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!

You bet we're still on!

Hi folks,

I'm sorry I'm such a terrible blogger but I am popping in to say -- yes, I'm still here and your hats are always welcome! Hats that come in over the month of August will be saved up to go out in Rosh Hashana packages in September.

Thank you so much to all of you who wrote in to check up on me & mine. We are thank God well, and the people of Israel are strong. Special thanks to those of you who are lay spokespeople for Israel and helping to make our case to the world in the face of so much hostile media and even blatant anti-Semitism.

I'll finish with two thank you letters from soldiers (names & unit info removed, of course) and the photos they sent. Knit on!

לכבוד מרת חנה קופל שלום רב,

ברצוני להודות לך על כובעי הצמר החמים.  יותר ממה שהם מגנים עלינו מהקור הם מחממים את ליבותינו, אנו רואים שיש כאלה המעריכים את פעולותינו שמכירים בכך שבמשימות הצבאיות לפעמים אנחנו נקלעים למצבים פיזיים קשים של קור ועייפות.

 

בצבא ישראל מתגלה הקשר והאחדות שבין חלקי האומה הישראלית...חלקתי לחברי בגדוד את כובעי הצמר ואכן האחדות והערכה הופיעה בצורה מיוחדת. 

 

We got the hats you made us and we wanted to say thanks a lot, I'm sure these will keep us warm. We really appreciate it, it's nice to know someone cares.

Winter is SO here...!

We've had record storms in Israel this past week -- torrential rains and more snow than there's been in over 60 years! People in many locations were left without electricity and water, sometimes for days. Roads were closed, cars were buried in snow, women had to give birth...and guess who was called in to save the day? Yes, our friends in the khaki uniforms and the black hats. They worked outdoors, in freezing cold weather, for days on end, with little sleep.You have no idea how helpful and appreciated those hats have been lately, and I'm getting requests for more all the time. 

Here are three e-mails I received from soldiers' mothers this week. Even though they thanked me, you knitters are the ones who deserve the real thanks!

Dear Channah,

Just wanted to tell you that I spoke to my chayal last night who is freezing and he said to me, "Remember that knitted hat I got when I went into the army? (It was spring when he went in, so he was a bit skeptical that he would actually ever need a wool hat!) Well, it's saving me. It's so warm. Please tell the person who made it thank you."

So Channah, I want to thank you for an amazing service. Keep up the great work, 

S.B.

Dear Channah, 

Our oldest still has his hat 4 years into his army service.

He also thinks it's the best hat he has.

B.L. 

Dear Channah, 

My son asked you for hats for his entire machlaka [division] a year or two ago...and you gave them cheerfully! The chayalim loved them then and they still love them now...

J.R.