Hat Ladies in June

Hat Ladies in June is just about like Christmas in July!  I belong to a group of women and two men who sew polar fleece hats for kids and adults in need.  The sewing project started more than 12 years ago by sewing polar fleece hats for kids at all of our county's Head Start (and related) programs.  We wanted to use our sewing skills to make sure that all kids had warm heads during Wisconsin's cold and windy winters.

Some of the solid color triangles.

We purchased polar fleece and cut hundreds of pieces, using solid colors only, and brought the pieces and our sewing machines to the Head Start locations.  Kids and their care givers selected the colors for each hat and we sewed them onsite, with the kids sitting next to us, while we talked with them.  It was great fun and all the kids (and parents!) loved the hats.

This is only a small portion of the array of patterned rectangles for the brim.

We expanded to include elementary schools one year when I did a lot of volunteer work at a low income school.  I tried to think of a way to make hats for all the low income kids at the school.  But, I didn't want to stigmatize the low income kids.  So I proposed making hats for ALL the kids in the school.  And we expanded the color choices to include printed fabric!  The entire school had a great time selecting the colors and patterns to make about 400 unique hats. 

Well, this was truly the start of something big.  In the years to come we expanded the number of hat "seamsters" to more than 30, including two men.  We now have people who dedicate themselves to cut the fleece.  We still purchase the fleece and donate it and our time.  Sometimes the PTO at a school donates fleece.   This past year we sewed more than 6,000 hats.  At about six hats per yard of fleece, this comes out to 1,000 yards of fleece!!!

Hat Ladies ready for action.

Back to my story.  This year I have been volunteering in a Spanish immersion classroom.  The teacher wanted to have the kids write a book about how to make something.  She asked if I would make hats with the kids.  Due to curricular schedules, we made the hats on June 3!!!  Not quite the season for polar fleece hats, but this did not dampen the kids' enthusiasm.

I was able to recruit two "Hat Ladies" who were suffering "hat making withdrawal" and they helped me make hats for two first grade classrooms.  We took pains to explain the process carefully to each child while we were sewing his/her unique hat.

Me, in Librarian mode.

First, I read a book to the kids about making hats at another school.   Then, the kids selected their six triangles and one rectangle in their colors of choice.  If desired, they also selected three little pieces for a tassel on the top.

 When each child came to sit with one of the Hat Ladies, the child explained how he/she wanted the pieces arrayed.  Regardless of age or gender, all the kids had firm ideas of the color order.  Then we began to sew.

Talking with the students while we are sewing is great fun and enlightening.  We talk about why they selected the colors, what subject they like best in school, what they want to be when they grow up, how many siblings they have, whether they have a pet, whether they have ever seen a sewing machine before.  Most kids have not seen a sewing machine.  Some kids say that their grandmothers have a machine.  One girl commented that her 15 year old sister has a machine!  Often kids want to run the machine themselves, but we explain how dangerous the needle is, and so forth.  We make sure the kids keep their hands on the table.

 The crown of the hat has six triangles.  This is when the hat begins to look like a hat.  Kids are typically thrilled with this step, and put the crown on top of their heads.  Of course it doesn't stay on.  So we explain the importance of the band--to hold the hat on the head and to keep the ears warm.  I sometimes talk about the use of the word "crown" for the top of the hat. 

Here we are at "full strength" for this classroom.  When we sew hats for an entire school we set up shop in the library or the gym, with 15 or more machines and "sewers", five or more helpers, plus teachers, the principal and curious other staff.  The teachers use the event for literacy lessons (writing), art (drawing) math and more.  Kids are uniformly polite, grateful and awed.




I would love to show photos of kids in their hats--their smiles are so genuine.  But, I hesitate to post photos that would identify any child.  Here are some of the hats.  All different, each unique, each reflecting some aspect of the child who designed it.  The excitement and gratitude of the kids does not vary according to income, grade level or gender.

My mother made all of our clothing when I was young, and hers as well.  For me it was normal to select fabric, color and design to have a unique garment.  But I longed to have what all the other kids were wearing.  Thanks, mom, for all of the talent, time and love that you put into my clothing.  And for teaching me how to sew. I think of you every time I sew hats for people. 

Somewhat Fetching Peace Fleece

Too many of my knitting projects evolve erratically from repeated failures rather than develop serenely from swatches and careful planning. If the Yarn Harlot's friend, Lene, made me a Christmas Knitting Schedule, there is no way I could possibly keep up with it. It would be doomed from the beginning.

Example #1.
While sipping coffee in my favorite LYS/Coffee Shop I found some lovely grey/blue/white speckled Peace Fleece. Who could resist Peace Fleece at this time of year?? Let me quote from their website:

Peter Hagerty and his wife Marty Tracy started buying wool from the Soviet Union back in 1985 in hopes that through trade they could help diffuse the threat of nuclear war. Since then they have worked with shepherds in Russia, Kyrgyzia, Israel and the West Bank, as well as in Montana, Ohio, Texas and Maine. By working with people who tend livestock every day, they hope to find a common ground that slowly leads to mutual understanding and economic interdependence. After twenty-one years, their goals remain the same.

