Archiving this blog

Hi all -
I just can't manage multiple blogs any more, so I'll be doing my preemie hat stuff over on my normal one (Knitwithkt).

Many thanks to the several of you who sent me hats over the summer - we gave 57 to the UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC! In December I gave another 10 to Hopkins as well - making it a running total of 88 hats given to the two hospitals from Christmas '07 to Christmas '08.

I am still collecting hats for UNC, Duke, and Hopkins - if you'd like to send me some donations please leave a comment on this post with your email address so I can send instructions. I'm turning moderation on so that your email won't be made public.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped with this project to date - you are wonderful people!
- KT

Presto! Baby Hat (moved)

Sometimes it's fun to make a baby hat that you would never in a million years wear yourself, but that would be adorable on a baby - and this is one of those. Named Presto! because it reminded me of the collapsible tophats used by magicians, it has alternating stockinette and reverse stockinette ridges that gather into each other. Because of this, as well as the natural stretchiness of knitting, the hat will fit for quite a while - just pull it a bit longer as the baby's head grows a bit bigger, or squish it a bit shorter for a smaller baby.

This pattern is now available in the preemie size at the blog Knit with KT and in larger sizes (baby, toddler, child, adult) as a fundraiser for the NC Cancer Hospital as the Beehive Cap.

Thank you from Johns Hopkins

Hello all -

On Christmas Day I presented 21 hats to the Chief of Neonatology at Johns Hopkins. I wrote in the card, "We cannot do what you do to save these babies. What we can do is knit. Enclosed are 21 hats knit by 5 women around the country." I also included the names and locations of everyone participating in the Project, with the name of the hospital to which you've pledged your hats.

This is a photo (taken and posted with permission) of the first baby to receive one of our hats and blankets! The mom was so touched that total strangers would send birthday gifts for her child, as were all of the nurses and docs in the hospital.

I also received a formal thank you note from the Nurse Manager of the NICU. She wrote,

"Thank you and all of the ladies who participated in the knitting of the hats and blankets that were donated to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) recently. They are so beautiful and reflect the love and care that it took to create them.

Once again, thank you for your generosity."

Good job everyone! This has prompted me to keep up my knitting of preemie hats - I am working to do two a month on average. Once I get photos I'll have the January hats posted here. I hope to see yours, too!

Ripple Brim Baby Hat (moved)

This little hat is distinguished by its simple ruffled brim (with a bit of slip stitch detail at the turn to the body for strength) and subtle crown shaping. Otherwise it is a basic stockinette hat - very quick and simple.

Instructions for this hat are now available on the Knit with KT blog.  If you would like instructions for an adult sized version, please see the Ripple Brim Chemo Cap; proceeds from the sale of that pattern benefit the NC Cancer Hospital.

Too Early Birthday Preemie Hat (moved)

This hat - knit in the round with occasional purl ridges and a flat top - reminded me of a layer cake... which I last had at a birthday party... and preemies are babies who are born too soon... which means they get an "early birthday"... and thus the name of this hat was "born": the Too Early Birthday hat.

It's a simple but eye-catching design, just the thing to make for wee babes needing some love.

This pattern is now available on the Knit with KT blog. Please update your links!

Conehead Baby Hat (moved)

Newborns - at least, those delivered rather than "hatched," as we put it in my family - have pointy heads. All that squeezing... this reminded me of the old Coneheads skit from Saturday Night Live... and so I decided to make a hat for a coneheaded baby. It's an extremely easy pattern, and lots of fun to make.

This pattern is now available at the Knit with KT blog.  Please update your links!

Simple hat (with eyelets) (moved)

Sometimes I just want a mindless knit - and this hat managed to be that, with some little twists to keep it from being totally boring. First, there is a round of eyelets introduced into the ribbing section - you could thread a ribbon through these for extra oomph - and second, the decreases are done more gradually than usual in the hopes of creating a "conehead" effect. Otherwise, it's just knit knit knit all evening long!

This pattern is now available at the Knit with KT blog.  Please update your links!