Recently, I was contacted by Gayle in Portland, Oregon, who’s ready for a new hat.

She loved the original Red-Hot Blues French-knot Mandala I embroidered last summer. But that hat found a new home with Gwen at the 2011 League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair:

Although not generally a “hat person”, Gwen’s blue eyes perfectly match her new felt hat.

I strive to create felt hats as unique as the wearer, so I didn’t want to re-create the exact same hat. Instead, Gayle selected several yarn colors she liked, and gave me her head-size measurements.

As luck would have it, I had a suitable hat, felted & ready for embroidering just waiting in my studio. And in between games at my 1st-ever coed hockey tournament this weekend, I was able to embroider it:

Red-Hot Denim Blues French-knot Mandala Felt Hat (#114 of 2011).

Macro detail of the 100+ french-knots in my new freehand mandala embroidery.

I’m so pleased with how this latest embroidery turned out. Now just cross your fingers that it fits Gayle, since she helped design it!