Author Archives: Carrie Cahill Mulligan

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About Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Park ranger turned fiber artist, out to change the world, one felt hat at a time.

Latest Freehand Embroidery – Teal & Blue 3 Flower Vine

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People are awesome.

Upon hearing of Andy’s bicycle accident, Andrea decided to get some of her holiday shopping done early this year.

Knitted felt hat with freehand ribbon embroidery by Carrie Cahill Mulligan of Canaan, New Hampshire.

My signature freehand embroidery design, “Three Flower Vine” in teal & blue.

Andrea is one of my hockey buddies. Like me, she’s originally from Canada, but took up playing ice hockey as an adult.

Andrea’s Mom still lives in Ontario, so she’s sure to enjoy a toasty-warm felt hat. Knowing she loves blue, Andrea picked a plain teal hat with sky blue brim for her Mom.

French knots, split-stitch and lazy daisy stitches all contribute to the embroidery design.

French knots, split-stitch and lazy daisy embroidery stitches all contribute to the design.

Next, she looked through lots of different embroidery styles.

Andrea was tempted by the French-knot Mandala as well as the new Dragonfly embroidery. But eventually, she decided on the 3 Flower Vine pattern.

Stranding different yarns together before knotting adds flecks of color to the flower center.

Stranding different yarns together before knotting adds flecks of color to the flower center.

Design determined, Andrea then selected just the right embroidery yarns for flower petals & vines. All that was left to do was the actual stitching…

Add 3-4 hours of focused freehand embroidery, and viola! Custom-designed felt hat #27 of 2012 is complete, and one more holiday gift is ready for giving.

Hand-dyed ribbon yarns vary the tones of the lazy-daisy flower petals.

Hand-dyed ribbon yarns add variegated shine to the lazy-daisy flower petals. French-knots add texture.

If I can help design a fancy hat for you or someone special, I’d be delighted. Feel free to contact me. I’m honored to help make your holidays special.

People Are Awesome (and an Andy Update)

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It’s been over 5 weeks since Andy’s bicycle accident and his subsequent clavicle surgury.

Since then, we’ve been blessed with amazing support from family, friends & hat folks alike. It’s been humbling to be on the receiving end of such generosity, but we are most grateful.

Andy is feeling better by the day. His pain levels are minimal, but he’s getting antsy about all the projects he can’t yet work on.

Today, help came from 1.5 hours away in the form of 3 friends.

Roughly 5 cords of firewood, piled next to our garden, awaits stacking in our barn.

Roughly 5 cords of firewood, piled next to our garden, awaits stacking in our barn.

Friends who brought work gloves & a spare wheelbarrow. Friends willing to tackle stacking the 5 cords of fire wood we burn each winter.

Friends who didn’t mind doing some heavy lifting so we could rid our porch of an old clothes dryer & wood stove, in preparation of tearing that porch down (later this summer).

Nor did they mind helping load up, deliver & unload the 24 bundles of Western Red Cedar shingles Andy will use to re-side the back of our house (eventually).

6 Square Western Red Cedar Shingles in Bundles.

600 square feet of Western Red Cedar Shingles… Another project for another day!

The work done around our house was a huge help. No doubt about it.

But the good cheer these friends brought Andy (who’s struggling with the boredom involved with his slow recovery) was immeasureable!

Four friends enjoy a late lunch at the picnic table Andy built for my birthday, beneath the shade of our old apple tree.

Boys lunch at the picnic table Andy built for my birthday, beneath the shade of our old apple tree.

Happily, with New Hampshire Spring now in full swing, I was able make lots of roast asparagus for lunch, with plenty enough to send home with the guys.

Asparagus Bed in Full Production

Located just to the right of the picnic table, our asparagus bed is in full production now.

With 2 more weeks still to go until Andy gets his wrist cast removed, today’s visit was a tremendous gift.

(He’ll get new collarbone x-rays then, so we’ll learn more about his return-to-work timeline shortly.)

People can be so Awesome! We are truly grateful.

A double Inuksuk sculpture presides over our asparagus bed in Canaan, New Hampshire.

Andy’s double Inuksuk sculpture presides over our asparagus beds.

After all, there are only so many rock sculptures my impatient Patient can build for the garden…

Thank you, friends! We owe you all. Big Time.

Gayle’s Custom Dragonfly Hat

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I shy away from most custom orders.  Felting is unpredictable.  It’s tricky to shrink a knitted hat to the right size for a specific head.

However, if the person is easy-going, not in a hurry and willing to risk shipping hats back & forth, I’m happy to try a special request.

Gayle was just that sort of person!

Yarn color combinations for a custom felt hat request.

Gayle’s custom hat color combinations, with possible embroidery yarns, side-by-side

Gayle knew she wanted a dragonfly hat, probably in purple. She chose several yarn colors which I photographed, along with various embroidery ribbons, so she could choose her favorite.

Colors selected, I set about knitting, felting, lining & embroidering Gayle’s hat.

Carrie Cahill Mulligan's knitted felt hat #20 of 2012, purple with turquoise dragonfly ribbon embroidery.

Gayle’s custom felt hat with dragonfly ribbon embroidery.

Generally, I gravitate to tone-on-tone designs, so I suggested some purple-y ribbons for the dragonfly embroidery. Gayle really wanted the dragonfly to “pop” though, so we went with her first choice, turquoise.

Embroidery Detail of CCM Felt Hat #20 of 2012 - ribbon dragonfly with turquoise & jade gemstones.

Turquoise and jade gemstone beads are the focal point of this dragonfly embroidery.

I’m so glad we did! I love how this hat turned out. Gayle deserves all the credit.

Have you ever helped create a custom design? Did you enjoy the process? The results? I’d love to know your experience…