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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Have I told you all lately that I love you?

Cuz I do!!!

We are real close to that 2700 mark, which means if we do just a bit over 100 items in each month for the rest of the year, we will reach the 2007 goal of 3,000 items!!! So incredibly amazing!!!!! :):):):):):):)

I'm going to try to be brief in this post for once, but as we look to October, there are two basic projects going on that we can all work together to help with (in addition to whatever you want to do on your own, of course).

Project #1:

How many people can we dress?

I know that Jezebelsf has already gotten some stunning sets for this. I mean, heck, she got stuff from me! ;) No, I keed, I keed. Anyway, I think this project is going pretty well. Remember that Jezebel will be collecting items for our first run until November 15, and right now she is running a bit short on gloves/mittens, though any contribution is great! She will be shipping things to Afghans for Afghans and homeless shelters in a few cities around the nation, so everyone should receive that first batch in time for the holidays.

Project #2:

Winter run for the Bags O'Sunshine

Doclegs is asking for Bags O'Sunshine, the sequel. In addition to bags, she is hoping to donate hats & scarves to keep our veteran friends warm. Mostly male type colors for those fellas if you can.

Please send all stuff to her at:

PO Box 20142
Columbus, OH 43220-0142

Supplemental is Treehuggers Bag O' Sunshine Sweets, mini bags that will hold some candy kisses or what have you. Send these along to both Jezebel and doclegs as they can be woven into both of these projects. (Ugottafriend, this would be a great beginner sewing project for you...we just need 3x3 bags!)

I also believe we had a volunteer who would work on collecting non-crafted items for the "how many people can we dress" project...perhaps she could send stuff to doclegs too? Work amongst each other :)

So, I don't think I'm going to set any more numerical goals...we are shooting for 3000 at this point, at the end game is midnight on New Years Eve. I'd like to think i won't be sitting in front of my computer tallying on NYE, but ya never know :)

Thank you, everybody, for a great month and a beyond-expectations year. You are all beyond awesome.

robyn's september tally

september's been a busier month for me, with more knitting and crocheting getting done now that the heat's broken a bit.


first up was this preemie hat, booties and mitts set i made. i'm in contact with someone at one of our area NICU's, so i'm going to be making tons of these sets for the itsies.

next i made these four knitted squares for the ghana project. she wants the ends to be left un-woven in, which is so perfect for me!

then i finally finished up the second sock in this pair for the monkey's mom. (she loves them, btw)

i found what has quickly become my new favorite granny square pattern and busted through these six squares, also for the ghana project.


then i found some more "scrap yarn" i had and made these four squares. i've got another one all but done, so i'll count that one in, too, for five grey/black squares.


sensing i might have gotten a little addicted to granny squares, i made a scarf to send to my mom for the breast cancer center.

and finally, i got this adorable set of booties, mitts and a hat made up for the NICU.

so that's .... 23 items (booties and mitts count one item per pair) made this month!! much better than last month!

September FOs

I haven't accomplished much this month, but I did finish a scarf and a pair of mittens for Warm Up Winchester:
I used a Cleckheaton wool for the scarf and Plymouth Encore for the mittens.

I am also happy to report that I had set myself a personal goal of making 100 items for charity this year, and these two items bring me to 93 completed items. Since it is only September, I think I have a good shot at meeting or exceeding my goal for the year. I do want to say thank you to this community, because your enthusiasm and the beautiful items you all are creating have really spurred me on to meet what originally seemed like an impossible goal. I feel very fortunate to have found you and to be a part of this community.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Hey, I have a question for ya

How much would you be willing to spend on beautiful yarn like this??

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Me? I'd be willing to pay $10-15 for sure.

Well, as it happens, this very yarn is one of the prizes you can win if you donate to Funfairiegirl's lupus walk!! For every $5 you donate, your name gets put into a raffle, and let me tell you, if you think this prize is beautiful...it has some VERY good company.

So, let's do the math. We could all go to our own respective stores or online funspots and buy yarn for $10-15, which would be great, for sure, but we wouldn't have that warm fuzzy feeling afterwards. OR, we could donate maybe part or all of that skein of money to the lupus walk, and we might win the yarn anyway! Of course, if you really want to guarantee that you have something tangible out of this apart from a cure for lupus, you could always donate 2 skeins worth of money just to be sure.

