As knitters we are all familiar with those events when a need and a pattern fall into our laps at just the same moment. That is what happened to me the Saturday before last.
There I was drinking my morning coffee while surfing the web, when a friend asked her posse (that's what T1 calls my circle of female friends) our advice on a hair cut. She was considering going short to show of her curls. She has gorgeous eyes so this sounded like a good plan to me. However, another friend suggested that she go a step further and shave her head for St. Baldrick's.
The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that raises funding for promising research into treatments and cures for childhood cancers . Volunteers, like my friend Beth, shave their heads in solidarity with kids fighting cancer. They are then assigned a fundraising page where their family & friends can donate money to support this important research. "It’s easy. Just sign up, send your fundraising page to people you know and ask them for donations to support your shave—it’s similar to a walkathon, but without the blisters".
No kidding, as Beth messaged back that, that was exactly what she was going to do, there appeared the Lucy Hat, via the latest issue of Knitting Daily, in my email box. In that moment, I knew that Beth was going to shave her head for a children's charity and I was going to make her a hat.
The first challenge was finding the perfect yarn. The patterns calls for wool but we live in NE Florida and wooly days are few and far between. However, we do get chilly days, so a bit of warmth was called for. Some roaming about A Stitch in Time and we (T2 was helping) found just the thing, which apparently I lost the label to (Susan helped me pick it out). I do know that it was a heavy worsted cotton acrylic blend. Knit on a US 5 needle it came out firm but not stiff at about 5sts to the inch.
I was hoping to finish it in time for church last week but I dropped a stitch Friday night and seriously messed up what should have been an easy fix. It was easier to rip it out and start over. Besides, I was not thrilled with the blue main color/grey contrasting color combo. I restarted it with the grey as the main color and liked it quite a bit better. It really is an deceptively easy pattern so just a little care guaranteed that my second attempt was fast and easy.
I knit the smaller of the two sizes around (stitches) but the larger of the two sizes deep (rows). It fit me perfectly. I have not seen it on Beth yet (I was too sick to go to church this morning but my lovely Hubby was kind enough to deliver it). She sent a message this afternoon saying that she loves it. I am so glad.
If you want to find out more about St. Baldrick's or, dare I hope, donate to the cause, you will find the relevant links just under the photo at the top of the page (A stock photo because I forgot to get a picture before sending Hubby on his way this morning).
ETA: Yay! Beth sent a pic of her in her Lucy Hat.
ETA 10Nov12: I found the the ball band. The yarn is called DungarEASE by Knit One Crochet Too.
ETA: Yay! Beth sent a pic of her in her Lucy Hat.
ETA 10Nov12: I found the the ball band. The yarn is called DungarEASE by Knit One Crochet Too.
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