Today I want to revisit the topic of knitting for others. I recently finished the two hats pictured above, for some young sisters for whom I've been knitting since before they were born. I've written about them here before. The elder sister, A, is six now. And she likes to sketch ideas for me. Here is a sketch she made me back in December:
She explained that it's a Horse Hat. A is obsessed with horses. I think she wants to actually BE a horse. I can't help her with that molecularly speaking, but I do hope the hat I made her helps her imagination along as she pretends to be a horse. Her sister didn't ask me to make her a hat but you know, I have seven sisters, and I know what it's like when one kid gets a gift and the other doesn't. I made the hats nearly identical so there'd be no debate over which is nicer. If you have siblings or kids, you know what I'm talking about -- how we have to think these things through, make it all fair.
I haven't been to see the sisters yet. The hats are waiting in my car to be delivered. I cannot wait to see their faces when I show them. In the meanwhile, I had my friends Bean and Eli model the hats for me. Pretty adorable. It probably goes without saying that I didn't use a pattern. I just knitted super basic stockinette hats, then made some triangle ears (a total of eight triangles since each ear features a triangle inside of a triangle) and some fringe. Oh, and I added little doll eyes. Not realistic enough to appear in a Godfather movie, but fun, anyway.
Eva, who has been with us on many Monhegan Island retreats, and who-- YAY!!!-- is coming back this year, is also big into knitting for others. In her case, she is the driving force behind some excellent charitable knitting events in Rhode Island. Her TNK (Tuesday Night Knitters) knit squares for a raffle. All of the proceeds go to The Women's Shelter at Crossroads. Eva also hosts a big fancy dinner every December, and the price of admission is either a hand knitted item or a check for the Women's Shelter. On Christmas morning, the moms and their kids receive the hand-knitted items as gifts, and for many of them this is the first time ever to receive a hand-knitted item.
In the past I've helped collect yarn for folks who lost everything in tornados. And I've also helped collect yarn for my friend Ann, who works with kids in a foster home residence here in Austin. She teaches them how to knit and crochet and they LOVE it.
Lisa is getting ready to give away her stash of Rowan and is looking for some good ideas. So if you know of a charitable organization that could use some really good yarn, by all means let us know. You can leave a comment here or visit our Facebook page.
Of course what goes around comes around. And I have to say that, even though sometimes I bellyache about having too many items on my To Knit for Others list, and that I wish I had more time to knit for me... well... sometimes (often) I am rewarded for my Knit for Others efforts. I've knitted for my friend Ross a number of times. I also taught him how to knit. Whenever he is traveling to some far flung location he picks me up some yarn. The stuff pictured below he got on a recent trip to Hawaii. The woman who sold it to him apparently does everything for her sheep except pre-masticate their meals. She explained to Ross that the quantity he was purchasing wouldn't really be enough for me to knit anything. I think he gently conveyed to her that the cost was prohibitive, and that purchasing enough for me to make a pair of mittens would cost him about the same as a down payment on a house.
I don't mind how small the quantity is. This little batch will go with some other skeins in my stash that I primarily keep just to look at and feel better. Because I'm guessing you know the amazing magic involved when you look at elegant wool and simultaneously feel totally calmed and wildly excited. That's me to a tee.
Speaking of traveling and stash building... we're just four and a half months out from our trip to Monhegan. In case you missed the last post, we have GREAT NEWS. Susan will be joining us again this year. It's going to be great.
Until next time,
Spike
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