Help please

I'm wanting to Thank Joanne from CA and Sarah from Hawaii for their donations to The Bridge Project, but have been unable to determine who they are here on the net. Anyone know?

Reminder please folks when you send a donation please include your net name/screen name etc. So many folks don't use their real names on their blogs, in groups etc, it's hard to know whoo people are when an item is received and only has a real name.

I've been behind getting donations updated due to a family emergency. My apologies, I'll chip away at it over on the Bridge Blog. Mom had emergency surgery and is in ICU; it's a day at a time.

Thanks
Sandy

It's the last day of February!

And we did it!! That's right, we're now at 478 items!! Great job everybody!!

You have until midnight tonight to post an item to get entered into our skein of yarn drawing. That's tons of time to get a preemie hat done!

Our drive of the month for March will be Afghans for Angels. You can find out information about the organization here: http://www.angelfire.com/ia2/AforApage2/

The purpose of this organization is to make and distribute homemade afghans to give to parents who have suffered the unthinkable -- the loss of a child. They usually ask for afghans that are 2x2 but they also accept 12" x 12" afghans for preemies.

It is a humbling thing to focus on this group, but that is what we are all about -- doing things for those people who need us most.

Again, of course, continue to do whatever you wish throughout March. We are always happy to see what you are up to!

For the end of March, let's try and get to 800 items. That's a big goal, but I'll bet we can do it!

Great job, everyone.

Making More, Moving

More to report!

The first item is a wool scarf that will be accompanying the two wool hats to AfA. Though I'm more comfortable crocheting snuggly items, I've tried my hand at knitting. I'm not very quick and I can't do much more than make things that have right angles, I only know the two stitches, knit and purl, and I had to relearn how to bind off (thank goodness for Internet-based videos). In the end, I have two scarves to show for it. The second one's destination is TBD, but I'm sure I'll find a home for it.

In other news, I'm moving to Ventura, California in a week's time. My partner, Dave, got a job down there and starts on the 9th of March. Though it feels like we just moved to Portland (last June), the crappy job market (nearly 9% unemployment rate in the city) wasn't doing us any favors so he started looking elsewhere. He just accepted the job offer last week and we're moving in a week, so it's frantic around here; I'm still working 30-hours/week at the bakery, but we're making it happen. We're living in a sea of boxes, but we're excited about the move.

Anyway, I wanted to post these photos and update you before I disappear for a bit while we're getting relocated and settled. I hope to get back to it all very soon.

Hi there!

It's Wednesday and it's almost the end of the month...you know what to do :)

Waving hello

Not caught up, but skimming through things to at least start the process. Just got back in town last night, so got the laundry going and trying to get things put away.

Managed to get a few things done during my travels. 3 pairs of booties and a little pink hat. These will all top off the box going to Caring House, a Womans Shelter in Michigan.

Sandy

need a distraction for a few minutes...I started a little travel blog , no packing required.

**

also forgot, I'm trying to find Sarah from Hawaii...is she in this group? Wanted to thank her for the scarfs for The Bridge Project. We're making wonderful headway with this project, please swing over to check it out.

You all are amazing!

We are only 74 items away from reaching our month's goal of getting to 475 items!! Woohoo!

The list for winning a skein of yarn at the end of the month is pretty small still which means your chances of winning are good! Make an item and get entered! :)

Happy Sunday/Oscars day!

Lets Give 'em somepin to talk about

Hi Everyone!

So as some of you may know, and as others of you may not know, we have Homespun Helpers communities not only in livejournal and blogspot land, but also in "social networking" sites like Ravelry and Facebook.

The itsy bitsy teeny weeny problem is that we don't really use those message boards to well, message. And in fact, we don't really use our blog communities or our Yahoo group that way either.

For the last two years, we have really emphasized our number goals and whatnot which is fine, but this year I'd like to try to build more of a community feel as well. I want people to feel welcome to post even if it's not a post for a finished object.

Now, for Facebook and Ravelry, we can post topics that people can come back to whenever they want, unlike blogs where you have to do a little searching. This has me asking the following question:

What topics would you like to open up for conversation in those groups? Favorite movies, what you're planting, what projects you're working on...

The hope in starting the groups in Ravelry and Facebook, at least in my mind (cuz I didn't start either one) was that we'd get to know each other a little better over there and make new folks feel really warm and welcome.

