Time Flies!

I'm not sure when I expect to have time to blog about knitting or anything really.............  busy week, but at least it's Saturday.

I finished slipper socks last weekend and I am now working on a triangle shawl that is knitting up quickly!  Have to get a hat going also.......

Sometimes when I am knitting hats or shipping them to different sites, I wonder if we are really making a difference. I mean, can a hat really help someone?  Can it make a difference?  Well, I have heard back from several people who received hats through Delaware Head Huggers and I know that we are making a difference.  I was contacted this week by an Oncology Center - and I will be shipping a box to them this week. But perhaps the most touching thing that occurred this week was that I received this email from A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital here in Delaware:

Hi Robin,

I hope this note finds you well.  I want to thank you for the hats.  I received the box last week.  I want to share with you about a little girl, 3 years old, who died from a brain tumor on Tuesday.  I have been the social worker for the family since the day of diagnosis.  On Wednesday, the little girl's parents made funeral arrangements and shopped for a dress.  They found a beautiful, purple and off-white dress for their daughter for the funeral and to be buried in, however the mom was so upset because she didn't want her daughter's little bald head (from chemo) and many scars to show at the funeral.  I opened your box of hats from the Delaware Head Huggers and found a beautiful, off-white hat with purple, fluffy, fun trim.  The mom came to the hospital after the funeral home.  I showed her that hat and she said it was so perfect and her daughter would have loved it!!  So, not only do our kids on treatment love and appreciate your hats but they are very special after treatment as well.  Thank you so much for your kindness.  Your gift of hats to us is very, very meaningful in so many ways.

Many thoughts,
Lisa 

This touching note made me realize that what might seem to be a small gesture might really impact someone along the way.  It also put things into perspective for me in general. 

I've got hats and blankets ready to be shipped and delivered and I will continue to do this as long as I can.  I've had so much help getting these charities up and running and I am constantly amazed by how generous people are and how easily they give of their talents and time.

So, I'm heading back to my yarn to put something together.  Happy Knitting!

Hats!

Well, I have three boxes of hats ready to ship.  The hats keep coming in and there is such a need for them!  Never a shortage of places to send them.

I'm slacking this weekend!  Made a hat for my husband, who lost the one I made him last year and tried a new pattern for a scarf. Not sure if I like the way it looks though, so I'm letting that sit and I just keep looking at it trying to decide if I want to have an entire scarf in that pattern.............

Now I'm working on a hat for Delaware Head Huggers!  I've got a few that need finishing touches on them and one of these days I will get them completed and tagged as well.  For today though, I'll finish the man's hat that I am working on and then maybe do a child's hat too.  I have to see how much yarn I use.

Happy Knitting!

Cowl for me too!

Well, I finished a cowl for me too.  Great pattern that knitted up really quickly and is toasty warm.  Easy enough for even me to do! 

Now I'm trying to figure out what my next project will be..........I can't decide between a dropped stitch scarf or a mistaken rib vest or a triangle shawl.  Something simple, but pretty.  Got to decide so I can go pick up some yarn and get started.

I've got a three day weekend and I'd really like to get a lot of knitting done.  Grocery shopping first tomorrow, but then, while football is on, I can get knitting. Time to make another hat for Delaware Head Huggers too.  I try to make sure I make one for them in between other projects for me.

Happy Knitting!

A Cowl for My Puppy!

Schnapps loves his scarves.  He always has one on in the cold weather and if you take it off him for some reason, he goes and finds it and brings it to you to put back on his neck.  But, I found that the scarf would stretch a little and gradually get longer and longer, until I had to tuck the ends through several times to keep them from dragging on the floor.  

Since cowls are such a big thing now, I thought, why not make one for him?  So I just took out my yarn stash, found some that would compliment his fur and set to work. I whipped up a quick one using a loom for his first one. In just about 30 minutes I had a nice, toasty warm cowl that fits him perfectly.

If you want to make one for your dog, just take his or her collar and measure it.  Add an inch or two (maybe 4 or 5 for large dogs) and make any cowl that you would make for a person. On a loom, just do a simple cast on, knit for as many rows as you think you need and do a stretchy bind off.  I'm going to make him some more soon.  

No more scarf ends trailing in the snow for Schnapps!

Hi there!

Hi!  I am a relatively new knitter and I'm really excited about all I'm learning along the way.  I love to snuggle with my miniature Schnauzer Schnapps while I'm knitting and he is always impressed with what I create......  :)  He loves to wear a scarf - he's got a regular one, a Christmas one and a Valentine's one and I just made him a cowl that he loves! 

When I first started, about a year ago, I contacted Head Huggers to inquire about donating some hats. I found out that there was not a splinter group in my state, so I started one.  We collect new, handmade hats for patients who are undergoing chemo, have had brain surgery or are recovering from burns. I'm happy to say that Delaware Head Huggers www.delawareheadhuggers.org collected and distributed 3,520 hats in 2010.  We've already got 191 for 2011 too!

I also started Kozy Kovers for Kids, www.kozykoversforkids.org around the same time.  We collect handmade blankets to give to children entering the foster care system in Delaware. We collected 365 blankets in 2010!  

I am really excited about being able to give back through knitting. I also am trying to make things for myself in the limited amount of time I have in between work, tagging hats and blankets and taking care of my family. I'm hoping that by starting this blog, I will actually inspire myself to get more knitting accomplished!

If anyone has some nice hat or blanket patterns that you are able to share, please send them to me to share on Delaware Head Huggers or Kozy Kovers for Kids.