It seems as if most of the country is experiencing some kind of upheaval in the weather.  I am so thankful for a warm house and electricity during storms like we have been experiencing!   Oh, the things we take for granted.   There are those however, who do not have a roof over their head, or electricity, or warm clothing to keep them from freezing.

My daughter is a teacher.  A couple of years ago, while teaching at an inner city school, she was telling me about students walking home several city blocks in the cold wearing a sweatshirt, no gloves, no hat, no boots.  She loved her “kiddos” and this really bothered her.  At that point in time, I was seeing fleece remnants at the fabric store that cost next to nothing.  If the fabric was on sale (which it usually was), the remnants were half off the sale price per yard.  I started collection remnants.

As most quilters know, fabric collections can grow quickly.  I hunted the internet for a simple hat pattern that would be warm.  I chose the Fleece Hat with Ear Flaps from Crafty Gemini.  You can click here to see the instructions and get the free PDF pattern.  There is even a video you can follow. on that page.  What I love about this hat is that it goes together very quickly and is very warm, since the hat is reversible so the entire hat is a double layer of fleece.  Another option would be our free  ArtfullyQuilted.com Snow Hood  pattern.  My husband has been using his to shovel and blow all this snow from our driveway!

The end of last week, when I heard that this huge storm was going to be bringing our area lots of snow and below 0 temperatures, I knew it was time to empty the fleece box again.  and I got to work cutting hats.

Hint:  I wrap my fleece in kitchen plastic wrap. I can make a tighter bundle, and I slide the label under the wrap as I roll it so I know the size of the piece.

I did not get that whole pile completed, but they are all cut out, so the hard part is done.  My husband and I dropped the completed hats off Monday at a soup kitchen that has a great reputation for helping the people who would need these, and they assured us that they would be put to good use.  We got this done just in time, as the snow started to fall later in the day, and was still falling when it got dark today.  We have huge drifts, but is absolutely beautiful.

Please consider doing something yourself to help those that are less fortunate than ourselves.  And what I have learned over time, is that there is ALWAYS someone less fortunate.  Sometimes, I just need to get my mind off myself and take a good look around to recognize it.

Please create something this week to be a blessing to another.  You never know when that might come back to you!

Do you have questions or comments?  Feel free to contact us!