The Baa-ble Hat--finished!

I finished the Baa-ble Hat last night and I am pleased with the end result.  Knitting with handspun yarn can be a challenge.  Originally the original green yarn I spun looked like a worsted weight.  I carded the blue-green Finnsheep with the yellow-green wool from Sue Ross and did not spin quite fine enough to obtain the gauge I wanted.  The other yarns in the stash were thinner and more even, so I quickly spun some more of the Finnsheep and was happier with the result.  There is a tiny hint of the bright green and I like the cool blue cast in the yarn.

I love how the Finnsheep blends into the other wool and changes the color.

Late last night I was so excited to be finished in time for Shepherd's Harvest.

A bit of steam worked nicely to smooth the crown

Add caption

Inside I tied the pompom to a button.  I use a strand of dental floss doubled to tie pompoms.  It is strong and stays tight around the core of the pompom.  

The sheep color changed three times.  I started out with white, changed to gray and then back to white.  Digging deeper into the stash I found a nice white that matched the thickness of the other yarns and used the fluffier tweed white for the snow and in the pompom. At first I thought the white would not stand out enough from the pale indigo used in the crown, but I liked it so much better than the gray and I did not have any darker blue in the stash.  The rustic texture adds to the charm of the design.  This morning I put the hat on the form and used the steam iron to give it a few blasts of steam and smoothed and patted the crown with my hands.  Rather than attaching the pompom permanently I tied in on the inside to a button, which will make washing the hat easier and keep the pompom looking good.  There was enough blue left to make a small pompom.

The final color choices.  I had just enough of the sheep white to use for the sheep section.  I think that some mittens or fingerless mitts may be in order for later.

Tomorrow is Shepherd's Harvest and I was happy to see my short bio on the website.  I have to get my stuff together today.  I kept the demo to top whorl drop spindling.  I have the Shetland roving from last year's trip to Jamieson & Smith to finish, BFL cloud and linen.  That should be enough variety to keep me busy.  Everything will fit nicely into a basket, so I will not have a lot to tote from the car.  Rain and warm temperatures are expected tomorrow, which does not affect the festival because fiber-folk love  all things woolly and soft along with meeting old and new friends.  Classes begin today.  I did not sign up for any this year, but next year I want to take the felted fleece taught by Becky Utecht if she offers it again.  I can take my time to find the perfect skirted fleece!