am I first??????? very great hat! and yeah, it can be sad when watching hockey depending on your team....

Oh that news about the sidebar totals just makes me want to cry with joy and pride! HOORAY to all the good souls out there!

Thank you for the pattern! I was looking for a quick, simple knit hat for a deserving man in my life ... now I think I have it! ^_^

am I first??????? very great hat! and yeah, it can be sad, for women too, when watching hockey depending on your team....

The totals for DWB are fabulous--knitters rule--and thanks so much for getting us into action! The hat pattern is very cool--most I have aren't written for such a fine gauge. Good luck, and thank you again for not only getting us going, but also for the hard work to keep track of it all! Best, Randmknitter

Love the hat and appreciate the pattern! I've been nervous about knitting them too long and having a hat so big it completely folds over on itself...maybe that's not a bad idea in the winter! LOL Way to go with MSF - I was glad to be a donor for this, and like you, sad to see that it was needed. Blessings!

I like Lorne's hat. Just knit a hat and rather wish I'd waited for this one.... but may still use it for my charity hats.

Thanks again for all the work on KWB. Amazing.

Somehow I'm thinking that $1 000 000 (fingers crossed in hope!) should be some guerilla knitting to acknowledge the feat! A tea cosy for the CN tower?? Probably not... not international enough to acknowledge all knitters. I'm thinking....

After spending around 1 month reading your not-inconsiderable archives -in order from earliest to latest- I find myself wishing this entry had been in there sooner. This looks stretchier than the hat I'm modifying for my boyfriend... his head is 25 inches around...

Great hat - thanks for the pattern! And knitters ROCK!

Coming out of lurkdom long enough to say I'm proud to be a knitter. This is one fantastic, caring, generous community.

Snowing lots today. Good day to knit a hat. Thanks YH for all that you do.

Perfect...need to knit one for my brother in law to replace the crappy one I "winged" last year.

Oooh, a nice easy pattern for me to use - thanks! I tend to 'cheat' a bit when making something like this - instead of using one long circular, I use two smaller ones (just like when I make socks) which means you don't have to mark the start of the row, because you see it every time you go around. Just a thought :) Thanks again!

what a good friend and a good hat! thank you for the pattern - a good hat pattern is priceless!

i've always said that knitterhood is powerful, but dudes/dudettes, you've totally dumbfounded me -- in an excellent way. the people of haiti can't use much in the way of knitted goods, but they surely can use our contributions.

humongous thanks, stephanie, for getting the ball rolling!

Hmm. I'll have to see if my husband likes this hat. I never knit him anything because he doesn't like anything and every time I show him a pattern he goes, Eh, I guess, and I'm not going to knit anything for a 6'2" guy with freakishly long arms on "I guess." I'd be happy for an excuse to try out the St. Denis Nordique, though.

Funny on the sad looks. We tend to get more angry looking than sad down here south of your border. Our team got booted out of the NFL playoffs on the first weekend (they deserved it; shameful performance) and several times I told the kids to just stop. talking. to daddy. Just for a while, kids. Please.

Thanks for doing all the tallying work. That's no small job in itself. You make it easy for us.

Just donated $35 to Doctors Without Borders. Thanks for the hat pattern.

What can be celebrated is that, despite the devastation and loss of life in Haiti, the money helps save many who would have lost their lives otherwise and prevent the disaster from mushrooming ever larger. I have to think that those who survive the tragedy will cherish and value their lives even more.

And I think that's how we all celebrate - we live in the moment, we love a little harder, spread kindness a little further. As knitters, part of that is celebrating the joy we get from knitting. Maybe we open a KWB etsy shop, where patterns and knitted gifts can be sold, with profits going to DWB. I guess I just think we continue to build on success.

The hat looks great, thanks for sharing a pattern. It is an awful way to get to 1 million but at the same time great to reach that total. I know my mum is also donating and will e-mail how much when she has sorted it out.

Knitter's really do rock! Thanks for the hat recipe, I think I will knit this out of some lovely handspun I have stashed.

I too wish there was someway we could knit a fix for the people of Haiti. I am so awed by their patience and steadfast faith that they will make it through this. People still alive after being buried in rubble for a week! These are truly amazing people.

Nice hat, the picture seems to be of a brown hat and you said you used Navy yarn. Just a wee bit confused but then that might be me in January. I too am sad for the way the donations may get to be a cool million but heartened to know that the fine and miraculous organization will help many people. You did a noble thing when you birthed the idea of knitters giving to Doctors Without Borders. Thanks for the inspiration.

Knitters are amazing people. Really. We should run the world, it would be a lot nicer place. Looks like a nice man, and if he's said about hockey -- he should try moving to Philadelphia and dealing with our basketball and hockey teams, who seem to keep finding new ways to lose!

I'm biting the bullet and casting on that hat. My brother needs one desperately, and it'll be my test for whether I can knit a sweater in the round.

Hmm... I'm trying to think of a way to acknowledge both the million-dollar landmark (b/c it *is* a big deal) and the tragedy that got KWB there.

I'm not a pattern designer, but you are one yourself--and are connected with lots of others. I dunno: a million-dollar sock (or other) pattern, that could be sold, through your website (and potentially on Ravelry), the proceeds for which could be sold, with profits going to MSF? Perhaps the knitter who pushes KWB over the millionth dollar gets the pattern free?

Thanks to you and your helpers for all of the hours you're putting in. Hope some uninterrupted knitting time will come your way soon.

Love the hat, my husband might just get one.

Hmm... looks like I didn't edit that properly before posting. (I bet that never happens!) I meant to say: a pattern, which could be sold, and the profits could go to MSF. There. I said it again.

