Hats for the Homeless, 2023

 30+ hand knitted hats donated to the homeless shelter last year. 

Hats for the Homeless Shelters

I've been knitting these hats in odd moments--while watching the [mostly terrible] news, listening to Congressional hearings, or during the scary bits in Killing Eve that I don't want to see. Almost all of my backlog of acrylic yarn has been used up now. The hats will go to our public library in November, to be distributed among the homeless shelters in town.

 

39 Hats for the Homeless Shelter

I knit these over the summer.

 

Knitting Hats for the Homeless

It gets cold here in the high desert during the winter time. Our local library sets up a Christmas tree every year, asking the community to decorate it with hats, scarves, and mittens for those who would appreciate a gift of warmth. The library staff gathers up the donations and makes sure everything gets to local organizations serving those without homes, those who need some help, and those who are fleeing north to find a better life. 

I started knitting these hats back in the summer. Sometimes I bought the yarn, and sometimes friends donated yarn. The simplicity of the pattern (Barley Hat from Tin Can Knits, available for free and including sizes for baby through adult) meant that I could knit through news programs, Congressional hearings, and the digital audio books that are another service of our library. I like the idea of being productive during otherwise idle time.

I have quite a bit of yarn left over, so I think I'll just get a head start on next year's donations. Here are the hats that I am putting under the tree today.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sweaters for Syrian Refugee Babies

It's harder every day to watch the news about Syria  from my safe and warm living room, so I jumped at a chance to do some little thing to help.

A friend in my knitting group has offered to deliver baby sweaters and hats to the Salaam Cultural Museum in Seattle for shipping to a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The folks at the museum will add the baby garments to boxes made up for new mothers. The boxes also include blankets, diapers, and other baby necessities; then the boxes themselves serve as baby beds. 

Here are the sweaters and hats I have made so far. If you want to help out, just Google "knitting for Syrian refugees." I've listed a few general links at the bottom of the page, but you might want to find some place in your own area that is collecting for the refugees. 

I've also listed some free patterns below, and would like to thank those who made them available online. This helps to keep the cost down for volunteer knitters. Another note: Most of these sweaters were made of leftover yarn from other projects. The first one in the photos below owes a lot to the "sunrise" yarn in my vest, Rabbits at Dawn with Snow Falling. 

Check out these links for more information.

Knitting for Syrian refugees:

https://refugeeknit.wordpress.com/

https://www.ravelry.com/groups/warm-hands-for-syrian-refugees

https://www.interweave.com/article/crochet/yarn-giving-knitting-refugees/

Free baby sweater knitting patterns:

Another 5 Hour Baby Sweater from Make Your Own Zone: https://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2016/10/another-5-hour-baby-sweater-knit-pattern.html

Last two photos above

Flax Light Pullover from Tin Can Knits: http://www.tincanknits.com/pattern-SC-flaxlight.html

See photos 1, 2, and 4 above

Top Down Baby Raglan Sweater by Carole Barenys on AllFreeKnitting: https://www.allfreeknitting.com/Baby-Sweater/Top-Down-Raglan-Baby-Sweater

I haven't tried this one yet

A Simple Baby Pullover by Erica Kempf Broughton: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-simple-baby-pullover

Photo 3 above

Knit for Kids, The Final Batch

I've knit enough of these blocky little sweaters for now. This is the last batch, which brings my total of children's sweaters knit for World Vision's Knit for Kids project over the past five years to 110. For now, I'm happy to move on from acrylic yarns to some wool, mohair, llama, and alpaca ones. 

If you are interested in knitting sweaters for needy children in this country and abroad, just click on the link above to get a copy of the pattern and the shipping directions. It's a really fun and worthwhile project.

To see most of my Knit for Kid sweaters, go to this index page.

Knit for Kids: 100th Sweater Completed!

My knitting friends and I celebrated with a 100 sweater cake

Back in 2006 I first heard about Knit for Kids, a charity outreach project that sends hand knit sweaters to children all over the world. Once I started knitting these easy little sweaters, I decided that I wanted to complete a hundred of them. This project is something that I do it because it is so much fun picturing kids receiving a gift from someone they don't even know--someone who wishes all the best for each and every one of them. It's surprising how many spare moments there are for knitting a few rows--perhaps while riding in the car, waiting for an appointment, or watching a baseball game--and I've learned to take along my knitting basket wherever I go.

I finally met my goal a couple of weeks ago and guess what? I had some leftover yarn, so I just kept on knitting more sweaters, because knitting is what my hands have become used to doing. Now I find myself working on sweater #102, and I still have lots of ideas for patterns and colors; probably enough ideas for the next hundred sweaters. 

Here is the latest batch: Numbers 91-100. 

 

Knit for Kids, 81-90: Closer to the Goal

I'm sending off another box of sweaters to Knit for Kids today. This will bring my total of sweaters completed to 90. I'm closer than ever to my goal of knitting 100 sweaters for this organization.

I don't want you to think that all I do is knit--I do attend a knitting group a couple of mornings a week, but then I carry my knitting along whenever we are driving in the car, and I knit while keeping Beez company in front of the TV during football season. That's a lot of football, as you can see!

80 Sweaters for Knit for Kids, Part 2

Here are the rest of the sweaters being mailed off in this batch to Knit for Kids. See yesterday's post for the others. I've started down the home stretch toward my goal of 100 sweaters for this great charity!

80 Sweaters for Knit for Kids, Part 1

It's time to send off another batch of sweaters--numbers 65 through 80--that I have made for Knit for Kids. You can see the last bunch that I shipped here and here. If you would like to learn more about this charity, check out the Knit for Kids website. The basic sweater pattern is very easy and can be knit or crocheted, and the variations you can make are endless. You can see most of the sweaters I have sent by clicking on the "Knit for Kids" tab near the top of the blog. Pass on the word about this fun and worthy project. You might want to knit a sweater or two, yourself!

I'll post photos of the rest of the batch tomorrow.