5 Places To Donate Your Knit Goods

 I only have 1 grandchild, a little boy who I absolutely adore!  I can only knit so many hats for him before my daughter is rolling her eyes and tsking at me.  I enjoy making hats, so what do I do with these hats that have no babies attached to them? Donate Them!!

This is a great reason to get your girlfriends together every week or even once a month.  You can even teach each other at these get-togethers. If that's not your cup of tea, you can knit and donate on your own.  Either way, its an act of kindness; and kindness will not only raise the spirits of the receiver, it changes raises the spirits of the giver.



Kindness, have you ever really thought about kindness?  It's amazing how a random act of kindness changes a moment in time, changes a mood, can change a life.  I try hard to be a kind person; the more I try, the more joy I experience in my every day life.



If you decide to donate your knit goods, I encourage you to check out your local hospitals and community schools. They may accept donations for patients and students.  Neonatal hospitals usually accept preemie and newborn knit hats. Elementary Schools usually accept hats, scarves, and mittens for their students; kids lose those items all the time during the winter months.

Knots of Love accepts knit caps for patients who struggle with hair loss due to medical treatment. They are distributed free of charge to hospitals and treatment centers throughout the country.  Also, Knots of Love accepts Neonatal blankets fragile babies surviving in incubators.

Knit For Kids accepts knit blankets, baby caps, and sweaters for children living in poverty.  Its a chance at better health, protection and warmth.







Warmth For Warriors accepts knit hats for active soldiers and lap blankets for our veterans. These are greatly appreciated and are great reminders that we respect them and their sacrifices.

Please check with each donation program. They all have certain requirements and patterns.

I would love to see some pics of your donations!!  And stop by and see my creations in my shop!!

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How To Loom Knit A Baby Hat

When I received my loom set and sat down to open it, I was extremely excited. On a side note, I always get overly excited/happy, deeply sad, or raging angry...there is no in-between regarding my emotions.  OK, back to loom knitting.  Upon opening the set, I wanted to loom knit something immediately and I wanted it to result in a perfectly knitted item. You can laugh, I laughed thinking about that day; there was no way the end result would be perfect, but I was going to try my hardest.  I parked myself in my favorite spot on the couch, grabbed my kindle and dove into YouTube.


I'm not the type of person who can watch a video, and give my project a try; nope, I have to watch a minimum of 10 videos to check out technique, yarn usage, and pattern differences.  Once I decided on the video tutorial that I wanted to use, I grabbed my little blue 24 peg loom, and wrapped pegs like it was my job.

The video that I chose, taught me to do a simple cast on, the e-wrap knit stitch, how to create a brim, and lastly how to complete my little hat with a drawstring cast off.
I was hooked, pun intended, on loom knitting.  I fell in love with the little hat, and proceeded to make dozens of them for practice.


I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I have yet to master the skill of creating a YouTube tutorial video, but I really want to share a tutorial video with you.  The following video, is that first video that I followed to make my first ever baby hat.

I would love to see your baby hat creations, and hear about your loom knitting experiences; my Facebook page is a great place to share your pictures with me.
You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

Please leave me a comment with your thoughts, suggestions, or pictures.

Crafts and Addiction

Today is 23 days since I smoked my last cigarette.  I have had great support and lots of cheer-leaders rooting me on.  I feel strange when I tell people that it has been much easier than I ever expected; and I quit cold-turkey.

My daughter and son-in-law gave birth to my first grandchild in January, a boy, named Soren Everrett...and I am completely head over heels in love with this little person.  I haven't even met him yet and just thinking of him fills my whole body with a sense of love. All during my daughter's pregnancy, she continually told me that if I continued to smoke, I would not be able to have a relationship with my grandchild.  At first I was extremely offended by this; but, once I considered her not as my daughter, but as a mother-to-be, I understood.  She is protecting her son, she is setting healthy boundaries, she is mothering and adulting.  I am proud of her.

That's a great inspiring story to quit a nasty addiction, but what does it have to do with crafts??  I'm getting there.
You all know that right now I am into loom knitting, and loom knitting has become one of my coping mechanisms, one of my saving graces in getting through the cravings and irritability.





I took my large yellow, 41 peg round loom that I only use for a couple of regular projects and started a blanket on it.  I have kept it out in the open and on one of my side tables, in view.  When those difficult feelings start to surface, I grab hold of that loom and yarn and I start loom knitting.  Sometimes I put it down when the feelings pass, sometimes I forget and keep going.  Either way, I get through the moment, I pat myself on the back, and put a grin of satisfaction on my face.

Crafting, such as knitting, crocheting, and needlepoint, is known to have a meditative effect on people.  I believe this is how it's working for me.  My hands are busy, so the muscle memory of hand to mouth is being replaced slowly.  My mind is focused on the stitches, so I am not obsessing about the cigarette I want to light.


Studies have shown that yarn crafting and needle crafting have wonderful benefits for people.  These crafts, actually all crafts, decrease stress, anxiety, depression, addiction; and increase self confidence, self esteem, social interactions.


I live with Borderline Personality Disorder, which is a horrible disease that affects the mind and perceptions of reality and the inability to self-regulate emotions. Loom knitting has been a huge help this winter in not only keeping my mind busy, but in helping me through the emotional moments that I have had trouble radically accepting as part of my life.  It has helped me when I felt I was being abandoned by those I love, it helped me get through my father's death without  hurting myself physically.  I have received lots of compliments for my work, I have gained courage to share my completed pieces, I have learned to take criticism without making it personal.

I also, leaned on the Lord.  I prayed and we had many conversations.  I reached out to my sisters in Christ for support and encouragement.  I contribute my success with quitting to the help of God; He always has my back!

God is with her, she will not fall.
     ~Psalm 46:5

This Psalm has become my mantra throughout this journey of getting through this addiction.




If you are currently a smoker, I encourage you to give that up. You won't believe the tastes and smells you are missing out on.  Give up the shame of being a smoker among your non-smoker friends; the smell of your clothes and breath.  If I could express to you how disgusting it smells once you quit.....
Give it a shot; there are tons of resources to help you, and once you get through about 5 days, the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful!

Pick up a loom, say some prayers, and become a non-smoker! You'll thank yourself at about 21 days into the process...I guarantee it!




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