Happy Hat Customer Testimonial
27 January 2010 at 4:17 pm | In Art-to-wear, Craftsmen--Skincare, Fan Club, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Handmade, Testimonials | Leave a CommentTags: Alaska, Homer, Susan Houlihan
(Just before the holidays, I received this glowing testimonial from one of my very first customers. Thanks so much, Susan!)
My “Carrie Hat” kept me warm through my long walk in the ice fog. Luna wishes she had one for her whiskers and muzzle!
After 6 years, I still wear this hat every day, all winter long. And I still love it.
Happy Holidays!
-Susan Houlihan, Alpenglow Skincare
Happy Hat Season!
16 December 2009 at 7:24 pm | In Holidays | Leave a CommentTags: hat season, macro photo, snowflake, winter
3 Days Left to Bid on a Toasty Warm Felt Hat & Support NHPTV
3 December 2009 at 3:00 pm | In Art-to-wear, Craftsmen--Fiber, Embroidery, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Handmade, Holidays | Leave a CommentTags: freehand, french knots, mandala, new hampshire public television, NHPTV winter online auction
Just in time for hat season: New Hampshire Public Television is hosting its first ever Holiday Online Auction, for which I’m pleased to have donated this freehand embroidered felt hat:

Bidding on this fine felt beauty ends Sunday, December 6, 2009, at 7:09pm EST, so don’t wait… you could get a great deal on a great hat, all the while supporting a great public service.
Brrrr… winter’s coming! Don’t delay… bid today!
Canaan Hat Studio Welcomes Visitors of NH Open Doors 2009
4 November 2009 at 8:05 pm | In Exhibits, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Handmade, Home, Travel, Upper Valley | 4 CommentsTags: Carrie Cahill Mulligan, League of NH Craftsmen, lnhc, nh open doors
Curious to see the mayhem behind the felting magic?
Come visit my home fiber studio at 693 Canaan Street, in beautiful historic Canaan, New Hampshire this weekend!
Hours:
9am – 3pm Saturday, November 7
10am – 5pm Sunday, November 8, 2009.
See how my hats are made, and custom design your own embroidery to match your favorite winter coat.
I’ll have some warm apple cider on the stove, and we can talk gardens, too, as well as admire the new cherry cabinets Andy made for our kitchen remodel (gorgeous, eh?).
For printable maps & more information about other artists in the Dartmouth area, visit the NH Open Doors website.
I hope you can visit!
CCM Felt Hat Fan Club Moves to Facebook
21 October 2009 at 9:37 pm | In Fan Club, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Handmade, Travel--Alaska | Leave a CommentTags: Carmen Adamyk, Denali National Park, dog mushing, facebook, nps, park ranger, patrol, photos, sled dogs, winter, Wonder Lake
For as long as I’ve been making and selling my warm felt hats, I’ve been asking Happy Hat Folks to send me photos in their hats.

Denali Park Ranger, Carmen Adamyk wears her felt hat on mushing patrol at Wonder Lake, Alaska, March 2008
The idea was that I’d post your photos to the Fan Club section of this site, so that others could see how great these hats look on all sorts of people.
The only glitch: I’m sometimes glacially slow to post the lovely photos I’ve received.
No more! Now you can upload photos directly to the Facebook Fan Page for my felt hats.
How about it? Do you have a fun photo of yourself wearing your CCM felt hat?
I’d be delighted if you’d be willing share it!
Visiting Artist at Sandwich Home Industries Cancelled
16 October 2009 at 4:38 pm | In Art-to-wear, Craftsmen--Fiber, Demonstration, Embroidery, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Fine Craft Galleries, Handmade, Knitting, Travel | Leave a CommentTags: cancelled, Center Sandwich, fall foliage, hike, League of NH Craftsmen, lnhc, mount chocorua, new hampshire, nh, nh open doors, pneumonia, Sandwich Home Industries

Felt Hat Demonstration at Sandwich Home Industries, October 2008.
For the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of demonstrating how to make embroidered felt hats from oversized hand knits at one of the oldest craft galleries in the country.
Located in bucolic Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, Sandwich Home Industries is a flagship gallery of one of the country’s oldest crafts organizations, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

Peak Fall Colors Along the Middle Sister Trail, Mt. Chocorua, NH, October 2008.
This year, as last, we timed my visit to coincide with the Sandwich Fair, and possibly a nice hike up nearby Mount Chocorua.
Unfortunately, this year I was diagnosed my first-ever case of pneumonia just days before the demonstration.
So, I apologize for the last-minute cancellation.

