Thursday, December 25, 2014

Your Hats in Action!

The weather's been cold lately and the hats have been flying out of here almost as soon as they come in. Here are some photos I've received recently from some very happy soldiers.





These were taken in Gush Etzion, somewhere on the Syrian border, and on the Hermon. All of them came with notes from very grateful (and cold) soldiers. So thank you folks, and keep 'em coming!

By the way, for those of you in the U.S., a lovely Los Angeles yarn shop called Knit Culture is currently running a campaign to knit hats for soldiers and raise funds for LIBI -- check it out here

Knit on!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Gracias Damas!

I met a wonderful group of women this past week.

But let me backtrack. Last year, my mother was taking Hebrew lessons (ulpan) in Jerusalem. The teacher somehow heard about my hat project, and she asked if I could come speak to her class one day, which I did with pleasure. Some of you may know that ulpan class is always a wonderful melting pot of cultures and nationalities. In my mother's class was a lovely Mexican woman named Celia who really liked what she heard about the hats...so much so that the next time she visited Mexico, she recruited some knitters...



and some more....


and some more....




This week, a minibus filled with women of all ages from Mexico City pulled up at the Pina Chama, a local spot where volunteer Gush Etzion residents serve free coffee and homemade cake to soldiers. The women all piled out of the bus, and started unloading little plastic bags from the back of the bus. Each bag held 6 hats and in the bus were almost 300 hats, knit by the senior citizens of Kol Hanisayon, a Jewish association in Mexico City that provides activities for the elderly.



The hats were beautiful, and accompanied by lovely, sweet notes to the soldiers.



The enthusiastic women of Mexico City gave hats to the soldiers who had stopped at the Pina Chama, took lots of photos with them, and I took them on a quick tour of the modest but meaningful little facility.











I have to say, it was a busy week, mostly work, and this little pause in the action was a major highlight. The joy and faith that these women exuded, their excitement at being in Israel and doing something for their fellow Jews was truly heartwarming. As they climbed  back on the bus, I was able to say to them with complete sincerity that I was so glad I got to meet them and so sorry they were leaving.





Gracias Damas!


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

You bet we're still on!

Hi folks,

I'm sorry I'm such a terrible blogger but I am popping in to say -- yes, I'm still here and your hats are always welcome! Hats that come in over the month of August will be saved up to go out in Rosh Hashana packages in September.

Thank you so much to all of you who wrote in to check up on me & mine. We are thank God well, and the people of Israel are strong. Special thanks to those of you who are lay spokespeople for Israel and helping to make our case to the world in the face of so much hostile media and even blatant anti-Semitism.

I'll finish with two thank you letters from soldiers (names & unit info removed, of course) and the photos they sent. Knit on!



לכבוד מרת חנה קופל שלום רב,
ברצוני להודות לך על כובעי הצמר החמים.  יותר ממה שהם מגנים עלינו מהקור הם מחממים את ליבותינו, אנו רואים שיש כאלה המעריכים את פעולותינו שמכירים בכך שבמשימות הצבאיות לפעמים אנחנו נקלעים למצבים פיזיים קשים של קור ועייפות.
 
בצבא ישראל מתגלה הקשר והאחדות שבין חלקי האומה הישראלית...חלקתי לחברי בגדוד את כובעי הצמר ואכן האחדות והערכה הופיעה בצורה מיוחדת. 


 

We got the hats you made us and we wanted to say thanks a lot, I'm sure these will keep us warm. We really appreciate it, it's nice to know someone cares.