All those wonderful personality traits AND dude is very easy on the eye :^)
(I sent you email/notice of donation 7 Jan, did you catch that one? I know, early in an odd sort of way)

Awwwww, what a sweetie of a guy! I'm so glad he got a replacement.

A handknit hat is a thing of beautiful; so quick, and snuggy. It is the epitome of thoughtfulness, of giving, of friendship. I feel that the skills for making (if only) a hat should be prerequisite for graduating high school. No one need be afraid of this activity.

In a brief moment of magnanimity, I thought about making my ex-husband a hat for his follicularly inept, soon to be 50 head. My son suggested that I was nuts. I still have the yarn out.

As a child I would feel really guilty whenever I lost a hat/scarf/mitten that my mother had knit for me, and I'd try to hide the absence of the item for as long as possible. But in retrospect I realize that mom was never as devastated or angry about the missing items as I expected her to be - I think she knew it would happen, and she just knit another of whatever piece I was missing.

I raise my (wine) glass to all knitters who let lost thing go and to everyone doing any little bit for the unfortunate in Haiti. Also to Lorne, for braving the move to the big city.

Thanks for the hat. Nod to Lorne for keeping up with his first for so long.

Thanks so much for your hard work and all your effort to make the world a better place.

Thank you for the hat pattern. How funny Lorne felt foolish for losing his hat but then we all know handknits are special.

You are a source of joy and inspiration to the knitting community. Be proud of what you have inspired us to do.

That number is amazing.....knitters are amazing. Thank you for inspiring us to reach out.
I think it's a manly thing to not smile in pictures. It took me about 2 years to train my hubby that it was OK to smile in pictures. The hat is awesome.

Ooh, I like Julia in Waterloo's idea better, not to mention it's probably easier to implement.

To celebrate the 1 million mark we could knit for a cause

"the wind doesn't blow through it like the ones from the store". Now THERE'S a person who deserves knit-goods. He really appreciates the difference. Bless him.

I'm not sure where to post the donation to MSF however I hope that you will see it here. $35 to MSF. Thanks.

I knit a hat remarkably like that one for my husband last winter and he loves it! Long enough to cover the ears, and the double layer really keeps the wind out. Lorne is a lucky guy to have a friend like you looking out for his cold ears!

Inspired by this last round of donating, I've set up a recurring monthly donation to MSF to try and keep the giving going after this latest crisis has passed. Thanks for being the inspiration.

I knit a hat remarkably like that one for my husband last winter and he loves it! Long enough to cover the ears, and the double layer really keeps the wind out. Lorne is a lucky guy to have a friend like you looking out for his cold ears!

Inspired by this last round of donating, I've set up a recurring monthly donation to MSF to try and keep the giving going after this latest crisis has passed. Thanks for being the inspiration.

I like Julie in Waterloo's idea as well (and can't help but wonder if it's Waterloo, Iowa, USA, which is not far from where I grew up.)

To acknowledge *everyone's* giving, whether through donataions or thoughts/prayers/other ways, I LOVE Maureen's idea. What better way to celebrate knitters giving than to get out our yarn and give knitted items en masse?

And while Loren might be (?) bummed about the hockey, those are some seriously kind eyes he has. And a great hat.

Need more be said than a screen shot of the total? Or maybe it needs to be a series from just before to the going over the top entry.

Totally love the KWB pattern idea to help keep boosting the total. (Especially if it used KWB colourway from BMFA.)

Joe's friend looks like a great guy and I understand the lonely in a big city from small town feeling. Well deserving of you knitting efforts that gentleman.

Give him a hug from me. Alice

And that's what I get for trying to post quickly while {whispers} on the clock. Most interesting spelling of donations and Lorne, mea culpa on the name typo!

What a great hat! And an incredibly loyal friend.

And a loyal hat friend? I'm not really sure how to phrase that one.

Brilliant. I'm ready to start the decreases on a hat for my nephew. Which just so happens to be 120 stitches of k2p2 ribbing. You just saved me a pile of math. Bless you!

Nice hat and I agree that anyone who keeps up with a hat for 10 years deserves another. Being upset at it's loss after 10 years might mean he deserves two.
I'm so proud to be a knitter right now. We try really hard to do our part and inspire others to do theirs. I agree that it totally sucks that the final push to 1,000,000 is due to a catastrophe, but so inspired to know that we do step up and most people are good.

A guy as cute as Lorne should not be lonely for a moment! He looks great in the hat, too.

Lorne is obviously trying to look pensive and sensitive for the benefit of all the knitters out there as he clearly wants more hand knits!

I do think that raising $1 million from the knitting community for MSF is something to celebrate, even though the money is needed for such dreadful, heartbreaking reasons. One way taht we could "celebrate" is to raise awareness of the power of social networking/socal media to do good, as you/we have all done with TSF. The more people who know what we have acheived, the more who will hopefully be inspired to do the same through their own social networks.

I work in philanthropy and would be happy to work to get the story out through my network and the philanthropic media. Just let me know if this is something you'd like done, Stephanie.

Best,
Carolyn

Hmm - maybe we could all knit the hat and send them to MSF for all their personnel working in colder climes? That way they'd have our love and our thanks in a way that helps them help others?

million-schmillion.
Let's set a new goal!!
We can do it!!

Nice hat...but I bet it was the Oilers losing again. Not capable of beating anybody. Gahhhh!

Nah, he's probably watching the Oilers. Great hat!

I'm glad you made him another hat. Losing a hat is a big deal, especially when you have one your really like.

Not sure how far wrong I could go knitting a great cap?? Wait for it...... :o)
WOO HOO!! on the totals. I'm speechless. Not surprised at all, but speechless.

