for Beauchapeau Hat Shop in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. I had stopped wholesaling for a while, but I’m back. If you know a shop in your area that you think needs to carry Hat Junkie hats please let them know about me…or let me know about them. Thanks in advance. The Suitcase Sally hat, pictured above, is my summer best seller and, of course, it was not on my website. I really need another me. It’s up there now, though.

So, this May will mark 28 years of hat making. This means two things. 1- I am old. 2- I have accumulated a lot of stuff. It’s very humbling when you realize that you would have to live longer than Moses to use all the materials in your studio. I am beginning my letting go process. I’ll be regularly adding treasures to my new destash shop. If you are on Instagram, this is the best place to get regular updates. I will soon be parting with some of my vintage hats and dresses. (Insert heavy sigh)

Well, my blog would not be my blog unless I showed you my knitting. I finished these leg warmers a couple of months ago. For any knitters out there wondering how they stay up. They are sewn to a pair of cut off leggings. I’m telling you, a sweater for your legs is the way to go if, like me, you are always cold. I live in these things. (Until I have a hot flash, and then they come off in about half a second.)

This is one of the projects I am currently working on. It’s a free pattern available HERE. It takes me around 2 hours to knit one square. Tony kindly figured out that if I knit one a day it will take me a little over two years to make a queen sized blanket. A one day at a time lesson if ever there was one.

I’m also working on this shawl. I am using all my early hand spun yarns. It’s on pause right now as I need to make more yarn. It’s really fun to say that.

At the risk of over sharing, Here are my Green Shoots Mittens by Kate Davies. I spun the dark brown yarn. Yes, I’m proud of myself.

I’ll leave you on a bit of a serious note. Because I work with my hands all day I am able to listen to many podcasts. For reporting on the war in the Ukraine, I have been so impressed with The Daily Podcast put out by The New York Times. They cover many other issues as well. I listened to this amazing episode that followed several girls in Afghanistan from the time the Taliban took over. It’s heartbreaking, but also an amazing testament to the human spirit. It’s reporting like this that reminds me how amazingly fortunate I am. You can find it HERE if you would like to listen.

Wishing you all a happy spring, filled with flowers, rebirth and all things beautiful.