First roundup of items for this season is underway!

It may not be freezing yet, but the rainy, windy days of fall are upon us. We started counting items and are anticipating the first distribution to take place in about 10 days. It will be at a food shelf where we usually see families with kids, so the first distribution will be heavy on kids' hats. Over the next few months, many more distributions will take place including all types of hats: women's, men's, and children's as well as scarves, cowls, mittens and any other warm items received. 

If you've collected a bunch of items over the summer and want your storage space back, now is a good time to get those items to us! No need to feel rushed though, as we usually distribute items through March and collect year-round. 

If you have questions, please do ask them here. They will not appear instantly, as these blogs tend to get a lot of spam, and we have a dedicated gatekeeper who approves all messages. It could take a day or more, so please be patient. Who knows, you might have another hat or a set of mittens done by the time your post appears! 

Happy crafting!

Mid Summer is no reason to stop knitting (or crocheting, or any type of other crafting)

Since we're in the middle of summer, I thought I'd look up watermelon hats on Ravelry, and here is a link to see several hats in that cateogory. As long as the hat is warm enough, it can certainly have a summer motiv on it and be acceptable to donate to this group: 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#sort=best&inline=&craft=knitting&query=watermelon%20hat  

The hat above is by Kerry O/Brian, available on Ravelry (chosen haphazard). 

New total

We are at 2216 items! Items were distributed this past week, and there is no sign of stopping, so keep them coming. 

Thanks to all who contributed!

Hat Distributions are in full swing

Many hats and other warm items have already been distributed and will continue to be handed out as long as items come in. Our total yesterday was 1881 items with more hats having come in to be counted yet. Distritubutions usually continue well into January or later, as long as the weather stays cold and items continue to arrive.

Knit for Charity Day

 Sep 11, 11:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Neighbors Who Knit
3448 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN

A “Knit for Charity Day” has been scheduled for Thursday, September 11th, at Steven Be’s Yarn shop on the corner of 35th and Chicago. Knitters who like to knit and give their creations away meet a couple times a year at the yarn shop. We knit hats to hand out to schools, foodshelves, hospitals, and other social service agencies.

Pack up your needles, yarn, and your favorite pattern…along with a healthy snack to share. To learn more about this project check out : hats4thehomeless.blogspot.com

See you on Sept. 11th.

2025/26 Season

It’s almost September, and we’ll be starting to gear up for more frequent collections again soon. In the meantime, this group is active year-round, and you can contribute anytime.

Also, if you’re in the area and would like to meet in person, we meet every third Saturday of the month between 11 AM and 1 PM at the Butter Bakery Cafe on 37th and Nicollet Ave S.:   https://butterbakerycafe.com/.

If you’d like to receive an email invitation a few days before every meeting, let us know by sending me a PM, and we’ll get you on the email list.

Please join as at one or both of these events

Another charity knitting day at StevenBe’s on Thursday:

Thursday, February 13th is a “Knit for Charity Day” at Steven B’s over on 35th and Chicago.  Doors open at 11:00.  Bring your donations…winter is still hanging on and we are delivering hats, scarves and mittens.  A local TV station will be there to interview us about the 20 year knitting project.  Bring a finger food snack to share.

And the usual monthly knitting at Butter Bakery on Saturday:

Saturday, February 15th, we will be knitting at Butter Bakery from 11:00 to 1:00.
Invite a friend, come hungry, and bring along a knitting project that you are working on. Butter Bakery is on the corner of 37th and Nicollet in south Mpls. We are always on the lookout for new patterns….remember “big, warm, and wooly” hats for our winters. Worsted weight washable wool is ideal for our project.
Please RSVP for this one.

Day of Charity Knitting at Steven Be's on Thursday 1/16

This Thursday, January 16th is "Knit for Charity Day" at Steven Be's Yarn Shop on the corner of 35h and Chicago.   Meet from 11:30 to 4:00....bring a potluck item to share and 3 of us will have crockpots of soup to dip into.  Bring along any finished items that you have . . . winter isn't over yet.  Hope to see you there. 

Our regular monthly meeting is on Saturday the 18th..we meet up again at Butter Bakery on 37th and Nicollet...rsvp with your plans...invite a friend...bring along any finished projects.

Please note: mailing address change

Please note that the mailing address has changed. See the mailing address tab. 

All drop-off locations remain unchanged. 

New total: 2673

The magic continues, and hats and other warm items keep coming in. We have reached a total of 2673 items so far. As it's only mid-December, we will most likely surpass our total of 3347 warm items last season. Your gift of warmth is being spread throughout the city. 

Happy Holidays!

First Counting and Distributions of the season

802 items were counted and sorted into distribution batches to be handed out starting this week. This does not yet include the items collected at Steven Be's shop, which will be dealt with soon as well. 

We're off for the season! We'll be distributing throughout the winter, so keep those warm items coming. 

 

FRIENDS WHO KNIT

Looking for folks who like to knit and would be willing to knit a hat for a person needing some warmth...men, women, and children. Scarves. mittens, and gloves are needed too.

Items will be distributed to local shelters, neighborhood schools, foodshelves, and community service agencies serving the needy.