Hi...first of all DO NOT COUNT THIS IN YOUR TOTAL!
I made a comment on the "comment" page about my donation then was confused as to whether or not I had to e-mail you my donation amount. I did that THEN saw the twitter that I didn't have to do that because it was counted on the comment page. I got two thank yous from you and I think that means my $100.00 was counted twice. So now to keep things in karmic balance I am donating another $100.00 just to be safe..ya know? Confused?!? Sorry, but just want to be fair.

Thanks for ALL your HARD work...all of you. Makes my heart smile in the midst of all the pain.

As always Stephanie, well done. Cool hat, cool guy wearing it and totally cool totals in the sidebar. Knitters rule!

That's the just the kind of "manly" hat pattern I've been looking for! Thanks for sharing!

Front page of the NYT and the G&M and the Times for a start. Knitters totally could take over and bring world peace and enough ______ for everyone!

Lorne doesn't look sad in my opinion, he looks like a handsome fellow that is reasonably content. He looks practially thrilled in the last shot while he is holding up his pint for a toast!

I may not be Canadian (I live in Wisconsin) but I am familiar with the stoic demeanor, as many of my friends and family are great exhibitors of this behavior. (I am too.) We don't need to be jumping up and down with joy to convey that we're happy.

Very wonderful hat. As always, you do wonderful work!

PS I have a terrible time trying to size hats and am I looking for one that will fit a Big Head (mine). About what size head does the hat fit? I think I have size 8+ hat head ...

Lorne looks rather pleased in the last shot....after all, he has a new warm hat knitted by a friend and a beer. What else does he need?

I don't think there is a *bad* way to raise a million dollars for a good cause.

Okay, if no-one else is going to come right out and ask, I will: is Lorne single?

To thank you for the hat pattern I'm going to knit it up and give it to someone who looks sad.

Obviously Lorne was doing his best impression of a Rowan model. Also, great hat! My husband is a roofer and needs something with either earflaps or a folded band to keep his ears warm.

To thank you for the pattern I'm going to knit a hat and give it to someone who looks sad.

I have a couple of hats I knit in the hat-&-mits bag, along with a couple I picked up for 50 cents at the megamart. My youngest digs down in the bag until he gets his Harry Potter hat (a hat with red and orange stripes). The oldest just grabbed the top hat. They went skiing. 2 hours later, the youngest is fine, bouncy and up and had a good time. The oldest is out in the kitchen throwing that "crap hat" out because his ears are freezing. The youngest says "You should know better than to grab the first hat. You have to hide your good hat down in the bottom so Dad doesn't take it. Let him have the crap hat, he's got the good scarf."

I never knew there was a hierarchy in my hat bag, and apparently I need to knit faster so everyone has a "good" hat and scarf.

I LOVE Carolyn's offer (11:54am post) to get the word out about Yarn Harlot's call to action for MSF and the outstanding, heartwarming results...

I tried to email Carolyn to say "go for it" and I'd be happy to help write/edit the teaser or press release, but I couldn't find a way through her blog to reach her.

Steph, you are an amazing person and I feel honored to be a lurker on your blog. You've pulled everyone together in an amazing way and this is a story that deserves to be told.

Carolyn, please let me know if I can help!

All the best,
Robin

I've been finding myself checking in just to see that number go up and be cheered by it. Thank you Stephanie and Rachel and everybody!

And Lorne? Is there a CD out there to be bought? I do love me a good guitar album to knit by.

Are you really that calm, talking about a million dollars?

It's certainly a sucky way to get there...but at least we were all confident that the knitters would come through!

Thank you for another hat to add to my arsenal. My eldest son started sharing a house with three great roomates this year and I knit them all toques for Christmas. I made four different styles in four different colours so they could choose the one that suited them. They were delighted. So delighted that at one point on Christmas day I had a text from my son asking how he could stop Peter from dancing around the living room in his underpants and his toque.

I think a TSF etsy shop is a great idea.

To celebrate the million dollar mark, maybe all of us knitters could take a (short) break from donating money, and instead donate a knitted item to all of the doctors, etc. working for MSF? Just as a kind of thank-you to them. Hard to organize I know.....

oh....and Lorne is lovely.....tell him he has fan-club.

The third photo may have the answer - not only hockey, but Lorne may have had a deficiet of beer.

Lovely to see the total climbing to MSF, terrible that it had been stalled until an event like this. But good to see how we silly corner-sitting yarn-twiddling ladies (and lads) can contribute, eh?

We donated $50 & my husbands company matched it.

Great hat--thanks for sharing the pattern. Lorne definitely looks a bit happier with the beer...

On an unrelated note, I'm teaching my 17 year old son how to knit tonight! Woo hoo!

so... what kind of yarn should i use for the hat if i can't find the type mentioned in the recipe? i've never knit a hat before and i'd like to give it a go....thanks!

1) Nice hat!

2) We knitters may not be breaking a sweat, but you enter-ers are going to have earned some sort of hand-massage at the end of this!

3) Not that it matters, but out of curiosity, will you be pulling karma gift-winners from the complete tally or just this newest donation push?

I think my 3 sons(and maybe some other male friends) might get the HAT for Christmas 2010-except for the ones that didn't get socks this year and I'm already working on those. Mindbogglingly great job on tallying. Hugs to you, Rachel, and Natalie and anyone else who has been lured into helping. Cheers and red wine, Hazel.

Sorry about the Canadian Hockey thing...we're pretty Hockey happy in Chicago right now. And as a bar owner - good hockey makes for happy, drinking customers!

Crap, I think I was counted twice too (what a headache for Stephanie and assorted bean counters!).

@SunshineDreams: For the record, I'm in Waterloo, Ontario (but I was born in Madison, WI!)

