This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
LOGAN - Cache County inmates have found themselves bound in a work of the heart.
These hardened, tattooed men are spending their hours with yarn unraveling at their feet, knitting stocking caps, blankets and booties for children in need.
Some will go to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' humanitarian efforts. Others will supply an independent organization known as Save the Children.
Peg-over-peg, an inmate knitted a lavender cap with purple-pompom stockings. Another crafted a cap in bumble-bee fashion with black and yellow yarn.
One man created an adult-sized Dr. Seuss Cat-in-the-Hat hat that stretched more than 3 feet with broad red and white stripes and a braided tassel. Folded beneath it was a child's hat to match.
"We might all be criminals, but some of us have big hearts," said David Evans, 25, of Blackfoot, Idaho.
Prisoners have knitted more than 300 hats this year, about half with matching booties. They have stitched a handful of mittens and several small blankets.
"We are like an army," said Jane DeSpain, an LDS Relief Society president who organized the project within the Cache County jail. "There are humanitarian projects going on all over the world. They are part of that."
While jail administrators admitted some trepidation at first with a project that would require knitting needles - a potential weapon - they reported no incidents since hat-making began almost two years ago.
Officials said all knitting materials are collected and counted before the men return to their cells.
The project now involves 30 to 40 inmates from the jail's minimum security blocks.
Capt. Kim Cheshire, commander of the 340-inmate jail, said the initiative is doing the jail population good.
His program's director, Deputy Holly Dixon, said it has revealed "surprising compassion."
"Anytime you are doing something good for someone else, you are improving yourself," Cheshire said. "That isn't just for the inmates, that's for the rest of us."
Justin Paz, 19, of Logan, had been working on a two-toned blue baby blanket all month. He hadn't finished it. He kept thinking about that child - probably a little boy - who someday would snuggle up with it.
Wearing a blue jump suit and a tatoo between his thumb and forefinger, Paz spent hours last weekend adding row after row to the blanket. He admitted some irony to having grown men gather to knit, but said he's hooked on this hobby that is "actually helping somebody."
"Honestly, when I get out, I'm going to buy one of these," he said.
Save the Children will use the items in its effort to reduce infant mortality in developing countries.
The organization reports that 4 million infants die in their first month of life - half in 24 hours - because of inadequate care.
Save the Children plans to use the hats to advocate more federal funding for antibiotics, skilled nursing and immunizations.
"It's all from the heart," said Evans, who watched as his fellow inmates trimmed tassels and rummaged through sacks of yarn. He had spent hours building toy airplanes in the past, but this was his first time knitting.
A tiny blue cap was taking shape on his knitting frame. He smiled. "My time is well-spent."