Hats off to 2009!

I'm excited about all the wonderful things in store for me this year. There are a lot of surprises awaiting, including birthing a child and becoming a mother.

Part of my journey towards this is getting a lot of crafts done beforehand since it won't be as much of a priority as soon as the little one comes.

I've been doing some knitting on the side, and happened to have completed three hats recently. The first is one of my favorite hats I make for babies, a little strawberry head. This one is for my baby - boy or girl.

The second, I made for a friend's baby boy, called the umbilical hat. This is definitely my second-favorite hat to make for a baby.

The final hat I made for my friend's birthday. It started out different than I planned it, having to use two different yarns. Many times in art, serendipitous events occur, and this was one of them; the hat will suit her better with the orange accents.

The interesting story about this hat was that I couldn't mail her present to her, well, legally anyway. I went to the post office to ship it and was asked what was in the package, innocently, I said "A hat. A hand sewn hat." The postal worker said he wasn't sure it was allowed. I laughed and smiled at him, until I realized, this dude was serious.

He then showed me the screen of forbidden items imported to Italy while reading it, "Haberdashery and sewn articles of any kind, including trimmings and lace; handkerchiefs; scarves; shawls, needlework including stockings and gloves; bonnets, caps, and hats of any kind," he read quite pointedly. Oh boy, perfect. A belated birthday present that will be seriously belated if I have to wait to see her. Unbelievable!

In the end, I sent it to her at another post office and lied on the customs form, crossing my fingers to make sure it makes it her way. To see what other nonsense Italy doesn't allow, click here. The list is quite odd.

Pray this makes it to you, Ambra!