A Break

I've taken a break the past few months, focusing more on quilts than on knitting.  Next month I hope to join a knitting circle which meets one day a week at a local knitting shop and this should help jump start me on knitting again.  In the meantime, I am organizing my yarn stash, making lists of patterns I want to try, and looking for resources on-line.

One resource I found is a database of hospitals looking for items.

My Secret Heart Project

This is something a little different but I'm having so much fun with it, I thought I'd share

I love the phrase ""practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" and wanted to do this.  But how?   I've knit a lot of socks in the past 10 years  and have a lot of sock yarn left over. How could I use it?

Looking around my quilt studio I found a stack of little decorative envelopes I'd bought a few years ago and never used as well  some "Happy Summer" tags.  Eureka!  I could put all of these to use.  I call it My Secret Heart Project.  I've been knitting tiny little hearts from sock yarn using size 1 needles, attaching them to one of the tags on which I've written "Take me!" and on the back, a short phrase about love or kindness like "Believe in love" or Chose joy" or Love is all you need" or "Always chose kindness"  and placing them in one of the envelopes.  Now comes the fun part!  Leaving them in public places where unsuspecting people can come across them and doing it without being found out!  I've put them in a variety of places -- stores, libraries, parks, fairs, post offices, doctor/dentist offices. I left a few at the zoo and at the state fair when I was there a few weeks ago so all around in different places in Oregon. .  I have a little ziplock bag in my purse now with a dozen ready to go out to their new homes.  Such fun!  

School has started so summer is over.  The little tags I use now say "Hand knit with love".  Starting in November, I'll begin using "Happy Winter" tags.  I'm thinking about what I can do special in the month of February to celebrate Valentine's Day. 

Bonding Hearts

 

These little hearts are for Mighty Miracles.   They provide care packages for NICU babies which include these hearts. Parents can wear the hearts and then place them with their babies which allows parents to feel connected with the babies even when they can't be there.  They also become keepsakes.The pattern can be found here.

The Plan for the Rest of 2018

Instead of new posts each time I make and add more hats, I will just add them to the post for each campaign/organization.  That means you will need to scroll down to see where I've added hats. So it may look as if there are no changes unless you look further down.  I'm not working very much on the red hats for the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign right now as the deadline isn't until January.  I'm also listing the number of hats I've completed in some sidebar posts. 

Red Hats for Little Hats, Big Hearts Campaign

Purple Hats for Click It for Babies Campaign

Newborn Hats for Sacred Heart Riverbend

Preemie Hats for Doernbecher NICU Hopsital

Plans for Rest of 2018

I am knitting little hats in the next six months for various hospitals and organizations.

I'm working on preemie hats for the  NICU Doernbecher Hospital in Portland, Oregon.  My youngest son, now in his 30s and healthy, had open heart surgery here as an infant and I am forever grateful for the care he received.  He wasn't premature, he was full term and weighed over 10 pounds (!) but because of his heart condition he was put in the NICU and I saw all the little, tiny babies when we visited him.  This is something that broke my heart and which I'll never forget. 

I'm also working on newborn hats for Sacred Heart Riverbend  in Eugene, Oregon.  This is the hospital where all four of my sons were born.

An organization I support is Click for Babies campaign, organized by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. The campaign strives to raise awareness for the Period of PURPLE Crying and to prevent the shaking and abuse of infants.They collect hand-made hats for newborn babies which need to be at least 50% purple and are distributed in hospitals in November and December.  The deadline is at the end of September. I will be contributing to the Oregon chapter.

And lastly, I'll be knitting all-red hats for Oregon's  Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign sponsored by the American Heart Association    I'll be sending them in early January, 2019 for distribution to babies born in hospitals in February.

I will put up a post for each of the four groups I'm knitting for and add photos as I finish hats.
I hope you enjoy them and perhaps you'll join me in knitting little hats for preemies and newborn babies.

