More About Hats

This was going to be a birthday post. It was one year ago last week that I started sharing my thoughts on this little newsletter. But I am not feeling celebratory. So we will save that celebration for some other time.

I am still knitting in the onslaught of everything. I think Elizabeth Zimmerman said it best…

Besides knitting, I am calming my soul and lifting my spirits with a good deal of Peter, Paul, & Mary music; especially their good protest songs. When I was at a PP&M concert when I was a little girl, I remember Peter saying that the songs we sing are prayers. That really struck me and has stayed with me my entire life. So I offer a couple of my favorite songs to you, in hopes that they lift your day up and give you a prayer to sing.

Sweet Survivor - this is not the best recording of this song, but it is very special to me. Peter and his daughter are singing at Oregon Country Fair in 2013. I am in the audience with my sweet children. About 2/3 through the song you can hear a baby crowing and I am fairly certain it is Baby Simon at abut 8 months old.

The other is Don't Ever Take Away My Freedom and I am really feeling that one right now.

Yep. It’s the Year of Hats.

In 2017 I knit at least 4 Pink Pussy Hats. It was quite a moment for knitters and crocheters to use our beloved craft in protest. We proudly wore them in the streets for the Women’s March that January. Tens of thousands of that now iconic hat were made - knitted, crocheted, and sewn.

It was so rainy. Cecilia was just six years old. You can see two more of these hats in the background!

Apparently we are at it again with our knitting needles and crochet hooks. There is a new protest hat to make. It is called the Melt The Ice Hat and you can buy the pattern HERE on Ravelry or HERE on PayHip. There are other versions (knit and crochet) as well. All proceeds from the sale of the linked pattern go to the immigrant aid agencies who will distribute the funds to those impacted by the actions of ICE.

The inspiration for this hat comes from Norway in the 1940s. Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against the Nazi occupation. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute.

I found this image at Wikimedia Commons. There is lots of information popping up about these hats right now. I love how fiber work is so often used in histoical acts of resistance. But that is a post for another time.

Since this pattern came out just over a week ago on Ravelry, almost 2,000 project pages have been logged. Only a fraction of people make project pages for all their projects, so you can bet that the numbers are much higher than that. I know that at work last weekend the red yarn was flying off the shelves.

I used Berocco Chunky yarn for this and I will give it to my brother’s girlfriend. It was a very quick project - started on Sunday evening and finished Tuesday afternoon. I made the braided tassel extra long because that seemed fun.

I have made just the one, a small act of love and resistance. I don’t know how many more I will make - if any. Edited to add my pattern adjustments: I knit this hat on a US9 (5.5mm) circular needle and I cast on 86 stitches. I knit 6” of ribbing and 6 rows of plain stockinette before the decreases.

I might not make anymore because life keeps moving along and while my love of all things knitting is infinite, my time is not. There is laundry to be done, children to transport places, knitting to teach, and so much to fill my days. I will keep living my life and trying to greet each day with joy. I will do my best to greet every person with compassion. I will lift my voice and sing my prayers and hopes. I will do everything I can to resist the temptation to cave to despondency or despair because that’s how the bastards win. I will keep knitting the good knits even as we are all fighting the good fight.

As an activist friend of mine used to say: Keep your head down and your chin up.

With warmth and compassion,