Forget Global Warming. Forget Banks closing down sock clubs. Forget 801 Virgins. This, my friends, is TRULY the END OF THE WORLD!
Regular readers (hi Newbies!) will know that I NEVER EVER NEVER knit for charity. Actually, I RARELY knit for anyone other than myself. I am selfish selfish knitter. That’s not to say I’m not generous. My mantra is I can’t spare a square, but I can write you a check. So no orphans for me or cold kids or people needing blankets in far off places – it’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that my knitting time is precious and I’m not willing to share it.
Regular readers will also note that I’m VERY particular about yarn. I learned long ago (see Ribby Cardi archives) that if I don’t like the yarn, I’ll hate the project. AND I have an aversion to anything even remotely hairy – i.e. angora, mohair, alpaca – HATE THEM. Oh and it’s got to be soft. Not scratchy. I’m a cashmere girl living on a merino budget. HAHAHAHA! I like that. Anyway. The point of all this is that I broke out of my comfort zone in a big BIG way.
Dudes. Hold onto yourselves as the earth spins off it axis. I knit for charity. I knit with fun fur. Okay okay. Not really fun fur – it’s Bernat Disco. And I bought a lot of it. Like 8 balls of it.
It’s almost pretty isn’t it?
This is the deal. The other day I was reading blogs and I came to Susan’s post about knitting chemo caps for kids and how they love the fun fur (although I think it would cause my skin to bleed but who’s going to doubt the kids?) Some of you might remember that late last year my husband had a nasty bout of Melanoma where we got to spend some awful time in a Cancer Hospital.
I blame PTSD. Whenever Cancer gets mentioned these days I’m a BLITHERING IDIOT. I just start crying. And one of my strongest memories of that horrific month is the first time Georgie went into the Cancer Hospital. He was dropping off some slides and I was waiting in the car so we didn’t have to park and when he came out he looked stricken (not that we didn’t both look stricken all the time those days.) G shaves his head and he had been thinking about letting his hair grow back but when he came out of the Cancer Hospital he told me that he would shave his head forever in solidarity with all the bald kids he had just seen in the hospital and how he thought that everyone who worked there should be made to shave their heads to be just like the kids. Broke my fucking heart. Shattered it really.
So when I saw Susan’s post, and then went over and read what Kate was doing, well, I couldn’t stop myself.
Fuchsia Fever
It’s actually a contest! Here are the particulars:
1. You email Kate with your name, email, snail mail and blog ( if you have one)
kskaare (At) gmail (Dot) com
2. She emails you with a word document with several hat types.
3. You knit a few. I knit a few. You tell your friends to knit a few. If they arrive in a box from you, you get in the prize drawing– more hats, more chances.
4. You must have the hats TO KATE in Boston by February 28, 2007.
5. Kate puts your name in the contest…
I have donated a skein of G-Rocks and a skein of January One and a box of my palette notecards to the cause. There are many other great prizes. Check out Kate’s blog for ALL of the details!
I used this pattern to make my hat, on size 9 needles. I cast on while we were at the hospital for G’s follow up appointment (everything is fine, by the way. They don’t want to see him for six months.) It took me way longer than an hour, but basically because this stuff is HEINOUS to knit with. (I even picked up a dropped stitch. Have you ever tried picking up a dropped stitch with FUN FUR? It’s only fun if by fun you mean NOT FUN.) But I keep thinking about those kids and the really horrible lot they’ve been dealt and I may be as proud of this damn hat as I’ve been with anything else I’ve knit. What are you waiting for? Get knitting! (But seriously, if it’s more your speed to write a check or knit a scarf or a small sweater, then do that. We all need to do what’s right for us.)
Disco Queen!
Okay Cara! Full of love for humankind after your and Blue Moon’s generosity I will knit a hat or two! By the way, maybe you should knit one of these for yourself, tres chic! Annette
Look at you grrlfriend! I’m so proud of you; working with the fun fur at all.
And that hat looks so bitchin’ on you, I think you’ll have a difficult time giving it away.
