So far

Hey gals,

Just wanted to share with you what's been done so far.

Deb made this GORGEOUS scarf. The picture doesnt do it justice. The colors are so perfect for fall and she said the pattern was super easy (if I get it, I will be sure to forward it on) Great job Deb!!

Here's a hat I made...I used 2 strands so it should be nice and toasty!

It's Official....

Helping Hands will be happy to be the recipients of our warm goodies!!! However, their clients are ONLY adults, men & women, but Contact Ministries is their neighbor and they offer services to people of all ages, so we can continue to knit for the kids also.

So far I have 1 boys hat done, 1 man's hat done and 1 scarf that's blue & cream that I think is for a boy but EVERYONE else has said it too girly...I"ll post some pictures and you can decide!! HAHA

From what I"m hearing you're all off to a great start on our newest project!! Keep me posted on your progress and send me pics and I'll get them posted on our blog!!

Next Project

Well since Preemie caps are done that means 2 things....

1- Time to start a new project & 2- Sadly, summer is coming to an end :(

The theme of our next project is "keeping people warm" This time it's going to be a "knitter's choice" of projects. Hats, Scarves, Mittens, Socks...anything that keeps you warm.

I"m waiting to hear back from them, but ideally the recipients of our next project will be "Helping Hands of Springfield" (http://www.helpinghandssi.org/) They specialize in helping the homeless, as well as assisting with the transition from homeless to home. Their website out lines their goals and programs and they seem like a fantastic organization.

The main thing to keep in mind is that their clients will be men, women, boys, girls & teens, so they will come in all shapes and sizes!! I'm hoping to find out from them a rough idea of the ages & sex of their clients to ensure we provide a variety of items to suit everyone. I'll keep you posted as I learn more!!

Below are some pics from our last meeting...what a great looking group of knitters!!!

Preemie Caps

Well Preemie caps have come to an end.....I think we all had fun knitting up these cute tiny caps for babies!! We made a grand total of 65 caps!!!!!!!! WOW!!! That's fantastic!! Special thanks to Nancy D who single handedly did 26 of those caps!! You should all be SO proud. These caps will go along way to keep Preemie babies warm. 14 of these caps have been given to Memorial Hospital, and Tracy & I will deliver the rest to them next week. I blocked them this morning. Below are some pictures. Thank you all SO much for your commitment, I feel like we are helping to make a difference in our community!

August Meeting

Hi gals,
Just a reminder that our meeting will be

Tuesday, August 25th, Mario's on Clearlake, 5:30

Bring any Preemie caps that you have (don't worry about blocking them, I have some special detergent for that)

AND...I have a great stash of donated yarn to distribute that will be great for our next project, so PLEASE make it of you can and let me know if you're planning on attending!!!

Also if you have any friends who knit or crochet, please bring them along!

See you next week!

More...

Preemie Caps

Here are some pictures of the Preemie Caps we just delivered. They were in different shapes, sizes and colors but they were ALL super cute and SO soft!! Great job Ladies!!

SO Stinkin Cute I can't stand it!!!

Here's a cap that Cindy recently did. She has a new neice / nephew on the way and her mom's neighbor just had a baby so she has been busy making the Baby Gear. She showed me this today. It's about the cutest freakin thing I've even seen!!! Now if I can just convince her to make one in my size!!!!

Preemie Cap Pictures

Here are a couple of the hats I've done so far... I have to say that while the initial phase of learning to start these on DPN's was a little tricky....it's not so bad...I'm getting the hang of it!!

My First Preemie Cap

So the thing about Preemie Caps, is although they are "caps"...you can't use circular needles.... you all remember "circular" needles, we used them for Chemo Caps and they were magical!!! They provided instant gratification because within a few minutes your project looked like something instead of just a ball of yarn, and when knitting "in the round" you continue to just "knit" yet it gives your garment the appearance of "knit and purl" stitching (stockinette)

However..... Circular needles are too big for teeny baby heads, therefore you have to use DPN's (Double pointed needles) the needles we used to finish the chemo caps.

I'm not opposed to DPN's , but I will say they are a little tricky at first. It's different to START a project on DPN's. So since I've gone through this, I would recommend starting your hat with just a "knit" stitch , instead of a "knit /purl" stitch. I think the look of the "ribbed" stitch is great and it provides "elasticity" , but for your first project it's kinda tricky!!!

I know this because my preemie cap will likely be going into my scrapbook because it didn't turn out so great, primarily because I didn't have my groove with the DPN's. However by the 2nd hat, I got it now!!!!

So my words of wisdom to you is for your first hat....do a roll brim instead of a ribbed!! Save that one for your 2nd cap!!!

Below are some pics of mine... I tried to get Cooper and Bandini to model them... they wanted to eat it or ignore it!!!

Donated yarn

I just received some donated yarn that I'll be doling out at the next meeting. None of this yarn is appropriate for the Preemie Ca Project, however it's great yarn for hats or scarves. "

So...................

