August FO's

Ok y'all .... try not to faint, but I have FO's ... yup ... my first ever!!

13 squares for WUA (lucky 13)
10 made by me
3 made by memama

2 Scarves for HMPCWD
maroon wool made by me
scarf with fringe made by memama

I am taking a hat class in September at my local knit shop and I hope also to learn how to make mittens :)

Many thanks to those who have sent items. I am going to wait a few more days, and then I will post pics of items I have received so far.

Some FOs

The first set I posted and is already counted, but I didn't post it over here. The second set I just finished tonight. Both sets will be going to jezebelsf for "how many people can we dress."

Picture #1:



And tonight's set:

August FOs

I have not completed as much as I would have liked in August but have managed to complete 6 squares (all of which need blocking).

• 2 bright pink 12" squares which I will be sending to Priscilla who is making a Fibre Freaks afghan to donate to Blankets for the Gulf;
• 2 7" squares which I am going to send to The Ghana Project;
• and 2 blue squares which will be going to Close Knit hugs once I have completed a few more for them.
  
  

  
  
  

fo's for august

hey there! it's been another super slow month for me where knitting/crocheting is concerned, but i've got a few fo's to share with you.

• i made a pair of socks for my boyfriend. i don't know if that counts towards the total, but i finished them.
• i made two blankets for the preemies at the local hospital. they're so tiny, but my contact said they needed them as small as 12 x 12.
• i made a hat and booties set, also for the nicu.

i'll probably get another hat done before the end of the month, but i'll post about that when i've got it done.

2 More for the Count

I haven't accomplished a lot this month, but I have finished 2 more items for Warm Up Winchester.
Both the hat and the scarf are made out of 100% wool, so they should be warm. And I got both patterns from Stitch and Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.

Alright, I can't resist

We have 2 full days of August left. Right now we are at 2,385 items finished.

So goal number one...can we get to 2390?

Or...could we get to 2400???

Let's find out the answer to these and other questions :)

You all rock.

9 More WUA Squares

I didn't have a lot of time for charity crafting earlier in the month, but this past weekend I sat down with 2 skeins of Plymouth Encore from my stash to see how many WUA squares I could make. My thought was that if needed, some or all of these squares could be used in the Patternworks challenge afghan. If they aren't needed for that afghan, then they can be used in any WUA afghan. By mixing and matching the two colors, I managed to get 9 squares.
The daisy square in the second picture is going to be sent to Krochet Krystal for one of her charity afghans. I made that one out of Caron Simply Soft.

I think this will end my "summer of squares". I am going to shift gears now and work on hats, mittens and scarves this fall.

Clarifications/Questions

Hey all my lovely co-charitable-crafters!

I wanted to see if I could clarify the vision of the "how many people can we dress" thang...though this is certainly a democracy and if there are any thoughts that is totally cool.

The jist is that much like the Bags O'Sunshine was a separate project in which people could participate or not, the "How Many People Can We Dress" is also something separate. Now I think there is a little bit of confusion because one of the places this project will donate to is Warm Up Winchester, but the idea is to use the generous JezebelSF as the hub. She will organize hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, etc into outfits, which will then be sent to various city shelters around the nation. Whereas one-offs can certainly be sent, the idea of this particular goal is to be able to send actual outfit components out together.

As per Jezebel's most recent post, this project can also overlap with some holiday ideas...the hat part of the outfits can be used as a "bag" that could hold soaps or candies or granola bars or whatever, tying into a comment someone had made on my holiday post (I'm sorry, I can't remember who that was right now :( ) Check out jezebel's most recent post to learn more about that.

Of course, as usual, it is not a must that you send things for this project, but if you are sending your stuff direct to another charity, that *technically* is something different than what had originally been in my peanut head.

Is this making any sense yet? Should the description be revised slightly? Let jezebelsf and/or me know.

Thanks everybody!

checking in

hey all. i haven't been doing much knitting/crocheting lately, because we've been busy with some home improvements and i've been busy with some new writing ventures, but i wanted to check in anyways. i'm starting to slowly get back into the groove, finishing up a pair of socks that were supposed to be a mother's day present!

wanted to also see if anyone who's sent scarves to my mom for the "overwhelm patty with scarves" thing could e-mail me at robyn.charles@gmail.com and let me know how many scarves they sent to her. i want to ask her if she's recieved any, but as she didn't know about the whole thing i'd hate to ask her and no ones' sent them out yet! so please let me know so i know how many she should be expecting. and that project of mine is an ongoing thing, so if you're thinking of doing it, fully feel free! we make the scarves all year round!

that's about it. i'm hoping to get back to knitting like a mad-thing soon enough. until then .. keep on knitting like mad for me!

