Halos of Hope

The Sharing Our Gifts Across America Group on Ravelry is on their 29th State.  The goal of the group is to do some type of charity knitting in each of the 50 United States. 

This month the state is Illinois, and the charity we are helping is called Halos of Hope.  The information on the group's thread for this month reads:

Halos of Hope is 501 c(3) approved charity committed to providing in-need cancer patients with crafted hats donated by caring volunteers.
Hats can be knitted, crocheted, or may be sewn headscarves. As of February, 2012, Halos of Hope supports over 450 cancer centers in the United States. Donations from our group will go to those centers in Illinois.

The call was for knitted and crocheted hats and head scarfs, "chemo caps."  They wanted them to be especially soft.  Also, they need hats for women, men and kids.

I decided to make a man's hat.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I didn't have any suitable yarn.  I didn't want to use wool, although wool can be super soft, just in case someone was allergic.  I thought a yarn for baby clothes would be soft enough.  I found some nice brown yarn by Plymouth Yarn, Dream Baby DK, at The Knittery, in Renton, WA.  It is 50% acrylic microfiber and 50% nylon.

The brown in the above photo is pretty close to the color in real life.

The pattern I used is Brennius Hat by Orna Ferenz.  It is a free pattern on Ravelry.  It is very simple, easy to remember, and quick to knit.  I like that it is not fussy, but has a bit of a texture to it.  I also like the slight slouch to it.

I didn't have any needles with a 15" cord, so I  bought a pair of those as well, in size 4 US (3.5 mm).  They felt a bit awkward to use at first, since the needles are so small in the hand, but as I had at first thought to use magic loop, they were a great improvement.

The yarn did feel super soft.  I used most of one skein.  My son, Pookie, who is my model, really liked the finished hat.  He especially liked how the top made a square.  It was just a bit different .  Just different enough.

I hope that whoever gets the hat likes it.  I hope that it gives some comfort.  I hope that this hat lets someone know that people far away are thinking about, hoping and pulling for him.

I want this hat to be a halo of hope.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet one hat at a time

Two Feet

Salmon and Orange Chinese Poppies

Hello!

After my big FO Friday, I was all set to do a Cast On Monday.  But it was Memorial Day in the USA, so I went to the movies with my husband and youngest son, L, instead.  We saw Men in Black III, and enjoyed it quite a bit.  Not as good at MIB I but definitely better than MIB II.

WIP's

I have cast on and am already about 2/3 finished with a hat for the Sharing Our Gifts  Group on Ravelry.  We are making chemo hats this month.  I bought some super soft yarn at The Knittery, in a rather dark brown, darker than I like to knit, but I know they need hats for men, as well as women, so I thought I would make a guy's hat.

The yarn is Plymouth Yarn's Dream Baby DK and I am using size 3.5mm (US 4) needles with a 16" cable.

This color is close to the true color.  The photos of the hat in progress, are a bit washed out, and make it look more gray than brown.

I have finished the brim and the first part of the pattern.  I am now on the upper chart.  This hat, Brennius Hat by Orna Ferenz, is a really nice guy hat, with a bit of a slouch to it.

The second new project is a doll for my husband's god daughter, M.  I have already made her the Coco the Cat doll,

but, I was looking through the wonderful blog, Flutterby Patch, and the delightful doll and animal patterns for sale there, and at her Etsy store Dollytime, when I saw a doll that looked just like M!  I had to get the pattern.  The doll I am making is called, Belinda Jane,  has curly copper colored hair.  My niece, M, is a definite ginger, and her hair is curly, too.

The doll patterns for sale on this site have such wonderful expressions.  I hope I can come close to making my doll look like them.

Of course, I have changed the pattern a bit.  It calls for a lot of knitting flat and then sewing up.  So I decided to knit what I could in the round and save my self some sewing.  This seemed to work ok for the head and the body.  But when I got to the feet and legs I ran into some interesting ... well,

For the first foot/leg combination, the pattern starts with the shoe, adds the sock then the leg.  The shoe is knitted flat, the sock and leg continue on up, then the whole thing is sewn together and stuffed.

back of shoe sewn closed

  I wasn't sure how the shoe was going to come together, so I knitted it flat, but when I got to the sock, I connected the sides, and proceeded in the round with 4 double pointed needles for the sock and leg.  The leg looked ok, but the shoe was HUGE.

Having figured out how the shoe comes together, for the second shoe/sock/leg, I decided to knit the entire thing in the round, stuffing as I go.  I started with Judy's Magic Cast On, as though I were making a toe-up sock, and knit up the shoe.  I didn't really think about the tension, other than trying to keep everything tight, so that when I stuff it, you won't be able to see the stuffing.  But, I am a rather loose knitter, and this is especially true for my purling.  So, when knitting in the round, I am able to keep my tension much tighter.  This meant that the second shoe is quite a bit smaller than the first, though the socks/legs are about the same.

I like the size of the smaller shoe much better than the big one, even though there is a bit of a ridge where I did a 3-needle bind off.  I will have to frog the first shoe/sock/leg and reknit it.

If I don't, this poor dolly will have a bit of a limp.

Where in the World is f1bercat?

I managed to knit 5.35 miles today.  I told myself to just knit for 25 minutes, and don't worry about the distance, but I got caught up in the knitting (I am working on my Spa Wash Cloths, from the Liz Marino Gift Knits Club design) and went a bit over.  Then, I got on a treadmill, and walked for another 1/4 mile.  I don't really like walking on the treadmill because I can't knit while I do it, but I need to get in better walking shape for the summer.

The 5.35 miles puts me at a total of 206.53 miles knitted.  I am still outside Portland.


View Larger Map

and not very close to any Yarn Shops.  I have about 12 more miles until I reach my daughter, S, at Portland State University.  I should be there by Friday.  I can't wait to see her, if only virtually.

Good night everyone.  Stay safe and well.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet two mismatched feet at a time