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Dear Jan,

Warm Hats Not Hot Heads heard from a few more knitters yesterday, taking our total coverage of Congress to double digits - 10% of our Representatives and Senators have a knitter who has committed to knitting them a hat!  In celebration of that, I am offering up a new hat pattern for free.

I call this Hat’s Not Another Noro Scarf!  Even though I haven’t knit one, those striped ribby scarves knit out of a long color repeat yarn like Noro enchant me with their waves of undulating color and sometimes surprising juxtaposition of hues.  But five feet of 1×1 ribbing isn’t my thing.  Twenty inches, however, in a narrower band - definitely something I could wrap my brain around.

Or more accurately, something I could wrap around my brain, in the form of a self-striping hat.  With a decorative cast on to establish the striping right off, a band of 1×1 ribbing forms the brim of a quick to work but satisfyingly clever hat.

The ribbing, worked in alternating colorways 2 rows at a time, is stitched closed and trimmedwith buttons or decorative closures of your choice.  The crown of the hat is picked up along the edge of the brim.  Knitter’s choice as to whether to continue with the striped theme and knit with both colorways in a spiral to the center or to opt for a single yarn used to the finish.  Width of brim can also be varied as one chooses.

You’ll note a small error in the version I’m wearing - I did 4 rows of one color instead of two.  But this couldn’t be ripped out - it was when I was knitting for the world’s record at Sock Summit back in 2009 and is one of my best mementos of that trip.

The link to the pattern is here.  It’s a Ravelry link, but if you aren’t a member of Ravelry and would like a copy, just leave a comment on the blog and I’ll send one to you directly.

And here is another hat for the WHNHH campaign.  This one is Jared Flood’s popular (and also free) pattern, Turn a Square.  I’m calling mine Crossing State Lines as I will likely be sending this one to one of the Senators or Representatives outside of Minnesota who don’t have a committed knitter yet.

Apparently, as sure as I love knitting with browns and greys, Selkie likes hat modeling.

Note: This gratuitous sunrise shot is proof I DO like other colors.  Just not as much as brown and grey. 

Love,

Ellen

Hi, all,

Alison and I discussed the various options for the Warm Hats Not Hot Heads campaign and have made some decisions on how to move forward.  Check out the details in the page link in the right sidebar of this blog -  or click HERE.

In short -

1. Choose a recipient for your hat.
2. Let me know who you are knitting for.
3. Knit the hat.
4. Deliver the hat as close to February 28 as is practical for you.  Personal delivery is best, mail to district offices (not D.C.) second best, and sending a photo of the hat donated to a charity on the Congressperson’s behalf is a third option.
5. Spread the word - send people to the details page, the Ravelry group (Warm Hats Not Hot Heads), Alison’s or my blog, and soon, a Facebook group!

Let me know in comments or in email (e DOT silva AT comcast DOT net) if you have any questions.  And Thanks!

Ellen

Dear Ellen,

Our flight leaves in less than 12 hours and I haven’t started to pack…so, brevity follows –

A new hat for the campaign…will i.d. the recipient later.

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The winter view we’ll have from our porch next year…it’s from the pile of rocks in front of the porch decking this year.

I’m ready for Jamaica…packed or not!

Love, Jan

Editors note, added 1/31/11:  After some investigation about postal security in the federal government, we are recommending  that you send your hat to the district office of your recipient, or better yet if possible, hand deliver your hat at a meet-and-greet type event.  Another alternative is to send a photo of your hat with a note saying it was donated in the recipient’s honor.  We’ve updated and finalized the details for the campaign accordingly - you can read them all in the Warm Hats Not Hot Heads page over on the right sidebar of the blog or in the Ravelry group of the same name.

Hi, everyone,

Alison has some political ins, and she has determined that until we build some publicity for the hat campaign it might be best to hold off on mailing them in.  We don’t want them being set aside by some office worker - we want them to be seen (maybe even anticipated!) by our congresspeople.  I’ve updated the post with details, but here is the plan in brief.

