Skipton resident Bobbie Tull knits hundreds of hats to be gifted to those in need of a little extra warmth or cheering up.
This beanie is just one example of the type of hat colors and patterns Tull uses to knit her hats for girls.
A collection of 300 adult hats knitted by Skipton resident Bobbie Tull for Kay Alston and her Happy Hats Maryland project.
Pre-pandemic, Hannah Thompson of Stevensville, left, is assisted by Kay Alston, center, coordinator for Happy Hats Maryland, as Lisa Grier, Thompson’s helper, also from Stevensville, lends a hand during one of Alston’s wig workshops.
Skipton resident Bobbie Tull knits hundreds of hats to be gifted to those in need of a little extra warmth or cheering up.
This beanie is just one example of the type of hat colors and patterns Tull uses to knit her hats for girls.
A collection of 300 adult hats knitted by Skipton resident Bobbie Tull for Kay Alston and her Happy Hats Maryland project.
Pre-pandemic, Hannah Thompson of Stevensville, left, is assisted by Kay Alston, center, coordinator for Happy Hats Maryland, as Lisa Grier, Thompson’s helper, also from Stevensville, lends a hand during one of Alston’s wig workshops.
STEVENSVILLE — Happy Hats Maryland is continuing to knit hats and scarves for cancer patients across the state of Maryland; but sadly, the pandemic halted many operations that were once a staple of the organization.
Back in 2018, Stevensville resident Kay Alston started to knit whimsical wigs for pediatric oncology patients through the Magic Yarn Project, a nationwide organization; however, Happy Hats Maryland was created in order for Alston to support patients locally.
Between October 2018 and January 2020, Alston led 58 wig workshops at all three senior centers in Queen Anne’s County (Kent Island, Grasonville, and Sudlersville), Anne Arundel County Senior Center in Arnold, Centenary United Methodist Church, Shady Side, both branches of the Queen Anne’s County Library, Symphony Village in Centreville, Bay Bridge Cove in Stevensville, and Talbot County Senior Center in Easton.
During the pandemic, Alston had to pause the whimsical wig donations because hospitals were not receiving donations and the facilities where knitting workshops were held were closed.
Right now Alston and her team are focused on continuing their donation of holiday themed baby hats to the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital” and University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton.
Two years ago, Skipton resident Bobbie Tull joined the effort after knitting many beanies for girls, boys, and adults alike during the pandemic.
“I am home all the time and I can’t stand to just watch television all day so I started to make these hats,” she said. “I kept makin’ them and I kept makin’ them and then I thought there’s got to be somebody who could use them.”
After talking to a friend, her hats were taken to another friend who dropped them into Alston’s hands after a hospital called her requesting more inventory. Ever since then, Tull works with Alston to give her whatever hats that Happy Hats needs in a particular donation cycle. In the fall and winter months, Tull works exclusively to make holiday hats for babies, and when she is not working on that, she is making adult hats.
Tull said she tried to find places in Talbot County to donate her hats, but she “could not find anyone that wanted them.”
“Bobbie is a caring, thoughtful woman who likes to stay busy, especially with something that helps others. She takes great care to make colorful, sturdy, warm, washable hats,” Alston said.
Tull said in a phone interview that Alston offered to buy her the yarn as she started to fill in for the volunteers that had day jobs.
“[Alston] said to me ‘I don’t want you using your yarn, I will bring you the yarn’ and I responded ‘Kay, please don’t take this wrong, maybe I am more able to buy the yarn some than the other people, and if other people could use the yarn more than me give it to them’,” Tull said. “It gives me something to do and if I can help somebody else that would be my pleasure.”
Tull makes 60 hats at a time, making sure that each rotation she makes three ‘girl hats’ and three ‘boy hats’ in sizes small, medium, and large. Tull just finished two dozen baby hats that resemble pumpkins.
As of right now, the whimsical wig donations will not resume and will be replaced with a scarf project that will launch at the Queen Anne’s County Make a Difference Day in Sudlersville on Nov. 5, shared Alston.
In January of this year, Alston read an article about the Naptown Knitters in Annapolis. Every year since 2015, the Naptown Knitters “yarn bomb” West Street with dozens of hand-knitted hats and scarves all over the street for those who are “not so fortunate, to stay warm this winter.”
Alston thought she and her volunteers could do something similar in Queen Anne’s. So, she wrote posts on Facebook and NextDoor asking for help making scarves and talked to Tull about hats.
As stitchers all over the county got to work, she wrote numerous emails to various county officials and charitable organizations. While these contacts were all very enthusiastic about the idea, there was a consensus: Queen Anne’s County doesn’t have an area which would be safe for the “bombers” and easily accessible for those in need.
As an alternative, Alston said that she will be working with the Make a Difference Day project to distribute 300 hats that are all made by Tull and 400 scarves made by Queen Anne’s County residents at the event.
“Kay is a wonderful person,” Tull said. “She goes out of her way to see that people are taken care of and there’s not a whole lot of people like that, there should be a lot more like her.”
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Top stories in Queen Anne's County delivered to your inbox at 7:00 a.m. each Wednesday and Friday.
Top stories in Dorchester County delivered to your inbox at 6 a.m. every Friday.
Top stories in Kent County delivered to your inbox at 6 p.m. each Monday and 6 a.m each Thursday
Subscribe to this newsletter to have the latest obituaries delivered to your inbox twice weekly.
Top stories in Queen Anne's County delivered to your inbox at 7:00 a.m. each Wednesday and Friday.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.