I like the hat and the pattern thnaks. i clicked over to St. Denis and they ahve this yarn is 36 colors. isn't that a bit much? :) How will I ever choose? IF they had three or four colors, I could pick one real easy.

I made the French Press Slippers last week. It did not work out so well for me. It was a quick knit, but I spent an equal amount of time seaming. Then when I felted, the sides felted in, but the length stayed too long. I need an elf to give them to. (Actually I cut off the backs, seamed together again and need to re felt.) I think I'll make another pair in a different yarn just to prove they can't get the best of me! I was so looking forward to warm feet, too. Darn slippers.

Nice hat! I made one for my husband like that, but I didn't get the fold over brim long enough... your's is a much better length. And I would like to join the Lorne fan club as well... major cuteness there!
And... thanks for your good wishes towards my BIL's Haitian relatives. I haven't heard if they've made contact yet, but am still hopeful myself.

Very nice-looking man! Great hat pattern too! Thanks for sharing it.

Stephanie, you're a genius!! That double-close on the hat - why did I never think of that?

I actually just recently had a Koolhaas hat come home from school needing repair for exactly that reason. Now I know what I'll do when I fix it up to make it more secure (because y'know, fixing a hat is not nearly as fun as knitting other things....).

Love the hat! and knitters rock. We're having a very tense election in Massachusetts today and the suggestion that knitters should rule the world has me wishing Martha Coakley or Scott Brown (now THAT would be news) would whip out some needles in a press conference. Might make me feel more confident about my choice...

Guerilla knitting as celebration would be epic.

How nice to know that your hats are so appreciated. I agree he was probably watching hockey when he looked so sad.

Knitters Without Borders got some press in the Guelph Mercury (in the coverstory!!!)... and so did you, Stephanie... by the way.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/585908

Stephanie, thank you for all of your inspiration with knitting, KWB, family and life in general. Now I am going to knit my wonderful husband a hat to match his socks thanks to your great pattern.

Congratuations on the donations total creeping always higher! Thanks to all.
The knit hat is great. After years of trying to avoid the dreaded twist in joining the round, I've been casting on an extra stitch, leaving a longer loose end to sew with, turning it all around and working the other direction and [now can see whether it's "flat"] working the first and last stitch together. When I've finished, the slight jog disappears with a little stitch using the dangling thread end. And, when you get to the double point needles, end with a knit/begin with a purl, making a shorter distance and less gap.

Better late than never. I just sent in my $20 to MSF.

May many more procrastinators respond.

Cool Hat!

Great hat. Thanks for sharing. :)

So nice of you to share the pattern. I am always looking for the perfect hat for the men in our family. So happy to hear about all of the donations. Glad I did my part as well.

I've participated in KWB/MSF/DWB before but this time I'm texting updates to my adult sons. Not sure why.

DONATED $10 and thank you for the hat pattern, AND for your blog which just makes my day!

Triffic! Haitian evacuees are already arriving in Montreal. This will be a great hat for them.

Great hat! I might have to make this for my regular hat recipient, a transplant from VA. He finds RI very cold. For next Christmas, he hasn't got the 2009 one yet (we've been sick since the day itself!)

(As to DWB/MSF, I mentioned a donation last week, but not the amount. If you'd like to add it to the tally, it was $35.)

Thanks for the hat pattern. It's just the style I'm wanting to knit for my brother, and probably another for my son. (He has one I knit a couple years ago, but could use a spare to wear when the first is damp with sweat after clearing the driveway and scraping the sidewalks down the length of the block. We have elderly neighbors, so he scrapes the whole thing, and by the time he's done, his hat is soaked.)

I wish the KWB/DWB tally were increasing for no real reason at all rather than for a very real and painful reason, but glad to see it going up nonetheless. Shortly after I donated, my hubby called from work to let me know that he'd arranged for most of his next paycheck to go to the fund the hospital was collecting for Haiti, so I could be prepared to scrimp for that pay period. (Jeff works at a local hospital.) He was also happy to be able to tell me the hospital is sending a big shipment of medicine and other medical supplies, and some of the docs are going down to do what they can to help. Wish we could do more...

Would you mind sharing how much money has been raised for MSF since your Jan 13th e-mail? Like the others, I am so excited about the generosity of knitters. Would love to be able to quote the power of one Yarn Harlot e-mail.

Hmm... I guess I'm not the only one with a soft spot in my heart for a good-looking musical man wearing a wistful expression who appreciates the work of others' hands.

You draw such wonderful people to you (I'm not suprised in the least) and you have a lovely way of honoring who they are.

That total is coming along nicely, very nicely. Should we sweep past $1 million and head directly for $1.5 million? I bet we could do it. I like the ideas from the blog about knitting hats for the MSF staffers. Are they ever called to cold places? I hand copied the hat pattern onto the back of one of the days of your calendar (-; and called the Harlot's Canadian Man-Hat. MY BF just bought a new "man-truck" this summer (as opposed to his older, smaller "guy truck"). I think he needs a Man-Hat to go with the truck.

We knitters seriously rock!! A million!!! I remember when that was a goal, a dream, a hope. It is awful, the reason for the rush to donate, but Stephnie, you made it simple for We of the Blog to do our part. Thank you. I bought some gray heathered wool for a man's hat yesterday. Funny writing that. I forget my sons are actually men now! The baby blanket will take two more evenings, I estimate and then I will cast on that hat. Thanks for a great pattern!

As someone who grew up in Louisiana who now lives in Massachusetts I can well appreciate a nice long hat that can go double over my ears. Finding the time to actually knit one for myself could be tricky but this will go on my todo list. Ta for sharing.

