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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Official word about the silent auction!!


This is the print out for the official event!  On November 2nd I'm going to be bringing the World AIDS Day Hats that I made for them personally.... I'm really excited to see their faces light up with smiles and laughter when they see my hats...  :o) I hope they let me take photographs... I want to show my mom and dad next time i go home to visit.  But yeah I have this and a bunch of cool Christmas present ideas to look forward to in the next couple months.  Ok I really hope I'll see people there on December 1st 2009 for The World AIDS Day Silent Auction.
~Heather
--------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Supporters,

            The purpose and mission of Community Counseling of Bristol County is to develop and deliver compassionate, responsive and quality mental health and substance abuse services to meet the prevention, education, treatment, and rehabilitation needs of those in our community.

Our Consumer Advisory Board is sponsoring a fundraiser to benefit HIV/AIDS services provided by Community Counseling of Bristol County. More than twenty-five years after HIV/AIDS hit the news, the epidemic continues to affect our community. HIV client services’ mission is to continue raising public awareness about this illness, as well as assist those who are affected.

Please consider donating to our World AIDS Day fundraiser. This event will take place on Tuesday December 1, 2009 at the First Parish Church in Taunton, Massachusetts. The World AIDS Day activities will include a memorial service, music, and silent auction. 
For more information please email: adenno@comcounseling.org or call (508) 977-8131.

We greatly appreciate your support!



Sincerely,

Alison Denno


Alison Denno
Case Manager
CCBC
1 Washington Street
Taunton, Massachusetts 02780


(Can be found on Myspace.com - The Consumer Advisory Board - In their blog - World AIDS Day Print Out)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Slower days

Well earlier this week I think it was Sunday or Monday, whichever, and I received an email asking if I could make a hat and scarf set for them, that looked like one of my older hats the "Ferocious Bear" which I made for a young lady from the art forums of Penny Arcade. It's pretty good forum nice people who are extremely creative.  but any who,I received the request via Etsy's Alchemy section, and it was pretty cool I made the hat with a few extra things and got it done in about 2 days  posted and the customer bought it the next day after I had already gone to the post office.... But it will ship out on Monday. the other hat and scarf set that I sold was the Albert Einstein combo,   the one that was in popular science's online gift guide for Pi day....  I was kinda sad to see it go but meh, I can make a hat that looks like someone else.  then tonight/ this morning another purchase.... and this one even better then any of the others... don't get me wrong I fully appreciate it... but I sold one of my endangered species hats which means I get to donate half of the purchase to the World Wildlife Foundation.   It felt so good when I saw that one of those sold.  It means I get to keep making them and hoping that people have goodness in their hearts to try to do what they can to help the earth out just a little bit... That girl who bought my polar bear hat, not only was she supporting handmade like the other patrons did, she helped adopt a polar bear to help it nuturer it, and make sure that it survives.  I think I'm wicked happy right now that one of my plans for trying to help the world one hat at a time worked.   :o)

I can't wait to make more hats to replace the purchased ones....  right now I'm still working on that turkey hat he's almost done just needs eyes and feet.... also I'm almost done with my mom's Christmas present.

I've been very tired unfortunately and haven't been working as fast as usual but it is the weekend and that could explain some of this lack of will to do stuff and just relax... but that feels far too unproductive, but so far i have listened to at least 4 audio books now since i started just knitting in my room when everyone else is gone.  i sometimes wish i could go back in time so i can just sit and listen to the radio  for my entertainment and use my imagination to paint the pictures that it describes..  very old fashion in deed but still people then were less lazy and more able to do more then one thing at a time. i find that when knitting or whatever while listening to a story or the new is very relaxing to me.... i can sit in complete silence sometimes and crochet for hours without even noticing that the music or noise had stopped.  i guess i'm what you might call strange... in a word.   ... i don't know... i'm tired now so ... i guess it's sleep or me being awake for 2-3 more hours making more crocheted leaves for the scarf.  ok good night

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Vikings Hat!

Ok So as previously stated.... christmas presents are currently being made.
And the first one on the list is my Dad's present..... being a Vikings Hat because he likes the football team so much.  In this blog I'm going to attempt to explain how to make this hat.... it's actually pretty simple...

