My 3 Hats They Have No Corners

I've been in a hat knitting frenzy lately. I'd forgotten how quick and easy they are to make! And I picked up a set of 16" circulars which makes it go even faster (Note to self: purchase more 16" circulars). Up first is the Lumpy Bumpy hat:

Farmhouse Yarns Lumpy Bumpy in Grapes on the Vine. US size 9 circulars. 2x2 rib. Women's sized.

Next is a mohair hat:

Farmhouse Yarns Roxanne's Mohair in Arizona. Us size 9 circulars. 4x2 rib. Women's sized.
 I was a little worried about how this hat would turn out. The mohair isn't especially soft and there was a ton of vegetable matter stuck in it. I've tried it on though and it turns out that it is not nearly as scratchy as imagined. In fact, after a good washing this should be nice and cozy.

I've also started a third hat. This is part of the Wool-Aid Mystery Knit-Along.

This is turning out to be a very nice hat pattern and there are a set of matching mittens that we'll be making to go along with the hat. I have another ball of each of these colors so I'm thinking about knitting another hat and mittens set in the reverse color combo.

All these hats (and any accompanying mittens) will be going to EEROP's summer knitting campaign for Project Hope. As I've mentioned before, Project Hope provides support to mothers in Romania who would otherwise have to give their children up for adoption. They have a center in Cluj-Napoca for the mothers and children. In the surrounding area are also large Gypsy populations. Project Hope is now venturing to provide knitted items to the members of these communities as well. Again, without help from organizations like Project Hope these families would have to abandon their children to state run orphanages. Adding the Gypsy communities to the Christmas drive has been a challenge: trying to contact these communities and earn their trust, trying to get names and ages of children, coordinating with multiple people in several states and countries... We have had amazing success in getting the mothers and children taken care of for the Christmas drive so now it's time to start thinking about the Gypsy people. To keep interest high I've started some contests through the EEROP Ravelry group. One contest is for prayer shawls. The person who knits the most prayer shawls between June and September 18th will win a wonderful yarny prize! The other contest is for children's items. Same concept, the person who knit the most kid's items before the deadline will win a prize. There are a few more guidelines for knitting for the kids (to make the contest fair) so be sure to check out the threads for more information. And tell a friend (or 2 or 3)! The more people involved the more fun this will be!