Funfairiegirl will be entering people into her raffle until October 6th and the drawing will be October 7, so there is still some time for you to sneak on over there. Go visit Her blog to learn more and to link to her donation site. Be sure to scroll down to see pictures of all of the amazing prizes you could win! And remember, it's all for an excellent, excellent cause :)

Friday, September 28, 2007

Hey hey everybody!

Well, here we are. The last weekend of September. Can you believe it?!? This month has flown. Man.

Just a reminder that the goal for this month was 2700 items, which means we'd need a slightly miraculous 100+ weekend event :) I know, I know. It's the busiest time of the year, and there is no pressure, but if you are feeling like getting into the Fall spirit, get some of that hot chocolate out and knit & crochet a little :)

Hope everybody is well! Is anyone working on holiday stuff yet?

Saturday, September 22, 2007

new items!!!

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are in the midst of a great weekend :)

I just wanted to let everyone know that I received a box from joriejc2 and THREE boxes from snoopingmother today!! Thanks so much for all the great, colorful items.

There have been other shipments, but not everyone included their LJ or blogspot username. If you live in Rhode Island or Scaramento, California and have sent me some really wonderful craft pieces, then thank you too :)

I would like to make another call for socks and/or slippers as well as gloves/mittens.

I am taking a class (yes, I will make this one) at my local knit store entitled "Learn to Make Mittens." After three classes, I will at least have one set completed and the ability to make more. They do have a sock class, but the pre-req is knowing how to knit on double-pointed needles. I don't :(

Again, needing mittens/gloves and socks/slippers does NOT mean that I do not want to receive other items. I am simply letting everyone know what is lacking.

Thanks!!!!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Another cool charity that takes squares, and my knitting life

Hey everyone!

So I'm not in the Boston area, and decided to get myself on the SnB Boston listserv in the hopes of finding local knitters and knitting circles.

Anyways, there's a knit a thon which was advertised on the listserv, which I'd like to share with you guys:

http://www.pinestreetinn.org/knit-a-thon/

They are collecting 9 x 9 squares to put together in big blankets, and will be doing the assembly during the knit-a-thon on Sunday Nov. 4th.

Although they're encouraging people to come to the event itself, they are also collecting squares sent through the mail. And they also want people to collect pledges per square knitted, (info can be found here) but I think they will also accept squares w/o the pledges, since they also want to make as many blankets as possible.

And if you're in the area, a yarn store in Brookline called A Good Yarn (http://www.agoodyarn.biz/) is donating yarn for the squares.
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In my own life, right now in the Jewish year we are in a 10-day period called the Days of Awe/Days of Repentance/Yamim Noraim. It's a time where Jews are supposed to repent and stuff, in the hopes that whatever horrible decree that has been given to us by God should be reversed by us showing we are changing our ways...

I'm going to save the theological debate about the 10 days and their implications for my own blog. (There are so many aspects that can be debated. And this is what Divinity students like me do...) So on to the relevant part.

Most of the time people celebrating these days try to pray more, observe more commandments, or apologize to all the people who they've wronged during the year and beg for forgiveness. Etc. Though among the 5 things listed that we can do to save ourselves is charity.

I've decided that for myself, I'd like to make as many knitted items as I can for charity during this time period. Though already I've been limited to only 6 days in this period of actual knitting, since the first 3 and the last are all holidays on which I cannot knit.

So hopefully this will pan out into me doing something good. We'll see what actually happens, especially once I start classes tomorrow...

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Hello fellow helpers

Hey all,

It's gotten quiet again, so just thought I'd post and see what y'all are up to. I finished my first ever cardigan, and apart from the fact that the gauge is so wrong it's not even funny even though I used a crochet hook 3 sizes larger than what the pattern called for, it's great! I think I used a yarn that was too heavy, so the pattern didn't stay light and airy. At least that's my story.

