This is a love letter to you, whoever you are. I wish you knew. I wish you knew how much this hat means to me. This hat was worth so much more than you sold it for, and I'd pay 50 times that for it now.

This hat has seen some SHIT. This hat has been with me in Oregon since the day I bought you at the christmas bazaars LONG before Covid. This hat has been to Iceland, even though I didn't need you there the first time. This hat was with me in Iceland the second time, witnessing an erupting volcano. This hat survived the windstorm on top of said mountain where I thought for sure I was going to die. This hat has been on EVERY backpacking trip, every camping tri, every foraging trip. This hat has been with me when visiting my dads grave. This hat has ridden shotgun on COUNTLESS adventures, errand runs, boring trips to work. This hat has been to Japan with me, this hat has been all over the USA with me. This has has been worn by my dog after romping in the snow. This hat has been a bed for my cat when he was a baby. This hat has wiped my tears and muffled my angry screams. This hat has forgiven me when I've wadded it up and thrown it in frustration. It has survived too frequent washings, and too long in between washings, stuffed in rain coat pockets and forgotten for months, stuffed in backpack hip pockets and rubbed in the dirt, flecked by embers from the campfire and frozen with snow.

I have so much emotion tied up in this hat. This hat is what inspired me to someday learn to crochet. I just finished a hat (the green one in the background) that is warmer than my beloved hat, more comfortable and looser than my beloved hat, and will NEVER replace my beloved hat.

Fellow stitchers, it is so easy to get frustrated by people not valuing our hard work, gifts, creations. But know that there are beloved hats, stuffies, scarves, blankets all over the place that people would never replace stitched by someone with love ❤

Thanks for reading my ode to my hat. To many more years!