Preemie caps

My husband came home from work Monday asking if I was interested in making preemie caps. He heard on the radio that Hershey Medical center was in desperate need of these. He was also nice enough to jump on the Internet and locate the pattern that was mentioned on the station.
I really had no shortage of patterns for crocheted preemie caps, after all, I was excited about the Caps to the Capital program. I had located a lot of patterns, and had actually made about 7 caps. These caps never made it to the Caps to the Capital program, as I had planned to mail them in December. December didn't go as planned.
On Monday night, I took several patterns to the church and let the leader of the Shawl Ministry know of the need. On Tuesday, at our weekly Sit N Sitch I also shared the notice, we looked over patterns, and I made two additional caps.
First, I experimented with designing a Tunisian cap. I wanted a ribbed brim, and alternated Tunisian Simple Stitch with a front post double. It made a nice rib, but realized that if I turned up a little brim, the backside of the fabric would show. In Tunisian the back side is not always interesting or attractive. So I just continued the pattern, but the little caps need decreases, and I had to do a little fiddling to get a nice pattern. It's cute, but not a great design yet. As I was waking up this morning, it popped into my head - alternate front post doubles and back post doubles. The fabric should look the same on both sides. Then after the brim area, I'm thinking of Tunisian Simple Stitch or the Tunisian Knit Stitch. Both will decrease nicely, and still look pretty.
Next, I tried a little pattern that said it was a 10 minute hat. Now I can crochet pretty fast (no Lily Chin or Lisa Gentry, but no slacker!). I had someone time me, it actually took me 20 minutes for one little hat. Hey, we were talking at the same time. This is a basic little cap, no beauty like Dee's tulip hats, or some of the pretty shell patterns I've tried. But the pattern is easy, and quick. This would make a good pattern to recommend to some beginning crocheters wanted to contribute to a good cause.
Tomorrow I'll put together a list of links to some of these patterns. Check with your local hospital, or you local crochet group to see if there are needs in your community.