I also want to tell you all about a story I saw on the NBC Nightly News last night. Perhaps you saw it too. Anyway, it was about a group called Voices of September 11th, and the things these folks are doing are just beautiful. If you go to http://www.voicesofsept11.org you will see what I am talking about, but basically this website is collecting stories and biographies and items of/from people who died on 9/11, and they are also trying to help the families and survivors.

I e-mailed the founder this morning to see if we could help. The site has an online store and I thought perhaps we could donate red, white, and blue afghans or something like that that she could sell to help support her work. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the Fall...here where I live, the weather quite suddenly became cool and crisp!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

On this somber day

For those of us within the US, today is a heavy day. It is hard to believe that THE 9/11 was already six years ago.

With that being said, I think today is not necessarily a day just to feel sad, but rather today is a good time to reflect on our good fortunes.

It is one of my greatest delights to work with all of you in trying to spread a little sunshine, especially on sorrowful days like today. You are a wonderful host of people. I feel empowered to think that if, heaven forbid, something bad befalls us or others around the country or world, we will be able to at least do something small to help out those in need. I hope that you all appreciate how special you and all of your efforts are.

Peace.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Help me find a Cure for Lupus!

As I have been saying, I am doing the Lupus Walk fundraiser again this year. Woohoo! For all my knitterly friends, I am having a thank you drawing. For every $5 you donate to the walk, I will put your name in a hat and draw for some FABULOUS prizes!!!! Those Prizes will be posted here over the coming weeks. So far there is fiber, jewelry, sock blockers, project bags!

I am so excited to be able to do this for everyone as a thank you for helping me work to find a cure - because lupus sucks!!!! Seriously.

So, go to my Lupus Walk page and click on Make a Gift! In the comments, put podcast or blog or something that tells me you came from here (cause I have family and friends who don't care a bit about getting fun stuff (shocking I KNOW!!!!) so I am not including those non-knitting souls in the fun (more for you!!!!!!!!!)

My goal this year is to raise $5000. I think that is totally doable. The walk is on October 6. All donations must be received by then.

Now...for the first prize that was donated and you could win...These are the Turtle Daddy Sock Blockers available at Turtlegirl76's etsy shop. The pictured pair are the large women's/medium men's, however I am not entirely sure which size/color combo is being donated - we chatted about it this weekend, but never settled on it because, well, we were busy buying yarn!!!


I chose this particular color/size to show them off though, because I happened to paint this pair. That's right. This fairie also paints sock blockers (in exhange for vodka and stitch markers - I am easy, what can I say???)

So - go check out what else Cristi has to offer and stay tuned for more items to come!!!

Some Lupus facts:
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissue.
Lupus can cause life-threatening damage to major organs such as the kidneys, lungs, heart and central nervous system.Lupus is the leading cause of death among women with autoimmune diseases who are in their childbearing years (ages 15-45).
Women are five times more likely to die from lupus than men, and African Americans are three times more likely to die from lupus than caucasians.

That's right, folks, LUPUS KILLS!!! Yeah, I look fine right now, but I hurt and this stupid disease kills! Help me find a cure!!!

Clarification

Yes, HMPCWD does need mittens/scarves and slippers/socks!!

However, that does not mean that people should not still work on hats and scarves. I just promised to put calls out based on what I had received and what FO's had been posted.

Please DO NOT think that I will not accept anymore hats and scarves. After all, I am trying to work my way past scarves and into hats ;)

Lastly, the deadline is tentatively set for November 15, 2007. I would like to have the items sorted and shipped no later than the first week of December. This way our awesome items will be warming as many people as possible for the winter holidays!!

Thanks again for all the hard work that is going into each item you all craft :)

Saturday, September 8, 2007

quick update

Hey everyone!

I am really happy to see all the recent posts regarding HMPCWD. I will post pics soon of all the items received so far :)

Now I need to put a call out for mittens/gloves and socks!!! We have crafted some really beautiful hats and scarves, but only one pair of mittens and no socks. For all of you who are super with socks and masterful with mittens, I look forward to seeing your handiwork :)

I am bummed because I wanted to take a hat class tomorrow and next Sunday. I really want to my broaden my knitting repertoire. Unfortunately, I have a work conflict tomorrow and a picnic/fundraiser next Sunday. Oh well. Maybe next month ...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Message from Treehugger06

Treehugger and blogspot are fighting, so I am copying this post on Treehugger's behalf. We are hoping that someone will help moderate so that Treehugger and blogspot can once again cooperate with each other ;)
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Treehugger06 from LJ, here....


