Gifts from Texas

 

We met a new friend, Cindy from Ft. Worth, Texas who sent us such beautiful hats!  Her hats include footballs, sock monkeys, minions and Cat in the Hat!

Cindy sent 42 beautifully made hats that will bring hope and smiles.  She included a card, that reads:

I found your organization on Pinterest and I’m hoping you can use these hats.  My dad was really sick so while Is pent time with him, I made them.  Shortly after that, I received an email from my local children’s hospital that they were NO longer accepting hats.  They are now purchasing them.

Please accept these, I’m sure you can share them with someone who needs them.

We most definitely will send these out to our local children’s hospital in the near future!   We are so grateful you found us and reached out to us with your generous gifts!

Thank you so much!
~Pali

 

Sully for Megan

Recently we connected with Megan’s mother, who informed us about Megan’s courageous fight with numerous medical issues <including Chromosome 14 duplication with a partial deletion, hypotonia (low muscle tone), cyclic neutropenia (low white cell count), sensory processing disorder– just to name a few>.     Megan is a very brave little girl, almost 4 years old, and loves Monsters, Inc.  Megan’s mother just created a Facebook page to spread awareness and connect with other families dealing with a child with special needs.  Please show Megan and her family support by visiting her Facebook page (link) and click the Like button.  You can also leave her a supportive message on her Facebook wall.

We made this Sully hat to cheer her up on difficult days. In fact, when she received the hat, about a week ago, she was very sick and going back & forth to the hospital.  But when she tried it on, she was very happy with it and wore it to sleep in.  Her mother sent us this:

“She loves her hat and I am extremely grateful to you for making it for her. What you guys do for these children is truly amazing. Thank you for making her something that she loves, thus making me happy to see her happy”

…and a beautiful picture of Megan wearing her Sully hat

We would like to remind Megan and her mother that people really do care about her, and we are sending our love.  I feel honored to be a small part of this extraordinary girl’s life and am so thrilled that the Sully hat helped Megan be comforted and happy when she was feeling horrible.
~Pali

 

3 Mike Waszowski’s

As promised in this post (More Love from South Dakota), we embellished some of the hats Cindy & Brittni created with the yarn they sent.  Here are 3 Mike Waszowski’s from the Monsters, Inc movie.  Later this month, Monsters will be having a prequel released, and I am sure Mike is going to be a popular character this summer.  I have another idea for embellishing some of  Cindy & Brittni’s hats and will try to put that into work soon.  For a free pattern on how to loom knit the Mike Hat and then crochet the embellishments, please go to this post (link).
~Pali

PS- This is our 200th post!  WooHoo!

Our Mike & Sully hats- Top Spot

Last week we joined the Moogly & My Messy Life  link up party with our Mike & Sully hats (link) and are very excited that we received 1st place!  Woot!  We are told by one of the hosts that our hats received double the clicks in the Link Up Party.  We are grateful for all of your support and interest to those who clicked on the link.

The link up party basically is

“…every week we highlight both the most clicked link and those that we feel deserve to be in the spotlight. These links will get twice the exposure – featured on both blogs and on our social media sites, so joining up is a great way to get your site seen.” – Mooglyblog.com

We participate in the link up party for community and enjoy seeing the creations of others.  The link up party increases our traffic to the blog and gets our name out there.  The more we spread awareness, we hope the more people will want to help with our cause. We love watching  the WordPress map of clicks by countries light up.  We were so impressed that people from all over the world were interested enough to click on our blog.  We are excited and humbled.
~Pali

A Cookie Monster for JJ

JJ was born 15 weeks early and is truly a itty bitty fighter.  He is still in the NICU and has had surgery and some complications.  We keep JJ and his family in our prayers for strength. Hopefully, when he is doing a bit better we will have a picture to share.  I made this Cookie Monster hat on a newborn round loom using the garter stitch for the brim and then a typical e-wrap stitch for the hat.  The eyes and mouth were crocheted and then sewn onto the hat.

If you would like to support JJ or follow his journey, stop by his Facebook Page (link) and let them know you are part of the Knitting Rays of Hope community.
~Pali

A Monster Hat for Kellan

Image

We received this wonderful picture from Mighty Kellan, wearing his Monster Hat. Thank you Kellan for sending us this wonderful picture. We met Mighty Kellan from our friend Liam whom we made an identical hat for (see original story here). Kellan has been fighting an unknown disease as described from his facebook page:

He began experiencing issues shortly after birth. Unable to keep down feedings and loosing weight at 2 weeks old Mighty Kellan was admitted to the hospital for testing and the placement of an NJ tube (feeding tube from nose to the intestines). We made slow progress with weight gain after several admissions to the hospital and the continued bulking up on calories but we still had no answers. A second opinioin lead us to the decision of a g tube (feeding tube button place into his stomach) at 4 months of age. Again progress was slow and soon Kellan’s development began to lag behind. He was started with PT, OT, ST around 7 months of age. He still to this days struggles with developmental delays but has recently started walking. Around his first birthday Kellan underwent surgery for a benign palatal tumor. Some results from genetic testing lead us to see a second opinion endocrinologist who started Kellan on growth hormone at 15 months of age, Kellan was at this time diagnosed with growth hormone deficency. In late April of 2012 Kellan experienced his first seizure and was placed on antiseizure medication. Then in June 2012 suffering from what we thought was a stomach virus Kellan was admitted to the hospital where he would spend the entire summer and fall. After many failed attempts at restarting feeds through various types of feeding tubes (g tube, gj tube, nj tube, j tube) it was determined that Kellan would remain on TPN (IV nutrition) for the forseeable future. With the start of IV nutrition we saw Kellan put on weight, grow and make progress developmentally, all things that were huge issues prior to TPN. We still have a long way to go and no answers but our Mighty Kellan keeps battling and smiling every day. We appreciate your prayers, thoughts, kind words, questions, and thoughts.

Kellan truly is a Mighty boy. He has been fighting since birth and still manages to maintain a beautiful smile. I can see it shining through his pacifier. Please stop by his facebook page (link) to show him some love and support. Be sure to mention that Knitting Rays of Hope sent you. Kellan, we hope that you keep up the fighting and pray that you are healed of all problems and live a full and healthy life.
~Vanessa

The Minions- Tied for 1st Place

Last week we joined a link up party with our Minion hats (link) with Moogly & My Messy Life and are very excited that we tied for 1st place!  Woot!

This week, we joined Moogly/My Messy Life’s link up party with our Monsters, Inc hats. The link is here, if you want to stop by and click on our Monsters Inc hats to push us to more clicks & popularity. The link up party basically is

“…every week we highlight both the most clicked link and those that we feel deserve to be in the spotlight. These links will get twice the exposure – featured on both blogs and on our social media sites, so joining up is a great way to get your site seen.” – Mooglyblog.com

We participate in the link up party for community and enjoy seeing the creations of others.  The link up party increases our traffic to the blog and gets our name out there.  The more we spread awareness, we hope the more people will want to help with our cause.  We started the link up party with Izzy’s Lightening McQueen hat and saw the WordPress map of clicks by countries light up.  We were so impressed that people from all over the world were interested enough to click on our blog.  We are excited and humbled.
~Pali

Mike and Sully

With the Monsters Inc. prequel movie about to be released and because of the inventory I have of this green yarn that just screams Mike Wazoski, we had to make more monster hats.  Using most of my green Mike yarn from my yarn stash, I made 2 more Mike hats.  Since we made about 5 Mike Wazoski hats recently, I ran to the store to pick up a blue yarn for Sully.  Sully’s horns were very tricky and after several attempts, Vanessa did a remarkable job, wouldn’t you agree?

Though I don’t follow a pattern (I generally just eyeball my work), I am trying to document a how-to for those that are interested.

Mike Wazoski hat
<Free Pattern>

I made this hat on a 36 peg loom for a child

To create a this brim
Row 1: e-wrap the pegs  (for this type of brim-garter stitch- I don’t use the peg on the side. I typically begin with the 1st peg and have my slip know part of the brim)
Row 2: purl stitch
Row 3:  e-wrap stitch
Row 4: purl stitch
Row 5:  e-wrap stitch
Row 6: purl stitch

For the rest of the hat
e-wrap  until the hat is 6  inches long (from bottom of brim to top)
My row count is 24 (not including the brim)

To close the hat
I use Jeannie Phillips method of closing for Mike as it creates a rounded, less bunchy top.   You knit 2 pegs, then purl 2 pegs for 3 rows.
Go around the loom twice and then cut off the yarn
With a threaded tapestry needle, you remove all the purl stitched pegs and pull as tight as you progress
You can find Jeannie’s video tutorial link on our Tutorials Page under “Binding Off (or Finishing the Hat)”  – Flat Drawstring Cast Off
Go around and remove all the knit stitches from the loom and close by making a cross (sew the yarn in a + at the top of the stitches) and then go in through the top of the hat.
Make a knot inside the hat and cut off the excess yarn.

You may have a tail near the brim.  You can make sure to secure it with a knot, very close to the brim and cut off the excess yarn.

