Fun colors and hand-dyed yarns make these warm and fuzzy winter hats from Blue Feather Naturals pop. Photograph by Inga Hendrickson.
WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT IN MARCH, Gillian Fryer needed a project.
The owner of Blue Feather Naturals had been making and selling soaps, deodorants, and other body-care products for more than 20 years at her store, just north of Taos in El Prado. How would she fill her time when COVID-19 temporarily closed her brick-and-mortar shop?
“I only made it about two days,” says Fryer, who has lived in Taos on and off since the 1980s. “I dug out all my knitting needles and crochet hooks that I had not touched in something like 40 years.”
The result? Blue Feather’s Warm Fuzzy Hats. Made with small-batch, hand-dyed yarns from Uruguay, Fryer’s creations come in magenta mottled with rose-pink hues, deep indigo speckled with sky-blue highlights, and pale cream mixed with soft brown desert tones.
“Every skein is totally unique,” she says. “I like working with things that appeal to the senses. With the yarn, it’s the color and the texture. It’s so fun to work with.”
Fluffy rows and billowy cable knits, topped with a faux-fur pom-pom, make each beanie ($95) one of a kind. They have whimsical names like Bloom, Chasing Rainbows, and Unicorn Twist.
“When people see them, it makes them feel good,” she says. “They’re fun and people want to touch them. It’s a nice, fun thing to do.”
Purchase Gillian Fryer’s beanies, handmade deodorants, soaps, and other body-care products at Blue Feather Naturals, in El Prado, or online.
