Today I spent much of my day working on a second hat for my friend’s sister.

Uncertain that the pink I had selected for the Elizabeth Trantham’s Hello Kitty inspired hat was exactly right for the project, I decided to let it sit for a day or so while I allowed myself to get some perspective.

In the meantime, I searched the internet and found another lovely hat at Head Huggers. Begun by a Sue W. Thompson, Head Huggers, like Knots of Love, offers tons of valuable information about how to make a chemo cap someone can use, and it was there that I found Head Huggers Crochet Pattern 18, a striking design of a woman identified only as “Barbara in Florida.

I loved the design and the detail of a scarf running through a row of double treble stitches to add a splash of additional color sealed the deal.

I searched my stash, found a skein of Brown Sheep Company’s Cotton Fleece and Fine (a cotton merino wool blend) in a color called “robin’s egg blue,” and got to work.

There is a fair amount of by-guess and by-golly in these first hats, and I spent a more time than I would have liked frogging what I had done in an effort to get a hat that would fit well.

Eventually, this is what I got done:

and while I think the fit might be a bit large, I hope that once I find the right scarf and thread it through the round of double treble crochet, it will be a festive addition to my friend’s sister’s hat wardrobe.

There is, in many ways, very little I can do to help my friend’s sister, but being able to make her a hat (or two, or three) gives me the sense that at least I have done what I could.