As the blog's name implies, Robyn talks a LOT about making hats, but one of the coolest things about this blog is she is not just making hats for herself, family or friends, but she is donating many, many hats to organizations throughout the world!
Robyn was willing to take a little break from making hats to answer some questions for our blog and here they are ...
When did you start this blog and what motivated you to start it?
I started She Makes Hats in 2009 as a way to track the hats I was making for my One Hundred Hats project. I had decided to make 100 hats for 100 people out of 100 patterns in just one year, and after I reached my goal at the end of August 2010, I just never looked back! I’ve been knitting hats and giving them away and sharing them on the blog ever since, with my new goal of making 10,000 hats for 10,000 people in my lifetime!
What types of topics do you usually blog about?
I focus on the hats I’m making, the patterns I’m using, and sharing charities for folks who want to make hats and give them away, but aren’t sure where to send them. Before I publish a post, I ask myself how it will help people make hats and give them away. This means every post has a pattern you can use, thoughts on yarns to make your hats from, and plenty of advice on where to send those hats when they’re finished!
Do you have one charity you usually donate to? Do you have any idea how many hats you’ve donated since you started? What motivates you to keep making and donating so many hats?
I donate to a wide variety of charities, and in the last year have started hosting hat drives on She Makes Hats to help get folks involved and donating hats as well. I just finished a big hat drive for the University of Iowa’s Pediatric Oncology Center, and am now collecting hats for Completely Kids, which is a local Omaha organization working with kids living at or below the poverty line.
Because I’ve got two small kiddos at home, it’s easier right now for me to donate close to home. However, I’ve donated hats to charities all over the world, and am excited to do some bigger charity hat drives in the coming months to places in other states as well as those close to Omaha.
I keep track of the number of hats I’ve made since I began my big goal of making 10,000 hats for 10,000 people, and as of today (5.8.2014) I’m at 722, which means I’m almost 1/10th of the way to my goal!
I find myself motivated most often by the great amount of need there is. No matter how many hats I can churn off my needles, there will always be more babies being born who need a hat to keep them warm, and folks finding themselves homeless or suddenly living below the poverty line who need a warm hat in the cold months, and folks will always get sick and find they are in the hospital, where a handmade hat can not only cheer their spirits but also help keep them warm and comfortable through treatment.
Which HPKCHC house(s) are you in and what year are you? How long have you been in that house? Have you ever been part of one of the other houses?
I’m a Gryffindor, and have been for many terms (I’m a B4!), although I did spend one term in Ravenclaw. I’m definitely a Gryffindor through and through, however, and don’t plan to visit any other houses any time soon!
Do you normally fit a project into a class after you’ve finished it or do you usually choose a project based on a class prompt?
Because I knit hats almost exclusively, I read the class prompts with hats in mind. That said, I don’t usually have specific hat patterns I want to be knitting, so I’ll figure out what hat best fits which prompt once I’ve read them all. As an example, it was easy to make a blue hat for Charms this month, and I have a hat with a lacy flower design queued up for a class as well!
Are you planning to work on an OWL, NEWT or a mission this term? If so, do you have a project in mind for it yet?
I am doing a NEWT this term, a combination of arithmancy and transfiguration. Of course, the NEWT involves making lots and lots of hats!
What’s your favorite part about being in HPKCHC?
I love the friendships I’ve made most of all!
What can you tell our blog readers that they may not already know about you?
Hmmm .. I love chocolate and pizza, I have a two year old son and a two month old daughter, along with three black cats. My husband has been slowly but surely renovating every room in our 120 year old house, and we plan to dig up our front yard in a few weeks to turn it into a vegetable garden!
Here are some awesome hats she made recently ...
Be sure to check out her blog and if you have an extra hat you'd like to donate sometime, she is definitely a great person to ask about where to send it!
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