Okay, so if you’ve been following along at all (and Thank You to those who have!!) you know I love to make hats. There are so many variations: color, yarn weight, style, size, decorations. They’re fast to make. They keep people warm and make them look cute. They’re just so darn fun to make. But I don’t wear many hats, so I have to find other homes for them, and my kids can only wear so many.

To go along with that, for the coming year I’ve challenged myself to build my bonny knits business. I want to do more craft shows throughout the year and have inquired about a big one in March. I want to grow the audience on my bonny knits Facebook page. I want to add to my Etsy shop. I’m encouraged on that front because I got my very first Etsy sale this week, and it felt GREAT. I sold my Wonder Woman knitted headband, so now I want/need to get some more unusual headbands up for sale. My head is spinning with ideas: superheroes, minions, TMNT, Doctor Who…all those cool pop culture fandoms. What would you want to see?

I want to improve my photography and show off my pieces with better photos. I’m better than I was a year ago, but I’ve got so far to go. I want to start using models (i.e. my family) and take them outside. If I take it seriously and be professional about every aspect of it, I believe the customers will be more likely to see it as worth the money.

Whoops, got distracted there. My point is, I want to focus mainly on hats. I like them and they sell well. I’ve got a lot of yarn and three books devoted to hats. I think what I’d like to do is pick a book and just work my way through it, making each hat in there. Not only would I end up with a large, varied inventory of hats, but I think I’d end up learning a lot of new techniques too. So watch for that; I think it’ll be a fun new regular feature on my blog starting next year.

Until then, you can look at my two newest hats, one from yesterday and one from the day before. The first is another Super Soft Merino Hat. It was supposed to be for me, but I really think I want one with lavender instead of royal purple, so this will go into my inventory. This is my third from this pattern but the first I’ve made with the size 11 needles (which I got for Christmas) and it came out a bit bigger than expected.Yesterday I pulled out my one and only skein of Noro yarn, a pretty rainbow blend of Kureyon. It’s a hugely popular brand and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I decided to do a spiral hat, choosing this one by Brittany Tyler. It was a fast, easy pattern and I loved watching the different colors emerge as I knit. But I was surprised by the yarn: it’s not really soft at all. It knit wonderfully; the slight stiffness made it easy to work with, and will help it hold its shape for ages. I just don’t think I could wear it, because I have a very low prickle tolerance. For those who like the warmth and look of wool, this is the hat for you! My good-natured son, who has a bigger head than I, was kind enough to model for me. But I think I need to stop posing things in front of the bookshelves. Surely I’m not the only one who gets distracted by looking at the titles in the background?

Today I’ve got a slouchy beanie on my hook. Yes, that’s right, I’m switching it up and making a crochet hat. Don’t worry, I’ll still be making other things, so it won’t be all hats all the time. Just most of the time!