Mannequin heads kind of creep me out. I learned this about myself while browsing the 100s upon 100s of mannequin heads available on ebay last week. But I wanted a head to model hats. Originally I thought I wanted a glass head, but they were super creepy, and no one listed the head circumference. Most creepy were the flesh-colored bald heads without any facial features. I decided on a painted head with a neck and shoulders suitable for draping scarves. Meet Harriet!

Harriet is a little fond of make-up, but she doesn’t look scary in a zombie sort of way like the blank mannequin heads. I named her Harriet after Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. My Harriet is gaudy in a different way than the meaning of Gaudy Night, which is sort of like a homecoming celebration, but that’s OK. She wears scarves and hats quite well, almost like she was designed to do so!

Here she is wearing Dryad scarf by Jared Flood knit in Blackstone Tweed and Norie by Gudrun Johnston’s book The Shetland Trader Book One. I knit Norie out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL Sport in Corvid that I had leftover from my Frost Diamonds shawl I knit last summer.

Norie is a slouchy beanie, and I have been wearing it since December, and I have received many compliments. Apparently, slouchy beanie is the style for me. The lace pattern is the Shetland cat’s paw lace, which I enjoyed working.

Gudrun writes patterns quite clearly, and her book is beautifully photographed, produced and printed. I was quite impressed. The patterns are also lovely, and you shall be seeing more of them on my needles in the future. I also have enough of the Corvid BFL Sport left over to make a cowl, which I think can be knit like the hat without the crown but with two brims.

Yes, I think Harriet will be very useful here. She sits so still and never complains while I fiddle with my camera and lights!