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Man in Hospice Has Made More than 8,000 Hats for the Homeless

August 18, 2016 by Sarah White

91-year-old in hospice still knitting hats for homeless.There was a lot of great knitting-related news happening while I was too busy to share it, but just in case you didn’t see the story of Morrie Boogaart before, I wanted to make sure you did.

Boogaart is 91 and in hospice with terminal cancer. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing a charitable mission he’s been on for 15 years: loom knitting hats for the homeless.

He says he stopped counting when he had made 8,000 hats, and though his illness has slowed him down he can still make a hat in a couple of days.

He learned to knit in 2001 and says he spends his days knitting and watching TV, only putting his knitting aside when he sleeps.

I love this story and I hope that we can all remember that we can be useful and help others regardless of our situation in life.

[Photo via Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat]

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Comments

  1. NYC says

    August 18, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    Yes, I read his story a few days ago. Bless his heart. He won’t be forgotten. I began crocheting wearables for the homeless last year and it helps past the time away when you’re confined to home.

Have you read?

A Sweet Skater Dress to Knit

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn. 

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done. 

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit. 

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips. 

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit. 

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

Book Review – Knitted Tanks and Tunics

How to Knit a Simple Sweater Dress

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