During the Covid pandemic an inspiration was born. A movement was created with just an idea. Through beautifully hand stitched beanies and the interactive platform Zoom, the Homeless Hats Knit & Sit became a virtual community. Covid brought difficult and challenging times, but it also highlighted the significance of community and the exigencies of finding new ways to not only thrive and connect with one another, but to give back as well.
In 2021 during a virtual brainstorming session held by the Dharma Bum Temple to find new ways to reach the community, Dharma Bum Temple member Aletha thought it could be a good idea to knit hats for the homeless and just like that virtual volunteering became available to those looking to give back and an outreach program was developed.
Now, five years later, the Knit & Sit community is still thriving virtually and in person. Since 2021 they have hand knitted over 7,000 hats with Aletha contributing up to 700 of those beanies to date! Jean, another founding knitter says, “We [do] have a couple super-producers in the group, but the focus isn’t so much on quantity as on producing each hat with love. We especially tell newcomers that it doesn’t matter how many hats they produce nor how imperfect their hat might turn out. There’s a head for each hat.”
At that time, DBT member Lauren was one of those newcomers to knitting hats saying, “I started with the Food [Re]distribution a few months before the pandemic then it stopped. When the opportunity came up to join Jean and Aletha with the knitting, I was a little intimidated as any of my previous attempts to knit ended in complete frustration and disasters.” But once she learned the loom she said she was “hooked”. Even after the Food Redistribution became available to participate in again, Lauren found herself unable to leave the community of knitters she had grown so close with. She had found a community to support. She had also found a community that supported her with kindness and compassion during tough times. So now doing double duty, she not only knits the hats but also passes them out downtown. The other knitters regale in her stories of passing out their hand knit gifts. A favorite is the recollection of the time she first handed out a hat to a gentleman downtown. He looked and asked, “Is this hand made?” Lauren told him it was made just for him. She recalls that his “look of gratitude and awe is what these hats are for. The gift of being able to share the hats with someone who just needs to know that we see you and we care and wish you a little peace.”
There are a couple of ways you can support this outreach and also give the gift of peace and warmth. If you’re not able to join the group virtually or in person you can still support them through donations of yarn. They prefer the chunky knit Bernat blanket yarn. That yarn seems to work the best on the looms, also giving the hats that signature kaleidoscope of color and unique pattern. Josh, a DBT member and knitter, recently reached a bit of celebrity status when he purchased about $500 worth of yarn for only $100 when JOANN Fabric and Crafts was closing their doors here in San Diego. Everyone agreed that in order to keep giving the gift of warmth and peace they do need a continual supply of yarn and are always looking for ways to get an exceptional deal. It could be a great time to clean out those neglected yarn baskets and donate!
However, if you’re looking to join the outreach the Knit & Sit group still meets every Sunday and anyone can join and even learn how if you’re a beginner. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Sundays are still virtual from 3pm to 4:30pm and the Zoom link can be found on the Dharma Bum Temple website under the schedule tab. The 2nd Sunday of every month they meet in person from 12pm to 1pm at the Dharma Bum Temple downstairs.
I was recently given the opportunity of sitting with all of them. Coming in a little late they were already full swing into laughter and looms. Their energy was warm and welcoming. It felt a bit like entering a homecoming even though quite a few of the girls were also there for the first time. Aletha immediately pulled me close and asked if I wanted a loom to get started. Sensing my hesitation she said, “Even a two year old could do this. You can do it!” Although I was mostly interested in watching and learning at this time, her enthusiasm and encouragement alone got my interest peaked and I started believing I really could do this. Throughout the hour the excitement and energy in the room never once wavered and none of those nimble fingers missed a loop.
All the while, Aletha went on to share about the beginnings of the program and how it has progressed throughout the years. She explained that many of the hats are crocheted, knitted with needles or done on the looms. Although the majority of the hats are made using a loom, which also has the reputation of being the easiest to learn. The pattern does vary depending on which method you choose, and each hat can take up to an hour and a half or longer to finish depending on skill. Many of the knitters find themselves giving their time beyond the designated time they sit together but find it really enjoyable and are happy to do so. Even Brooke from Lake Tahoe was happy to join the group via Zoom. It was so much fun seeing her beautiful, happy face amongst the group right there on a laptop. Even though she couldn’t be there physically she seemed thankful to be included virtually. Everyone was chatting with her freely as she excitedly held up some of her masterpieces for us to all see. So far Brooke has knitted 18 hats and is planning on bringing them all to the Temple on her next visit, unless of course the surprise visit to Tahoe that was jokingly discussed actually does happen beforehand!
While the room was bustling with different conversations, and dreaming of fresh Tahoe snow slopes, I was admiring Aletha and her ability to concentrate on the loom process while also being so present. It made me think knitting could be considered meditative, especially during those times they sit and work on their pieces individually and in their own space, possibly even paralleling the wider known walking meditation. When I mentioned that her eyes lit up and she said, “Yes, exactly!”. Others also commented on the meditative practice of knitting. Lauren said, “I find it is [a] very good meditative practice. It is a great way to just put the phone down, concentrate on the hat and make something useful-for someone else.” For Jean, she said that knitting the hats is “... a meditation practice, breathing peace, hope, and comfort into each stitch” but pointing out that the “...practice also includes letting them go, giving without expectation of how they will be used or for how long.” It turns out the simple act of knitting truly encapsulates many of the Buddha’s teachings from taking refuge in the sangha, to meditation practices, dana, all the way to lessons on non-attachment.
No one could have surmised the success and longevity this outreach would achieve over the years. In a Union Tribune article in 2021 about the then newly developed Homeless Hats Knit & Sit program Dharma Bum Temple CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Zlotnik is quoted saying, “It became something created from nothing.” He couldn’t have known how right that would still be to this day, because this group is definitely a big something. It is something to be thankful for, something to be a part of. It is something that spreads kindness, joy, and warmth with every stitch and every hat. It truly is something inspirational, something beautiful that came from nothing. Jean summed it up the best when she shared what the Homeless Hats project meant to her saying that, “Each stitch is a mantra, each stitch is a blessing for whoever the recipient is”.
Many blessings and gratitude to Aletha, Jean, Lauren, Josh, Tracy, Annie, Hannah, Christina, Gianni, Ella, and Brooke and to all of those who have participated in this incredible Homeless Hats Knit & Sit at any time during these last five years. This outreach could never be as successful without all of you. Thank you all for warming us with your dedication, art, and generous spirits! Thank you for spreading your love and warmth to the community we all care so deeply for. Looking forward to being a new addition to this creative sangha and basking in your light.
Written by Temple Volunteer Lora Daines