Definitely the world needs peace in 2007 as much, if not more, than it did in 1985. So, I bought the Peace Fleece, determined to give a friend or family member some hope for peace as well as a warm hat. So, I made a hat.
Cute, I thought. I avoided the pitfalls that caused previous hats to be rejected by my youthful and fashion minded daughters. First, the hat shall not cover the ears. Who would want warm ears in Wisconsin winter?? Second, no dorky ribbing at the bottom of the hat. Instead, I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's I-cord cast off to give a finished edge. the pattern was from Lion Brand yarns from which I removed the dorky ribbing.

OK, I had yarn left over. How about some fingerless gloves to match?? I thought I would have enough yarn for fingerless gloves. The Fetching gloves from Knitty looked pretty good. Of course, Peace Fleece was heavier than the yarn called for, and I used size 8 needles for the hat, so I reduced the number of glove stitches to 30. And, I ALWAYS make thumb gussets--I hate it when mittens and gloves stretch uncomfortably then I move my thumb. So, I added thumb gussets. Good enough.

So far, so good. Now we enter the knitting zone called "WHAT WAS I POSSIBLY THINKING???"

I finished the hand part of the gloves and was about to start the short thumb when I decided that I had enough yarn for a full thumb! So, I made two full thumbs on fingerless gloves.!! I saved you the horrible vision of these deformed Fingerless-but-not-thumbless-gloves by not taking a photo. Rather than simply rip out the thumbs, I realized that I had enough yarn to make mittens!!! Let's look carefully at the lovely Fetching fingerless gloves and think about what problem we could avoid when turning them into mittens, shall we?

Do you see any problem?? No? Well, neither did I. so, I blissfully removed the cast off edge, and continued the cute cable pattern to the tip of the new mitten. Now do you see the problem?
No? Maybe the photo is too dark. I didn't see a problem either. I was floundering in the knitting River of De Nile (denial!).
What was I possibly thinking??? Skinny narrow cabled mitten tops?? Cables eat up width. Fingers do not like to feel constricted. Fingers like to splay out at times, wiggle, breathe. They do not like to be folded up upon themselves. I determined to remove the cables. But, thankfully, I had not cabled the palms.
It seems that in knitting once completely submerged in the River of De Nile I tend to stay there. I can't quite get out of it. Rather than frog the entire tops of the mittens, down to the thumb, I decided to SAVE TIME by dropping down the cabled stitches and knitting them back up. Dear reader, does this sound like a good idea to you? Did you say, "no"? If so, you are much smarter than I. You, dear reader, are not dog paddling in the River of De Nile with me.

OK, here is what the mitten looks like when you drop the first of the four stitch cables. Did I think this was a problem?
Nooooo,.......... Here I am with my faithful cable hook picking up the first of the four cable stitches to form stockinette ribs of 4 x 1.
Here is the mitten-in-progress with the first of the cables removed and replaced with stockinette. Is there a visible problem at this point, dear reader? No. I think not. Let's continue.

Here are the finished mittens.
They look pretty good, don't they?? Cables on the cuffs. None on the hands. None on the fingers. Good. But no, now some type of weird perfectionism crept in and I continued to tread water in the River of De Nile. In examining the mitten I remembered that cabling four stitches takes more yarn than knitting those same four stitches in stockinette. This meant that the last stitch that I crocheted up after dropping each set of four stitches was looser than the other stitches. This, I felt, would let in too much cold winter air. This, I felt, would not go away after blocking.
Again, WHAT WAS I THINKING?? I frogged the entire top of the mittens , down to the thumb, and re-knit the mittens from thumb to tip.
Tell me, dear reader, had I saved any time??? No, I had not saved any time. By this time, I had gobbled up approximately three times the amount of time needed to knit the entire mitten!!! Fortunately, I realized this after re-knitting the first mitten. I left the second mitten as is. I think it is fine, just fine. I have finally crawled up the bank and and onto the sandy shore of the River of De Nile!!
And, voila, here they are! The beanie hat without dorky ribbing and the Somewhat Fetching thumb gusset mittens!