I think it has nothing to do with hockey and everything to do with beer. In the first photo, buddy is looking longingly at the bar. In the second photo, he's looking down at his beer glass, which may have beer in it now, but will soon be empty (ah, the eternal happy/sad flux). In the third, he's hoisting a brew for a toast, so of course, he's smiling.

FWIW, there's another Call to Action for knitters - please sign the MoveOn petition asking credit card companies to waive their fees for charitable donations.

For all the dollars we've donated, it's terrible that the credit card companies can't pitch in a bit as well. Petition available, here:

http://pol.moveon.org/nofees/?r_by=-6266131-KB7lVBx&rc=paste

And thanks for the hat. Now that winter has hit here in the Bay Area, I can use a good hat!

Fantastic hat!

And your friend Lorne is reeeeeally cute.

Dude, is Lorne, like, available??????? Just sayin'....

Stephanie, I'd love to have the pattern for the Snowflake scarf you were working on a couple of months ago. If you get it finished and up, you could send $1.00 of each sale to MSF/DWB. Forever. Every sale means a donation. (I thought that might inspire you to get the pattern ready for sale).

That's a wonderful total, and I know it's going to continue going up and up. Watching people donate, shaking my head when they apologize for not giving more, knowing that, as you said, one action, repeated over and over, adds up to something wonderful, has been a joy during a down period. Thank you for reminding us of the better angels of our nature.

How ADORABLE!!! Oh yeah, and the hat's okay too. :)

Funny, that's what my brother-in-law said when I knit him a hat for work. He works on ships and is always in need of warm headgear.

Hi! Great hat, and the recipient looks so warm and pleased - even if his hockey team might be suffering. I would have loved to be a moth on the canoe for that trip; being a guitarist of less memory than that it would have been so cool to hear all that music.

Glad to see the tally inching upward - just think of all the good each dollar is doing. One of my work colleagues has family there, and since he now works at a different store I don't know how things are for him. One can only hope... and knit... and support KWB/MSF.

I like the idea of celebrating a million by knitting. What does MSF need? Hats, mittens, scarves, vests, socks? We can make them.

A very manly hat!

And I have always disliked the tendency of gathered finishes to loosen with time...that trickle of icy air in the tip of a mitten is profoundly unwelcome. So I've been experimenting with kitchenering hats and mittens. Gives a nice smooth finish, and no gaps at all, at least so far.

Thanks for the great hat pattern. Donated $50 to KWB/MSF. Keep up the good work.

Hat is good looking.

Lorne is beautiful.

Love the story. Love the pattern. What an expressive face he has.

HI, LORNE! You can't possibly know all 5.5 million folks in Toronto, but you can know all the knitters. (we're a lot of the best ones anyway) Great hat!

another $35.00 donation to Drs without Borders

Lorne is cute. Is he single? I could learn to love Toronto...being a good Vermont girl as I am, moving to the city made me lonely as well. Still am, in fact. Hrm. Probably because no one ever made me a hat.

Thanks for the pattern and the simple way to donate (just did $50). Think I'll make the hat for daughter in Nome, AK and thrum the part you turn up. It's sooooooo cold up there...but the knitters hearts around here are warm :)

That is a really nice hat, thank you for writing up the pattern.

I can't afford much, but please put me down for $10.

I say we alert the media when the million dollar mark is hit and use the publicity to raise another million. I'm sure MSF could put the money to good use.

I was just meaning to look for a good, manly ribbed hat, and there one is. :)

I had a boyfriend in 8th grade named Lorne, and have always been smitten with that name.

Change that to $10/month, please.

He's cute. NICE jawline. Rawr.....

WOW!!! It looks like Lorne is going to have to start his own blog (loaded with pictures it would seem--based on all the admiring comments). I wonder if he'd blush to know how appealing he is to a bunch of knitters??

About the one-million mark: I'm not sure what we should "do" exactly but some sort of flashing tally in behemoth numbers on the blog would be super!! (Maybe Ken knows how to do this?)

A propos of good (and lost) hats. About three and half years ago I knit your watermelon hat pattern for a friend of mine having her first child. I never knit tiny hats because the weather can be wrong the week you need the hat. I knit it out of left-over Socks that Rock yarn and threw in some bobbles not far above the roll and a tiny bit of fair isle and put some Nicky Epstein Twirls on the top. Here is the mother's plea:

"Remember that ADORABLE hat you made for Shefler? Somehow it seems to fit children of all ages and head size (abt 6 months to 3 1/2 years, at least) and is comfortable and doesn't pop off. It is truly the only perfect hat we have ever found. Sadly, it has gotten lost. I keep buying new ones from stores and they do not measure up. Would you be willing to sell me another one (two, actually)? We loved the color but are flexible on that point -- the texture and design were just perfect. What do you think? I am very patient on timing."

I am going to make her two hats as my Ravelympics project. But, I just want to say: thanks for a great pattern. BTW, the bobbles make it easy to roll up the brim farther.

Thanks for all that you are doing, as always. I'm a faithful reader and lurker, but my $50. is in the mail to Doctors Without Borders.

You know what? I did the same thing this year, for two buddies of mine from New Brunswick spending their first winter in Toronto.

I'd so date Lorne :)
Thanks for the pattern and the awesome job you're doing with KWB

Lorne looks like a sweetie, and totally worthy of your handiwork. Thanks for the pattern! Oh, and thanks, as always, for inspiring our fellow knitters to step up and contribute to Haitian relief. My husband and I both lost our jobs on Thursday afternoon, and quite honestly, I was so glad that I made substantial donations to Doctors Without Borders and Mercy Corps before that happened, or I'm not sure I would have. I don't regret having done it one bit, and again, I thank you for the inspiration and nudge in the right direction.

