A Hat To Grow a Garden

There is often an idea in my head for years before it actually materializes.  This is as true for hat making as it is for folding laundry or sorting through piles of paper. 

Being an avid, albeit a negligent, gardener, I have been wanting, forever, to create a hat with special gardening status.  I can now proudly say that I have accomplished this one task.  The laundry and my child’s artwork from the past nine years remain untouched, but the hat has finally been made.

I present to you….Gardenia.  She is made on my new (100 years old) straw braid sewing machine from raffia braid.  This raffia braid has nothing to do with the raffia braid commonly seen in factory made hats.  This stuff is substantial.  The braid is really wide and really thick.  It makes the most rustic hat that just makes one want to go out and plant tomatoes.  The band and the rose are made from hand dyed linen.  Yes, hand dying is one of the stupid things I do to ensure that I consistently hover just above the poverty line.

Here are some photos from my garden.  It looks better in the photos than in real life. I love that cropping tool.  If someone invents a garden tool to crop out the physical weeds, let me know.