We need to start thinking about our next project......August will be here before you know it so PLEASE if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

This isn't MY knitting group, it's OUR knitting group, so please......if you are involved with an organization who you think could use our knitted goods, please let me know.

The only real "requirement" is that the projects be simple enough for the "novice knitter"as many of us haven't tackled anything big like sweaters or socks (or like me, they HAVE tackled socks and it was clear that I am NOT a natural when it comes to socks, I have 1/4 of one sock done from about a year or so ago)

Preemie Caps....

So I was a little nervous when one local hospital told me "we have preemie caps coming out of our ears, can you make something up for the dads"

Tracy found a "Can Cooley" pattern so we did whip up a few of these to be delivered on Friday.

However Angela at Memorial Medical Center is THRILLED that I contacted her and she would be happy to find lotsa teeny heads for our Preemie caps!!!! I gave out some patterns at the meeting so if you need patterns, email me and I"ll be sure to hook you up!!

I also have a few skeins of donated baby yarn left, so if you need some, let me know.

When purchasing baby yarn please be mindful of the following...

• Yarn CANNOT be made of animal fibers. There is no way to know what babies this age may be allergic to
• Ideally it should be acrylic so it can stand up to washing & drying (Even cotton isn't a great choice because although washable, it may change shape if dried in the dryer)
• You can usually spot the "baby appropriate" yarn as it has a baby on the label

So now that Summer is almost here, I know that there's not a lot of time for knitting (unless of course your Nancy who has already cranked out 30 of these while driving through the wine country!!! You go Girl!!!) I can tell you they knit up VERY quickly, and it's a very portable project so it's great to do while at the doctor's office, on a lunch break, or waiting for a friend.

So far I have 2 done.....

Keep in touch and let me know how it's going!!!!

Washcloths!!!

Last Thursday Tracy and I delivered 83 washcloths to the Sojourn Shelter!!! WOW!!! You guys should be SO proud of yourselves, that's fantastic!!

When we gave them to Erika, she was so happy and thankful that we thought of them. She said they give each client a "hygiene pack" when they first come in, however it doesn't have a washcloth!! So your generosity and thoughtfulness provided a perfect fit for them.

Also, a lady I volunteer with from "Abe's Divas" was so kind and generous to us. When she heard that I had resorted to "making soap" she kindly donated an entire case of soap for us!!! So we were able to wrap a washcloth around a bar of soap with ribbon and seal each in a Ziploc baggy!!!! (Shout out to "Purlin Patti" for helping me assemble all the washcloths!!)

So again, thank you SO much... I know this wasn't a "favorite" project for many of you, but you were so generous anyway!!!

Next Meeting

Hi Gals,

Can't belive its been 3 months already since our last meeting!!! It's time to bring our washcloth project to a close and move on to our next project.. "Preemie Caps"

I've reserved the meeting room at Mario's on Clear Lake for

Tuesday June 2nd, 5:30 PM

This will just give us a chance to catch up, turn in all your washcloths and we can talk "Preemie Caps"

I will have some pattern for you, as well as some yarn (I don't have as much baby yarn as I did chemo cap yarn, but I do still have some for you)

Please RSVP to me to let me know if you can make it and if you have a friend who is interested in joining us, please bring them...the more the merrier!!

Hope to see you all then!

A few things....

HI Gals,

Sorry for the delay in posting, April has been a little hectic!

I wanted to let you know that 2 weeks ago I delivered some caps to Katherine Howerton who is a social worker with the Cancer Society, she's stationed at SIU. She gladly took 60 of our caps to distribute to ladies getting chemo in Springfield.

So I still have some caps if any of you have any organizations that could distribute them, if not, Katherine said she'd be thrilled to take them, so I'm SO glad that we were able to find a local organization that can get the caps to ladies who need them.

Keep up the good work girls and I'll schedule a meeting before we start our next project..Preemie Caps!!

Washcloth count

1 month down and 2 to go....so far 21 washcloths are ready to go!!! That's FANTASTIC!!! Keep up the great work ladies!!

Also I have a few leads to "rehome" our chemo caps WILL stay local!!! I'll post more about that later!

Wish list...

Many of you have asked how else you can help with what we're doing. (As if dedicating your time and skill isn't enough!!) Or you know someone who doesn't knit, but they want to help the cause....

To be honest, I've been able to handle most of the "this and that" and administrative kinds of expenses, at least so far.


I'm sitting OK on office supplies and most of the miscellaneous expenses aren't so extravagant that I can't handle it, at least not yet. (And Rebekah & Tracy have been kind enough to burn & donate CD's and mail letters for me.) Now if we get some responses to our flyer's and we end up with 50 or 100 knitters.... I may be asking for help :)


I'm so grateful at all of your contributions that you do already with your knitting , I really don't want to ask for anything, or charge any sort of "dues" for our "Charity Knitting Club"


But I was asked to post a "wish list" of items that are needed at any given time, so I agreed to do that.



But let me preface this with "Please don't feel obligated" and "I really do appreciate all that you're doing already" so if you want to donate something on this list, that's wonderful, but if you don't or can't, it's OK because I'm so thrilled to have your participation that if you're willing to continue to knit...then I'm willing to do the "odds n ends" stuff.....



