Hats On People & Impossible Hats Have Merged!!

As part of my goal to make 10,000 hats for 10,000 people, I love sharing hats I've made for folks around the globe as part of my Hats On People Project. I also love to raise money for organizations I believe are doing the most good for our world.

Since October, I had been using my She Makes Hats shop to help raise money for Pencils Of Promise and my friend Joel Runyon's 777 Project. However (and as you already know), I did not find running a shop to fit well with my life or my long-term goals.

That said, I want to get back to making hats for the Hats On People project, and I still want to reach my goal of raising $5,000 for PoP, sending 200 kids to school!

So here's what I'm doing - I'm opening up the Hats On People project to anyone who wants a hat. Everyone who requests one will get an Impossible Hat, and I ask that instead of offering to pay shipping or for materials (as many folks have already offered to do), people instead donate to my Impossible Hats Project goal!

If you'd like to be one of the people in my Hats On People project, simply shoot me an e-mail (shemakeshats@gmail.com) - depending on what's going on in my life, and how long my Hats On People request list is, it may take me a bit to get your hat to you, but I'll definitely make your hat!

As I stated above, currently I'm making only Impossible Hats (seen in the photo above). With my busy life and smaller children, these are hats I can make by memory, don't have to worry about where I'm at in the pattern, and I know they'll fit everyone.

When you e-mail me about your hat, please include the following information:

• What color you'd like
• If you're allergic to wool. I default to wool yarns right now, as most of the charities I knit for request wool, but I can make your hat in another fiber if you've got an allergy.
• If the hat is for a child or an adult. Additionally, if the hat is for a child, please let me know their age, so I can make sure it fits properly.
• If you would prefer the hat to be slouchy (as pictured) or a beanie. I can make either style.

I love making hats for individuals, families, and even smaller groups of people - don't hesitate to message about getting Impossible Hats for your charity group, extended family reunion, etc.

And don't forget, when you request a hat I'll suggest that you donate to my Impossible Hats Project. I have been helping raise money for Pencils Of Promise, and your donation of $25 would send a child to school for a year!! While this is NOT A REQUIREMENT to ask me for a hat, and will not bump you up on my list any, I would greatly appreciate it!!

Hats On People & Impossible Hats Have Merged!!

Jun 8, 2015

Impossible Hats Send Kids To School

I'm so excited to share some of the photos my friend Casie took of the Impossible Hats on Thursday. She swung on by my house late in the morning and we powered through all 15 hats with enough time to get hopped up on coffee before she had to pick up her youngest from pre-school.

I'm so thankful to have such talented friends, friends who jump on board without pay to help me out when I get super excited and passionate about something. And to say I'm super passionate about the Impossible Hats project is quite an understatement.
 

I was passionate about Pencils Of Promise back in 2012, when I undertook Hat-Tember 2012 and raised $750 in one month to help build a school. A school that cost just $25,000 to not only build, but furnish and completely equip, including paying a teacher for a full year.

I took on that challenge in 2012 when I learned that it cost just $25 to send a child to school for an entire year. JUST TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS.

This time around, I'm asking folks to help Pencils Of Promise again, in a different way. Rather than sponsor hats as I make them, I'm asking you to buy a hat. Yes, I'm charging $35 a hat, which feels like a lot of money. But for every Impossible Hat sold, I will donate $25 to Pencils Of Promise. That's enough to send a child to school for a year.

This means that your hat purchase will send a child to school. Children with no access to education, children who are desperate for the type of learning our children get every day. 

I know a lot of you reading are knitters and crocheters, folks who can make your own hats for far less than $40. But I ask you to consider buying a hat anyhow, for yourself or for someone else. I'm asking you to consider supporting my impossible goal to raise $5,000 between now and the end of the year, a goal that will send 200 kids to school.

You can buy an Impossible Hat in the She Makes Hats shop from now through the end of the year. Hats featured in this post are Glacier Bay, Denali, Redwood, and Grand Canyon. 15 total colors are available.