Ok well to start off you're going to want to draw out a quick sketch of what you want.... so I drew out my Vikings hat Idea and colored it in so I know what colors everything has to be. drawing things out actually helps you figure out what shapes you are going to have to make later on.
From looking at this picture you can see your going to need a tube structure big enough to go around the brim of the hat. Also the horns, notice how they are expanding as they go downward. Then if you look underneather the white horns you'll see the "socket piece" holding the horns in place. those are pretty much discs that get slightly cupped inwards.  and the hair that can be achevied by latch hooking some long strands of yarn through the bottom of the hat.  so what we're looking at here is : 2 Horns, 2 shallow cups, 1 long tube to go around head, and a bunch of loose yarn that can be wrapped around something long enough for your project.   It's just like art class where you take something that you're looking at and break it down into basic shapes, with crochet that's pretty much all you need.  the rest is sewing and sculpting the pieces the way you want them to go.   
To make the base hat i usually use the 36 pegged knifty knitter loom and quick pop out at cap. I love that thing it makes my life so much easier... lol. But anyways...  pick your colors of what will match your drawing/sketch.... you can base your selections on whatever you like.... these hats are custom labors of love so choose what you think the recipient would like and what would make them happy... that way it specialized well personalized really... i guess.

Ok so now ...  I have all my shapes made out
notice the horns are already sewed on to the shallow cup shapes... I forgot to take pictures inbetween the process I was watching a movie while making them... Sorry. You start those shapes off by making a circle then work out from there ... work in groups of 3s when you jump up to make it fatter.... and do at least 2 - 3 rows of no groups inbetween each grouping. that prolly doesnt make sence....  I don't know how to word the stitch lingo.... I know it exsists but pretty much everything I know is improvised... lol  the key to good crochet is consistancey.   Make sure when you make the long tube shape it fits around your head snuggly but comfortably.. and that it's not too wide... you don't want the grey to take up your entire head.  you want it as close to your sketch as possible!  Once you get all the parts made it's time to sew! Sew the horns onto your shallow cups shapes right in the middle.... the get to stuffing!

I usually use Poly-Fil because it's so light you can barely notice it on your head..... and it give the hat more padding to keep heat in... it feels like you're wearing a pillow on your head but extremely comfortably.  Once everyone's all stuffed with poly-fil or whatever.... start sewing the brim of the hat the the bottom of the hat... you're going to want to stuff your hat with something a little bigger then your head  but not too much bigger though, you don't want to stetch it too badly. this is so it stays about the size you are going to have when it's on a human head. once you have it to the shape and size you want start sewing the tube onto the bottom of the hat. Make sure there is at le 2 more rows of the hat that are under the point where you want to sew it on.... those are going to be usefull if you want hair...  

As you can see in this phot with my awesome boyfriend helping me out by being my hat model ...lol... I have everything sewn on... the tube goes all the way around and connects in the back ... I use a whip stitch to sew everything... but thats just me you can use whatever method you'd like..just make sure everything is secure so it won't be able to fall off ... even if little kids or dogs get ahold of it and try to destroy it... it's happens sometimes!....  but once everything is sewn on stuff the shallow cups with poly-fil to make them puff up like mine.
Ok so now you should have something that looks sort of like a vikings Helmet......  It could use a little something.. don't you think? This is where the yellow yarn comes into play... I actually used 2 different colors of yellow one dark one wicked bright.
I took my silkscreen out because it looked like it could be about the correct length I would need to make lengthy hair....  so I wrapped it around a bunch of times until I felt that it was going to be enough strands..... taking about 6 strands per each bunch up in my hand ... make sure they are all about the right length and fold them in half ..... take the bent loop piece of the strand and pull it through on of those bottom layers of the base cap that was left under the brim.... this is exactly like latch hook ..... you take the bent piece and you pull it under the stitch and then take the tail of the loop and pull it through it's self making a knot...... Make sure you mark out where you want you hair before placing them in there.... you can tie loose pieces of bright yarn to where your start and finish lines are for where the bright yellow and the dark

yellow yarn will go.... should only be enough to cover your ears......... i used 6 strands per each knot.... to give it thicker hair.... then I braided them and tied them with a piece of yarn very tightly and a few extra times around it  again just to make sure.....

This is a finished side view of the hat... I think my dad will like it.... i sent a photo of it to my brother he said dad would love it ... so that's cool... guess I have to find another project to do...

I'm quite sure i'll start one tomorrow... unless I have to go to do that haunted house thing .... I get to help set up a haunted house again this year ... but this time i get to paint things and not people.... which is cool too......

ok so until next time I hope the directions weren't too confusing.
I'll put a few links to things that might better explain what i'm talking about.... or at least word it a little better then me. lol... ok hoep you like it tell me what you think.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Getting My list Together ... and Checking it Twice!


