The Best Hat Ever & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up On the Edge #740
Back in September, Jeff and I attended the Adirondack Wool & Arts Festival in Greenwich, New York, on the way home from our date weekend in Troy, New York. There were so many talented folks sharing so many beautiful creations that I struggled to choose just one thing to bring home as a souvenir.
As I circled through the booths, my desire for all the things kept growing which makes it impossible to decide on any one thing. So I would take a business card and continue on my way waiting for the perfect thing to grab my attention or make a decision after I shopped all the booths.
When I spotted the booth of Joy Woolworks, my attention was good and thoroughly grabbed. New York fiber artist Joy Muller-McCoola specializes in hand felted creations working with water, stone, and sheep’s wool. Her portfolio includes a variety of different art forms from large scale wall installations to fiber and stone sculptures. And, of course, hats! It was her rather large display of hats that caught my attention. I am always ready to add a unique new hat to my forever growing collection of head toppers and add a hat I did!
Joy’s collection of hand felted hats was so amazing! Her designs are colorful and whimsical and right up my alley. I loved every single one of them and so I was faced once again with a difficult decision of too many choices. So I started trying on all the hats. Fortunately, my decision was made easier by the rather large size of my noggin, limiting my choices to the larger sized hats that would fit my oversized dome.
But that’s okay because I still had many choices. I almost had my mind set on a black and green Peter Pan style hat that was ridiculously adorable. Until Joy approached me and placed this wonderful, amazing, crazy, purple hat on my head. That was it. I was sold. It is so perfectly me.
Joy’s energy was so abundant with love and passion for her craft. I am honored that she decided my head was the right head to showcase her beautiful artwork. She quite literally is joy as it pours out of her soul and directly into her work! This hat brings me so much joy whenever I place it on my head. It might have some magic in it like Frosty the Snowman’s old silk hat.
There must be some magic in
This new wool hat I found
For when I place it on my head
I want to dance around
I really do believe there is magic in handmade goods that are crafted with the type of love and passion and good energy that artists like Joy put into their creations. I can feel the power of the positive energy come straight through the hat and surround me with an abundance of really great feelings. The same thing happens whenever I wear my Zen Spirit Malas. They were created by Katherine with so much love and healing energy that I literally feel it whenever I place them around my neck.
But let’s get back to the best hat ever. When I opened my new hat on Christmas morning, I immediately placed it on top of my tree where I could admire it from my couch. Then I kept forgetting to wear it because it was on top of the tree. I finally took the tree down last weekend and started wearing my fabulous new hat.
I wanted to really highlight the gorgeous shade of purple so I paired my hat with a colorful Kantha Bae poncho that was in the big box of beautiful that Daenel sent to me in the spring. The base of my outfit is heavy fleece lined leggings in black and a dark purple long sleeve tee shirt. I accessorized with a purple bandana print scarf, a flea market wooden necklace, green snake earrings that Archie gifted to me for Christmas, handmade woolen mitts, and my black cowgirl boots. I topped it off with my preloved woolen cape coat that I wear frequently.
The final result…a winter appropriate outfit that suits my style, makes a joyful statement, and showcases the best hat ever.
I do hope to add another Joy Woolworks hat to my collection at some point in the future. If you want to learn more about this talented artist, check out the following links. In the meantime, have a whimsical weekend!
- Joy Woolworks
- Joy Woolworks on Instagram
- Joy Woolworks on Facebook
- Local Fiber: Joy Muller-McCoola: Joy Woolworks
- Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council: Joy McCoola | Joy Woolworks
- Hudson Valley Textile Project
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Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
18 Comments
Sally in St Paul
Are you sure that hat wasn’t custom made for you? Because it could have been 😀
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
It really is like magic, isn’t it?! Oh my gosh, Sally, I have been wearing it everywhere and people cannot help but smile at me. It truly is the best hat ever!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacqui Berry
Thanks for hosting today. Love the post too Shelbee. Jacqui xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jacqui. I hope you have a most wonderful weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
That is a beautiful magical one of a kind hat! It looks so cute on you! I love your whole outfit with all of the colorful blending tones that complement the hat. Thanks for sharing and the link up and, have a great weekend!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, my friend. I definitely felt like myself in this colorful combination with my fabulous new hat! Have a fantastic weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
That is a fabulous hat! And now you have that wonderful memory to go with it. Thanks for featuring our Maui trip.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Joanne! I need to go back and get myself another hat! LOL I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Melynda Brown
Shelbee, I love the hat! Anything felted actually, looks great on you, as well!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Melynda! I love it so much, too! Have a lovely weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
I agree with Sally! This hat was made for you whether or not the designer knew it! It’s just stunning, Shelbee! I love felted wool hats anyway, and the color, the rose, the style are just gorgeous! When I was in Ireland, we stopped in a shop. This woman had silk scarves she’d painted and then felted wool along the edges to make them all ripply. My friend is a silk artist and felts wool, too, so she didn’t buy one. If I wasn’t saving my money to buy a wool sweater, I might have bought one! I can see you wearing this hat over and over again. Dang, I wish I lived near you so I could go to that festival! It sounds amazing!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh, thanks so much, my friend! This hat definitely was fated to be mine! I love the felted wool scarves, too. And the jewelry! Have you seen the felted wool jewelry people make? It is so adorable! I will for sure be wearing this hat over and over again for years to come! I had no idea what to expect at the Wool & Arts festival. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of things and the extraordinary talents of the creators. I would think you could find a similar festival near you. Actually, I just did a search and found the Bloomington Wool and Fiber Festival in Bloomington, Indiana, which is in October and the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival in Franklin, Indiana, in June. Are those near you?
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
It’s such a perfect hat for you! The style, the colours! It all looks perfection. Isn’t it fabulous that some items can give energy! I believe in that. Have a great weekend.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I do love when you can feel the good energy coming through handmade items. I do not like when you pick up someone else’s bad energy though! Eeek.
xoxo
Shelbee
nicole orriens
I absolutely love, love, love your hat!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nicole! I love it so much, too! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Iam totally loving this purply outfit, and your new hat is amazing and fun. I have to agree with you about handmade items. Incredibly special!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew you would appreciate the hat and all the purple!
xoxo
Shelbee