Sometimes it just takes time

I just finished putting my 2025 projects into Ravelry – something I know I need to do as I finish a project. But sometimes other things take priority, and then I forget, and then I remember, but put it off…avoidance just leads to more of the same. But as I finished documenting my projects, I thought it might be fun to share the journey of one special project, a hat for my dad – the Ouessant Beanie.

In 2023 I was early in my spinning journey and being fascinated by all things wool, we went to see La Petite Filature Bretonne, a mini mill in Brittany, France.

There we learned about Ouessant sheep, a heritage breed that is known for being one of the smallest naturally occurring breeds (think medium-sized dog about 18 inches tall) that originated on a small island of the same name off the coast of Brittany. 

Ouessant sheep about the size of their dog!

I loved the natural chocolate brown color of the wool but was not sure what to do with it once I got it home. And so, it rested in my craft room.

Last fall my plans began to take shape -- I could spin it and knit it into a hat for my dad whose grandfather emigrated from Brittany. With our friend Nelly, we hosted a class “Spin a hat for the holidays” where we met twice for spinning and plying, and then we held informal gatherings to knit together during the month of November. I loved the challenge of a timed project, and the camaraderie of working together on a shared goal. And it helped me focus on getting this done. 

But the project was not without some roadblocks….the first being that the wool was more rustic than what I was used to spinning, and what I thought my dad might be used to wearing.  Would he like it when it was done? Did I like it enough to keep going? With encouragement from Nelly and the group, I kept at it, but I had to let go of my spinning preferences.

The wool itself was in the form of a carded flat batt, so I tried to spin a more woolen yarn, allowing some twist between my fingers. This resulted in a less consistent (one might even say lumpy) yarn, that looks and feels much different than my usual worsted spinning of wool/silk blends.

Another small roadblock came from my little helper Josie.  While I was winding my freshly plied yarn onto a niddy noddy, my sweet little Josie stole one of the skeins and took it for a little spin!  It took hours to get it untangled.

I did eventually finish the hat. I chose a broken rib stitch, which paired nicely with the textured yarn and knit a beanie.

I wrapped it with a picture of Ouessant sheep and shared a little of the journey with him. 

Although Dad is not sentimental person, I think he loved the connection with his own history. For me, this was one of the more special projects I finished in 2025, with its own history and journey coming into being. It is also a good reminder that some projects take time to develop and may require patience and giving ourselves a little grace as we work through obstacles along the way.