The Dyeing Spinster

I recently found this site for the Soaring Eagles Project: http://soaringeaglesproject.blogspot.com/ .  An elementary school teacher in Oklahoma has organized this project in order to give a handknitted hat and scarf to every child in the school.  Here what she said about why she started the project in the Soaring Eagles blog:

While our school and other community resources try very hard to meet their physical needs, their emotional needs are not met. I was working on Emalee’s sweater and talking to them one day during some down time, a 3rd grader said, “Mrs. H, your daughter is the luckiest person in the world to have a mom that will knit her something. I wish I had someone who loved me that much.” It broke my heart. Knowing her story which is a very sad one and has her living in a foster home situationmade me start thinking.

I was thinking about it and I realized why a knitted object would be such a gift. It is all about VALIDATION. They want to know that someone, somewhere thinks that they are worth the time and effort to make something for them. I LOVE doing swaps because it’s the same principle. While you are making something for someone, there is another person thinking of you and making something just for you. It’s a great feeling.

(Fyi, if you click on the quote it will bring you to that entry.)

So I set aside the spinning wheel today and started knitting my first cap for the project this afternoon.  And I completed it this evening! Wee! It’s just a basic beanie in red woolease yarn (the hats need to be machine washable and dryable). But it still is so darn cute =)  I just can’t decide whether to pom-pom it on the top.  Not a real fan of wearing pom-poms myself, though I think it is fun to make them.  What do kids these days like? I’ll post a pic of it soon - my camera is refusing to upload pics to the computer and I am too tired to figure out why tonight.  In fact, I think I hear my pillow calling me now….