Fabulous hat! I've been doing variations on this for nearly 40 years, often 1 x 1 rib, for everyone from newborns to my boss. It looks wonderful on everyone.
Your MSF tally is awesome!

What a great hat pattern. I think my great nephew might be a recipient and what a great hat it would be for the homeless. Hmmm. Btw, the other day you tweeted that "There are a lot of knitters named Susan, it would seem." I grinned really big and pretended you were talking about me. Thanks for giving us this opportunity. And I would love to do something for the docs and staff of MSF/DWB

As I see the number for MSF/DWB climb up,I am so proud that we are able to help, "stitch by stitch".

Did you notice how much happier Lorne looks when he's raising a glass of beer? Just sayin'

For the sake of metrically challenged Americans, let me give some conversions. Size 4 needle, 16" long. Knit till hat is 12" long, give or take a centimeter.

Love the hat, love the KWB, and I love Stephanie!

I made a similar hat for my Dad for Christmas. K1P1 with faux four-point seam at the top, from Katia Peru alpaca/wool/acrylic blend. He put it on immediately and didn't take it off for three days. (Mom keeps it pretty cold in the house!) I needed to replace the acrylic candy-corn-colored one I made, since he was using a rubber band to keep on his head. :)

Thank you for organizing and mobilizing KWB for Haiti. It takes a little of the guilt away for being safe and healthy and fed and unable to go and help them in person.

he's so skinny minny! i'm glad you made him a hat, he must be cold.

Perfect timing Stephanie! My church knitting group is making hats for homeless men and this will be perfect. The poor guys have enough problems, they don't need wimpy hats!

You'll keep us all updated on Lorne's romantic status, won't you? If he's available, I'm sure he won't be for long. :o)

Erm...I might be in Vancouver, but I love T.O., and would totally consider moving there...LOL.

I even like the Leafs!

Ok, I'll go away now.

I am so proud of you. $1m is a whole lotta sumpin. And you are making it happen.

Lorne looks cute enough. I know a (beautiful) single Irish Jewish girl with a PhD and the most amazing red hair. If he's single, of course. I'm not into wrecking homes.

I understand the dilemma of celebrating the charity occasioned by a tragedy. Still, the money came, some that might not have otherwise, it's doing good, there's an eternal need, and seeing our donations collectively amount to such a significant total can't help but make us proud of what a common goal can accomplish.

Sad?
Nah! Pensive? yeah! But I am from New York, and maybe it's different here.

Ok, your commenters are hilarious! thanks for the hat pattern and it's great that so much money has been raised for the doctors. I've been watching the news and it is really heart wrenching to see everyone suffering from their injuries. So many losing limbs; children losing parents, etc. I'm just thankful that I have the means to help in whatever way I can - since I can't be there, I can donate.

cute guy. is he single? how about an introduction? The hat is also good.

Great total! Having worked for a charity in a previous life, I can tell you that amount of money can go a long way.

Great hat Stephanie! Love it! And so will my brother in law! and my nephews. They are into plain - and the tension looks to be about equivalent to our 8-ply which is a sensible weight for a part of the world where temperatures never drop to 0 degrees celsius, let alone below it.

And I can so understand the stress of moving to the "big" city. I was 8 when we moved from a town of 300 (if you counted all the people on farms) to a city of half a million (about three quarters of a million now) and it stressed me then and it stress me now. Don't like crowds.

And I agree, Lorne is very cute!

My husband just said that the Leafs were pretty depressing. Even the Bruins have one a championship more recently (we live in the Boston area, which almost requires a religious-like devotion to the Bruins in for hockey fans).

Nice hat! And nice looking lad :) Is he married? Have a girlfriend? Interested in relocating to the Southeastern United States? :)

That's not a hat. That's a toque.

My husband and I did a military UN tour in Haiti..itwas an experience that I would have repeated but we were never given the opportunity. Now that we have retired, our son in law is doing Security in the Port au Prince airport and flying back and forth on aircraft as a police officer. Its odd to see a younger generation take over while my daughter and grandson are holding the fort down in Winnipeg. We are in Pembroke, Ontario. and I am knitting for my quickly growing grandson.

If someone could tell me where to send a prize for the drawings, I would appreciate it. I have some Kidz Silk Haze here that I bought by accident...I am a lone knitter and not even sure what to do with the stuff??

(I meant to put a smiley on the toque comment ;-))

my normally very smiley husband becomes incredibly ponderous and sober in front of a camera . . . i'm pretty sure that for david, it has nothing to do with hockey; everyone tells me it's just a guy thing.

Great Pattern casting on now! :)

Wow, incredible total! This Help for Haiti thing is wonderful. I'm so proud of all us knitters out there.

How serendipitous! I was just wondering how to finish my husband's Christmas hat. I've pulled it out no less than four times.

Thank you for all your KWB work. Knitters are awesome. I bet it goes past a million easily. Gobsmacked is right!

I knit a hat for college boyfriend, now spouse, 25 years ago. This winter it went missing. He has other hats that I have made and I have yarn for a new one but still really want to find the first one.

Lorne looks much happier with his beer!

lorne is cute.

Lorne looks much happier in the last picture with his hat and beer!

I lived in Newfoundland for six years - on an American Air Force Base. Stephenville. Quite isolated - pristine, beautiful. We, too, called it "The Rock"!

What's next?

Ask everyone who made a one time contribution to become an MSF Field Partner as well.

Create a new goal of 1.5 or 2 million dollars - and as we meet it, raise it until the money is no longer needed (I wish).

If we can afford to knit, we can afford to support DWB.

I wrote the NYT and suggested they write a story.

Maybe ask people to commit to monthly donations so MSF can plan & budget, knowing they have secure sources of income?

