I’m always so excited to hear when Halos of Hope has a new collection campaign. Mainly because they are awesome and do awesome work but also because it gives me some direction on what type of hat to make.  Sometimes I’ll have a ball of yarn sitting in my basket begging for me to make a hat with it but I’ll have no idea what design or pattern to use.  Then, along comes Halos of Hope with a new themed collection and BINGO, the light bulb comes on (and I don’t even need my Thinking Cap!) and I know exactly what to do with that yarn.  That is what happened with both some brown yarn and this crazy Pomp-A-Doodle yarn I had purchased.

Halos of Hope’s latest themed collection is ‘On Safari’ for Atlanta area children’s hospitals.  Basically, they are requesting any type of themed hat that can be found on safari or at the zoo.  They are collecting the hats and plan to distribute them while in town for Stitches South in April.  If you remember, last year they went ‘Under the Sea’.  So with this in mind, I peered into my yarn bin and that super soft, dark brown yarn I had no idea what to do with yelled out at me-MONKEY!  but not just any monkey, ZOMBIE MONKEY!! He’s a cute little guy with mismatched zombie button eyes.  I hope he brings a smile to a brave young man (or lady).

The second ball of yarn to call to me was this crazy Pomp-A-Doodle yarn.  I thought it would make a pretty good lion.  I had to get a little creative with this one.  Click on the photo to bring you to the project notes-you won’t believe what pattern I used!

My last hat to share was actually started in …2012… and I finished it up in February during the Winter Olympics (Ravellenic Games on Ravelry).  This is another hat where I got creative with the pattern as I used the Candy Corn Stocking Cap for this one.  I’m real please with it and it too will be donated to Halos of Hope when they are in town next month.  The three hats come in at 9 ounces.

Total hats made in 2014 challenge to date: 6

Total weight of the hats made in the 2014 challenge to date: 1 pound 1.25 ounces