IF YOU’RE FEELING PHILANTROPIC AND WANT TO MAKE HATS CHECK OUT THESE SITES

We found a site that has organizations that need knitted hats for charitable causes. Since this is a time of giving, you might want to check out the following sites with patterns and names of groups that need a helping hand in getting hats for children, chemotherapy patients and other groups. Because in the end, it’s what you give that matters, not what you take.

“For knitters, there is a beautiful and challenging hat at knitty.com. Click on archives, then scroll down to the Breast Cancer Awareness Mini Issue, where you can download a pdf.”

The Shedir cap, knitted in the fabulous Rowan Calmer, is a beautiful cap that lets you think about why you're knitting as you cross multiple mini-cables. For less complex hats, see http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/patterns.htm and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/capsforacure/, and click on "links" for patterns.

For sewers, the most stylish pattern collection we've found is McCall's 4116, a collection of turban-style hats that are as lovely as the material you choose.

You can make hats for premature infants. Find out more at www.savethechildren.org/campaigns/caps-to-the-capital. For older children, Caps for Kids gives caps to homeless or low-income children; see www.craftyarncouncil.com/caps.html.

Or make hats for the homeless; http://www.hats4thehomeless.org/. Closer to home, donate hats to The Helping Hand Mission, The Salvation Army, The Women's Center, Interact or The Raleigh Rescue Mission. Farther from home, The Dulaan Project accepts hats for people in Mongolia (www.fireprojects.org/dulaan.htm).

A truly altruistic charity is Wee Angels. This mission accepts bonnets, as well as booties and blankets, for stillborn babies. The garments are distributed to photographers involved in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, which photographs stillborn babies. For more information about Wee Angels, see http://knittingcontessa.blogspot.com/2007/06/weeangels.html.

For frivolous hats, check out blogs.newsobserver.com/notions, where you'll also find our latest reviews of craft books. Send them a note and they’ll send you a book.

This Raleigh, North Carolina newspaper is putting together a database of local craft groups. If you're in a group and want to invite crafters to join, send information -- name of group, type of craft, meeting dates and times, dues, contact name and number, Web site if you have one and e-mail address - to notions@newsobserver.com. Put "craft group" in the subject line.