November Deadline Photos of 513 Hats

A brief history lesson about Hats for Sailors.  Our first year was 2010 and Lynne had planned for it to only be one year and she took pictures but it was of boxes overflowing with hats.  If you want to read what she wrote at the time, you can here on Shanti's blog.  I read about Lynne's project on another blog and emailed her for her address.  We discovered we only lived a few miles apart and I volunteered to help sort and pack.  It was such a great idea and we wanted it to continue.  Lynne is such a busy and amazing woman that she needed some help with the logistical details to make it work.  I was happy to help out.

In 2011 it was Lynne's idea to take a picture of all of the hats together.  I was able to display them on top of my bedspread and get a picture.

In 2012, it took the floor of an entire room!  By 2014, I was precariously perched on top of a ladder trying to fit all of the hats in one picture.

This year, I wanted to make some changes.  I didn't think the pictures did the gorgeous hats justice.  And maybe I don't like perching on a ladder.  I had several ideas.

First, I thought I would lay them out on a staircase.  I started to do it and thought that bare stairs with slippery wool hats was probably not any better than being perched on a ladder.  I placed hats on the bottom step, did some calculations and knew they would never fit!

I had another idea.  I live in California and we have recently had some badly needed rain so I had to wait for all the dampness to dry out.  I was cutting it close because the hats need to get in the mail in the next few days to make it to the ship before Christmas (ship announcement to follow soon).  Fortunately, the skies cleared, the grass dried and the sun came out.  Here are a few pictures of your gorgeous hats!  I like these much better than last years and I didn't have to perch anywhere that made me nervous.

There are more photos on our Facebook page.