I absolutely loathe fun fur but I do happen to have a ball of disco in my stash. (I needed it for this class I was taking). I was thinking about giving the horrid thing away but I think you may have chnaged my mind. I’ll try to cast on and if it doesn’t make my fingers bleed, then I may make a hat. Thanks for the inspiration
By the way, When I first started knitting, I was an avid charity knitter, but somewhere along the way, I got really selfish. One of my own somewhat resolutions (if you want to call it that) is to try and knit more charity projects. I’m secretly trying to get rid of my acrylic stash so I can replace it with the good stuff. I’m babbling, so I think I’ll end this comment riiiight here.
Beautiful hat and photo–seriously! More importantly, it’s a beautiful idea. Thanks for pointing it out; I’m off to check out the details.
Oh, cara! The hat looks great! I am so impressed with your ability to overcome 1) Charity knitting and 2) loathing of fun fur… the kids appreciate it! I know they do! Tell G that while some of the hats will be in honor of my dad, some will be for him… tell him to keep shaving that head! 🙂 thank you for the great post about the project! I look forward to seeing your hats in my mailbox soon!
🙂 kate
That is ground breaking! But, dang you look funky cute in that Disco hat!
the hat on curious george is just the cutest 🙂
It’s amazing what seeing those bald heads will do. My nephew has been dealing with brain tumors (over a year cancer free!!!) and his schoolmates really went above and beyond for him. Check it out!
http://wjz.com/video/?id=15423@wjz.dayport.com
It’s snowing here… or is hell freezing over? Not only charity knitting, but knitting with fun-freakin-fur. I’m still speechless. ; ) It’s good. I’m picturing you wearing that fluffy hat in the snow and how cute it would be with snowflakes caught in the furriness. Yeah! You do it, darlin’.
Go, Cara. I guess it just took the right cause for you to feel inspired.
We saw you with one of these hats and in public too no less…
your hat looks great and it will sure make some kid happy,WTG!
My uncle passed away from cancer in Dec.2005 . I saw him in November and was so sad about what he had to go through that I decided to grow out my hair and donate it to locks of love. I grew it out so that it would be with me at my wedding (since my uncle couldn’t be) and then cut it all off the day after I returned from my honeymoon. I’m still learning to deal with the short hair (and kind of hating it), but if I made one person feel better, than it was worth it. We each give in the ways we can.
Ok, this is enough to bring my lurking self out of the woodwork. I read JanuaryOne almost every day, and I didn’t even enter the STR contest over the weekend.
BUT, There must have been a vibe, because I bought 5 skeins of FunFur last week on a whim, even though I hate-hate-hate it too.
NOW I HAVE A PLAN.
You know what? I have some fun fur in the stash, but I think this has me inspired to knit caps for the kids at the Cancer Clinic here in Vancouver instead of mailing hats elsewhere. Might not win myself a prize, but I’ll feel like a winner anyway. Thanks for the inspiration, Cara.
You’re a furry disco queen, baby! I’m also knitting for others right now (chemo caps for a cancer charity knitting event called Knit Michigan- I’m also raising money) but I agree- writing a check is usually the way to go- there’s never enough knitting time to go around!
I’ve already finished four fuzzy, furry hats for this project. They’re quick to knit. I figure I can make a few more. I’ve been knitting the chemo caps for awhile and sending them to Caps for a Cure. I think that there will be quite a few more of these made thanks to you putting out the word on your blog.
I guess I’ve been reading you enough to know just how big this is 😉 Good for you. It’s a new year…time for new things, new causes. Thanks for sharing the info.
You are so. cute. in that Fun Fur hat. I think you might need one for yourself!
hahahahahahahahaha.
but seriously, good on you, Cara. Some kid is gonna RAWK that Bernat Disco hat!
I rarely knit for other people too, but as the older sister of a 10 year-old cancer survivor, I’m gonna knit a hat. I actually started knitting when my sister was getting her chemo treatments because I couldn’t bear sitting there for hours, watching all the sick children around me. But as it happened, my knitting amused all the kids, they would come up and ask me what I was doing and what I was making and how I did it. It was nice to be able to distract them and make them happy even for a little bit of time. That pink hat is gonna look super cute on some kid!
You had me at hello.
(You also had me in tears. Thanks for this post. I have GOT to do this.)
This little knitting may not be truly generous, but I love the idea of your friend walking into the children’s ward with a box of very strange furry caps.
I was a pediatric oncology nurse and I know how important these little distractions and encouragements can be to the kids, their parents and the nurses.
