The Big Tangle

As you know, I've been whining a lot lately about not having any yarny projects to work on. I finished niece's birthday gift. Then I did the Autonomy headscarf thing (for abortion rights). And in between I keep plugging away on the Calash scarf. 

Now (the time after summer school but before the new school year starts) is the time to really get some projects going so I have things to keep my hands busy in the evenings. And I finally started on something new.

The whys of this project take a bit of explaining. It's been in the planning stages for a while, but I haven't yet mentioned it on the blog.

Remember the octopus hats? I had started on them about this time last year (and I wrote all about them on the blog). I got a nice picture with the three nephews modeling them after Christmas. And I thought nothing more of it.

Then, my sister-in-law texted me. She wanted one, too. Could I make her one? Of course.

But, I got to thinking. She's not really an octopus type. I suggested that perhaps she would enjoy a different sort of hat. After going back and forth, she admitted that she wished that a unicorn hat existed. 

I knew there had to be one. It turned out there were several.

I took screenshots of the pictures from the various patterns. I sent them to her. She chose the one she liked best. 

And it turned out I was very familiar with the designer of that hat. Yup, it's the same designer that designed the octopus hat.

So, why didn't I start on SIL's hat right away? (We had this conversation back in April.) Because she wanted to pick out the yarn, and she was going to send it to me.

I waited. And I got busy with other things. SIL texted me at the beginning of June to ask if I had gotten the yarn. Nope. She realized that she had never ordered the yarn. She told me she'd get right on that.

Not last week but the week before, I was contemplating what to work on next. (Okay, so we're talking not quite the end of July. So, another month and a half since the last time SIL said she would send me the yarn she wanted.) And I knew that SIL was never going to send me the yarn. It was time to figure out how to start the hat.

Looking at SIL's color choices, I realized that I probably had the yarn already on hand. I did. So, I ordered the pattern and pulled out the yarn I'd need. 

I jumped right in.

Which... was kind of a mistake. 

I did not take pictures. I don't think the pictures would have done it justice.

Let's just say that I probably should have taken the time to rewind the clump of yarn into a nice ball to crochet from. I thought the yarn would come untangled as I crocheted. Nope. Starting the hat only made things worse. Sigh.

I started the project on a Thursday. It was Monday before I spent more time crocheting than I did untangling. 

But then the hat part took shape. 

It kind of looks like an old time football helmet with the ear flaps. But this is just the base on which the accessories go that make it look like a unicorn.

The next step is ears...

These get attached to the hat. I think the mane comes after that, but I'm not sure. (I find that reading the pattern doesn't make a lot of sense to me without yarn and hook in hand. If I do each instruction as I read it, things tend to work out.) 

I'm not using the top-of-the-line cushy expensive yarn for this. So, it's kind of a practice run. I'll keep you posted as I progress on the thing.