Well I'm starting my christmas list of who gets what this year... and oh man! I have to make so many presents this year lol.  Last year I gave everyone handmade soap and candles, and a few hats and scarves of course... but this year I want to do all hats and scarves....  I have some Ideas...  I sketched them out so I could remember what I was thinking of doing lol.... They're special tailored to each person who they are going to....


This is a Gidget Hat which I'm making for my Grandma S. She used to have a little shitzu dog and she passed away so i figured i could try to make one into a hat for my grandmother. This is a sketch of the scarf that I want to make for my mom... I made her a skunk hat for her birthday, and I think this scarf will go great with it.  I want to make a bushy green scarf with beads and leaves in it so that it will look like a bush... this way when she wears the hat and the scarf together she can duck her head down into the scarf and all you'll see is a skunk in a bush. I don't know  I thought it was cute. plus I already found the perfect beads to use... just looking for that special yarn to make the scarf from.

This scarf is going to be made for my Grandpa L... He's an Artist from central upstate-ish NY he paints church windows along with some other really awesome stuff his technique is really quite unique.  but I want to make him a scarf or a hat either way it going to have the painter's pallet and a paint brush and lots of colors.... Might just make the hat one though.



This next one is the scarves for my brother and one of my cousins....

The satan hat goes with the satan hat I made him earlier this year... and the fishing pole scarf will go with the dead fish hat I made for Cody for his birthday...

These two hats are The Grandpa Hat which is for Grandpa S... Looks like him but as a cartoon... My boyfriend even said so! lol and the other one is the Buffalo Jane Hat... which is going to go to a good friend back home in Oxford.... that one might take a little while to make ... possibly an after christmas project.







This next set are the Gidget Hat My Dad's Vikings Hat and the Humming Bird Hat which is going to my Grandma L.
The Kangaroo Hat for one of Jon's Cousins and also I'm making a Zebra hat for his other cousin and I have to figure out what to do for the rest of his family....
This one is going to be going up on my etsy but the Bar tender at ruby tuesday's gets first dibs if she wants it... it was her idea.... for a turkey hat ... but that's what it'll hopefully come out as lol...

Here was the entire page of doodles lol....  but those are the projects to come...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

World AIDS Day Hat are Finally Finished!!

I'm so happy I can now finally after two and a half
weeks of non-stop knitting and crocheting say that           
I'm officially done with all three hats.  It's been a
real challenge. All three hats racked my brain on
how to create them. And surprisingly enough the
hardest hat to make was the bunny! That nurse hat
was so fricken hard to make. I even stabbed my
poor index finger with the scissors trying to make
holes for the bunny ears to go through. But alas
they are all finished.                                              
                                                                           
Now I have to figure out how I'm going to get all
my christmas knitting and crocheting projects done.
Right now I'm working on a Vikings Helmet/Hat
for my Dad. He loves the football team "The Vikings"
so I figured that a vikings hat would be good for him.
after that I have to make a fox hat and a dolphine hat,
for my boyfriend's cousins. Also a bushy scarf with
red berries for my mom... that way when she wheres
 the skunk hat I made her for her birthday she can hide
 her head in the bush scarf and all you'll see if the
skunk in a bush.  I also have to make a humming bird
 hat for my Grandma L, and a shitzu hat for my
Grandma S.  not sure what to give my grandfathers
though. and i'll prolly wind up making a red scarf to
match the devil hat I gave to my brother for his birthday.
A cow hat for my god-son because he loves cows.
a scarf for lil Cody and something for my cousin Adam.

After I make all these I have to start making more hats
 for my etsy.... I wish people would just be like
"hey can you make me a pig or a lobster hat or something?"
If given direction I can make anything when given a good
challenge. 

So with that said ...
If anyone has any requests or even a suggestion of
something I could make... Feel free to tell me what you
want ... I'll make it... and I'll put it up in my etsy and you
can get it on there... or if your in Taunton, MA tell me and
I can just bring it to you.

So many Hats... So little time!
good thng today is a day off.. otherwise I think my hands
would fall off.
Happy knitting/crocheting!

~ The Crazy Hat Lady

P.S. Remember this date and Address if you are around
the area of Taunton That Day!


December 1st 2009 @ 5:00pm
Worlds AIDS Day / Silent Auction
Taunton City Hall
15 Summer Street
Taunton, Massachusetts

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Making stuff..