Jorie and I emailed yesterday, talking about adding another ongoing project to the list of ongoing projects; specifically Bag O' Sunshine and How Many People Can We Dress (HMPCWD). The idea is to make Bag O'Sunshine Sweets which would call for making 3 inch x 3 inch cloth drawstring bags and filling them with 4-5 pieces of wrapped holiday candy.�

I'd like to stay away from Christmas Theme materials, so that everyone can be included and no one is offended. So... snowflakes, snow-people, penguins, winter birds, plaids etc. would be great for bag material.�

We'd also like that the candy be donated, as well. I was thinking Hershey's Kisses or other wrapped candy like Starbursts would be great fillers for the bags.�

I'd appreciate any help with this project. If you want to make bags, I'll be happy to collect, fill and send to Bag O'Sunshine and HMPCWD. If you'd like to donate fillers, that would be awesome, too.�

Please contact me at happy_frog@comcast.net if you'd like to help out in any way.

Thanks!

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Dream of September, it's nice to remember

Hello! echo echo echo echo

I know not many folks are probably around this weekend, between school years starting, the holiday, family...all that jazz. Still, just like on Broadway, the show must go on. And therefore, I humbly submit to everyone some goals for September as we say goodbye to a much much much better August than expected!

So, goal number one...I'd like to see us hit 2700 items in September. That way, in October, November, and December, we'll only have to 100 items each to meet the goal of 3,000, which would be pretty darned tootin' awesome. That's asking or 250 items for September, or there-abouts, which I know is pretty sizeable for this time of year, but a goal is just something to shoot for :)

I still would like us try to get up to 300 members. I'm going to be posting around to some communities to see if there is any interest in joining forces, as it were, but if you are part of any crafty or charity communities, perhaps you could try to get the word about us out a bit. As you all know, joining this community just means everything you do is killing 2 birds with one stone :)

I am very excited about the amount of people who have supported Warm Up Winchester and other projects that our members have posted about here. Let's keep that sort of cooperation going! We love for people to join us, but we can also join other people in their efforts, and well we should!

I am also excited about some projects we have going on. Doclegs is collecting hats and scarves to give to veterans around the holidays, and Jezebelsf is collecting items in order to make full "outfits", which will then be distributed to Afghans for Afghans, Warm up Winchester, and some homeless shelters in select cities. Jezebelsf is still looking for a volunteer who could be a collection point for non-crafted items that could be donated along with the outfits...someone who could collect granola bars or toiletries or whatever. I believe one of the ideas was to put items like that in the hats that we collect so that folks can have the hat and the stuff inside it...kind of a close cousin to the "bag o' sunshine" idea. If you are a member of this group but are not a big crafter, this would be an AWESOME way to help. Once you've collected stuff, you would send it all to Jezebelsf, who would then work it into her shipments.

I know September is going to be a busy time, just because it always is, and because as crafters, we are starting to sweat about the holidays already. Please know that I have every intention of keeping this community going for a long time to come, and we have already FAR surpassed everything I truly thought possible. Do what you can and what you want, but there is no pressure here.

Thanks, everybody!

August Update

Hello everyone!

I didn't get as much done this month as I would have liked, but I did finish a few things.

Gold Cap

This is an example of one of the 9 hats I made this month. 3 went to Afghans for Afghans, 2 are Chemo hats, and 4 are meant for the group project.

Another Red Scarf

This is for the Red Scarf Project

Prayer Shawl

A prayer shawl that I sent to the Chaplain at Walter Reed Family Outreach.

And I also completed another snuggle blanket for ARF. 13 items for me this month.

I'm trying to finish up a Project Linus blanket and a few more scarves during September. I also have to finish some Christmas gifts, so it should be another busy month!

Venka
solslett.blogspot.com