Interested?

yarn bank - finally!

so, slacking (and wedding planning) has taken up a ton of my time, but i've FINALLY got the bare bones of the Yarn Bank set up and ready for use. i still have to add a bunch of pictures from my stash, and all the descriptions, but the Yarn Bank is officially open and ready for use! tell all the knitters and crocheters you know about it!

i'll be heading over to Ravelry later today to spread the word there, and i've already posted it on my blog so hopefully the word will spread!

yep, it's WIP it Wednesday again

Hi Everyone,

It's that time again!

By the way, we are now at 279 items for this year and are creeping ever closer to the goal of finishing 475 item by the end of this month. You go, people!

The preemie items that are getting sent to Robyn are just cute enough to melt. Don't forget, we're still focusing on Sandy's Bride Project this month, and of course anything else you want to focus on.

One item, possibly win a skein of yarn. Oh yeah, it's on :)

Have a happy hump day, all!

Is Goal!

Today, Buddy (at left) and I completed eight more hats for the preemies. That means that I've reached my self-imposed goal of 20 items in February!

That brings my Robyn-Bound-Bundle tally to 14 hats. I hope to drop them in the mail by the end of the week.

Thanks, all, for posting regularly and keeping me inspired to do more.

Keep on craftin'!

Our star of the month!

Since I am going to be gone for the halfway point of the month, I thought I'd post about our February star of the month now.

And the star ultimate is:

LEFTYGIRL (aka Steph)

I want to promote adoration of Steph this month because like DocLegs, she is one of our original members. In fact, I went back and found her very first post, and it was all the way back on March 21st, 2007:

http://community.livejournal.com/homespunhelpers/26160.html#cutid1

From that single introductory post, Steph has gone one to remain one of the really key members of this community. Not only does she make gorgeous stuff (and a LOT of it) but I really appreciate how she almost always comments on what other people make. It's easy for us to look at pretty things and just say to ourselves, "Wow, I wish I could do that," but Leftygirl, she makes sure to comment on other people's posts.

Thank you for sticking with us in such a wonderful way for so long, my dear. Enjoy your starry month :)

Feel free to praise the LeftyGirl wherever you may find her :)

A PSA! Oh noes!

Hi everyone!

Couple of messages I want to get out on this glorious Friday.

First, I want to make something very very clear. Our striving to reach number goals, our contests, and all of that jazz is just to build the community a bit and have some fun. As times get tougher, our abilities to afford supplies or postage may take a far backseat priority wise to things like, I don't know...food? I want Homespun Helpers to be 2 things. I want it to be a charitable organization but I also want it to be fun for everyone. If you find that you start feeling pressured to make things rather than just crafting because you want to, please stop everything and go do anything else other than crafting. Goals are not do or die around here, and if our group makes 500 items instead of 4,000, well, that's still pretty darned freakin' awesome. I just hope that even if you aren't feeling like crafting a lot, you still hang around to post about fun things :)

Also wanted to alert you all that I'm going to be mostly away from computer technology for the next couple of days. If you want to e-mail me if you post so I can make sure I don't miss you -- well, I won't complain :)

Thanks, and happy V-day to all who celebrate it!

Comin' Your Way, Robyn

I crocheted six baby-ish-sized hats for Robyn's Warming Omaha project. I didn't have a small child's head as a measurement, but I guessed. They did fit cutely on my cats' heads, but they didn't like it one bit.
I'm sure there are children or babies that'll fit each of these six hats.

Today was the second of two consecutive days off work, so I've been busy. Back to work tomorrow and through the busiest week(end) of our cupcakery's year, so I'm sure I won't be able to keep up with the ambition I created for myself.
Counting these and subtracting the total from my goal of twenty, I need only to make eight more to reach my goal for the month.

Oh, and I shipped a bunch of item to Katiemaedays with Warmth for Washington, today. Hopefully, she'll find cold people to use the hats, scarf, and earmuff up in Bellingham.

Thanks, again, all, for inspiring me to do more!

WIP it Wednesday!

Hey hey everyone!

How are you this fine humpiest of hump days? Well, I hope.

Our count as of today is a very exciting 251 items. Remember, I set the goal of reaching 475 by the end of this month, but I think we can do it! Yeah!

Our drive of the month is preemie items for Robyn's Warming Omaha drive. You can find all of the information you need at either our Yahoo page or at her blog site: http://craftivist.typepad.com/warmingomaha/

We are also still working on Sandy's Bridge Project...I myself am working on some socks.

What are you working on?

Six Down, Fourteen to Go

Here are six hats I completed yesterday and today. That makes six items towards my end-of-the-month goal of 20. I hope to post more, soon.

Just checkin' in

Hey all, just checking in with ya. I'm still working on cards for A Million Thanks. Not sure how many I will have yet. I'm trying to make them a little more detailed than in the past...maybe some layers and more hand drawn stuff. I'll keep you posted.