Sixteen Hats for Little Hats, Big Hearts Project

These sixteen hats will be mailed tomorrow to the Little Hats, Big Hearts Project.

Another Group Looking for Charity Knit Items

I recently found this information on the Ravelry Charity Knitting group.

Stitching for One Nation Walking Together is currently seeking items for their current ‘Warding Off the Cold Project’. The items most needed are hats, scarves, mittens, socks, cowls, lap throws, shawls, blankets or anything else that helps us retain warmth.

The items donated are sent to the various Indian Reservations in 8 Rocky Mountain States.
Please mail any items to:
One Nation Walking Together
Attn: Kae Elliott
3150 N. Nevada Ave
Colorado Springs, CO 80907

Project Amigo

I've been looking for an on-going charity knitting project which will allow me to use all the small balls of different weight yarns I have left from other projects. 

I found this: https://www.projectamigo.org/ They are looking for volunteers to knit or crochet five or six inch squares (any color, pattern or yarn type). They will be sewn into afghans and distributed to poor families of students in Mexico who are being sponsored by Project Amigo www.projectamigo.org . This is a charity that supports students from Colima in rural western Mexico so that they can create their own educational opportunities and better their quality of life. Instructions and details can be found here: www.srbrown.info/afghans.

I'll begin work on these after the holidays and the end of the Little Hats, Big Hearts challenge.  

Card Enclosed with Hats Going to Military Hospital

First Hat for Little Hats, Big Hearts

This is from the Little Hats, Big Hearts website

Volunteers from around the country are joining the American Heart Association, in connection with The Children's Heart Foundation, to celebrate American Heart Month by knitting and crocheting red hats for babies born in February at participating hospitals. Little Hats, Big Hearts, honors babies, moms, and heart healthy lives in a very special way. Supporters are knitting and crocheting red hats to be given out to thousands of babies during American Heart Month in order to empower moms to live heart healthy lives and to help their children do the same.

Together, we are working to raise awareness, provide resources and inspire moms to take their family’s heart health to heart while also raising awareness about Congenital Heart Defects.

I'll be working on these little hats from now until the beginning of January which will be a great way to help de-stress during the holidays.

Here is the first hat.

Pattern:

DPN: Size 4

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft 

Colorway: Autumn Red

Cast on 60 sts and divide among 3 needles.

K2, P2 for 10 rounds

Knit 1 round

K1, P1 for one round

P1, K1 for one round

Repeat

K1, P1 for one round

Knit 15 rounds

Begin decreasing as follows:

Rnd 1: K8, K2tog 

Rnd 2: K7, K2 tog

Rnd 3: K6, K2 tog

Rnd 4: K5, K2 tog

Rnd 5: K4, K2 tog

Rnd 6: K3, K2 tog

Rnd 7: K2, K2 tog

Rnd 8: K1, K2 tog

Rnd 9: K 2 tog (6 stitches remain)

Pull stitches together to close.  Weave in ends.

The Rest of the Hats

I'll be mailing a total of 40 hats next Monday.  I've added a photo of the tag I'll be attaching to each hat.

This Week's Hats

I want to mail these hats on November 20th so they'll be received around Thanksgiving, just as the holiday season begins.  This gives me ten more days to knit.

Four More Hats This Week

These are the hats I completed this week. The pattern is a an eyelet mock cable and is free on Ravelry here. I plan to make more of these in different colors.

More Hats!

Finished Hats

Some of the little hats I've finished for the army hospital.   My goal is to make two dozen hats.

More Information About Oregon's LIittle Hats, Big Hearts Program

I contacted the co-ordinator for Oregon's program and found out the following:

** The deadline is January 12, 2018
** The hats need to be all red with the only exception being a small amount of white as an edge or accent
** Hats need to be made of washable wool/acrylic/cotton
** Preemie hats as well as hats for newborns will be accepted

I am excited to become a contributor to this great program!