I've been doing a lot of stuff lately... lol ... As most of ya know (if anyone reads this) I've been working on these World AIDS Day Hats for like a month now. And also trying to make a bunch of hats for my Hat Drive thing... which isn't working very well.... I have a bunch of hats ... tons of hats... but I keep running out of nice yarn to make the regular caps out of that i'm making for the hat drive... I have to stop buying yarn with my unemployment check things.... it sucks so bad I love yarn. I have a bunch of RED HEART yarn but those are for my animal hats ONLY!! the specialty yarns are mainly for embellishments, and the Hat drive hats that way they're nice and soft and the kids will like them. I really wish I had more time in the day but alas things always happen to pop up at the last moment and since I have nothing to do .."Obvisously".. I just say ok why not... and we go and do stuff, and I can't knit or crochet while I do those things to... it bugs me so bad I just want to crochet and knit my hats all the time.

It's what I love to do. I get to draw out these characters and then figure out how to break them down into basic shapes then I have to make those shapes out of yarn using only a size N-9.00mm aluminum Boyce crochet hook that i've had for forever, and a 36 peg Knitting Loom. Once all the shapes are made and in place I grab a embroidery needle and whatever color yarn I need and I sew all the parts together and mold them to the forms that I want. It's a lot like sculpting. I fill the parts up with some Poly-Fil and It becomes a 3D Yarn Sculpture.

It's a challenge to me and it's something that I can actually concentrate on for more then a few moments. That's amazing, cause I can't concentrate on anything unless it's been previously made into a list of things to do! It's kinda funny it's almost like I'm a squirrel or something. where they hide something in a random place so only they will know where it is and then the next time you go to look for it ... you can't remember ... but you find things that you were looking for like a week ago... it's a horrible cycle and one day I'll figure that out too.

But anyways I love making my crazy hats. they make me laugh and they make everyone who sees them laugh. even peple just driving by me here in Taunton, Mass I see them crackin up or taking double takes at what they just saw and smiling. That gives me joy. I also paint paintings just to give them to people later on. it seems.. Birthdays christmas you know hallmark holidays where you're supposed to give people stuff. I give them pieces of me through my artwork... It's how I show that I care about a person.... and really I love everyone... and if i could I would totally make the entire world crazy animal hats... but I don't have the funds ...

i need to get a job, to make some money, which means I'm going to have even less time to make my hats. it's obsessive I know but it's what I think about when I want something to do it's my perfect job... go anywhere and knit or crochet... what a dream lol ....

I just don't know how to do it... I was never taught how to make a business work and to keep it organized (although i do have my own pretty good system.. hasn't failed yet.. hopefully) and i snuck through the school systems ... how delightful right?... I kinda screwed myself outta of two colleges because i was a smart ass who was bored to shit and I didn't know what i wanted to do... i usually had to teach myself shit if i wanted to learn about it, and the only classes that i was interested in and were even paying any attention to were my art classes and not the padding classes ... which I should have choosen better classes anyways.... they should have been important too... I was a little dumb and should have kept my mouth shut most of the time ... I have this thing were if I know how to do something already I don't want to re learn it.. or have it taught to me like i'm a kindergardener... it's already there and set and I don't need to be belittled.... got the basics done in middle school and high school they were both pretty much the same thing that kept repeating its self to me for some reason... if it was something new to learn I paid attention... very well infact... if it wasn't something new ... i would doodle on my notebook and get kicked out of class for talking back a lot... and detention...and what not... I should have figured out what I wanted first but kinda got pushed into the situation... but whateves.

You show me how to do something though I'll remember after the first two times of you showing me and I'll never forget how to do it again... I'm excelent at problem solving and doing things independantly... mostly... unless i need help, then I get frustrated cause I ask for it and no one helps... so i just work harder and faster kinda burning myself up... making un needed or wanted stress for myself... i'm learning to fix it though through trial and error I keep finding more and more out about myself.

I try to sell my silly hats online on my Etsy shops The Crazy Hat Society and ShimizuAntiCorpArts the Shimizu one is actually getting transfered over ... rather slowly though I'm actually waiting for things to expire so i can transfer them... cheap i know... but.. i'm poor , so we'll just have to deal with it.. lol ...