Ok, let's take a break from knitting. As I write this it is snowing heavily outside. Here's the view out of my front door.
Look closely in the lower corner!
A melange of Christmas and Halloween decorations! We never managed to remove the pumpkin from the bench, although we got Santa up. The Snowman wind sock is draped over the bench, awaiting being hung from the tree. Oh well, with the cone of snow on top, it kind of looks like a Halloween elf helper for santa!
At least this Christmas decoration is completely up. The antique wagon belonged to my husband's mother, who played with it as a child. My husband also played with it when he visited his grandparents in rural Iowa. Now, we keep it at our front door. My mother in law passed away a number of years ago, but we honor her every year by filling it with wrapped (but empty) boxes, ready to deliver. We like to think that Helen is watching from heaven and smiling.
In 1971 I sent out my first batch of Christmas cards as a young adult. This was the time of the Vietnam war, which we opposed. I found a card with a lion and lamb on it, and with the message "Peace" inside. Each year since I have sent Lion and Lamb Christmas cards, but they have been harder and harder to find--just as world peace each year has been harder and harder to find. At Christmas time I scatter little lions and lambs around the house, in the hope that I will do all that I can in the coming year to work towards peace and understanding. May 2008 be filled with peace, understanding and acceptance for you and for the world!

Slip, sliding away...

The time before Christmas is slip sliding away, faster than a speeding bullet! Although it seems that I have been knitting 24 hours a day, I don't seem to have made much progress. I enviously follow other knitting bloggers who seem to rack up finished sweaters, lace shawls, pairs of socks and afghans while I have struggled to finish a few hats. What do they do that I don't??
Actually, I've made three more hats of which I don't have photos. You see, I got this great idea for Christmas. I would make everyone patterned tams. I found a great pattern by a local knitter, Amy Anderson. I purchased lots of Cascade 220 and limited quantities of Noro, Mountain Colors, etc. and I cast on. My enthusiasm waned when both daughters proclaimed that they would never wear tams and those hats better not be for them. Don't you know, mom, that tams are not stylish! And, who ever looked good in a tam anyway.

At this point I changed course. I decided to knit hats, mittens and scarves that I WANTED TO KNIT. I have no specific recipients in mind. Rather, I will put all intems into one large wrapped box and people can select an item. Or not. They can reject all the items. I don't care. I will donate the remainders to Dulaan or the local homeless shelter. I will photograph all of hats for my scrapbook. If some of my family members end up with no Christmas present from me, tough for them! I'll give them a gift certificate to Wal-Mart!!! Ha! Ha! That will teach them!!!

Here's a hat I experimented with. It is a take off on a watch hat from Charlene Schurch's book Hat's On! I removed the ribbed "cuff" and substituted applied I-cord (in honor of the Elizabeth Zimmerman collection I had just seen!) While knitting the color pattern I thought, "What if I switched the foreground and background colors?" So, I did. Can you see? the effect wasn't quite as exciting as I thought it might be, but it's interesting--I guess.

I also decided to make my dad some mittens. The colors in this photo aren't true to life--in reality the colors are black, loden green, and a loden green/black twist--all Cascade 220. This is a pattern from Mostly Mittens, also by Charlene Schurch. My dad has wide hands, so I used worsted weight yarn rather than sport weight. Turns out, the mittens are 15" tall!!!! I think I'll felt them so that my dad's hands stay really, really warm! He is diabetic and has poor circulation. He also cut off the tips of two fingers 20 years ago while using his table saw. Felting the mittens for extra warmth will be just the thing!
My hat/mitten/scarf projects were interrupted by the birth of a baby in my husband's department. The mother is the only female professor in his (science) department, so I thought I'd make the baby a little sweater--the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise sweater. I used Baby Ull and some decorative thread with little balls of fluff. the thread is not elastic at all and it was difficult to knit with--had to work at each stitch when holding the thread with the Baby Ull. !! I used applied I-cord for the edge. After washing and blocking it, I realized the neck opening is too tight. So, I will need to remove the I-cord from the neck and figure out something quick to enlarge the neck. Under all those folds of fat around baby necks, aren't the necks scrawny??

My Christmas knitting was also delayed by family crises, necessitating knitting. As you may recall, my 45 year old brother suffered a debilitating stroke in mid September. I finished his Aran sweater in time for his departure from the hospital but, his wife told me, he has not even tried it on. Don't know what's going on there. I've been walking his dog every day and transporting him to various appointments and work. He's not said anything. Oh well. He did comment that he is cold all the time. So, I knit him a warm grey wool scarf. It's very unexciting---although I used the brioche stitch for the first time. Maybe he will like the scarf. I'm sure that life is so overwhelming for him right now that the last thing he needs is to think about is trying on the aran sweater.

One of my sisters had neck surgery two weeks ago. She lives in colorado. She had some of the vertabrae fused and will be wearing a stiff brace for a while. So I knit her a multidirectional scarf using a space dyed LaGran mohair and a solid color of alpaca. I alternated the strands every other row in alternating triangles of the scarf to stretch the mohair. It turned out beautifully, I assure you, but somehow it got shipped to Denver before a photo was taken. I love this scarf pattern and have made it several times, always, it seems, with yarn that I need to stretch! Alternating rows of solid and multicolored mohair works beautifully.

Meanwhile, while not knitting, I have been slowly working on end of the semester assignments for my graduate courses. Which reminds me, I better get back to Digital Libraries!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, a bit belatedly, and happy knitting!