Thanks for getting us together.
WAY TO GO!
I work for a group of hospitals. Even though I was in purchasing at the time, there were occasions where I had to go on the floor of one of the hospitals. I got a call from our children’s hospital saying that they needed a new Chemo Hood (enclosed, vented area for mixing chemo drugs which are very toxic to non-cancer patients). I had to go up and measure.
Turns out, this unit was on the bone marrow transplant wing of our children’s hospital. If you want to feel your heart break, go spend some time up there.
I’m in on this one…
HaHaHaHaHaHaHa I’m going to call you Dancin’ Queen.
Look at you, using your powers for good! I hope all 801 virgins and all the, shall we say more experienced readers send in a furry hat or two. My first fun fur hat was made for my sister when she was having chemo for multiple myeloma. I made it in a blond color that matched her thinning hair and she wore it whenever she went out. It’s not just the kids who like furry hats! Crazy. Awful to knit. Totally worth it.
You’re a good egg Cara. x
Great idea and who could resist helping out after seeing you sporting your creation!
You touch my heart. Seriously. (Hi, leukemia survivor here :))
You’re a woman on a mission, I can tell. Either way, good for you Cara! (now to figure out where I can get fun fur the same colour as my hair… I know I wanted my hat to at least be the same colour)
Well, if you’re going to break the rules I can’t think of a better way to do it. You rock!! 🙂
Yaaaay Cara! Way to go! I’m in on this. I have some of that weird fluffy stuff in my stash that I bought for whatever reason I did not know until just now. My guild is currently knitting Picc sleeves (ala Knit Picks) for our local cancer treatment center…but I already have 6 done. Hmmmm….maybe I will see about fun fur hats for local kids here too after I send out to this effort. If I were enduring cancer treatment I think a hat like that would make me feel much more positive and brave.
there you are with that hat on your head again. I think you secretly love it. You want it. The first step is admitting it. I sure hope that those poor kids actually get this hat.
It’s so nice of you to run a contest on your blog to help in the making of chemo hats. I’m also running a contest on my blog for cancer patients. Love your fun fur hat!
Ooooo….your right…knitting with this yarn is totally bizarro. Definately a learning experience!
Ooh la la! Taking a walk on the DARK side. I’m so proud of you. Thanks for motivating everybody. I’ve been wondering what I’m going to do with all that Fun Fur that’s hiding in my stash. Thanks for the motivation and happy knitting.
Ahhh see you are soft on the inside. 🙂 The fun fur is sooo wrong, but if that is what the kids like and it makes them smile then who are we to judge? Hummmmm I will have to look through my sash to see what I might have. Thanks for the info. That pink is sooooo you.
Be still my heart…hell hath frozen over.
I’m in the middle of Fun Fur Fever myself for this! And now Cara, I have truly seen everything.x
Beautiful, Cara. Good, good karma will come to you.
Thanks for mentioning this, Cara! I’m a Bostonian (actually, Gloucesterian these days) and am psyched to help out the kids.
I agree- I’m not a fan of the fun fur, but my mom had a chemo cap crocheted with it, and loved it. I, and my friends, knit her a few nice caps out of lurvly Rowan and Lily Chin yarns, and what does she talk about the most? The brown fun fur cap that she got from an annymous knitter at the Cancer Center. She said when she wore it, it made her feel like she had her hair back. Heh.
Holy shit, dude. I duck out of the blog-o-world for like 5 days to deal with my Sidekick’s big birthday bash, and when I come back you’ve gotten EIGHT HUNDRED AND ONE comments AND are knitting for charity?! My head! My precious head!
I shall now go to Kate’s blog and see what’s up over there. Maybe IT will make some sense to my fried little brain.
Cara…
I don’t knit for Charity either…but when I saw Kate’s blog…….I was looped into doing this for a great cause…..I also live near Boston….and as what SEEMS that everyone has been somehow, someway……affected by Cancer (my dad, my brother, me best friend in the whole wide world)…how can you NOT KNIT these hats…
I love your yarn…how can I get ME SOME….LOVE your blog also….
Duiane
I HATE HATE HATE fun fur, but after seeing what my little friend Morgan went thru, if this will help those kids in some small way, I am there.