the final count

The blankets and caps are all in, counted, packed up and headed to Konbit Sante, where they will begin the next leg of their journey. Soon they will be right where they belong, and where the makers of each hat intended - in the hands of the healthcare workers, and on the heads of the newborn babies in Haiti.

I'll update here as your handmade efforts make it to their final destination. And in the coming weeks, I'll share more about what's next for Mama to Mama. But in the meantime...you're probably looking for a final count!

There are 388 hats in this photograph. These are the final caps to come in the past week. Adding that to the already received hats,  we have a grand total of....

5523

That's right. Five thousand, five hundred and twenty three. In addition, we collected 169 blankets to send to Konbit Sante.

In a short two months, we've opened hundreds of packages from nearly every state in the US, and over 13 countries around the world. They've come in batches of one at a time, and a hundred at a time. They've come from mamas, papas, children, grandparents, girl scout troops, schools, churches and craft groups. They've come from the most experienced of sewers, and they've come from many who used a sewing machine for the very first time to make these hats. Every single one of them is appreciated and will find their way to a baby's head who needs it.

I've been so moved by the notes that came along with some of these packages - stories of how this project briefly touched your lives, or sparked some hope for you, or prompted conversation with your children. The stories of how the hats were made - with a little one of your own on your lap; with a classroom full of children; with the grandmother who taught you to sew. And on and on. And I've wondered about the stories that weren't written down. The making, in some ways, feels just as important as the final hats themselves. I do believe that the energy and spirit in which the caps were made and sent are carried with them - a little blessing, of sorts, for the baby who will wear it. If you have a moment, I'd be grateful if you shared in the comments here a bit about what this project meant for you - big or small. (If you blogged about it, please leave us a link in the comments!) I'd love for others to hear these stories, too.

I've been so honored to receive the work of your hands and your hearts in this project. It is with great hope for the safe and healthy lives of children in Haiti that I pass your work on. And it is with deep gratitude that I thank you!

~amanda

Comments

[Alison]

Oh my. What an effort. Over 5000 caps, truly unbelievable. My little caps were made from the cleanest and unstained of shirts that my daughter wore many times. I hope that the spirit of health, love and warmth she put into the shirts goes into the babies through the caps. Thank you for this project, and I'm eager to contribute to the next.

[Sadie]

Oh wow - that is amazing!! Over 5500 caps... Thank you so much for giving us such an easy, simple, and creative way to turn items we no longer needed into blessings for babies. What a beautiful miracle. My children enjoyed helping to pin the pattern in place, and turn the finished hats inside out, poke the tip out with a chopstick, and pull the knots tight!
http://uglygrayhouse.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-5-i-think.html
and
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=281189.0
We can't wait to see what idea you come up with next!

[Grace]

This is amazing! I so intended to send some hats along ... and the deadline escaped me. But I'm excited to hear what the next project for Mama to Mama is, because I'm determined to participate!

[Brooke Gustafson]

That is amazing that so many people were inspired by your blog to try something new and wonderful for someone they will never meet but will help LIVE! How exciting. Well, I have a one and two year old, so they weren't alot of help, but they did "sew" next to me and were quiet in their own way so that I could get some work done. They helped me pick out the t-shirts at the local goodwill and I told them about what we were doing, but I am not entirely certain they understood! But here is the link to the time that I blogged about it... I was truly inspired, and the hats that I made were more important to me than the Christmas gifts that I hadn't yet got to. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
http://earthmonkeymama.blogspot.com/search/label/mama%20to%20mama

[Pumpkinbear]

How happy that the caps are on their way! I look forward to your next Mama to Mama project now.

I did blog about this project, in a couple of different places--
on my personal blog at http://craftknife.blogspot.com/2008/11/caps-caps-and-caps.html

and on Crafting a Green World at http://craftingagreenworld.com/2008/11/15/mama-to-mama-crafting-the-world-a-better-place/

[Megan]

Wow that is amazing. I am working on some blankets right now. Not sure where they are going to go, though. I will keep following your blog to see if something else starts along those lines later this year!

[Lacey]

Amanda,
I forgot to add a card, or maybe it was on purpose after I saw the terrible seams on my hats! This project meant a lot to me as I could craft like a mama, give some of that love that I have stored inside me to a baby somewhere in the world. I don't personally want to have my own, birthed by me kids in the future (I'm only 25 now and it feels like I'd ruin a baby of any kind at this moment) so it felt great to "adopt" a future baby with my hats. The feeling that I was doing something useful and needed overwhealmed me and made me wish my hats looked less wonky, but I was still happy to be crafting with a purpose in mind. A totally self-less purpose. Thank you for giving me that chance, to make something totally for someone else and to use up the mama love I know is in me somewhere. :D

[Megan W.]

This project has been one enormous step for me in a journey to become a much more aware individual.

When my son was born, nearly two years ago now, we were given a handmade hat for our newborn. The volunteers at the hospital made the hats while sitting with critically ill patients, quietly busying themselves with a small project that would keep little heads warm and cozy. I am so ashamed to say that even with this knowledge, I still didn't place that hat on my child's head. Just like many new mothers out there, I was caught up in having only the newest and cutest items on my son. I didn't want him photographed in the hospital wearing something I hadn't hand selected for the special event.

I can proudly say that I now understand and respect the love put into anything handmade. And even though these baby caps were the simplest of projects, I feel I have taken a great step in making up for previous attitudes. I have started to crochet with love, sew with love, and I hope to be knitting with love before too long.

Awareness is such a powerful thing. Thank you for making me more so.

