Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Yeehaw!

Dear Shayne,

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've been crocheting a cowgirl hat (Yeehaw Lady from Debbie Stoller's The Happy Hooker). It's finished! It's a little bit wonky and does not look great on the glass head, but my head is bigger than the glass head, so it looks all right on me (I think).
Yeehaw!

Thank goodness I had my friend Jocelyn's help with this (Hi, Jocelyn!) because the pattern ended up being waaaaay too big (and I have a big head!) She forged ahead and ripped back when she saw what was coming, thereby saving me the agony of ripping back (too much) myself.
Yeehaw!

I can't say that I would trade in my knitting needles for a crochet hook, but it is certainly faster than knitting and you can make nice, structured things very quickly with crochet.

I also realized that I've been making dishcloths wrong all of these years. When I said that earlier to Jocelyn, she said, "Why? How have you been making them?" I said, "Knitting."

Yeah. It usually takes me 4 hours to knit a dishcloth. I could probably whip one out in about an hour with crochet. It's crocheted dishcloths from now on, baby. Yeehaw!

love,
kelly

28 comments:

j0zzzz said...

Yay! It looks good. It's amazing what a bit of wire around the edges can do for the shape of the brim (though if we ever do this again we are definitely going to use a better stitch to finish it). Next, flowers!

bettyninja said...

This really can't get much cooler. I love it.

bettyninja said...

I just sent it to craftzine I like it so much!

bettyninja said...

Hehe- it's up, it's up--http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/03/crochet_cowboy_hat.html

Castro Valley Farmers Market said...

I love the hat, Kelly... I bet Martha never knit a cowgirl hat!

kelly said...

Betty, you rock! I feel all famous now!

Shayne said...

The hat looks awesome!!! Now you need a pony!

Anonymous said...

I heart that hat so much I wanna make my own! Nice work!

grrrl1der726

PS Found you through Craft.

lmilla said...

I'm with you - I love my knitting, but crocheting is so much faster... and easier for me to pick up and put down. Great job on the hat! I've been eyeing that pattern since I purchased the book.

Anonymous said...

Ooh - I really love your hat. Great job!

Anonymous said...

I would love the pattern. Where can I get it?

user said...

So is this your first crochet project?? I knit, but ever since I saw that crochet cowboy hat in the Happy Hooker, I've been itching to crochet.
Congratulations! You're gonna be the coolest kid at the pool this summer with that hat!
(p.s. I also found you through Craft)

Dani In NC said...

The hat looks great! I have seen the book "The Happy Hooker" yet, but your hat makes me want to seek it out.

I generally prefer knitting for garments, but the exception is hats. My crocheted hats turn out much better than my knitted ones. I also prefer crochet for home decor items like afghans.

kelly said...

Thanks to everyone for the Hat Love!

Anonymous -- the pattern is from Debbie Stoller's book, The Happy Hooker.

Melissa -- Yes, this was my first crochet project, but I did have help from a crochet expert (my friend Jocelyn). I'm not sure if it would have gone quite so well without her help. Mostly, in altering the pattern, because the pattern in the book makes an enormous hat. So she really helped me size it down. Also, she kept reassuring me that I wasn't being "too loose" after she told me to loosen things up on the hook -- the looseness of crochet takes some getting used to.

I do think a beginner could get through this pattern with some help -- even the help of the internet. So if you decide to try it, feel free to send me any questions you have. If I can't answer them, I'll get Jocelyn!

Anonymous said...

http://bythehook.blogdrive.com/archive/233.html

http://bythehook.blogdrive.com/archive/233.html

I believe the designer is Dot MathhewsHere is the designer's (older) website. She's got corrections to Yee Haw and lots of other free patterns (including a similar hat...)

She's awesome!

Ms. Ganshirt said...

Yay cowgirl hat!

Yay, Kelly!

Jenny said...

Wow!!! You're famous! Love the hat. All my best intentions to talk to you over my spring break...is it too late? Send me a text if you're home tonight.

Mytutorlist.com said...

The cowgirl hat looks great! I never knew knitting took longer than crocheting. It's good that you discovered that it's better for dishcloths. Crochet dishcloths can be so beautiful!

elzza said...

looks great
i actually just googled the book and the pattern looking for help on it, and found this post, i'm on round 4 and things don't seem to be lining up. did you find any problems like this? i already ripped it and started all over again in case it was me, but now i think i have to start fudging it...

kelly said...

momma elzza -- There is errata for the pattern (see the PDF here) and there's an error in Round 2 -- that could have thrown you off?

I'm sorry I don't know if I can help much other than that, as I had tons of help myself on this project from an experienced crocheter.

One thing to note is that the "seam" (where you start and end) is actually at the side of the hat. So that may be part of why things look wonky -- I expected it to be in the middle/back, but it was not. Good luck!

elzza said...

thanks. i saw the errata, it's for the 1st edition, i have the 3rd, so it should be right...
i found out that one of my friends on tribe also had trouble w/ it, i'm waiting to hear back from her if she ever figured it out. meanwhile i have a babyblanket i need to finish anyway...
thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Can you advise what yarn you used specifically for your cowgirl hat? It looks very twiney and I am hoping for the same effect.

kelly said...

Sure! I used Lily Sugar and Cream, doubled (per the pattern). The color is "Softly Taupe." You can see what it looked like on the skein in this post.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! That is a cool hat! thanks for sharing.

David Palay said...

I've seen these glass display heads at Palay Display. http://www.palaydisplay.com/Deluxe-Glass-Display-Head-p-13012.html

David Palay said...

Here's the link:

Glass Head

Unknown said...

how can I buy this hat from someone?

Jame said...

You can buy it online