Operation Warm Heads

[Texas transplant]

CHARCREATES, your hats are beautiful. Several years ago, I asked the people at a nursing home for senior veterns if they could use lapghans. He Asked if I could make them. At the time I belonged in a senior club with a lot of elderly women. So I told him I could get them made. He said no to the lapghans but could I make hats. He said that the older people had to smoke outside and most of them didn't have hair to keep their head warm. I asked him how many he needed. Only 600 , he said. I had 3 weeks to get them for Christmas presents. I went back home and put out the word I needed help in a big way. Some of the ladies crocheted and some knitted. In the 3 weeks we got 569 done. They had to be washed and dried. A few shrunk but not bad. I washed and dried hats every night. Most of these men didn't have any families so they didn't get gifts . They were so happy with the hats I will never forget the smiles on their faces when they put them on. I wanted some pictures but they wouldn't let us take them. That made my Christmas. We did have pictures of the ladies sitting around tables at the senior center working away. There was a lot of stories told around those tables , too. Margaret

[MeerKat]

I have so much yarn, I wonder if there is a sight that tells you where you can send hats, I think I will start making some. I need to find things to do.

[SusansSoulShines]

I have so much yarn, I wonder if there is a sight that tells you where you can send hats, I think I will start making some. I need to find things to do.

This is a good one since you can make hats, blanket,s gloves, whatever you like, mix it up a little to keep from getting bored. What is Warm Up America! (WUA!) | Warm Up America!

[missro007]

The hats are so cute & so are the kids!! God bless you for having a giving heart!!

[CHARCREATES]

The hats are so cute & so are the kids!! God bless you for having a giving heart!!

Thank you so much! I wish I could show you the thank you notes the teacher forwarded to me from the kids. Kindergarteners cannot yet spell so the teacher does some "interpretations" on the notes. The notes are beyond precious. Some want to know how I made the hats. Some won't take them off even when they go home. One little boy wants to kiss me because blue is his favorite color and he got a blue hat. The joy I get from these notes will keep me making hats until the end of my days.

Char

[Texas transplant]

Meerkat, When I first moved here someone told me that the fire department would take child's toys or small blankets for children. he said that when a house burns the kids get out but none of their toys make it, and the firemen give them the toys or a blanket they can cuddle or hold. A group of ladies from a church had made a bunch for them and they didn't need any. Do you have a veterens' hospital or clinic around? Call them and ask them about making things for the patients. And I checked on that Warm Up America that Susan talked about. That is a neat group. Margaret

[WabashWoman]

Great work on your part. Surprising how happy you can make someone you do not even know.

[CHARCREATES]

Hi, CHARCREATES. What a wonderful thing to do! And in a short period of time. I love the smiles on the faces of the children, and they all look adorable in their hats. I'm in South Jersey. Where is Palmyra?

Palmyra is right on the other side of the Tacony Palmyra bridge in NJ, right across from northeast Philly.

[AdaBusyBee]

Charcreates, you are a person the country should be proud of you.... Your big heart and dedication to make the children happy and keep them warm is extraordinary. Someone told me 'in every knitted piece, there is a heart and love giving to the others.' Looking at the picture I see so happy children - they deserve to be happy! Hugs! Ada.

[CHARCREATES]

Thank you so very much, Ada! Hugs back at ya. But don't forget I get something out of it too. I get to reduce my stash and send all those little balls of left over yarn on to a better life. Sure, once in a while I'll buy a little yarn to stretch those little balls but like I tell hubby, it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars. LOL! And when he finds me crocheting again, or still, and asks what I'm doing I tell him I'm hookin' for the kids! He just shakes his head and laughs at me.

What do any of us do with those little balls of left over yarn? I know there isn't a single one of us out there who throws them away. We all keep them, thinking we can someday make something out of them. Yet they multiply like rabbits. Well, hats are my solution. Schools, churches, hospitals, they would all be thrilled to get them.

So, pass it on, Ada. I would love to see other yarn buddies start their own Operation Warm Heads Club. My club has only one member, me. But as the word spreads I'm hoping others will join me.

Char