Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Cranberry
Pattern: Melt the ICE Hat by Paul S Neary / Needle & Skein
Finished: February 1, 2026
Notes: I haven't been knitting much lately. My project right now is a baby blanket that is not thrilling to knit, so I've been putting it off (I'm a one-project-at-a-time kind of person). But a yarn store here in the Twin Cities released this pattern, which has since swept through the knitting world, with proceeds from pattern sales going to immigrant aid programs. So I did decide to jump on the bandwagon since it's such a quick and easy project.
The story of the hat is interesting: Norwegians wore pointed red hats as a symbol of protest against Nazi occupation in the 1940s. The Nazis, cowards that they were, eventually made the hats illegal. Given the state of affairs with ICE in Minnesota and beyond, the hat is being used as a symbol of resistance to the latest flavor of fascism.
I stopped in to Needle & Skein last week, wanting to give them my business by buying the red yarn for my hat there. But sadly, they were all sold out. No red to speak of. Most (if not all) local yarn stores are also out of red yarn.
I ended up having to adapt the pattern to use the only red yarn I already had, which was in bulky weight. It turned out well. I still plan on dropping by Needle & Skein to spend a few bucks soon—maybe on some fun sock yarn.