Loom Knit the 2 Antennae on a Loom Spooler
Row 1: e-wrap the peg
Row 2 & 3: Purl stitch
Row 4-8: E-wrap stitch
Row 9: Bind off or take off the loom spooler
You can then bring the thread into the antennae to the bottom
Make a second antennae

Crochet the Eye
Need: Black yarn, blue yarn, and white yarn; an appropriate sized crochet hook
DC-  Double Crochet
HDC – Half Double Crochet

Using Black Yarn
Chain 5 single crochets
Slip stitch together
Single Crochet into circle 8 sc (make sure the tail is in the single crochets)
Pull the tail tight, to close the circle.
Change to the blue yarn
Slip stitch to join to black
SC 8 (around the circle)
HDC around the circle
End with a slip knot to secure all stitches
Change to the white yarn
Slip stitch to join to blue
SC around the circle
DC into each stitch around the circle
SC around the circle

To Finish the Hat
Sew all embellishments (2 antennae and 1 eyeball) onto the hat using a tapestry needle

I do not claim to be an expert pattern writer, if you have any questions, please comment below.  I hope to help if you are confused.

We will include these in May’s shipment of hats to a local pediatric cancer organization.  I hope that these will bring hope and happiness to these brave children fighting cancer.
~Pali

We joined a link up party here.

A Monster Hat for Liam

This hat was created especially for Liam at: Liam’s Leaps and Bounds. Liam has been fighting an unknown disease since birth. He has had many surgeries that have been very difficult for him. Please show Liam some love and visit his facebook page (link) to learn more about him and how you can help. Be sure to let thme know that Knitting Rays of Hope sent you.

We learned from Liam’s mother that he loved monsters so I took the challenge of creating my very first monster hat. I asked my son who is around the same age as Liam for some help picking the colors for the monster. I hope that Liam agreed with his color choices. I created the brim by purl stitching the first row then e-wrapping the next for 4 rows. I then e-wrapped the green coloring for the monster. I crocheted the embellishments and then sewed them onto the hat.

The first hat pictured above was a bit small. So fortunately, Liam’s mom knew of  a great little boy who could use the hat, Liam’s best buddy Mighty Kellan. Mighty Kellan has been suffering from an unknown illness as well as Liam. We were happy that he could use the hat. Please also show some love to Mighty Kellan at his facebook page (link).

And here is the wonderful Liam in his Monster hat:

Look at this handsome boy. What a great smile. He makes the best monster ever. Thank you Liam for sending us this wonderful picture and we hope it makes you smile on tough days. Wishing you the greatest of health and happiness.
~Vanessa

Mike Wazowski

I made 2 Mike Wazowski hats, you know, from Monsters, Inc. (the movie).  This movie is probably one of my favorite movies, because it take me back to a time when my children were young.  My daughter loved the movie, but my boy, about 4 years old, became obsessed with this movie.  We watched it soooo much, that all of 4 of us knew every single line.  We could really mute the movie and do the voices ourselves!  I made some Mike & Sully hats about a year ago, and they were quite a hit with my family.  Everyone had requested one, so I went and bought many skeins of this green yarn- perfect for Mike. However, I only made 1 for my baby nephew and that’s about as far as it went…. you know, the cobblers’ children going without shoes and all.  But my children and nephews are very understanding and know that I am making hats for people who really need them.  Gosh I am very lucky to have a supportive family— they gush over my creations and completely understand if I don’t give them one.  I am one lucky girl!

Well it was about April, last year when I made the Mike & Sully hats, so naturally I needed to compare the photos.  Oh My!  I think I am embarrassed with my previous creations now.  Back then, I was extremely proud of them, but now, a year later, I am a little embarrassed with my lack of skills.   At the risk of sounding conceited, I am very proud of my hats (pictured above).  My crocheting has really improved (really really- as Shrek would say).   But below are last year’s creations and Arghh- <hiding>.

Sully & Mike from last year

I guess I would win the Most Improved Award for our team, since my crocheting was the most which needed lots of improvement!  I have grown, and I am proud of the growth.  My crocheting skills have definitely improved.  But we have grown also in this great cause.  When we first started it, I was very reluctant, hesitant to do much PR, as it seemed like our good deeds should be private acts and not publicized.  However, if you want others to care and get involved, you must tell them what you are doing.  If you want to spread awareness for your cause or for diseases you want to see cured, you must share and connect, and inform others.  I now realize it’s not gloating or looking for attention/praise, it’s building a team, connecting, spreading awareness and getting others to care and contribute.

And since last April, we have grown.  We have connected with more caring knitters in other cities and in other states!  We have expanded our hospitals/oncology centers that we donate to and have already donated over 550 hats.  We are connected with some really wonderful people : we have 215 Facebook friends, 46 people who follow our blog, 61 people who follow us on Twitter, and 147 followers on Pinterest.  We are getting requests for hats for children who are battling all sorts of horrible diseases.  I am proud of our growth and can’t wait to see how much improvement we will see in this upcoming year!

You can help spread awareness by sharing our cause through your personal favorite social media website or all of them.  🙂

Facebook- www.facebook.com/KnittingRaysOfHope

Pinterest- www.pinterest.com/knittngrayshope

Twitter- www.twitter.com/KnittngRaysHope

Thank you
~Pali