Beanies for babies at BCH

If you or someone you know gave birth at Boulder Community Hospital in the last year or so, there’s a good chance that newborn left the hospital wearing a hat knitted by longtime Niwot resident Hallie Pasko.

It started, said Pasko, as she was “trying to figure out what to do with leftover bits of yarn,” the remains from other, larger knitting projects. Pasko knew the standard policy at BCH is to send newborn infants home with a free beanie, and she quickly put two and two together.

Once she got the ball rolling, the hat-knitting project started to take on a life of its own. Pasko was visiting a friend in Nova Scotia last summer and mentioned her new endeavor, and her friend replied, “Well here, go through all my yarn.” Other friends have given her their yarn-leftovers as well.

Recently an acquaintance alerted her to a possible new treasure trove - yarn donated to thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army. All that yarn has added up to a lot of hats; Pasko just recently finished her 100th beanie.

Paskco has lived in Niwot for 39 years. Her box of leftover yarn originated from many hats, sweaters and other articles she knitted for her two grandsons. It takes her about four hours to produce a single hat.

She has always enjoyed knitting and the kind of meditative quality that’s a part of the process. But she finds an extra feeling of satisfaction with the hat-knitting project, “because it serves a purpose,” she said. She admits that making her 100th hat did have a special feeling to it, and given that her box of leftover yarn seems to stay full, she’s happy to keep going. “When I’m out around town now I keep thinking I’m going to see a lady with a baby wearing one of my hats,” she said, laughing.