SIZE: Large an Extra Large

DEADLINE: we collect items year round

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND FREE PATTERNS CHECK OUT THE REMAINDER OF THIS SITE (www.hats4thehomeless.blogspot.com)

DROP OFF SITES:

        STEVEN BE FIBER STUDIO

        3448 CHICAGO AVE. SO. MPLS. 55407

HARRIET AND ALICE

3922 West 50th Street Edina 55424

THANKS FOR GIVING THE GIFT OF WARMTH.

MORE QUESTIONS....contact barbmelom@gmail.com

Final Total for season 2023/24

The final total number of items collected for this past winter season was 3347; the most collected ever per winter season! More and more knitters are finding this group. 

We are now starting to collect for next winter. You can hang on to the items for now and send them towards fall or you can send them throughout the year; whichever way you prefer.

We are continuing to meet at Butter Bakery on Nicollet and 37th S on the third Saturday of every month from 11-1, if you'd like to drop off. We'd love to see you there to hang out and knit with us as well. 

We made it!

The official total is now 3030 items! We made it! We crossed the 3000 mark for the first time. A huge thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed and made this milestone possible. Just think of all the wam heads, necks, and hands you've had a part in!

Updated total: ALMOST 3000!

We have reached an official 2988 items received. We'll be at 3000 for the first time ever this season in no time. 12 crafters sending one more item will get us there. Can we do it?

Fist sorting of the season

Last Sunday, the first large sorting of this season took place at Walker Place in South Minneapolis. It happened in a beautiful large room (as compared to a small basement room last year) where instead of being cool and wearing sweaters and coats we were on the wam side and layers of clothing came off repeatedly as we sorted. Who knew this could be such warm work!

The hats were flying across the table in many directions to reach their appropriate piles, as several of us were sorting. Kathy kept us well organized with instructions and took on the bulk of packing sorted items into large bags when the piles on the tables were getting top-heavy and starting to lean precariously. Soon all items were ready in their designated bags to be taken to specific locations in the days to come. Barb had her usual moment of slight panic when everything was sorted and packed and we officially hat NO more hats in our stash anymore (Oh no! And it’s only the start of November!!!).

from left to right: Barb, Joan, Peggy, Kathy

But no worries, we KNOW that there are more hats out there ready to come and that more will be on the needles or crochet hooks in the weeks to come. Winter has not yet started for real, and we believe there will be more incoming items to be sorted and distributed yet again very soon.

So if you have a few items ready and you were holding off on mailing or dropping them off for when you had a few more to add to them, you might decide to get them to one of the collections points soon and then continue your creative streak for the next shipment/drop-off. Distrubtions will continue strong into December and usually slow down a bit after New Year (but not stop until spring is around the corner).

P. S. We were pleasantly surprised by how many hats there were in man-colors and sizes. They are not always the most fun to make, but they sure are needed. Keep them coming!

Yes, we are still very active!

The question comes up periodically as to whether this group is still active. YES, WE ARE, very much so. Most of our members don't do much online, but at least 25 of us are VERY active and about 15 of us meet monthly, even over the summer. Twice a year, there is a day of charity knitting for this project at Steven Be’s yarn shop in Minneapolis. And we are present at some farmers markets and Bachman's in the fall. There is one volunteer who coordinates everything online, like here and on Ravelry. We also have two very very active in-person coordinators who manage the sorting and distribution. We don't know how many contributors we have, as many donate anonymously; probably at least 100 contributors). So many people are directly involved that if someone steps down, someone else is always there to continue their tasks. 

If you've collected items over the summer and would like to get them out now, feel free to send them soon so we can start organizing the first distributions in a couple of months or so (that'll be November!! hard to believe). As always, feel free to send year-round. 

Happy Knitting/Crocheting/Weaving/Felting, etc.

So many hats collected!

 1912 donated items have been distributed to over 30 agencies, schools, etc. 

Good work knitters!

Distributions will continue as hats come in. As most Minnesotans know all too well, we still have at least a couple of months of winter ahead of us. Keep knitting and sending/dropping off! 

Sorting Hats

November 28, 2022

This is what 500 sorted hats look like:

And these are the main 2 sorting elves after the sorting and starting the next step: distribution:

We should have taken a photo of an SUV stuffed with about 1000 hats to go out.

At least 1000 hats have been distributed so far, and more are coming in . We are now starting the coldest part of the start of this winter, and distributions will continue for at least another month as more hats come in. Hats are collected year-round, so it's never too late to drop them off at the yarn stores in our list. 

Thursday, 11/17, 11:30-4:30 Knitting for Charity

Winter has arrived and you know what that means!  We are busy collecting "gifts of warmth" to hand out to those in need.  

This is our 15th year for this project....join the the kindred spirit knitters at Steven Be's on Thursday, November 17th from 11:30 to 4:30.  Pack up your needles , yarn, and any donations you might have.  We do collect year round and drop off items in the big basket right inside the door at the shop.

Bring a snack to share and a beverage with a lid..on case of spills. 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

map and phone number: https://www.stevenbe.com/contact.htm