We can always use......

• Ziploc bags, all sizes. (Since we never know how soon an organization will be using what we're giving them, I want each item to be individually safe in a Ziploc bag to ensure that it won't be damaged before it's given)


• Stamps (I'm always sending letters to companies asking for donations so stamps are always needed)


• CD's. (So far I've only made you 1 CD with patterns but as our projects continue, this CD will grow. I plan to give each of you a new CD at the start of each project)


• Staples gift card. I buy any office / administrative supplies we need at Staples

Supplies!!!

So as many of you know I've been soliciting companies to donate yarn and various supplies to our cause and it's been truly overwhelming. The amazing generosity of these companies. It really restores my faith in humanity.

In fact, in addition to yarn, we've received needles, and cases as well. As soon as I obtain permission from each company, I will be sure to post the names and websites of the companies that have been so amazingly generous to us. I think it's important to remember these companies and their generosity when it's time to do our personal "knitting shopping"!

I've told many of you that some days it's like coming home and it's Christmas and I'm just as excited as an 8 year old with a Barbie Dream House!!!

Today was one of those days....I was expecting this box and it didn't disappoint. ( Again, I can't name names just yet until I find out from them that it's OK to post on here) I received a box of yarn that has a variety of colors and fibers. It will be perfect for our upcoming "Preemie cap" project, as well as any future scarf or hat project.

I'm so appreciative of all the time and creativity that each of you devote to these projects, that I'm happy to do the legwork to get donated supplies for us to use and I'm thrilled when I get to open up the box and find these fantastic yarns and needles and cases!!

So PLEASE be sure to get in touch with me if you need yarn or needles, there's a good chance I may have what you're looking for. Except , I DON'T have any yarn appropriate for washcloths, since most balls are under $2 and you can get 2 cloths out of it, I thought we could handle that expense. But I do have yarn that's great for caps as well as baby projects so just check with me if you need any supplies!!!

WASHCLOTHS!!!

Well girls, we're 3 weeks into washcloths... what do you think so far???

Most of the feedback I've heard is that they knit up very fast, which is great and that many of you have been able to truly appreciate the "special-ness" of a hand knitted washcloth and have made some for yourselves and plan to make some for gifts. I think that's awesome!!!

Personally I like that it's quick, (I'm all about instant gratification) and it's teaching me to follow a pattern, which is something I was needing to learn.

In fact, our earflap hats are just about done!! I will post pictures this weekend. That was a great project because we got to learn a few new techniques to enhance our knitting abilities!!

To go along with our wash cloths, I've been soliciting for soap donations. I thought it would be great if each cloth could be wrapped around a little bar of soap and tied up with a ribbon. The soap donations aren't going so well, so far I've only had one company donate. But this soap is FANTASTIC!!! I will be ordering some for myself. It came from Ohio, Honey Hill Farm. Joan was kind enough to send me some "Orange Sherbet" soap and it smells yummy. Visit her site www.honeyhillfarm.com. She was very kind to us, and we really appreciate it.

Well gals, that's all for now, just wanted to post a little note and I hope your washcloths are going well, I know I'm really enjoying this project and it's for such a worthwhile group who can really use and appreciate this gift!

Teaching kids to knit....

So while I personally only have kids of the "4- legged" variety, I know that many of you have the "2 legged" kind... the kind you can teach things... like knitting!!!!



Now I don't want to discount my kids capacity to learn, I mean they can be taught to SIT, STAY, Potty outside....but it's just not the same as actually being able to share with them a skill / hobby/ passion that will hopefully be a part of their lives forever.



One of our knitters, Tracy is embarking on the brave journey of teaching her 10 year old, Sami to knit. I figured that it wouldn't be long once Sami saw the yarn, the colors, the tools and of course the really cool stuff her mom was making, before those curious eyes would look at Tracy and say "Mom, can you teach me to do that?"



I saw the first square today that Sami did and I have to say ..WOW I'm VERY impressed. She did a great job!!! And from what Tracy tells me, Sami is becoming very engaged with her knitting so I know it won't be long before she has a scarf or hat that she's made herself!

So welcome Sami, to the wonderful world of knitting!! I know you're mom will be a great teacher and from what I've seen so far, you're on the way to being a fabulous knitter!! I hope you learn this from your mom and it's something that you'll continue to love to do and learn more about. Maybe one day you'll pass it along to your "little Sami" (Like 20 years from now...not anytime soon!!)

I've even volunteered that when Sami's friends want to learn, and their mom's don't know how and they say "Mrs. Cooley, can you teach me?" I will be happy to help host the "knit / tea party" and buy the cocktails that will be needed afterwards!!!

All kidding aside, I think it's the coolest thing to be able to introduce this to the next generation of women who will want something to do during the very little "down time" they'll get, and share with them a hobby that can sustain them throughout their lives.

So congrats to Sami for wanting to learn something new, and kudos to Tracy for having the patience to be the teacher. Good luck!!

I'll keep you posted.....