theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Hi, my supportive knitting friends! I wanted to provide an update on the Melt the Ice Hat phenomenon. It had indeed gone viral and is being reported on all over the country. Nearly 70,000 patterns have been sold! I think I know most of the knitters! 😉

There has been some backlash to the color red in the hats. “It looks like we’re wearing MAGA hats!” I disagree, but if you have a problem with that, there is the new Minnesota Strong Hat. The pattern will be free for a short time. The designer is encouraging donations to local charities, etc. This hat was designed in a bit of defiance to the red hats. It is still a strong statement of support for Minnesota as it represents the new Minnesota flag. I will probably knit this as well, because I really need another hat!

And unless you’ve been in hiding, you are aware that Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about the battle of Minneapolis: Streets of Minneapolis.

In Minnesota, we are being used as an example, a testing ground. The Trump regime is using brute force and gestapo tactics to get us to bend the knee to Trump’s “new America.” The Constitution is a mere memory. But guess what? They picked the wrong state. We are fighting back, in the tens of thousands, in brutal below zero temps. To those who say, it’s about illegals and criminals. That is a lie. If that was the case, they would be in Texas and Florida, not here. They are here because we are a blue state and Governor Walz has stood up to Trump.

How does knitting fit in? During WWII, Norway was occupied by German troops. In way of resistance, they wore red, pointy hats with tassels. Like Santa or elf hats. Eventually, the Nazis banned the wearing, making, or selling of these symbols of resistance. Well, they’re BA-A-A-A-C-K! Needle and Skein in St. Louis Park, MN put together a pattern called Melt the Ice. All proceeds go back into the community. Here is an archival photo of the original hats.

Here is the Melt the Ice prototype:

These are my two Melt the Ice Hats. They tend to run short, so I recommend knitting 8″ of ribbing if you making the original hat, or add some stockinette before the decreases. I don’t like to knit 1×1 ribbing, so I made my second one with seed rib (1×1 rib on row one, plain knitting on row two) and made it not to fold up. I wear the “fold-up” one unfolded and slouchy. The tassels and cord are my own modification, the original uses a braid. I describe what I did on my Ravelry project page, but if you have followed me at all, you know twisted cord and tassels are my signature embellishment!!

Red yarn is selling out like crazy here! The one on the right I made with Malabrigo Rios, Ravelry Red. The one on the left is Malabrigo Worsted, Cereza. I love them both and love the message. A MAGA turd ex-friend commented on FB that we were fools because these hats would get mistaken as symbols of MAGA. Nope. No one will ever mistake me for MAGA. And let’s take the color red back! Please make one of these hats. We need to take a stand against tyranny.

PS: If you are offended by this post, let the door hit you on your way out…really hard.

PS2 to Michelle: Thanks for commenting on the blog!  You asked about resources to help Minnesota.  Nicole Aufderhar (aka tenthousandbakes on Instagram) shared this link in a newsletter today:

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
https://www.standwithminnesota.com/

I became aware of Nicole because she was a finalist in the Great American Baking Show.  Her showstopper featured the Minnesota State Fair!!  She started getting recognition for entering her baked goods and winning ribbons.  I was gobsmacked to see our fair discussed by Paul and Prue!

PS3 to Celeste: I emailed you about your question. Basically all my notes are on my Ravelry project page.

Per my previous post, I reverse engineered the 2026 Winter Games Hat. I also looked at the Closing Ceremonies Hat. The Ralph Lauren version is knit at very tiny gauge, but I didn’t have any interest in that! So, I used worsted weight and created a “similar” rendition!

I started writing up the pattern and got too depressed to continue. I live in the Twin Cities and we are under siege. Our community is suffering. I just could not use my limited bandwidth to continue. However, I do share my charts on my project page. There should be enough information there to knit up this hat.

I will also be knitting myself a Norwegian Resistance Hat. Needle and Skein in St. Louis Park will be hosting a KAL for this. Apparently, occupied Norwegians started wearing long, red pointy hats with tassels to show a sign of their resistance. The Nazis finally made them illegal to make, wear, or sell. Needle and Skein is taking up the call. I’m not sure when the pattern will be available, but check back with them.

Lois asked me if I would be reverse engineering this year’s Olymp!c Hat. I hadn’t though about it, but when I saw how cute it was, I decided to go for it! It is another of Ralph Lauren’s designs as part of the Team USA Apparel line. Here is the original design, which retails for $328.

The hat itself was pretty straightforward. However, it was knit top down and seamed at the center back and the crown. I made mine bottom up without seams. The tassels, earflaps, and red wraps were the challenging part and do add a level of fussiness to the finishing. However, I think the tassels make the hat!