Ravelry has a vast number of goal oriented groups one can join, one of them being "Hearts Of Love". The group, Hearts Of Love, was founded by "Seasidepurl" in April 2008 and as of this moment has 2564 members in it. The purpose of the group is not just to chit chat, not just to share photos of projects that members have knitted or crocheted, but to construct things like chemo caps to donate to what Seasidepurl calls "Cancer Warriors" of all ages, to fight and beat cancer, to make the world a brighter place for them. To warm their hearts and their heads with something made by the members of the group.
This year the members of the group have been presented with a challenge by Seasidepurl. The challenge is not too difficult to achieve, it's simply to make one chemo cap per month, from a pattern she'll post each month, so there will be 12 chemo caps per participating member by the end of the year in December 2012. I'm trying to figure in my head how many chemo caps that would be if only half the members of the group participated - okay... Getting out my calculator... 15,384 caps! Remember that's if only half the members sign on to the challenge! That's a LOT of chemo caps and a lot of giving and a lot of happiness spread about the nation! wow.
So, I did sign on to the challenge and started my January chemo cap last night at midnight. I crocheted till one a.m. until it felt like my eyeballs were bleeding and I just couldn't make another stitch. The pattern for the January chemo cap challenge is the "Soft Seed Stitch Scarf And Hat" pattern and was a challenge for me since I've never made the seed stitch before. I found it interesting and fun to learn and once I got to the round of 60 stitches it went along easy enough - just like the pattern says. In the previous rounds it's a bit challenging to place stitches in the proper places but stitch placement becomes more apparent in the latter rounds.
Here's the beginning of the cap which I was thinking looks rather small but after thinking twice about it realized it needs to fit tighter than most hats because chemo patients don't usually have hair taking up room underneath a hat to hold it on.
It's turning out beautifully, I think, it's soft like the pattern name, and with the seed stitch, it has an interesting texture and will provide the warmth it is intended to provide. I like this color too - this is Caron Simply Soft (which is what the pattern calls for) in the color "Ocean". For anyone making this hat and having trouble with it, I made a seed stitch tutorial that may help (or confuse!) you HERE.
I'm already looking forward to starting the chemo cap for next month and I haven't finished this one yet! yikes! A big "THANK YOU!" to Seasidepurl for creating the Hearts Of Love group, for being such a mindful, attentive moderator of the group, and for presenting the group's members with this wonderful challenge that I, for one, am so looking forward to accomplishing this year. I know the chemo caps will warm the heads and hearts of cancer patients wherever they end up. God bless you, sweet lady, for being so giving of yourself when you have so much going on in your own life with your mother. May God grant you all you require, everything you need to be happy and comfortable and the strength to take care of your mother in this difficult time.
