Ocotillo Beanie

Crochet is a great hobby. It's fun but it's so functional. So when I headed off for a weekend of camping and hiking in Northern Arizona, I knew I needed to finish up this beanie I had been working on. It's not every day (or week or month) that I work on something for me, so this project had gotten pushed to the back burner. No time to finish like in the car on the way to the campground!

The drive was absolutely beautiful. Just outside of Flagstaff there were many fields full of yellow wildflowers. Frolicking time!

It was about 50 degrees cooler than our averages here in Phoenix! You can imagine I was pretty freezing. I was so glad I hat this cozy hat. I'm a bit of a nut for cables and I think it is pretty rad that I can accomplish that with crochet (as opposed to knitting).

If you follow me on instagram (@kwidcreations) you may recognize this beanie. I made it for my best friend for Christmas last year (read about it here). The pattern is from the lovely Stephanie Lau of All Amout Ami.

I decided to name this version the Ocotillo Beanie. I love the outdoors and nature. Not the right color for a saguaro or prickly pear, but spot on for an ocotillo plant. I took this picture earlier this year in Joshua Tree National Park. 

This beanie made me remember how much I miss Fall! Although temps here in Phoenix probably won't cool for a while, I can't wait to make some of these beanies for the shop. What nature-inspired color would you like to see?!

Monsoon Day Beanie

Summers in Phoenix are .... toasty.

It puts me in quite the conundrum because so many crochets items are thought of as traditionally Autumn and Winter. Any summer day I will challenge that! Starting with my Pokemon Squirtle project I completed recently.

Buuut, truly deep in my heart I long for cool breezes and crunchy leaves. Lucky for me- Arizona monsoon season is in full effect.Storms blow through so quickly. Barely enough time to, say, whip up a child's beanie! But that did stop me from trying today!

Hello you beautiful 70 degrees. Stay a while won't you?

For this child's beanie I used Whistle & Ivy's Puppy Love pattern. I love this little heart stitch! I wanted an ombre effect so I used pink, variegated, and white yarn.

As if kiddos in beanies isn't hip enough, I made an oversized pom pom for the top.

Thank you pom pom maker!

Boom!

This hat will be up for sale in my Etsy shop. Check it out! 

I was also thinking of doing a sort of "mommy & me" set and adding an adult sized hat. What do you think?