hats in a box

The publishers of Animal hats to knit have returned the hats. I was told the projects wouldn't be returned until six months after the publication date because the publishers had their own promotion plans. But here are the hats, in a box, on my floor, a week after publication. When the promotion plans the publishers had outlined did not happen, I asked the publishers for the return of the hats.

I don't have photographs of the hats for my website or Ravelry. But I am sitting here asking myself why I asked for the return of the hats. Was it about control and pique because the promotion plans did not happen and I had missed the opportunity to design workshops around them for the Knit and Stitch Show at Alexandra Palace? I would like to embellish the hats and provide alternative ideas for wearing the hats. I was not involved in the photography for the book. Would I be swapping one kind of styling for another? What really interests me is how other people would customise and wear the hats. I am almost bored with my ideas for the hats. It would be lovely to see them on as many different people as possible – an online trunk show. This task would be a considerable time investment and really is it just time to move on? I don't expect to see many animal hats this winter.

As for the missed opportunity for promotion at Alexandra Palace, I knew the book should be promoted at the Knit and Stitch Show and, from the start, I thought I would have to do it but to be honest, I didn't want to. Standing up and saying, "look at what I have done", is embarrassing. There are some interesting new approaches to hat knitting in Animal hats to knit, but I don't think I added anything new to the animal-hat scene. I had the perfect get-out clause, and I felt more comfortable and had more fun at the Show because the publisher didn't promote the book.