Impossible Hats Send Kids To School

Sep 26, 2014

Impossible Hats and the 777 Project

Last week I told you about my friend Joel's big goal - he's running 7 ultra marathons on 7 continents, to raise $175k to build 7 schools. He's called it the 777 Project, and has been asking folks to join in on the fun.

For my part, I'm going to be selling Impossible Hats in the She Makes Hats Shop starting October 1st, and will be donating $30 from each hat purchase towards the 777 Project - with my own goal of raising $5,000 to help build some schools!

Above you can see the hats in all fifteen available colors. I'm going to be getting photos taken of each of these hats next Sunday morning (coffee will factor in big here, I'm pretty sure), and then unless something terrible happens, the hats will be in the She Makes Hats Shop on October 1.

The hats are made with 100% vegan-friendly acrylic yarn that's so soft and cushy I have actually rubbed these hats lovingly against my face a few times. This also means they are washer/dryer safe, which is a must in my house!

The hats are 10" tall, so they have a bit of slouch to them, and measure 18" circumference, which means everyone from our three year old son to my husband can wear them. They stretch to fit perfectly, but don't get a stretched out look to them, if that makes sense.

I love that there's colors for both men and women, and for both kids and adults - you can outfit pretty much everyone you know with a hat this fall and winter with the Impossible Hats!

Hats will cost $40 each, but with $30 going to help build schools and the rest going to pay for yarn and shop fees, I'm actually not making a penny on these hats. Well, maybe like a dollar, but the goal here is not for me to make money, but to get some schools built!

I'll share some sneak peeks of the hats again once Casie and I get together and get some good shots of them on my head, so look for those next week!

My goal is to raise the full $5,000 before the end of the year - that means I'll need to sell almost 200 hats in just 3 months. That's quite a lot of hats and hat-making for me this fall, but I'm super excited to watch as the hats fly out of the shop, to make trips to the post office on repeat as I mail the finished hats out, and to overwhelm the folks at the yarn shops as I shop relentlessly for more and more hat yarn!

I'd love for you to consider buying a hat this fall to help me reach my goal, and I'd super extra love it if you'd share about this charitable project with everyone you know! Thanks, and happy first day of fall!!

Impossible Hats and the 777 Project

Sep 22, 2014

777 Project

Back in mid-August, my friend Joel Runyon shared his newest Impossible goal - the 777 Project.




Almost as soon as he announced his plan - to run 7 ultra marathons, in 7 continents, to raise money to build 7 schools - I knew I wanted to get on board.

I first met Joel back in 2012, when he committed to running a marathon (his first ever) to raise $25,000 and build a school with Pencils Of Promise.  I hopped on the fundraising train that time around by committing to Hat-Tember 2012, a project that changed the way I make hats and give them away, and changed how I looked at how this whole hat-making thing could really do something big for the world.

Now, two years later, Joel is ready to do more - so much more! You can read read all about his journey to The 777 Project here. He will be funding all of his travel and ultra-marathon related stuff himself, so all the money he raises goes straight to building schools.

And man does he have a lofty fundraising goal - to build 7 schools with Pencils Of Promise, Joel needs to raise $175,000.

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Much of that money will come from folks committing to donating $25 a month for the next 12 months, but Joel was also looking for some crazy committed folks to jump in and do a bit more. Complete their own Impossible Missions, as it were.

You know I had to jump in!!

This time around, I'll be making hats to sell in my shop! I've got a super fun Impossible Hat pattern worked up and ready to photograph, with both a beanie and slouchy version, and both a kids and adults size! This means you can outfit almost your entire family in these Impossible Hats, and help me get to my goal of raising $5,000 for the 777 Project!

I'll be sharing photos of the hats over the next few weeks, as well as more fun stuff about the 777 Project, but for now I'd love for you to do the following:

1. Head over to the 777 Project homepage and read all about it. I've only touched the surface of this amazing year-long odessy, and you'll want to read every last detail.

2. Donate. You may want to purchase one (or more!) of my Impossible Hats, but you may decide you just want to go ahead and donate now. Every dollar helps build schools for kids in some of the most in-need areas of the world.

3. Share this post, and Joel's story! The more folks know about the 777 Project, the faster those 7 schools will get built!

777 Project

Sep 14, 2014