The nisselue is a tasseled red hat traditionally worn in Norway. When that country fell under Nazi rule in 1940, open defiance to the occupiers was illegal, so anti-fascist Norwegians took to wearing the nisselue as a covert symbol of their resistance.

This month, Needle & Skein, a local yarn shop in the Minneapolis area, published their pattern for a Melt the ICE hat (and crochet version) in the vein of the traditional nisselue. Just over the last week, these hats have already been made thousands of times. If you’d like to make one yourself, come down to Loaves & Witches (6034 N Broadway) this Saturday at 6:30 pm for a knit-along hosted by our knitting instructor maggie. No RSVP necessary - just show up!

Additionally, we’re donating 20% of our sales of red yarn this week to the Community Aid Network of Minnesota and ICIRR. We’re already running low on red, but hoping a few rush orders arrive by this Friday. You are encouraged to come with materials already in hand, but we will be there with yarn and tools if you need them.

Hope to see you there.