Also looking at our logo and will see what I can do about a poster.

Keep up the great work everyone! You inspire me!

~Kelli

Inspired by all the wonderful crafters on this site and others, I've been driven to set a goal for myself. I will strive to complete 20 items for donation by the end of February. These items will be in addition to those I've already posted and submitted for inclusion in the HH tally.
Back to it!

Hello! My name is Mia and I'm a crocheter. And a knitter... ("hello, Mia")
A ladybug introduced me to her site and I'm so excited to help all you crafty people meet the goal of helping the world !
My first few items are in the photos. In total, I believe, I have nine items. The two puff-ball-sporting hats are wool and are, therefore, for Afghans for Afghans.
Because I like the idea of 'local' and I am currently a resident of The City of Roses, I'm going to send the scarf/earwarmer set as well as the five hats (below) to Warmth for Washington.

Next on my 'to do' list is a Leprosy Bandage; I will complete it but it's proving to be a challenge so I'm interspersing other projects to give my eyes and tiny hand muscles a break.

Anyway, that's my gig. I'm excited to be here with you all. Hoping to post more photos of pictures, soon. Who knows, maybe there's a full-length, beautifully-edged, perfectly-wound bandage photo in all our futures.

The Letter Works!

Well, I am excited to say that when I shipped my preemie items out to UMC Hospital in Nevada, I sent our introductory letter. They e-mailed Homespun Helpers right away with a list of things their facility needs! I'm going to start a file for the Yahoo group of organizations and lists like that they send in response to our letters.

Please remember, therefore, that when you ship items to an organization, it would be awesome if you could include the letter that I posted to the Yahoo groups page. If you would like me to e-mail it to you just let me know, or if you want to do your own thing, all the letter says is that these items were handmade by Homespun Helpers, and if your organization needs anything else, let us know. I am driving people to the blogspot blog, and our e-mail address is HomespunHelpers@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Whoops...forgot to post on Wednesday!

Life is just whizzing by!

So, it's WIP...Thursday! Tell us about any projects you are working on, charity or otherwise :)

We are already at 203 items. Very super cool!

Don't forget, I'm looking for submissions of posters that folks could use to create "real life" Homespun Helpers groups...it doesn't have to be big -- standard paper size would work. I'm thinking something that could be put on a coffee shop's bulletin board or something like that.

Also remember, as will be the case every month this year, any time you make and post just 1 item, you'll get entered into a contest to win a skein of yarn of your choice.

Thanks everybody!

Seven

I got busy last night and finished up another 7 WUA squares.

These bring my grand total to 20. I had intended to finish these by the end of January, but that just didn't work out. Since I am a little late finishing these, and I don't know when I will have time to get to the post office, I am just going to donate the squares locally. My local Michael's store collects squares, so I will try to get over there this weekend.

The Bridge Project, 2 FO

Taking these 2 items from the WIP pile and putting them in the FO pile. Yippee. Scarf and Mittens for the Bridge Project. Both are crocheted, mitts with Red Heart and scarf with Caron pounder.

February Drive - Warming Omaha

sorry i'm a few days late in posting this! this month i'm lucky enough to be the recipient of the drive here! i'm collecting preemie/baby items through march 31, but for the month of february i get to be HH's focus!

i've got more details up on the Warming Omaha blog (like the address to send completed items) and i'll be posting some free patterns to my personal blog all month, but here's some details to get you started:

items i'm collecting: hats, booties, sweaters, knitted pants, blankets

sizing: anything from preemie to 18 month size

the items will be donated to Creighton Hospital's NICU, and the larger items will be handed to the PICU from there.

thanks so much for helping out! the hospital really appreciates it, as the majority of Omaha's poorer population uses the hospital, and so the babes come in (and go home) without much to call their own - everything we give them is used and LOVED!

We have a winner! And the first day of February!

Hi Everybody!

I have written everyone's names on little pieces of paper and tossed all the names into my straw hat. And the winner for January is......................

Priscilla!!!

Congratulations Priscilla. Let me know what skein of yarn you would like me to send you!

Our drive of the month for February will be for Robyn's Warming Omaha...as she let us know, she is accepting baby and preemie items for her local NICU. I'm sure more details will be forthcoming. Robyn has all of her contact information at her warming omaha blog, or you can contact me for details as well.

Still working on the bridge project for Sandy as well -- this is a tough, tough Winter to not have a roof over your head.

Happy February, everybody! Let's try to have 475 items by the end of this month how 'bout?