As before, knit a hat for the congressperson of your choice.  Let me know who you’ve knit for when you are finished, and get the hat ready to mail.  Towards the end of February we’ll announce the big mail-off date when we will all send our hats winging towards the offices of our elected officials.  (Hats Off to Thee?  That’s a Minnesota joke.)

In the meantime, Alison and I will explore publicity for the effort so each hat can make its way to where it is intended.

If you know of your congressperson having a meet the public event before the end of February, DO go ahead and take your hat there and present it in person.  That will help create awareness for everyone’s hats.

I know we keep tweaking this, and I apologize for that.  We’re kind of new to this sort of thing.  Thanks for the support and love, anyway.

Best,

Ellen

P.S.  You can check out the list of who has hats waiting for them here.

Dear Congressperson,

This hat was hand knit with care for you.  Many of your colleagues will also be receiving hats from knitters of all political stripes and from all around the nation.

Why a hat?  Knit hats meet a simple need for warmth.  They are an every day comfort.  Everyone can use a good hat.

Civil political discourse also meets a simple need - the need for our government to have the best information and insights from many viewpoints.  It would be an every day comfort to me and many other Americans if the airwaves were free of hate-filled rhetoric, and it would lead to good government.   As I’m sure you agree, everyone can use good government.

Thank you for your service, and best regards,

Ellen

P.S.  More information about this effort, Warm Hats, Not Hot Heads can be found at http://twinset.us/?p=3732 or http://spindyeknit.com/2011/01/lets-change-the-world/.

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That’s the letter I’m sending along with the hats I knit for my Senators and Congressman.  I hope many other knitters will join in on our effort to introduce a bit more kindness into the political sphere with the delivery of handknits to our Congresspeople.

Edited 1/31/11 to reflect slight changes to the WHNHH campaign - read them in full in the page on the blog sidebar.

Here is what you need to know.

1. Knit a hat, a nice hat, out of materials you would be happy to wear.  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  It can be any color and any pattern.
2. Write an accompanying note to express why you knit the hat.  You are welcome to adapt my note to your use, or check Alison’s blog for her note which she will be posting soon. Please keep your note positive and short for maximum impact.
3. Mail your hat to the congressperson of your choice.  Prepare to mail your hat to the congressperson of your choice.  We’ll all try to mail at once, and Alison and I will try to do some publicity to make sure the hats make it to the people for whom they are intended.   To find your own House representative, check this website - https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and to find your Senator, the website at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm  will do the trick.
4. Email me when you finish your hat and have it ready to mail so I can track which representatives have hats committed to them.  If possible, send a photo or link to your Ravelry project so I can publish it here on the blog.  And I’ll email with information about exactly when to send it on its way.
5. Let’s try to finish this up by February 28.  Were the houses of Congress located in Minnesota, we could continue till sometime in June, but I hear spring comes earlier in D.C.
6. One exception to holding onto your hat for a bit - if you can find a meet your congressperson event in your area, please consider hand-delivering your hat to them and making it really personal!  And please let us (Alison or myself) know that you’ve done that.

That’s it, really.  I will track the congresspeople for whom hats have been committed (click HERE to see the list of all congresspeople and who is knitting for them), so you might check to see if your reps have already been covered.  If you’d like to send your hat directly to me and not even worry about writing a note, I’ll handle sending it to a congressperson who has yet to chosen.  If you have any trouble at all, please email me (eDOTsilvaATcomcastDOTnet, PM me on Ravelry where I am twinsetellen, or comment here on the blog and I’ll help out.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the hat in progress, destined for my own Senator Amy Klobuchar, is Wooly Wormhead’s wonderful design, Turbine, knitted with the fabulous Briar Rose 4th of July.  The nighttime picture is horrid - I’ll replace it soon with a better one, one that the pattern and the yarn deserve.

Thanks to all for their interest.  Now let’s go make the world a warmer place!

Love,

Ellen