New Hat Finished

 This is another 'started out as a few pix that should've gone on FB but didn't' posts, for whatever reason, possibly pride.  There will be at least one shot on my FB, but here you get to see the full glory of all three.  As of tonight my next hat is finished.  Somewhat to my surprise, it does not get feathers -- unlike almost every hat I've ever had.  It doesn't seem to need them.  See for yourself:  It's enough in itself.

When we last saw this hat it looked like this:

That was the 20th of August.  Since then I've scrambled and struggled and scraped together time to work on the hatband.  Not only are we preparing for a long trip, I was working on a book (still not done), cleaning the whole house, mending pajamas (Dad's), seasoning a new wok (still not done), dealing with a squamous cell on my cheek (healing well, praises be), painting the storage shed, selling two resincasts and playing with my new Stromness, amoung many other things.  It was fun brushing up on my knowledge of braiding real rawhide.  This is one of those projects where the artist thinks it was done fast and simply and not so perfectly and everybody else thinks it looks fine.  

Tonight I did the last big button, third from right.  Instead of the previous large herringbone with 5 rings (I think), I did a button I like to claim I invented, a 9P 7B Fan in a 1-3-3-1 pattern.  This Fan button will be in my next book.

It's harder to do than it looks.  A close up:

My best buddy took these portrait shots in the tack room, otherwise known as the tack shop or pony room.

Note the new stampede strings.

Little floppy brim there, but on the whole, I'm happy!