A story of one unexpected hat

I don't do hats and that's a rule.  I grew up in a place with proper winters and as a child I was forced to wear one.  It was an endless source of arguments with my parents, and I have quite a lot of unpleasant hat-related memories.  To add insult to injury, my head is massive and finding a hat to flatter is almost impossible. 

Having said all that, here is my brand new creation:

Yeah, I know.  When it comes to rules, I'm a sticker, aren't I? 

To be quite serious, I don't know how much wear this hat is going to get, but I simply had to make it.  Serendipity works like this sometimes, at least with me.  I get an idea, however improbable, and I can't get it out of my head.  The pattern writes itself in my mind, almost as if it grew there on its own rather than being in any way created.  It started with me wondering what to do with sizable Amaryllis leftovers and hey presto, the Unexpected Hat is the result.

Initially it was to be a brimless, slouchy beanie, but once I had knit enough to try it on I realised that brimless hats make me look like a total moron.  I was this close to ripping the whole thing up!  Fortunately, I decided to try the rolled up look and it wasn't quite as bad.  I still don't qualify for a magazine cover but at least I can wear it in public. 

The question is - should I add a pom pom?

I thought my Puppy might be a better model than me, but getting her to stay still for more than a second is a bit tricky.  Still, she's cute, ain't she?

Pattern:

My own.  5 mm needles, circular, aran weight yarn. 

3 piece set and pricing commissions

Recently a friend of mine showed me this picture and asked:

'Can you make this?'

'Sure, why not?'

I puzzled over the pattern for a few days and once I thought I had it figured out, I bought some super-soft acrylic yarn and set to work.  After a week of leisurely paced knitting, I had this:

Colours were slightly changed as per my friend's request, but otherwise I think I got it pretty close, don't you?

I was promised pictures on a live model but they are slow to materialise, so for now I only have flat (and not so great - apologies!) shots.  I'll be sure to post the pics here as soon as they arrive, and believe you me, the little girl looks adorable in her new clothes!

Flower on the hat is stitched on permanently...

...but the rest are only tied on, so they can be moved around.  On poncho, I placed them to hide the seam but they might look even better elsewhere.

It was my very first attempt at a triangular shawl and as you can see, I don't yet have full control over the angles :).  I didn't bother with writing a chart, I just improvised all the way.  To a degree, the shape was forced by the stitch pattern but there might be a way to get around it.  I quite like the irregular look though, so fighting geometry will be left for another day.

The set was such a success, that I almost got a commission to make another one.  Almost, because eventually the project fell apart over price.  I requested 35 euros (around 6 of which I would have to spend on materials) and to tell you the truth, I think it's a very lousy pay for three days of fairly intensive knitting.  Yet, my prospective client was not prepared to accept the price tag. 

Not that I'm terribly heartbroken.  Knitting the same pattern twice is boring and 30 euro one way or another doesn't make any difference to my budget.  Still, the whole situation got me thinking.  Is it even possible these days to make money knitting?  With workers in Asian sweatshops churning pieces out for pennies and general public simply not giving a crap?  I'm inclined to say 'no', but perhaps you have different experiences?  Please share!

PATTERN:

Improvised from the picture found online (see link above).