THE LATEST HATS

My most favorite of the three albatross hats. These were made for auction aboard our ships. They raised a total of $1,120 for Save The Albatross.

This is Andy´s hat, made to match his messenger bag and a patch to remember this awesome Antarctic season with.

Eva´s hat, above. She´d asked for sunset colors. I think it´s the most dynamic color combination ever. The shading is very pleasing.

Below, her best friend, Karin´s hat. The colors match her Arcteryx jacket.

Here, Christine helps me model the penguin hats. Macaroni and gentoo.

Next, the Russian sailor hat. Christine models it, a little further down.

It was a busy Antarctic season with the addition of 12 new hats to the collection. Three went for auction for Save the Albatross, bringing a total of $1,120.

NEW HATS!

Eva, above, in her dazzling sunset colors hat. Below, best friend Karin in her hat above Neko Harbour, continental Antarctic Peninsula. See hat close up below.

A standard touque, modeled by the lovely and charismatic Christine, below.



My new penguin hat!

It crossed the Antarctic Circle for its debut.

Tall boyz Rob and James. Yes, Rob´s wearing a hat and wig thing. He does have thick beautiful hair but it´s not really in dread locks. Not yet.

This next hat was made for my friend, Karin, to match her ArcTeryx jacket.

HATS FOR ALL (COLD) OCCASIONS

My favorite shot of this years' wave hat, above.
Below, Cascade Jewel creates a gorgeous effect. It has all the colors of the cold ocean and feels like multiple layers of waves, like on a wild day on the Drake Passage. Don't ya love the very curious elephant seal pup? We call them weaners, they've just been weaned and are all wandering around the beaches clumped up together with other weaners.

Below, Jamie and Laura, the cutest and sweetest couple ever, model hats with colors of each others' countries. Brazil's colors are on Jamie and the Canadian flag can be made out on Laura's.



The very visible wave hat for 2008-09 season.

Above, colors of the cold ocean reverberate through this hat made of Cascade Jewel.

Below, I love my new wave hat this year. It´s intended to be quickly recognizable out on the water. I can´t say the Aqua Bound logo on my paddle didn´t have an influence on the design.

Below, Expedition Leader Kirsten got a hat two years ago, as did Andy...I drew his name for Christmas. The green yarn is called Kiwi in the hat I made for myself. Love that color!

The hat I made two years ago to be very visible out on the water. Here we´re checking out one of the mammoth jelly fish that the crabeater seals feed on in Antarctica.

This years´version of the visible hat. Love the waves!

THERE´S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT AN EARFLAP HAT

Tula's hat just HAD to be pink! Great grandma made the mittens to match.

Below, the two hats on the left were made for a friend in Toronto and her best friend. The one on the right was made for my brother-in-law, Brad. The middle one is of Lamb's Pride bulky wool I normally use. The other two are made of llama wool. I love the animal print pattern that came about with the variegated one on the left. The other variegated one had longer strands so created a stripe. Ya never know what yer gonna git!

This hat, below, is very special. The wool is not Lamb's Pride but a combination of various wools I'd found at Hickory's yarn store here in Ithaca, NY. It was made to match the hand dyed silk scarf, which was the last Christmas present dad gave me before he died. He still did all his own Christmas shopping at age 86! Just a few short weeks later he celebrated his 87th birthday. A week or so later he and I went for a ski, had his favorite dinner then passed away in the first hour of sleep on a Saturday night. What a great way to go!

I've featured this hat above but here's a better view of it. Whenever we cross the Arctic Circle at 80o North we ring the ship's bell. The captain has his finger on the massive horn as well. What a noisy racket!

This is Expedition Leader Shane's hat, also featured below, but here showing the true colors and pattern.

There's just something about an earflap hat. Maybe it´s the coziness...

Maybe the warmth (they're all fleece lined)...

Could it be the colors?
(Phil got this one, below, in a Christmas Steal It Secret Santa after the hat had changed hands 5 times. The colors were chosen to match our Quark staff jackets, the brown one with the red trim. )

Or the very stylish designs?

The above hat on the left was auctioned off for $525 for a Save the Albatross fund raiser aboard the ship. An earlier hat auctioned for $275. Passenger Jill from South Africa shown here with Shane our EL from Canada.

What I do know about knitting these hats is they´re a pleasure to make and no two are alike. Each one takes about 5-6 hours to make from start to fleece-lined finish. Plus, it´s instant gratification...a sweater would take so much longer. And they´re affordable. A hat uses about one skein which usually runs about $7-8.


Michael gets a traditional design in colors to match his outer wear.

Tristin sports a carrot design. What? You´ve never seen little round carrots?