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One Woman. One Year. One Hundred Hats.

One bloggers bold attempt to knit one hundred hats in a year
Robyn Devine of knitting blog One Hundred Hats
Published on May 12, 2010 : 9 comments

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Win a homemade hat by Robyn of 100 Hats.

Estimated value: priceless!
Details below.

Aspiring bloggers, take note:

This is how you carve a niche!

Robyn Devine is handy with a knitting needle, but it’s her blog’s tagline that first caught our attention: One Woman. One Year. One Hundred Hats. As mottos go, it’s perfectly succint. Don’t you just want to learn more?

In some ways, that motto is pretty much the whole story. Beauty in simplicity.

Yet, there is indeed more. One Hundred Hats is more than just a vanity project; Robyn donates all of her hats to charity. She’s a passionate knitter, picking up the habit in Chicago and taking it with her when she moved to Omaha at the age of 21.

Ever since her quest to knit one hundred hats in a year started, she’s become comfortable being, as she puts it, “the girl with the yarn.” However, when Robyn says, “[You] really can change people’s live with knitting,” she’s not just referring to her own. For those in need, the gift of knitting is the gift of warmth, as compassionate a gesture as it is vital. Thus far, Robyn has donated all of her hats to Nest: Maine, a site which connects knitters with people in need of winter clothing.

In the past, Robyn has donated items to Creighton Hospital’s NICU, The Ghana Project, and Warm Woolies (before they closed at the end of 2009), and is always on the lookout for more deserving organizations.

To hear her tell it, anyone with $15 and a little desire can easily knit. Though Robyn has reduced her new-pattern-to-finished-hat time down to a svelte two days, she claims that even the neophyte knitter can have a finished product in less than a week.

She cites Ravelry as an excellent place for beginners to turn, as it helps connect knitters, keeps track of what you’re knitting, and finds new knitting patterns. Stephanie, humorist/knitter at The Yarn Harlot—"probably the most widely read knitting blog"—is a favorite, along with Vickie Howell and Amanda Soule, two "amazing knitters" who both do a lot of work for charity (for more free charity patterns, check out Bev’s Country Cottage—it must have taken tons of work to get this many free pattern links in one place!).

Robyn recently launched Knit Omaha, a local knitting charity, and frequently receives donations to her One Hundred Hats project. In addition, there are local knitters meetings at the Omaha Whole Foods (10020 Regency Circle), Wednesday nights, right by the coffee bar! Stop by, and comment below to tell us how it went!

In the interview below, Robyn mentions: Brown Sheep Company, Inc., String of Purls, Personal Threads, A Stitch in Crime

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Contest details

For Robyn’s 75th hat, she will collaborate with the winner who will choose the colors/pattern for the hat—and it will DEFINITELY be named after them! Unlike all of Robyn’s other patterns, this one will not be offered up for free—it will become a hat only made twice—once for charity and once for the contest winner.

To enter, 1) register and 2) comment below: "Why do you love your favorite hat?" If you don’t have a favorite, choose one of Robyn’s 60+ hats! Sarah from Greenstreet Cycles will judge. Why Sarah? Because the first thing she said when when we started filming was, "I’m always wearing a hat, is that OK?" Yes, it is! Contest ends 11pm Tuesday May 18th.

jordyAn Omaha.net writer since 2008, Jordy freely admits he's waiting for his golden parachute "anxiously." He microblogs @jordyclements + macroblogs jordyclements.com

Comments

Amanda (not verified) says:

May 12, 2010 : 13 years 46 weeks ago

Amanda's picture

As a fellow knitter I love what you are doing. I’ve knitted or crocheted a few items and donated to charity this year. It’s a great feeling to know that you are helping someone in need out.
As for “Why do I love my favorite hat?” I love it because I made it myself. It’s one that I knitted up this winter and has colorful hearts on it. So warm and comfy!

jordy says:

May 12, 2010 : 13 years 46 weeks ago

jordy's picture

@Amanda Thanks so much for sharing. What a good reason to have a favorite hat! I’m just an interviewer, not a knitter…can’t imagine!

Remember, though, if you want to be entered in the contest, you must register (http://omaha.net/user/register) so we know how to contact you. Thanks!

Amanda says:

May 12, 2010 : 13 years 46 weeks ago

Amanda's picture

I think I got it figured out.

jordy says:

May 12, 2010 : 13 years 46 weeks ago

jordy's picture

Yay! You certainly did. Good luck.

newsgirl says:

May 13, 2010 : 13 years 46 weeks ago

newsgirl's picture

I live in a damp chilly climate — hats are a necessity! I love my favorite hat because it is a little bit silly, a little bit beautiful, reminds me of flowers in a green meadow, and keeps me warm and dry!

Lisa (not verified) says:

May 17, 2010 : 13 years 45 weeks ago

Lisa's picture

What a wonderful thing to do. At my age, my main consideration when wearing a hat is how warm it keeps me and my favorite hat is a very thick knit black and white striped one that does the trick marvelously. My daughter is a hat horse—I have so much fun buying hats for her—-I wish I knew how to knit so I could make them for her!

mamashepp says:

May 17, 2010 : 13 years 45 weeks ago

mamashepp's picture

Oops—thought I was signed in when I left the comment above!

Drake (not verified) says:

May 17, 2010 : 13 years 45 weeks ago

Drake's picture

Great idea and great looking hats!

sarahj says:

May 21, 2010 : 13 years 44 weeks ago

sarahj's picture

Thanks for participating, everyone. I definitely respect those knitters out there! I took a knitting class once on an alpaca farm when I was living in Grand Lake, Colorado and it was so difficult that I actually dropped out! That’s right, I’m a knitting school drop out.
So, hats off (ha ha) to you all who can turn yarn into something spectacular.
I was chosen to judge who has the best description of their favorite hat, and why.
And the winner is… Kabira Kirby!
I chose her entry because it sounded like a perfect combination of things that I like: silly, beautiful, and flowers in a green meadow. What’s not to love?!
So, congrats Kabira. Enjoy your new hat, I’m jealous.