Oh What a Night!!

I did it!  I was able to finish 50 preemie hats in time to hand-deliver them to the Save the Children headquarters last night!  -- and I ensured no two hats were exactly alike by using different colors, different patterns and different crochet techniques!  What an absolute delight it was to create them!  Does this mean I'm done?   Goodness no!!  I'll be crocheting up some more during my spare time to turn in at the upcoming KOC2 event that takes place on September 17th.

So, before I get into the details about last night, let me answer some questions that are cropping up on a lot of Internet groups:

Q.  My hat has an 11" circumference; do they still want it?  
A.  Keep in mind that the babies these hats will help keep alive are preemie size -- even though they are full-term babies!  Since every head is shaped differently, go ahead & turn it in, but try making another to the 10" circumference.  Change your hook, change your fiber, or do both.  Remember, these babies are tiny!

Q. Do I have to tag every hat I make?
A.  I did, but I learned last night that it's not required.  Instead, if you're sending in a large bundle of hats, ensure at least some of the hats are tagged.  This helps them identify who made them & where you're from.  Of course, tagging each hat with a little note to the mother-to-be is a wonderful touch. 

Q.  How many hats are they looking to collect?
A.  I had heard it was 500,000 but thought I'd inquire.  The more hats they can collect, the better.  But they are emphasizing that they're also looking to collect 75,000 letters to the President.  They picked this number to correspond with their 75th Anniversary that starts in January.  So, don't forget to send in your letter along with your hats!

Q.  How many hats have they collected thus far?
A.  Prior to the event last night it was 1000 hats from 350 people.  They collected about another hundred last night.  Also, keep visiting the Save the Children website; they plan on adding a map with a "people count" to show where all the hats & letters are coming from!

So, last night Ruth & Celeste, two members from the Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club, joined my kids and I in driving to the Save the Children headquarters located in Westport, CT.  Celeste knew how to get there so there were no "misadventures"  (yeah, that's a story for another day).  When we arrived Elaine, another one of our members, joined us.  We were greeted by Eileen, who does the PR for the Save the Children organization.  In the hallway was a beautiful display of some of the hats and letters to the President they received thus far; that was really touching to see! 

We were then lead to a large conference room that was beautifully set up with rows of chairs.  On two opposite sides of the room were two long tables where they had arranged the yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles and handouts provided by the Craft Yarn Council of America.  (Ask my kids and they'll tell you the cookies & punch were quite good too!)

People started arriving and soon history was made: it was the first time all three Connecticut CGOA Chapters were represented at a single function!   There were eight of us all together representing "Hooked on the Sound" from Stratford; "The Chain Gang" from Stamford, and our group from Danbury (we're wearing the purple T-shirts).  I do hope that this is something we can do again in the near future!  (I want to thank my son for being my photographer last night!) 

After watching a short video and listening/giving speeches it was time to get the party started.  We all grabbed some yarn, some hooks or knitting needles and set to learning how to create the stitches needed to create the tiny hats.  There were many smiling faces in the room; I think everyone enjoyed coming together for this great cause!

If you'd like to see larger versions of today's images, then please visit flickr.com

Did I mention that there were reporters there too last night?  Thus far this event is mentioned in WestportNow; click here to see an enlarged image from their article. 
Tags: Caps to the Capital, Save the Children, Crochet Guild of America, Hooked on the Sound, Chain Gang, crochet, knit, crocheting, knitting<FONTCOLOR=#FFFFFF size="1">, preemie hats, Happily Hooked on Crocheting, Stratford, Stamford, Westport, Danbury