The Ride For Heart

I just wanted to thank all of the people who donated to my fundraising bike ride for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. You are both very kind and generous, and your support means the world to me!

FYI, we were supposed to do the 25km ride, but we just kept going and scored ourselves an extra 25km … I’m a little tender in the posterior, but I totally earned my donations this year! If you wanted to donate but didn’t get around to it it isn’t too late – my brother is only $12 ahead of me, I think that needs to be rectified …

Me & my father at the half-way point on a particularly wet & cold Ride for Heart.

Ride for Heart

Some of you already know that every year I do a charity bike ride with my father. This year I managed to drag my BROTHER along, so all three of us are riding 25km up, and then back down the Don Valley Parkway (a local highway).

Anyway, the purpose of the even, besides getting out of the house and getting some exercise, is to rise funds for the Canadian Heart and Stroke association, who does A LOT of important work helping EVERYONE improve their cardiac health (after all, scientific research has no borders). According to an article in the news yesterday women are TWICE as likely to die from a heart attack than men. This is NOT GOOD, because I know from computery data stuff that 95% of the people reading this are WOMEN! Sure, I’ve got a vested interested in keeping you alive, many of you reading this are my clients, but I also feel strongly that the world needs women, as many as it can get. And as women, we deserve to be strong, healthy, and happy.

So not only am I going to ask you to donate to my ride for heart, but I’m going to ask you to write to your own Heart Health organization and ask them to fund research into women’s cardiac health (if you are Canadian it is the Heart and Stroke Foundation, if you are in the United States I believe it is the American Heart Association). 

Thank You SO MUCH!  ~ Haley

P.S. They symptoms of heart attack in women are often different than those seen in men. Women can have chest symptoms (the ‘Hollywood’ clutching of the chest & sweating), or any of the following:

• profound nausea and vomiting with palpitations
• lightheadedness
• extreme fatigue
• discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulder, arms or back

Great Hera!

Since I’ve been talking about women’s health, who better to invoke than the head amazon herself, Wonder Woman. I’ve actually seen this hat in the wild, on some dude in the subway, and it was AWESOME. Sure, you can still wear your Pussy Hat to protests, but sometimes you want something a bit dressier for your day-to-day lady needs. The pattern isn’t free, but it’s only $3, which I don’t begrudge to have someone else do the work of charting the symbol.

To make things easier, I’ve pulled all the suitable colours off the shelf and come up with colour combinations that work well together (you can never really tell online which shades are actually going to look good). I personally like a darker, more sombre colour combo with a dark red, gold and blue, but I know that everyone has different Wonder Woman Toque needs, so I chose colours that were both thematically on cue and look great together. By the way, if this project appeals to you, you might want to bookmark or Pinterest this post for future reference – you’ll want to revisit the colour numbers!

Since this is such a cool project, and it is in honour of a charitable fundraising endeavour, we’re offering a one time discount of 10% Off Online orders of the yarns we think will work best (discount is applicable to all colours, you can have your order shipped or choose to order online and pick-up your order in store): Use code WONDERHAT at checkout.

Needles & Notions

• 3.75mm/US5 – 16″ circular needles
• 4.5mm/US7 – 16″ circular needles
• 4.5mm/US7 double pointed needles
• Pompom maker: size large (optional)
• Pattern

Yarn Options

I recommend the following yarns and colour combinations to make this project WONDERful!

1. Cascade 220 Superwash

Cascade 220 Superwash is a soft, machine washable, 100% Peruvian wool, it comes in a bunch of colours, and the price is very reasonable. You’ll need 1 skein in each colour plus optional 1 ball for pom-pom in colour 817 Aran:

• Bright Combo: 809 Really Red, 877 Golden, 1925 Cobalt Heather
• Medium-Bright Combo: 809 Really Red, 877 Golden, 885 In the Navy
• Medium-Light Combo: 893 Ruby, 877 Golden, 885 In the Navy
• Medium Combo: 893 Ruby, 876 Sandalwood, 1924 Midnight Heather
• Dark Combo: 855 Maroon, 876 Sandalwood, 854 Navy

2. Berrocco Vintage

Berrocco Vintage is a super soft, machine washable blend of wool and synthetic, and the price is right at $9.97/skein. You’ll need 1 skein in each colour, plus optional 1 skein for pom-pom in colour 5101 Mochi:

• Clear Colours Combo: 5150 Berries, 5121 Sunny, 5143 Dark Denim
• Medium Combo: 5181 Black Cherry Heather, 5127 Butternut, 5143 Dark Denim
• Dark Combo: 5181 Black Cherry Heather, 5192 Chana Dal Heather, 51182 Indigo Heather

3. Malabrigo Rios

Malabrigo Rios is a hand dyed, SUPER soft, machine washable merino wool, and while the price point is higher at $23.97/skein, comparable hand dyed merino yarns tend to run north of $30/skein. You’ll need 1 skein in each colour, plus optional 1 skein of off-white for pom-pom in Manos Alegria Grande in AG2800:

• Brighter Combo: 611 Ravelry Red, 96 Sunset, 415 Matisse Blue
• Medium Combo: 611 Ravelry Red, 96 Sunset, 150 Azul Profundo
• Dark Combo: 33 Cereza, 96 Sunset, 150 Azul Profundo (the dye lot of 33 is darker than the picture)