Lea Cloche

The Lea Cloche by Cecily Glowik McDonald is one of the patterns that initially caught  my eye in the book.  It was unlike any hat that I've made before.  I found the perfect color tweed yarn, Hikoo skacel Kenzie in a lovely teal.

The pattern began with a funky cast on for the crown of the hat.  I had to do it twice to get it correct. Funky, but not impossible.
There was also some purling through the front and back which was new to me.  I'm really growing my technique repertoire with this book!

Once I got going, it knit up quickly.  I finished knitting it the next day.  There wasn't the glorious, angels-singing love upon completion.  Usually when I finish a hat, I can't wait to try it on.  This hat just looked lumpy along the brim, but I had hope that blocking it would work out the kinks.

After blocking, it did look better, but the brim still seemed to roll a little.  It just didn't look like I had anticipated it would.  Still, there was hope.  I had to add the finishing ribbon and button.

With hat stashed in purse, I set out to JoAnn Fabrics to search out the perfect hat adornments.  The perfect ribbon sang out my name as soon as I turned onto the ribbon aisle.  I accepted it's call and ventured on to find the final touch.  A wall of buttons greeted me, and I excitedly plucked off an array of possibilities.  There were so many good choices that I had to enlist the help of any random stranger that looked my way.  After much consultation, I chose a coconut shell button with little details of color.

You would think that I would have finished the final touches as soon as I got home.  But, no, I faced disappointment again.  Apparently Lulu's head is smaller than mine.  I pinned the ribbon to the hat while Lulu wore it.  I tried to put it on my head, but the ribbon made it too small.  Agh!  How was I to pin the ribbon on the hat while wearing it?  So there it sat, lonely, on Lulu for a good solid week.

I brought it along with me to visit my mom.  I asked for her help, and between the two of us, we finished it.  I wore; she pinned.

Finally, the moment of truth.  I placed my finished cloche on my head, and with eager anticipation looked in the mirror.  Again, disappointment.  I looked horrible in this hat that I had so much hope for.

Like Cinderella's slipper, my mother tried it on.  In true glass slipper style, it appeared that it was made just for her.  I mean, it looked really good.  So good that I insisted she keep it.  I'm glad this hat has a good home.

Lesson learned:  They can't all be keepers.  Also, I'm not made for cloches.