Knitting the National Parks

Now on display in the Woodruff Cases at Hedberg Public Library, Elizabeth Matson, HPL's Head of Youth Services, shares her artful collection of hand-knitted National Parks hats. Read more about the hobby and the inspiration behind this particular project, and then stop by during regular library hours to admire the display. 

When did you start this project? I started this project after I saw on the New Book display and checked out Knitting the National Parks by Nancy Bates.

What inspired you? I love visiting the National Parks and Nancy Bates' designs are so beautiful and evocative of each individual park. I was also looking for a fun short-term project that would be a bit of a challenge. 

Have you visited all these parks? The rule I made for myself was that I would only knit the hats for the parks I have actually visited. That way I'd also have extra incentive to visit more parks in order to knit my next "souvenir" hat. The only exception I made was for the Rocky Mountain hat, which I knitted for my mother. But it was only a small exception as my mother and I had visited the Rocky Mountains in Canada, just not the American Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Any special notes/memories about the hats? There are definitely some hat designs that I covet enough to want to put those National Parks at the top of my "to visit" list just so I can knit myself one (and not break my self-imposed rule).

How long have been knitting? My mother first tried to teach me to knit when I was a child, but I don't learn well from my mother. Still, enough muscle-memory stuck that as a first-year college student, I was able to teach myself to knit during Winter Term. I haven't stopped since.

What do you enjoy about the hobby? It's meditative and something I can do while watching a DVD or listening to an audiobook. And I end up with something cool that I made!

Any other knitting books/tools you’d recommend? Debbie Bliss's books of knitted toys and teddy bears are old favorites that I return to again and again.

Hats on display include: 
Great Smoky Mountains (North Carolina/Tennesse)
Joshua Tree (California)
Petrified Forest (Arizona)
Saguaro – daytime (Arizona)
Saguaro – sunset (Arizona)
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)

The display also includes photographs of hats Elizabeth knitted as gifts: 
Rocky Mountains
variations on the Grand Canyon
variation on Joshua Tree