Stitches and Thrills

Mad hatters, but this time with an Alice In Wonderland-theme. We have of course the Cheshire Cat, from my own shop, Miss Minoes . The Mad Hatter, this one by GypsyLadyHats is very much in line with the Burtonesque one. Best order them now, to avoid the halloween rush! No Alice without a red queen of hearts. Organic red tophat by Moooi . And then: tea time! I couldn't choose between the gorgeous striped one of littlemisscrow or the cute tiny felt tea cup of thependragonseye .

There is really not an excuse not to wear a hat: winter or summer, party or work: there is some head wear for every occasion. A hat does put the finishing tough to an outfit, but of course you must feel comfortable and selfconfident enough to wear it. But here comes the magic of the hat: it actually does give your selfconfidence an extra boost. Here are a couple of hats by some (mad) hatters on Etsy that would brighten up the street in every day live: BrownBunnyByIris LiDDesignsBoutique getluckydesigns Artforyourframe

I've improved the first bonnet design to a reversible version. Now you can wear it in 4 different ways: Inside out, back to front, all the way around! =^x^= Here are the 3 so far with pointy flaps. I'll make some more with the more 'modest' round flaps. Summer Hats by Miss Minoes I actually made 4, but one I kept for myself. I wore it in Vondelpark in Amsterdam last week and got some great responses. An American woman even approached me to ask where I got it. How nice is that?

Since I was close to a sunstroke 2 weeks ago I decided it was time for another good sunhat. I am currently working on some different designs. Keeping in mind that my head is actually quite large I wanted a shape that would not be so size-related. In mind came Laura Ingalls' yellow bonnet (too many reruns of The Little House On The Prairie =^x^= ), but in a kawaii fabric version. This option will also be explored in the future. But now I got side tracked by the idea of combining it with Dutch traditional folk wear. In Dutch tradional costume the women often have a lace hat or bonnet. And particularly in Zeeland they sometimes wear starch striped, floral or plaid fabric to cover chest and shoulders. This is for instance the case in Spakenburg. I decided to use that starch printed fabric for the hat to emphasis the simple lines. Bonnet The shimmery "mirrors" completed the Dutch influence. Thank you, kraplap : to also be an inspiration to this design with the weekly challen...

Are mermaids pink haired perky creatures splashing in blue water while singing with their jolly starfish friends? Not in my world.Mermaids must live in the deepest part of the ocean, where the sunlight won't come. Plankton, jelly fish and nuclear waste surrounds them. Nothing romantic about it. They are just queens of seaweed. This was the inspiration I got from this blue/black/green yarn for my 'Queen of seaweed' hat :

This afternoon I went to the free 'Land Of The Rising Sense' art festival in Leiden. Mainly because I was intrigued by Toyoko Shimada's Alice's Fusion Tea Party. I attended observed a Japanese tea ceremony and participated in a Chinese. It was both educational and fun. The art festival is not very big. But if you go tomorrow (Sunday 14th) there is a lecture about Shojo culture, kawaii etc as well. You might see me there again, as the Scheltema complex is only a short walk away from my house and the admittance is free. In the museum next door (Lakenhal) there is also a Japan themed exposition. So make a day of it! (My white rabbit Arabella bag fitted right in with the Alice theme. I've handed out some of Dragonhouseofyuen's business cards. =^x^=) More info: http://www.scheltemacomplex.nl/Programma/kunstfestival

I never seem to know which crafty market takes place when & where in the Netherlands. So I added the Google Calendar gadget to my blog at the bottom of the page. I entered the markets I found on the web to the calendar. I'm sure there are more, so please do send me TIPS about upcoming handmade /art/craft markets. I am looking for markets with booths from artists, designers, crafty people . So please no tips about wholesale commercial creative supplies markets. For this year I plan to visit some of the crafty markets purely as a visitor/buyer, and to maybe meet some artists I only know from the web. I know from experience that once you have a booth you usually are stuck there for most of the day. Also I have mainly knitted hats on stock, not much use for a summer market. To expand my summer collection is high on my priority list. =^x^=