Embroidery Demonstration on Llama & Wool Felt Hats, Center Sandwich, NH, 2007.
But I hope to see you for a felt hat embroidery demonstration in Center Sandwich next year!
(If you can’t wait that long, consider a visit to my home studio in Canaan, NH during the Veteran’s Day NH Open Doors Event 2009.)
Happy (belated) Felt Hat Day!
16 September 2009 at 2:08 pm | In Art-to-wear, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Holidays, Travel | 2 CommentsTags: achill island, Carrie Cahill Mulligan, felt hat day, fun, ireland, twitter

A felt hat is the perfect accessory for exploring the rainy ruins of Achill Island, Ireland.
Apparently, yesterday was Felt Hat Day… who knew?
(FYI: Two days ago was Cream-filled Doughnut Day, while today is Collect Rocks Day.)
I hope yours was happy… I spent the better part of the day signing myself up for a Twitter account: @CCMFeltHats, if you like to tweet!
Moments in Glass: Nicholas Kekic of Tsuga Studios
4 September 2009 at 5:31 pm | In Fine Craft, Handmade, Home | 7 CommentsTags: american glass artists, Blog Triage Class, Carrie Cahill Mulligan, Chester, hand-blown, Harry Bessett, Jordana Korsen, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, League of NH Craftsmen, lnhc, Nathan Macomber, Nicholas Kekic, stemless wine glasses, tree goblets, Tsuga Studios, vases, Vermont, vt

Miniature bud vases by 3rd generation American Glass Artist, Nicholas Kekic of Tsuga Studios
My Blog Triage classmate, Jackie Jacobson recently wrote about glass artists she knows from the Pacific Northwest.
Which got me thinking about some of my favorite League of New Hampshire Craftsmen glass artists:

Hand-blown Spring Tree wine goblets by American glass artist Jordana Korsen.
There’s Jordana Korsen and her fantastic tree goblets. There’s Nathan Macomber’s beautiful sculptural work, Philip Jacobs’ amazing blown glass lampshades, and Harry Bessett’s wonderful stemless wineglasses.
But my latest favorite is Nicholas Kekic, maker of gorgeous, luminous vases, each exquisitely shaped.

Nick Kekik's frosted hand-blown glass vases add so much joy to our 1840's dining room.
Do you have a favorite glass artist? Do tell… I’m always looking for functional fine art to grace our old home.
New Embroidery Design for Felt Hats: Mandala of French Knots
26 August 2009 at 12:54 am | In Art-to-wear, Craftsmen--Fiber, Embroidery, Family, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Fine Craft Fairs, Gardening, Life | 11 CommentsTags: Carrie Cahill Mulligan, french knots, grief, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, League of NH Craftsmen, lnhc, macro, mandala, Mom, Mother, Newbury, Sharon Lee Cahill, sunapee fair

New freehand embroidery, with variegated french knots in wool on felt.
If you didn’t get a chance to visit me at this year’s League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair, you missed seeing my latest design: Mandala of French Knots.
According to Wikipedia:
“Mandala [...] translates as ‘circle-circumference’ or ‘completion’ [...]
a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism.”
That makes sense to me. I’ve been thinking a lot about Mom. And the circle of one year of grieving was completing just as this design was born.

Cool tones on black was the first incarnation of the new Mandala embroidery.
Plus, it’s summer, my garden is booming and broccoli reminds me of french knots!
Back to School: Blog Triage Class Begins!
21 August 2009 at 9:52 am | In Art-to-wear, Craftsmen--Fiber, Dartmouth, Embroidery, Fashion, Felt Hat, Fine Craft, Handmade, Hockey, Knitting, Travel--Alaska | 2 CommentsTags: Alumni Gym, Alyson B. Stanfield, Blog Triage Class, Carrie Cahill Mulligan, Cynthia Morris, Healy
On Monday, I head back to my day job, checking id’s at Dartmouth’s Alumni Gym.

Checking id's at Dartmouth's Alumni Gym while Embroidering Hats
I love my job! Not only do I get to enjoy all the energy of a vibrant, Ivy League campus, but I get to make my warm, felt hats at the same time.
And for the next 4 weeks, I’ll be part of the online Blog Triage Class led by art business guru, Alyson Stanfield and creativity coach, Cynthia Morris.
My first assignment: determine who reads this blog.
I hope that this site is useful for my friends, family and hat collectors, who want to know more about my hats, how they are made, and what inspires me.
I also imagine that other fiber artists stop by on their search for embroidery inspiration and tips.
And I hope that the occasional hockey nut (who gets here looking for CCM brand hockey gear) is amused at the intersection of my passions for fiber art and hockey.

Knitting hats between hockey games, Healy, Alaska, 2003.
Am I close? Who are you, really, Gentle Reader?
Feel free to introduce yourself by leaving a comment. I’d love to get to know you better!
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Each of my Heirloom Handknit Hats begins as a giant, over-sized stocking cap, knit by hand of llama and wool.
Next, it is shrunk into a thick, durable felt in the washing machine, which is then shaped by hand and air-dried.
Finally, each hat is 
