Yom HaAtzma'ut to Yom Yerushalayim

Here in Israel we're in between Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Day, which seems like a really great time to say thank you to the IDF and update you about the hats.

It's been a great, amazing winter with hats coming from all around the world -- everywhere from New Zealand to Hong Kong. I'm just going to share a few photos so you can see for yourself how happy those hats make the soldiers. Enjoy, and knit on....

These are from the Lone Soldier Center called "Chayal el Chayal". It's a place where off-duty soldiers who don't have family in Israel can come to relax, get a warm meal, do their laundry etc. I gave them your handknit hats to distribute and one of the woman who works there says, "I have been handing out the hats and the soldiers are LOVING them!!! "

These ones were given out to soldiers  serving in the Gush Etzion region in February (brrr!) 

And here's a lovely article about a knitting group in a synagogue in the Philadelphia area:
http://jewishexponent.com/2017/05/03/cbent-sisterhood-knits-hats-idf-soldiers/

Thank you as always to all you fantastic knitters, you are making some lucky soldiers very, very happy!

Winter is Coming!

'Tis the season for hats. Here are some of your creations in action:

Keep up the good work, folks! Your hats are making many soldiers very happy. 

Mazal Tov to Israel on its 68th Bday

Just wanted to share this adorable photo sent to me by a lone soldier center in Jerusalem (check out Chayal el Chayal here).

I gave the center some hats to distribute right before Yom haAtzma'ut (Israel Independence Day) because I think it's an appropriate time to show our appreciation to the folks in green who help keep us safe all year round. They were hamming it up a bit because the weather's been quite warm lately, but they assured me that they will indeed wear those hats this year, and with pleasure. And it's really nice for lone soldiers to know that there are people all over the world who care about them.

Thanks again, all you hat knitters, for making this happen!

Catch Up Time!

Hi everyone, 

I know it's been forever. The hats keep coming in, and going out, and I'm deeply grateful to all of you for sticking with it. I want to share with you some of the inspiring notes and photos I've received this winter. Enjoy!! The soldiers certainly are, you can all be proud of what you've done. 

(note: I've removed a few identifying names, but otherwise the letters are as I received them...)

A nice email:

Hi, my name is Meir C. I am in training now in the Tzanchanim brigade and I got the hat that you made in a package for Lone Soldiers. I just wanted to thank you for the personal touch that the hat adds. It really means a lot to me.

Thanks!

Here's another:

Ronnie, my son, has no email at the moment, but he has asked me to say a very big thank you on behalf of Gdud 603 in Handasa Kravit [Engineering Corps] for the great hats they received. Seeing as they are presently up North somewhere the hats have been very important additions to their fighting capability and chances of survival in the wild! I attach a couple of pictures showing the troops suitably adorned.

Yet another:

Dear Channah,

Here is my son, after I showed him his huge bag of warm hats to give out.  He was pretty happy, as you can see!

Thanks again so much!

T.

The young men in the photo below work in a very unpleasant job, combing the field for bodies and body parts after something has happened. Their commander asked me if he could have 60 hats to give the group after they complete a special training session. I was happy to comply, and you can see that they're pretty pleased, too.

The group sent me the following photo too, with fewer guys in hats but signs saying "we want to say thank you". The ones facing away from the camera are doing so for security reasons (they are not allowed to appear "in print").

So the hats are greatly appreciated. It's been a cold winter here, I've gotten lots of requests, and I receive and send out at least a hundred hats a week. Seeing as I've been doing this for seven years now, at a rate of over 5000 hats per year, I believe that together we've passed the 30,000 hats mark. 

YES! I'LL SAY THAT AGAIN.
OVER 30,000 HANDMADE HATS HAVE GONE TO IDF SOLDIERS SINCE THIS PROJECT BEGAN. 

My boundless gratitude and love to you all,
Channah

The view from my house

For those wondering if we still need hats, take a look. You bet we do! It's not all camels and sand here...

Last night I gave my last batch, 45 hats, to a group serving in Hebron, where it's even snowier than here. Knit on! I can promise you that the hats will be worn and deeply appreciated. 

Your Hats in Action!

The weather's been cold lately and the hats have been flying out of here almost as soon as they come in. Here are some photos I've received recently from some very happy soldiers.

These were taken in Gush Etzion, somewhere on the Syrian border, and on the Hermon. All of them came with notes from very grateful (and cold) soldiers. So thank you folks, and keep 'em coming!

By the way, for those of you in the U.S., a lovely Los Angeles yarn shop called Knit Culture is currently running a campaign to knit hats for soldiers and raise funds for LIBI -- check it out here

Knit on!

Gracias Damas!

I met a wonderful group of women this past week.

But let me backtrack. Last year, my mother was taking Hebrew lessons (ulpan) in Jerusalem. The teacher somehow heard about my hat project, and she asked if I could come speak to her class one day, which I did with pleasure. Some of you may know that ulpan class is always a wonderful melting pot of cultures and nationalities. In my mother's class was a lovely Mexican woman named Celia who really liked what she heard about the hats...so much so that the next time she visited Mexico, she recruited some knitters...

and some more....

and some more....

This week, a minibus filled with women of all ages from Mexico City pulled up at the Pina Chama, a local spot where volunteer Gush Etzion residents serve free coffee and homemade cake to soldiers. The women all piled out of the bus, and started unloading little plastic bags from the back of the bus. Each bag held 6 hats and in the bus were almost 300 hats, knit by the senior citizens of Kol Hanisayon, a Jewish association in Mexico City that provides activities for the elderly.

The hats were beautiful, and accompanied by lovely, sweet notes to the soldiers.

The enthusiastic women of Mexico City gave hats to the soldiers who had stopped at the Pina Chama, took lots of photos with them, and I took them on a quick tour of the modest but meaningful little facility.

I have to say, it was a busy week, mostly work, and this little pause in the action was a major highlight. The joy and faith that these women exuded, their excitement at being in Israel and doing something for their fellow Jews was truly heartwarming. As they climbed  back on the bus, I was able to say to them with complete sincerity that I was so glad I got to meet them and so sorry they were leaving.

Gracias Damas!