[Mariella]

My 4yr old daughter is sitting on my lap as I read your entry and she says, "Wow!! 5,000...that's a lot!! She also said, "Awww" to the photo of Adelaide hugging/holding the caps. :) Hooray!! xoxo, ~ M.

[Tammy]

Really, really beautiful...

[Elizabeth]

Fantastic!!

[liz]

oh my - what a lot of hats, what a lot of love.
thank you so much, amanda, for bringing this project into the lives of so many. those who will receive, those who had the pleasure of giving, and everyone in between.

i look forward to the next project!

p.s. - i blogged about my cap-project here:
http://cozyblue.typepad.com/cozy_blue/2008/12/crafting-for-good.html

[Paula Harrington]

I am a mama who has a hard time letting go of my 3 young children's toys and clothing when they've outgrown them. This project helped me to let go of their t-shirts, as I thought about the sweet babies who would wear them. All three of my children were adopted internationally, and I thought about their birth moms, for the huge sacrifices they made to give birth to these healthy babies. I know I am so blessed by these miracles and realize that many mothers and babies in our world are not so fortunate. As I put my Christmas decorating, baking and crafting on the back burner and stitched the 58 caps with my children playing all around me, I was honored to use the fabric that clothed my children's tiny bodies to possibly help in sustaining the precious life of another mother's baby, even if just one.

[anilia]

What a wonderful way to ring in the new year! Thanks for counting all the way up. The response is amazing!
Here is where I talked about why I needed to make some hats.

http://littleanilia.blogspot.com/2008/11/hope.html

[Julie Alvarez]

As I said before, I didn't make it on time to send them. I made just three, but wanted to send many more... because I could make them, because someone out there needs them, and because mailing from here is rather expensive so I wanted to send them all together, which lowers the cost of it (sorry for that stupid explanation, but it's true).
Holiday gift making and cookind and a virus in my stomach delayed me far too much and I couldn't make it. But I will send them somewhere else, or wait until the next opportunity.
This put me thinking:
1-I can actually DO something with so little, to help others, and in this incredibly meaningful moment of life, that is birth
2-In my own country (Argentina) there are provinces with areas where mothers make holes on the ground to put their children at night to sleep, so they can be a little warmer. And I want to find out what happens with the babies there (I know that I won't like what I will find out). So, maybe I'll make some more caps and send them to these areas, while I wait for the next mamatomama project.
Thank you, Amanda. And thank you for making a good use of your popularity too (not many people would do this, I know...).
(I also wrote about this project a while ago here: http://juliealvarez.blogspot.com/2008/11/sigo-adoptando-pequeos-desafos-y.html)

[Jen]

That's so awesome! I didn't send in any hats but am very moved by your vision for this project and then seeing it unfold. I live in Africa working with orphans affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Being on this side, I can truly say how it's such a blessing when someone has an idea and then goes for it! What a blessing it will be for the children of Haiti!

[Melissa N]

I am in shock by the number of hats and blankets! What great love that is being shared all over the whole. Amanda, you are one amazing woman to begin such a great movement in the world, and to count all those hats!!!

I would like to share that making the hats became a much needed "sew therapy" for me at a time in my life when I needed it most. It came after we experienced the loss of our second pregnancy at 14 weeks. It was hard for me to be near any baby reminders, with the exception of these tiny hats. I knew in my heart how much those tiny lives needed the help of my mere 22 hats. In a way it helped me to get through the rough times knowing that I had a chance to help other lives in the world. Perhaps the spirit of the little boy we lost was carry along in those hats.

http://thebentnilfamily.blogspot.com/2008/11/moments-in-life-24.html

I also have in-laws that are doing missionary work in Haiti, one as a doctor and the other as a teacher. As I sewed the hats I thought of them and all they were experiencing living and working in Haiti.

Keep up the wonderful work Amanda, and Soule Mama readers. I can always use more "sew therapy" so bring it on sister!

[moline/yvonne]

This is amazing. I saw one of the hats I sent (my daughter's t-shirt and I got goosepimples all over. I am teary eyed now that this could happen!
Your children are witnessing a wonderful mom every day!

[Amy Quarry]

Amanda...thank you so much for enabling us be a part of something like this. It means so much to me, and I so enjoyed the opportunity to use my ability and resources in such a hands on tangible way. You are a gem of a woman and I am so grateful for all you have brought to my life through your example and willingness to include us in your life. Looking forward to another project!

[Casey]

WOW! I can't believe how amazing this project turned out. I'm glad that it turned out so well

[Valerie]

so so amazing! this project was great because it was so simple yet it could make such a huge difference in a baby's life. I couldn't not participate. thank you for the opportunity!

[Emma]

So exciting!! I didn't expect such a huge number! =D

[erna]

wow that is a whole lot! It felt good to take part..thank you for asking us!!

[nicola]

i am sitting here teary eyed, in part because, well, OH MY, (my mental expression was a little more "mature") that is a huge number of caps and such care! partly because processing them was a huge undertaking for a family with a newborn. and partly because i read this post following the post a friend of mine made about her family, 6 months into chemotherapy for their 4 year old daughter. our little people are so precious, aren't they? their lives so amazing.
and this project? i have two babies of my own (well, one baby, one big sister!) and feel lucky every day for all that i have, material and otherwise. i can't imagine not even having a hat to put on my newborn's head! the project inspired me to make a pile for friends' babies as well. what a fun, quick project!
nicola
i posted about it on my blog a couple months back: http://whichname.blogspot.com/2008/11/caps-to-cap-haitien.html

[Stefani]

OH Amanda! What incredible thing! ...For your family, for everyone involved and for the lives the hats will touch. What a perfect picture of how the world should, and CAN be! Beautiful.