The Hats Are In The Mail

The hats were mailed yesterday to the USS Ingraham!

Packing

Lynne and I have packed up 230 of the hats to be delivered to the USS Ingraham!  They are in the boxes and ready to go out tomorrow.  Thank you so much to all of the terrific people who donated hats to this project.  You are absolutely amazing!!!

Memorial Day, May 28, 2012

We are trying to make our deadlines easy to remember.  So from now until further notice, we will have two deadlines.  The spring deadline will be Memorial Day and the fall deadline will be Veteran's Day.  Our spring deadline for 2012 will be May 28th.  The fall deadline will always be on November 11th.

 

Goal Exceeded!!!

Thank you to everyone!  We have 337 hats ready for the next ship!!!  That far exceeded our goal of 250 so thank you so much.  So many beautiful hats...

Watch Shanti's blog for the latest news on the winner of the gift certificate and which ship we will be supplying.  I will also post that information here after the news breaks.

MORE PRIZES have been donated!  Lynne has donated several bags of yarn and we will be awarding those in a few days after the last few hats trickle in.

So many people to thank.  Thank you so much to Signature Needle Arts for donating the $25 gift certificate.  Thank you to every single knitter and crocheter who happily donated their time and money.  You are all so nice and wonderful to correspond with.  Thank you to Lynne for the yarn and all the time and effort she has put into this from the very beginning.  Thank you to Shanti for having this idea and getting the ball rolling.   And finally, we all do this to say thank you to our Sailors.

Keep knitting we will let you know when the spring deadline is for our next ship.

NOVEMBER 7TH

It is amazing what one email from Lynne (Shanti's Mom) can do!  We have been mentioned in several blogs (thank you to all of them) including Wendy Knits and Signature Needle Arts .  All the publicity and the word of mouth has dramatically increased the interest in Hats for Sailors.  As of this moment we have 434 members in our Ravelry group and I have been very busy happily answering email requests.  This is so fantastic that now I feel fairly confident (fingers crossed) that we'll meet our goal and be able to supply at least one ship with hats this year.

I know everyone knits hats in support of our sailors, but it is also wonderful when Signature Needle Arts offers something special for one who does.  Signature Needle Arts is offering a $50 gift certificate to the winner of a random drawing of anyone who sends a hat to our project!  This will apply to every hat sent in since we last supplied Shanti's ship.  Each hat offers one chance to win the gift certificate.   Their needles are amazing and it will be a wonderful treat for one of our knitters.

I also thought I'd post answers to the FAQ's for those of you who are new or if you have been around awhile but want a refresher course.

Are crocheted hats ok?
YES!  YES!  Absolutely YES!

Is there a particular pattern or color the hats are required to be?
No, you are free to knit any pattern or any color that you like.  Your creativity is welcome and appreciated.

Is there a particular yarn I should use?
Yes,  we ask for 100% washable wool.

It is important that the hat not be flammable or melt in a fire.  Wool is not flammable.  Sometimes people use a different natural fiber but we always ask that you do a burn test first to make sure that particular yarn is not flammable.  If you would like us to do the burn test, just send us a sample and we will be happy to do it.

The reason we ask for washable is that we are fairly certain the hat will end up in the wash at some point and we wouldn't want your hat to be ruined and the sailor to be disappointed.

Is there a deadline?
Our current deadline is November 7th, 2011.  We are an ongoing program and if you can't make it this time, stay tuned because there will be another opportunity.

What do I do with my hat when it is finished?
Email me at hatsforsailors@gmail.com  and I will answer back with my address.  If you already have Sandra's address in California, that is the right place to send it.  Feel free to pass it along to your friends.  I just prefer that my address not be posted on the internet.  (Another email has been posted on some blogs for me and that will work as well).

Anything else I should know before I mail my hat?
Feel free to include a note to the sailor who receives your hat.  I enjoy letting people know when their hat(s) arrive safely so if you include your email or Ravelry name I will send you a message when it does.

Any final words?
We know how much time, effort and money goes into a hand knit or crocheted hat and we appreciate SO much what you are doing.  We can not possibly say thank you enough.

Any comments, questions or ideas, please let us know at hatsforsailors@gmail.com

A Circle of Turn A Square

I feel so lucky that I get to see so many beautiful hats and I greatly appreciate the time, expense and effort that goes in to each one of them.  I thought some of you would also like to see these hats.  This is the first in a series to display your creativity.

Without a doubt, Turn A Square by Jared Flood is the most popular pattern.  It is fun to see it in so many different yarns and colors.  Here is a sampling of the beauty I have found in my mailbox.

August Prizes and Finished?

August Prizes


We think we may have a couple of more prizes in September and if we do, we will extend the campaign until September 30th, so check back next month.  We have two prizes in the month of August.

The first prize is a set of Pattern Tamers.

These are great magnetic row markers to use to keep track of where you are on your knitting charts or patterns.  There are 3 different lengths.  

The second prize are these stitch markers and carrying case from Hiya.  There are cute markers with a pretty case to keep them in.

Finished?

These are the two hats I knitted that I think qualify for finished in the month of July.  The striped one on the left is the second one I knit and it is off the needles, ends woven and washed.  It's still wet, but that is a mere technicality as far as I'm concerned.  It is my own pattern and I used Mission Falls 1824.  The hat to the right is turn-a-square pattern from Jared Flood.  It is a favorite in this group.  It is easy to remember, goes quickly and looks great!  I used Rhythm yarn by Jojoland. 

I have received so many beautiful hats, I think I will start publishing some pictures this month so you can share in my admiration for others creativity and talent!