I'm a volunteer for Manchester Pride.
One of the things I've done for a few years is to be a parade steward. It's not a taxing job, it entails walking with a parade float (one side of the road, and someplace in its designated space) and stopping the watchers throw themselves into the path of the parade, and, also to make sure it doesn't lag too far behind the entry in front. The parade's about a mile and a bit long. 70% of the time it's sunny and there's maybe a sprinkle or two of rain.
I finally got a hat this year, but to be honest, I don't much like it. It's not truly what I wanted (a natural-coloured straw hat with a medium-wide flat brim) and I ended up getting a woven paper green-and-white cloche-brimmed hat. It did the job, and I made a very nice braided/plaited rainbow ribbon for it. I'll admit, it was cute, but again, it wasn't what I *really* wanted.
So.
To solve my pickiness (I could look at hat after hat and be unhappy with one aspect or another. Not a solution), I have a plan.
I'm going to knit a raffia one in 2016. I've seen enough crocheted ones for sale that I know it's a feasible project. So, I've got a supplier I can go to (Fred Aldous) to see if the raffia is good enough and (bonus for me) the cost of 500g of raffia will be *much* cheaper than buying a raffia straw hat. I have a hat pattern. I have a plan. Now lets just hope that both I and the raffia are good enough to get it done for the end of July 2016.
Later.