Update and Request :)

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful first couple of weeks of August and the transition back to school and/or the autumn routine has not been too bad!

Jorie posted a week or so ago about a holiday theme donation. Many great ideas came her way including the idea of combining crafty and non-crafty items (a la Bag O' Sunshine). Jorie asked if the "See How Many People We Can Dress" initiative could be woven into the holiday idea. The thought is that so many of us are busy with the end of the summer shift and may be trying new projects that will take us a little more time to complete, so it seems appropriate to plan for a holiday deadline for this project.

Thus, I need to ask if there is anyone out there who would be willing to collect the non-crafty items and then send them to me in a few months. I am thinking around the first of November. I will then combine these items with the craft sets and send them to the charities in SF, Chicago, Philly, and Atlanta.

Thanks!

Howdy!

Well, I'm sure a lot of you are either getting ready for school or getting your kids ready for school. I hope the various transitions go as smoothly as possible!

FOs

I posted some FOs over at livejournal, but here the scarves I made for "overwhelm patty." I hope I'm not too late...they'll likely go out on Saturday...:)

We're changing names!

ETA: We are all moved now!! Everyone should still have all the same access as before! Thanks for your patience as we worked through this. And yes, we are still working on name changing things like the frappr map - I am but one girl.



On August 15th we are moving this blog to go with our new name. Please be aware the new community name will be Homespun Helpers.

I will be moving the information on the 15th and will post when the new blog is ready. Thanks.

Aimee

something else to consider

Does anyone have any non-denominational ideas that could correspond with holiday time?

I was thinking we could make 3-4" wide, 6" deep pouches and put in m&ms or kisses or something like that..maybe just the ones in the silver or gold wrapping...just to add a little sweetness. Maybe a little card as well. These could be sent enmasse to shelters everywhere, really. Still, the pouch might seem a little to "stocking" like.

What do you all think?

Also, I will change name of the lj community (not the User ID for now) and the myspace page tomorrow first thing so that it will jive with the new blogspot address.

Thanks everybody!

Jokes and stories and presents, oh my!

So, since we are all so busy in August, I thought this month might be a good time to share things other than FOs to tally (though we still like those too). If you are working on presents for new babies, new homes, new couples, or Christmahanakwanzika, post peekshures! (Just make sure no one counts them :)) If you have a funny or inspiring story about crafting, share!

I hope everyone's swampiness is not getting them down, and I hope the weather is not beating anyone down, too!

:)

ohhh the temptation

So my mom and I did our craft circuit today, and holy smokes was there some nice yarn at Jo-Anns...on SALE! :o I stood in the aisle for what had to be about 20 minutes, tormented by what to buy and how much. They had some chenille on sale, some sophisticates wool...ugh. I was troubled in part because I couldn't decide if I should buy enough of everything to make whole sets or buy more variety and just make one-offs out of it. These are the kinds of troubles that meet me when I go shopping :)

Id like to suggest that the "how many people can we dress" thing just become kind of an ongoing goal, much like the squares...what do you think? I think August is going to be hectic for a lot of folks and i don't want the idea to go kerflooey, nor do I necessarily what the concept to last just a month :)

Additionally, for lj folks...I am seeing that a lot of people that voted in our poll wanted to change the name, but our dear leftygirl brought up a good point. For the remainder of 2007, anyway, the "3000 in 2007" thing is very relevant. So as a compromise based on her statement, I'd like to propose that on August 15, we just change the community NAME here to "homespun helpers." In 2008 we can do the whole user ID change. I hope that will meet everyone's approval.

I think that's all of my odds and ends for today. That's enough, isn't it?!?

*Edit

Our total was wrong on the blogs. I neglected to tally a big 34 item post because it happened when I was in a stir on my business trip. We are at 1990 items as a result.

Sorry for the confusion.

Also, from now on, in order to help me help nehnhaa keep track of our tally, I am going to have to make myself comment on every single FO post, because that is how I know I counted your items. If you post FOs and I do not comment, PLEASE let me know so i can make sure I did see your post. Sometimes I check livejournal and it hides posts from me, especially in here.

Sorry for all of the confusion!

July totals

The amazing Nehnhaa has posted our July totals here! Thank you, Nehnhaa!!!! And thank you to everyone who has done so much people and pets in your communities and around the world. My heart is full of love, respect and happiness at your generosity!

