One is a venture new to this area: Knit Your Bit, which makes scarves for veterans of World War II. The brainchild of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, the venture is in its third year. Jennie Malcolm of Raleigh has organized a local group that will meet from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Cameron Village Library in Raleigh. For information, send e-mail to jmalcolm54@gmail.com. The scarves will be collected by Oct. 31 and distributed to local veterans on Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

If you want to get a head start, the scarf pattern -- in both knit and crochet -- is at www.nationalww2museum.org/education/knitting.html.

Chemo caps

The other venture is Hats With Heart, which collects hats for chemotherapy patients of all ages. The group held its fifth annual awards ceremony Friday, awarding prizes in eight categories. Based at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC, the program is coordinated by Pam Baker, the resource coordinator for The Patient and Family Resource Center. A second-degree black belt in tae kwan do and a cancer survivor, Baker helps patients navigate resources while undergoing treatment.

"I love it here," she says. "These patients are just awesome, they just capture my heart."

In 2007, The Patient and Family Resource Center gave away 1,103 hats -- knitted, crocheted, sewn and store-bought. "We need a lot of hats," Baker says.

The criteria for the contest hats is pretty specific. For noncompeting hats, the criteria is a bit looser: They should be 21.5 to 23 inches in circumference, and they should frame the face, rather than being a bathing-cap style. It should be very soft, with padding around the edges. "When you lose your hair, you lose all the padding," Baker says. As far as aesthetics, Baker says, "If you wouldn't wear it, don't give it."

For more information, see http://unclineberger.org/ patient/support/resourcecent.asp and click on "Events."

Right now, my carry-around knitting is a chemo turban out of my favorite Calmer yarn. You can find the pattern at www.elann.com/FreePatterns.asp.

The group also collects large, soft scarves for wrapping around heads and pins for securing the scarves or just to adorn a hat -- a great call for jewelry-makers.

Weaving event

Over at the North Carolina Arts Incubator in Siler City, two weavers from Oaxaca, Mexico -- brother and sister Eric and Janet Chavez Santiago -- will hold workshops and demonstrations for three weeks. Most events are free and open to the public. They include weaving demonstrations and a natural-dyeing workshop. Chatham County teachers can earn free training credits in workshops that teach creative arts to foster multicultural understanding. Events will be held at various studios in the Arts Incubator.

For details and a schedule, see www.oaxacaculture.wordpress.com.

A final note

This is my final Notions column. I am leaving The News & Observer. Doing this column, and its blog, for the past 4 years has been more fun than I can say. I have enjoyed meeting crafters all over the area. I have had swell surprises in unlikely places. My largest surprise was meeting with Roberta Horton to talk about how to make beads from rose petals, then discovering that she had a dead snake in her freezer; it was on ice until she had time to skin and boil it down to the bones, so she could make a necklace.

The sweetest surprise was meeting Frank and Lillian Desidario, a couple in their 90s who made gifts for children (Frank did woodworking, and Lillian knits). Their love for each other after nearly 70 years of marriage melted me.

The most wonderful surprise was the huge number of squares you all sent in for Project Linus (more than 3,200!), then the crowds of you who joined in the Great N&O Blanket Wrap-Up to sew those squares together to make more than 300 blankets for Project Linus. I get all verklempt just thinking about it.

I'll miss you. Keep in touch. My handle is knitwrit -- you'll find me on Etsy and Ravelry and at www.knitwrit.com.

Meanwhile, a crafts blog will continue, under the care of Orla Swift, arts writer and crafter extraordinaire. You can still find it at blogs.newsobserver.com/notions. And Diane Daniel will continue to introduce you to artisans in the community through her Who & Ware column.

Happy crafting,

Marcy

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