Tribute to the Hats

I have been meaning for a long time to dedicate a post to the beautiful hats we received so far for our current campaign, which is still running in case you were wondering.

I think the pictures will do most of the talking this time. The vacuum packed, saran-wrapped hats are from friends at Baragwanath Blessings, who are committed to helping babies and children around the world. I lef them in the plastic, because I thought it would be easier to send them on later. I very much would LOVE to open it up and look at each and every one! I took several shots to get an idea of the magnitude. There are FORTY hats!

 

 

These beauties are from one of the ladies on our Ravelry page, madamedufarge. She did a wonderful job, each one a masterpiece in its own right:

These are from another Ravelry member, who is local to me. She also does fantastic knitting!

And there you have it! That is what 69 hats looks like. 69 hats so far... and counting. 69 warm heads this winter. 69 hats sheltered from the cold. 69 hats sheltered from the rain. 69 hats to uplift the broken little spirits of the babies and children of Gaza.

Enjoy! I may edit this to feature more hat pics when I find them, as there are more!  

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BIG NEWS!

Calling all knitters, crocheters and concerned citizens!! 

I'm so very happy to report that we have another campaign underway! With a reliable delivery girl! Interestingly, it's the same delivery girl from our maiden voyage, back in 2009. She told us she's been back to Gaza a few more times since then and will be going again, and is more than glad to take hats for us! Isn't that wonderful?

She will be going at the end of Summer, so we have all Summer to concoct some woolly goodness to send to Gaza's neediest members. 

I personally am going to knit hats, toys, and blankets. A friend and fellow knitter started a local charity knitters group, and we've been doing a blanket swap where we each knit 4 inches. I am so happy that at least a few of these will be done by then to send to newborn babies of Gaza. 

 

I think this will be our biggest delivery yet. I alone have accumulated over 20 hats made by myself, and 3 or 4 friends. 

Did I say I'm excited? Well, I'll say it again! I'm so excited!!

Now let's get to the hat-making!!

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Hat Journey Complete

Our delivery lady was unable to enter Gaza herself but found a doctor with Red Crescent who  kindly took them in for her. Mission accomplished. As stated before, these hats will go directly to the hands of children through youth and rehabilitation centers as well as orphanages. 
We will update if we hear more.
Thank you to the delivery lady (if you are reading, may we use your name?), the good doctor and others who worked against all odds to deliver these hats to the intended recipients.

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This Batch of Hats

Thanks to all who participated. A special thanks to Shunra who has been coordinating delivery for us as well as taking photos and keeping us all updated on this recent delivery.

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Current Delivery Update

45 hats, a shawl and some soft toys were sent to Gaza on the eve of the Egyptian revolution. We will add photos of these lovely textiles in another post. As of today, its still unclear if our hats made it into Gaza. Our delivery lady was in Cairo during the heat of the protests and tried to keep in touch with us as often as she could. It wasn't easy with internet blackouts.
As of last communication, she was still safe, still in Cairo, still in possession of the gifts and still hoping to enter Gaza to hand deliver these hats directly to  a youth center where  distribution is direct to the children.
As we hear more, we will update again.
What is going to happen to these gifts if she doesn't get them to the hands of Gazas children? They will come back here and await another opportunity.
Please keep knitting hats, scarves, shawls and toys. Even if a new regime opens the Rafah border permanently, the need will still be there. Our prayers as always are with the people of Gaza and now with the people of Egypt.

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A month away from our next delivery!

We're so excited at Hats Off to Gaza-- still have a month left to knit for the underprivileged, needy, cold orphans of unstable, volatile, beseiged Gaza.

So happy to have this extra time, which was only made possible due to the new delivery girl deciding to postpone her trip. It works out so much better for us hat-makers.
I'm going to be including some small, friendly, woolly softies with my hats. I have four children and know the importance of toys. I don't have traumatized children but can only imagine the need would be even greater.

If you or someone you know would like to contribute to our cause, which is purely to help the children, please email us.
Thank you.

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Knitting Away!

We're so thrilled to be able to send more hats at the end of the year! This will be our third batch, and I know it will be our best yet.
I have already ten hats ready to go, nine are pictured below along with a super-cuddly all-cotton security blankie buddy! The kitty-ear, and cream ribbed are from a girl who is a friend of mine. I knit test knit the keffiyeh hat for TikkunKnitter, and knit the baby blueberry one for my own baby, who I (wrongly) assumed was going to be a boy. The pink one I also knit, it was my first time knitting the Aviatrix. The blankie buddy was also a first-try. Come to think of it, all the hats I made were first-tries. I really like to try new patterns, and before HOTG I had knit just one hat, a chulo for my husband.
Of all the hats I knit so far, I will definitely knit a few more keffiyehs, I think the kids would like that, and the aviatrix. I already have a burgundy one almost done, with plans for more. 

Included in the picture above are The Four Hats from Irving, Texas. A super sweet mother-daughter team emailed us back in the winter (or last year, yes... sorry!) and asked if they could send us some hats after stumbling upon our blog. How. Cool. Is. That! Speaking of emails, we do get email from people who are interested in our cause, and in fact we got an email from the founder of a very important website for Gazan children (I promise a separate post on that this week!)
So, it's always encouraging when you see your blog actually making a difference and doing what it's supposed to do, ya know?

These beautiful blue hats are a testament that blogging makes a difference!

To end, if there are any knitters or crocheters out there who want to give us a hat or two, then feel free to email us above. Thank you.

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