Faces

One interesting thing about watching both Democrat and Republican debates is that you can see actual faces of American citizens that represent all of these kind of nebulous "issues" we talk about. Tonight's debates featured questions from a man who was laid off by a company that later claimed bankruptcy, so he has no pension and no healthcare. There was an Iraqi veteran who came home to find that his job had been moved to Mexico. There was talk of poor VA assistance and many other issues.

I have to say, seeing these comments from people who could easily be me or people I know is really spurring me on these days. It is heartbreaking, in a way, because I know we can't help every single person who needs it...but having a face or a name to go with issues like "homelessness" or "no healthcare coverage" drives home the idea, to me, that the things we are making, the time we are spending...these are all going to THOSE real, very much in need people. And that is pretty darned amazing.

I have the itch

Hey everybody,

Hope y'all are having good and restful weekends so far!

I have to admit, I'm itching to officially change our name to Homespun Helpers. I know the plan was to wait for the website, but I'd like to have our logo revamped so that jezebelsf can tag those outfits when they go out around the country. Whether or not we have a site by then, I'd like there to be a blogspot, lj, and myspace page that goes with the name.

With all of that said, if you think I should wait a bit longer, let me know. I know things probably won't be shipped out till the first week of September...but, this whole identity crisis is starting to bum me out! :)

Input desired. Thanks ever'body!

My July Update

The last few weeks have been very hectic around my house, since we're down to just one car. My husband was involved in an accident on his way home, the other driver merged into him. Husband is fine, the car was totaled. So, for the time being, I have to pick up the slack. I just feel very blessed that he sustained very little trauma. Of course, I want to fuss and he certainly hasn't complained.

I have had ample opportunity to knit while waiting for him at the train, doctor's office and therapy. I did a couple of things for myself, but mostly I dedicated this time to charity knitting.

After the square challenge was over, I still did 3 more for Warm Up America.

I also did 3 hats for children as well as a pair of socks that will go to Afghans for Afghans.

I completed 1 hat for the Ship's Project.

I completed 1 scarf for the Red Scarf Project.

I complete 1 preemie hat.

I completed 1 - 36" by 36" Snuggle blanket for ARF.

I completed about 2/3rd's of a prayer shawl that I am sending to a chaplain at Walter Reed. I also have another hat on the needles that will be going to Afghans for Afghans.

Not a bad month. And I did two pairs of socks for myself!

I will certainly work on some items for the August "challenge".

Have a good month everyone!

Venka

1 or 3 other things

I created a tag for the dressing people challenge (for livejournal). It's 0001How many people can we dress, I do believe.

I have a couple of other goals for August as well.

#1: Website! Cacunai, can you let us know what is going on when you get the chance? If we can't get the site up, I'd still like to officially change our name so we can tag those outfits we will be sending out.

#2: I'd like to see our membership get up to 300 this month. This should not be very hard, I don't think. Heck, if all of us got one person to join we'd be up to around 500. Post around to different groups you are in, spread the word, whatever. We count membership between both of our blog communities, so we are probably pretty close to reaching this goal anyway.

And now I be quiet :)

Intro and Further Instructions

Greetings amazing crafters!

Believe it or not, I have been a member of this community for some time now but have yet to post. Initially, I joined to support my 'online' friends jpettibone and joriejc2. However, I was inspired to put down my needlepoint and start knitting again (something I had not done for many, many moons). I do have some completed scarves and several squares, but I have been remiss in photographing and posting. I have also been busy recruiting some offline people to donate to the community -- details will follow once I have procured said items.

I am so excited about this month's project! I will be acting as the "craft depot" for all items made. Essentially, I will sort items into sets and then sort them further based on destination. I live in San Francisco and can easily drop-off appropriate items to Afghans for Afghans as well as a local battered woman's and children's shelter which is always in desperate need of items. We have already found a spot in Chicago and will be looking for appropriate recipients in Atlanta and Boston. The idea is to cover all the regions in the U.S. I will update through out the month the total of specific items and make a call for any needed items. Please label your donated crafts with appropriate yarn specifications as some charities are quite specific about what they will and won't take.

Aside from the obvious clothing items, I think it would be wonderful to include jewelry. Something shiny and pretty is always a boost to the spirit, and that is exactly what so many people need :)

The address for shipping and my email:

"Jezebel's Craft Depot"
133 Alpine Terrace
SF, CA 94117

jezebelsf@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance for all the great work that I know y'all will be doing. I look forward to updating you all soon!

*smooch*