I donated $100.00 to MSF. Thanks for the inspiration. (knitting-wise, too!)

A funny, small-town guy in a big city who can play guitar AND keep track of a hand-knitted hat for 10 years? Steph, you had to know that you'd get a slew of comments from the Love-Lorne.

Lorne looks thoughtful. My favorite brother-in-law, Kirk, (Okay, my only b-i-l, but nonetheless...) gets the same look. Definitely not sad...

And go knitters! The total on the sidebar is amazing!

Thank you for the pattern - yes 10 years is quite a life for a lived in hat! Ican see the glass of beer brought a tad of a smile to his face, so that is good.:)

That could also be a Cubs fan ...

Just count me as yet another knitter too distracted by the man candy to think about how best to mark $1 million! Since you seem to like to keep tally of things ;)

Love the hat, thanks for the pattern! Thanks also for doing such a great job supporting DWB/MSF. Your appeal prompted me to sign up for ongoing monthly donations instead of just sending a lump when something really, really bad happens. Good idea.

Great basic hat pattern. Thanks for that, but even more, thanks for taking the time to do what it is that you do. You have brought so many people together to do so much good for so many in need. And you do it because, most of the time you make us laugh so that, when you ask us to think or to take action, it seems like the very least we can do in return. You're definitely on the side of the angels (or dakinis or whatever archetype floats your boat.) All that AND you're raising teenagers. Amazing.

Nice Hat. Lorne is one seriously cute male. Surely he's not still lonely in the big city?
Just sayin'!!!

Great hat and amazing total!!! I grew up 30 miles from Canada and I know your hat very well. We all wore toques, (I hope I have the spelling right here!) and loved them. Last fall I made one for my son's friend who also fell in love with it. The one I made looked ridiculously long until the brim was folded up properly. It's just a great all around hat! Thanks for sharing the pattern with us. Also, thank you for all your hard work for Doctors without Borders.

I think Carolyn's suggestion of a story in philanthropic media is a great one! Knitters without Borders really is a wonderful 'good news' story (and of course an opportunity to freak out the muggles with our ability to unite en masse behind a cause). I hope you take her up on the offer of help.

I think Lorne's cute and so does my mum.

Could we have a virtual party when we top the million mark? I know it's wildly inappropriate, given the circumstances of the appeal, but donations to MSF are never for 'happy' reasons, and I really think we ought to celebrate the achievement, even as we continue to raise money for appalling disasters.

Lorne is seriously cute. Is he single? And how would he feel about moving to Australia? Love a man in a handknit!

Another huge aftershock in Haiti this morning.
It was 6.1? I believe....
let's keep giving...and lets keep knitting,
We are keeping people alive here!

I find it hard to believe Lorne was lonely, he is adorable! And plays guitar too!

Thanks for all the hard work with the donations, it is so needed.

I find it hard to believe Lorne was lonely, he is adorable! And plays guitar too!

Thanks for all the hard work with the donations, it is so needed.

See, Lorne sounds like the kind of person who deserves hand knits.

Someone who really appreciates them and loves them and cares for them properly.

Sent US $50 to MSF last week after the Knit Signal went up.

The good and honest watchcap is thanks enough, but *I* am proud of us too! No surprise, though -we women (and men)armed with sharp, pointy sticks and we See a Need. And our Yarn Harlot is at our fore. UNstoppable.

The good and honest watchcap is thanks enough, but *I* am proud of us too! No surprise, though -we women (and men)armed with sharp, pointy sticks and we See a Need. And our Yarn Harlot is at our fore. UNstoppable.

The good and honest watchcap is thanks enough, but *I* am proud of us too! No surprise, though -we women (and men)armed with sharp, pointy sticks and we See a Need. And our Yarn Harlot is at our fore. UNstoppable.

I gave $25 last Friday.

Sent US$50 to MSF after the Knit Signal went up. Thanks YH for reminding us of ways to help.

Thanks for the great work, Stephanie. We can't do enough. Just sent $50 to MSF/DWB. Thanks for the hat pattern!

Thanks Stephanie for the pattern. My kids say my "specialty" is making hats. I started a sweater last night & they wondered what was wrong with me. Sent money earlier, thanks for the knit signal.

I think Carolyn's suggestion of a story in philanthropic media is a great one! Knitters without Borders really is a wonderful 'good news' story (and of course an opportunity to freak out the muggles with our ability to unite en masse behind a cause). I hope you take her up on the offer of help.

Congrats on the totals-so-far, and thanks for the hat pattern! (And the pictures of Lorne, he's adorable!)

How about starting a Facebook page for TSF/KWB? I can't tell if separating its messages and updates from your blog would be a help or a pain in the arse, but I wanted to put the suggestion out there.

Congrats on the totals-so-far, and thanks for the hat pattern! (And the pictures of Lorne, he's adorable!)

How about starting a Facebook page for TSF/KWB? I can't tell if separating its messages and updates from your blog would be a help or a pain in the arse, but I wanted to put the suggestion out there.

How serendipitous! I was just wondering how to finish my husband's Christmas hat. I've pulled it out no less than four times.

Thank you for all your KWB work. Knitters are awesome. I bet it goes past a million easily. Gobsmacked is right!

Thank you from Texas where it was 60 degrees at 7AM (that's 16 C for ya'll)

Love the post. The photos made me smile. I understand the hockey blues! Great, solid hat :)

My kids and I agreed that MSF is our charity of choice and we donated $25. I'm not a fast-enough knitter to donate anything I knit, but I imagine I'll get there someday.

I know the feeling of small place person in a big city. Lucky for Lorne he has friends like you two.

