Civic-minded retired engineer Ed Mosely wanted to respond to his assisted living community’s call to knit 200 hats for premature babies in Northside Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The problem was he didn’t know how to knit. A resident of the Dogwood Forest Assisted Living facility in Acworth Georgia, Mosely didn’t have access to knitting classes. He did, however, have a supportive daughter who picked up a cap knitting loom kit from Joann Fabrics for him.
This type of loom is essentially a round hoop with pegs on it that serves as the foundation for a hat. You don’t need knitting needles or much practice to successfully create a quality hat. In fact, Mosely was able to make “a good finished product” after 2 or 3 tries. He quickly got down to the “knitty gritty” of producing the hats.
It was soon clear that he couldn’t make all 200 hats on his own so he sought help. He even offered a knitting class at the retirement home, but didn’t get much response. Undeterred, he enlisted the support of his friends, family and staff. In the end, the group made over 300 hats.
Though Mosely hopes to continue donate at least 30 caps a month, his initial batch of 300 was delivered just on time for National Preemie Awareness Day on November 17th. The staff at Atlanta’s Northside Hospital were grateful for the donation. The colorful and lovingly handmade hats are an encouraging reminder that the babies are more than just patients. Parents of the babies were also encouraged by the caring gesture.