Hats On by Susan L.

  To change things up a bit, as well as I managed to get a whole whack of wool, knitting is taking the form of hats for the Christmas gift drive. Again, it's been an exploration of what works and a helpful hint from my daughter-in-law about using round needles. She taught me how to pull the cord through if there's too much of it for the project. Knitting in the round, as it's called, is much easier than having to sew up a seam although the hats will be started on straight needles because it's easier for me.
  I've learned how to add other colours which is a great way to use up bits and pieces. Figuring out the right sizes is part of the learning curve. The hat fits me but might be too small for a gentleman. The next one will be longer.
  The mechanics of the process absolutely fascinates me; how wrapping and looping and pulling though what amounts to a piece of string ends up a durable and warm fabric. I wonder about the person who first discovered the different ways to connect yarn using a couple of pointy sticks.
  Then there's yarn, well, real wool must have been the start of this. Who discovered the secondary purpose of sheep fleece? They were probably only used with the leather still attached. How did they figure out how to spin the fibres? That has several steps to it before it is knittable. Was it the accidental discovery of a scrap of wool caught on a bramble that made them think, "Huh! I could make something with this!"
  Older sheep breeds shed their wool in the spring like most other animals who need to grow a winter coat. It's only man's intervention that created breeds who had the need for sheep shearers.
  Perhaps it was simply a refinement of the skills used to make fishing nets. Who figured out how to make them?
  I know the invention of synthetic fibres was an accidental side effect of a search for something else. It's the same with synthetic dyes. (Gotta love educational TV!)
  Thank you, Lord, for all the generations who experimented, tried, failed, and tried again so I can make a hat to keep someone warm.
  "Also for Adam and his wife He made tunics of skin, and clothed them." Gen 3:21