It is sad that Haiti is suffering as much as they are, however in reality it is sad that MSF has to exist. Glad they do, sad they have to.

PHROAR. Is Lorne married???

Made a hat for a friend this winter--a 2 ply ragg yarn in cream and brown--he said it wasn't plain enough! It needs to be brown, just plain dark brown, no fancy business of any kind any where, just plain plain plain. I'll try this hat next in a chocolate brown handspun cormo.

Made a hat for a friend this winter--a 2 ply ragg yarn in cream and brown--he said it wasn't plain enough! It needs to be brown, just plain dark brown, no fancy business of any kind any where, just plain plain plain. I'll try this hat next in a chocolate brown handspun cormo.

Laughing. *Crying.* Singing. Hoping. Believing. Working for Change. Working for Peace. This old world of ours is such a beautiful, sorrowful, joyful, confusing place ~ thanks to you, Steph, and to every one of us who is working to make it a little more joyful (and warm) and a little less sad. Love, Andrea in Vermont

I haven't read through all of the comments so it is possible that someone else has already suggested this idea: to raise further funds for MSF, why don't you raffle off a dinner date with Lorne?

He is smokin' hot!!!

Yeesh Stephanie, do you know any ugly men?

Nice hat. Would love to see a picture of it flat, with measurements.

If we knit a tea cosy for the CN Tower I vote Cath puts it on it... That tower was tall, I might have been only 13 the first time I stood at the top but I don't think it has shrunk...

Uhm what type of yarn is that equivalent to? Anyone? DK? 4ply? Aran? Yes I'm in UK

If we knit a tea cosy for the CN Tower I vote Cath puts it on it... That tower was tall, I might have been only 13 the first time I stood at the top but I don't think it has shrunk...

Uhm what type of yarn is that equivalent to? Anyone? DK? 4ply? Aran? Yes I'm in UK

Love the hat. Love the generosity and all that you do for others. Love the fact that Lorne looks exactly like my first boyfriend. I'm crushing on him pretty hard.

In regards to the mixed feelings about marking the occasion of raising $1M for MSF, is it possible that there were others like me who had been giving to MSF all along and just not reporting to you? Haiti's tragedy wasn't the trigger for me to give to MSF, but it was the trigger for me to let you know. Does that change how you feel about it?

I think your online TSF badge is enough recognition for most of us.

Ten years - he looked after it well! I knit myself an Urchin on the 3rd of the month and lost it on the bus on the 15th. So sad! And yet the lesson is now learnt, I will not leave a handknit behind on a bus again! Ten minutes later when I asked at the depot it was gone ... ten minutes!

I love that hat! I think I would knit it for my sister except for the fact that she lives in FLORIDA!!! How horrible is that!?!

I would like to donate something to the gifty pile. I just completed a pair of socks (you can see them at my blog) that I would love to give to someone who has donated money. Please contact me if this is a way that I can contribute.

Just a quick note...I can't donate anything until pay day on the 28th. Then Haiti can have my yarn money. It's not very much at all but they need it more than I do.

Thank you, Stephanie, for the story and the pattern for the hat. My DH (who reads your blog as faithfully as I do) has said that he would like one. Now, he's a man of very specific tastes and for him to say this so quickly having seen it is quite a feat. It will be on the needles soon.
BTW, I sure appreciate all that you do to keep us all inspired and focused.

Thank you, Stephanie, for the story and the pattern for the hat. My DH (who reads your blog as faithfully as I do) has said that he would like one. Now, he's a man of very specific tastes and for him to say this so quickly having seen it is quite a feat. It will be on the needles soon.
BTW, I sure appreciate all that you do to keep us all inspired and focused. We will be making a donation to Doctors without Borders this week.

So you posted the hat pattern, but is there a Lorne pattern? Because I would really like one for my very own! Seriously dude, YUM-MY!

So, um... In all the good things about Lorne, you never mentioned: is he single?

Holy crap. Lorne's really, really cute. Nice hat, but even nicer looking recipiant/model. ;-) AND he plays the guitar? Damn.

Lorne is really cute! I don't have much knitting experience, but I think I may try this pattern.

Lorne is really cute. I may even try the hat, it doesn't look too difficult for this inexperienced knitter!

I'd love to have a pattern for Lorne. Oh, and the hat is cute, too. NW Ohio isn't THAT far from Canada...

Thanks for the hat pattern; it reminds me of the ones I knit for my husband. I knit them out of chenille though. Next one will definitely be cotton. (He won't wear wool. He claims he's allergic and out of respect I won't force it on him. I don't knit for him much either.) I think the next one is either cotton silk or cotton boucle (I don't think that will go over well.) The cotton silk is cream. Isn't that odd?

Ha! I love the Lorne love. Lorne, if you have ever harbored a doubt about your adorable-ness, there is now ample written evidence that you are, in fact, very cute. I think you can put that on your resume.

Yay!, a decent hat pattern for a guy. I've got a friend (male, feet size 12) who's been bugging for socks. Bought the yarn, told him so, but what he wants right now is a hat so will do then hat first then the socks. Now all I need is a decent sock pattern for a male size 12 foot!

By the way, working hard here in Detroit, to get the news out about you being here in March at DPL. Have vans of knitters coming from a couple of hours away!

He may be melancholy in those pictures, but he looks like he could smile as soon as hockey is off!

Thanks for the pattern... I've got my basic go-round hat, but sometimes a good watchcap is just the thing!

Wow, 30 cm *is* long. I finished my first ball of yarn, and I'm still only 20 cm in. Luckily, my dad's really patient and doesn't mind late birthday presents. Thanks for the pattern!

The hat looks good. I know about lonely in the city. It's much worse there. Which is why I don't go any more.