Ok i've ranted enough to blow off some stupid jobless stress I think I'll return to my nurse bunny hat in waiting.... I'm kinda excited for this one I think it'll be cute the Lion came out better then even i thought it would... and the elephant one I'm so happy that my friend Mox suggested tusks on him... without them, he wouldn't be so cool. Thank to all my friends who have helped me put together my hat puzzles with all of your very helpfull critques...

Hope you all have a great day and be sure to visit my hats at etsy they get loney...

Friday, October 9, 2009

World AIDS Day December 1st 2009

Taunton, MA is doing a Silent Auction For World AIDS Day!!!
For more Info on this event please go to The Consumer Advisory Board's Myspace!


Worlds AIDS Day / Silent Auction
Taunton City Hall
15 Summer Street
Taunton, Massachusetts
December 1st 2009 @ 5:00pm

"The Consumer Advisory Board are especially thankful for the continuing support of their non-profit orgnanization in the community. With every small victory, every life touched, every small smile, and every tear of joy, we are reminded that every effort is worth it. By working together, we can create a caring and compassionate society that is more informed about HIV/AIDS and more open to those who live with it.
There is HOPE but we must not confuse hope with victory. Today there is newfound hope in fight against AIDS. Some people with HIV/AIDS are living longer thank to new therapies. However, the new treatments do not work for everyone, and HIV continues to spread at an alarming rate.
REMEMBER it takes each of us to make a difference for all of us!
Please make a donation to:
Community Counseling of Bristol County, Attn: Consumer Advisory Board, One Washington Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780
All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
For more information. please feel free to contact: Monica Antunes, 508-828-9116 Ext. 8142
Thank you,
The Members of the Consumer Advisory Board
http://www.comcounseling.org "
I am very proud to be a part of this fundraiser! Thank you so much for letting me help out ... even if it is just hats. See you on December 1st!

Friday, October 2, 2009

TheCrazyHatSociety Hat Drive!!

The Crazy Hat Society is working on an awesome project...
Where we're trying to get as many hats and scarves together as humanly possible. As you know winter is right around the corner and there are tons of people out there who don't have the proper winter gear for this upcoming season.
So I thought if everyone could make/get as many hats/scarves as they can, we could all go around our communities and give them to the folks and children that could really use them. This can be done by bringing the hats/scarves to your local shelters, orphanages, schools, children's hospitals, or even hanging them on trees near where the less fortunate hangout so they can get to them easily, just incase you don't have shelters in your town...
It's just an idea and if you would care to join in.... please do because I could use as much help as I can get! There are lots of people out there that would really appreciate the help.

If you want to help out... YOU TOTALLY CAN!!!!

Make some extra hats/scarves or send you extra hats/scarves that you don't use anymore....You can send them right my way and I will personally make sure that they get to the people who could really use them. Anything you can send would be a huge help to a lot of great people.....
It's getting colder and colder up here in New England so those hats and scarves could be usefull as soon as possible.

To send your donations the mailing address is:

CrazyHatSociety
347 Thrasher St.
Taunton, MA 02780

And if there are any questions or concerns please feel free to email me anytime, at
CrazyHatSociety@gmail.com

Thank you guys so much and I hope to be hearing from you soon!
~Heather
CrazyHatSociety@Gmail.com
http://www.CrazyHatSociety.etsy.com/

Hello My name's Heather and I like to make stuff

Hi!
I'm Heather and I like to make stuff. I really like to crochet and knit and sew and paint and sculpt and you know... everything.

I make these silly hats to make people smile and laugh because I believe that Laughter can really truely help a person get through those rough times in life. And if I can brighten up one person's day with one of my hats ... I think that would make me very happy, and proud.I love animals so I make some charity hats to help conserve habitats and the species. $25 from each Endangered Species hat wil be donated straight to the World Wildlife Foundation's adopt an Endangered Species Charity. http://www.worldwildlife.org/

Also, I'm working on another project, where I'm trying to get as many hats and scarves together as possible. As you know winter is right around the corner and there are tons of people out there who don't have the proper winter gear for the upcoming season. So I thought wahy not make as many hats/scarves as we can and just go around our communities and give them to the folks and children that could really use them. This can be done by bringing the hats/scarves to your local shelters, orphanages, schools, children's hospitals, or hanging them on trees (like a chrictmas tree)near where the less fortunate hangout so they can get to them incase you don't have shelters in your town... It's just an idea and if you would care to join in.... please do! It would be very appreciated by all.

But anywho... I hope you Enjoy My art and I would love to hear some ideas for some new hats so get at me here on Etsy.
Thanks!
~Heather :)
peas!