Knit and Crochet for Charity

When I find myself with extra time and leftover scraps of yarn on my hands I like to find groups that distribute hand made items to people in need. Online searches for these groups have been time consuming, not always easy to find, and often outdated, so I'll keep track of what I learn here, and update it as I learn more. If you have a group or project to share, please leave a note for me in the comments section and I'll add your info.

Projects with Specific Due Dates:

Martingale & Co is sponsoring a campaign called "Share the Warmth". They're not collecting items themselves, but to encourage people to knit, crochet & quilt for charity they're offering prizes to people who donate items to the group of their choice & then submit photos to Martingale. The random drawings will be held Thursday, December 1, 2011, or when the tally reaches 3,500 donations, whichever comes first. Here's a link with all the details. You can send pictures of your donations to: Sharethewarmth@martingale-pub.com or kburns@martingale-pub.com

Smooth Fox Crochet is sponsoring a 2011 Winter Charity Square Drive with prizes. They're looking for 6, 7 or 12" squares. Check the link for complete details. Deadline is January 14, 2011.

Create scarves to gift to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters of each participating Special Olympics Program. at the 2011 Special Olympics. They're accepting scarves made out of specific yarns:

Red Heart Super Saver 387-Soft Navy
Red Heart Super Saver 319-Cherry Red
Red Heart Soft 4604-Navy
Red Heart Soft 9925-Really Red
The colors as well as the size (6" x 54"-60") of the scarves will be the same for all participating Programs in the 2012 Special Olympics USA Scarf Project. They have 4 free patterns on the site, although they welcome any design. Individual states have organized distribution of the scarves, with a list of shipping addresses and due dates here. Due dates vary by state, and fall between Dec. 12, 2011 to Mar. 5, 2012. The yarn was available today at my local Joann's (and on sale even!) but you can also order online directly from Red Heart at a discount. You can post photos of your finished work, and see what others have made, on their facebook page.


Groups That  Continually Accept Items  

Shanghai Guild has a special place in my heart as I was lucky enough to join  in their weekly knit-ins during my time as a trailing spouse in Shanghai. They make assemble beautiful blankets that are distributed to orphanages in China; create dresses for stuffed bears that are sold to benefit young heart patients and make scarves, hats and other gifts for elderly residents of Shanghai. They're happy to accept 10" knitted or crocheted squares and have people in many countries that collect items and get them to Shanghai.




Knit4Charities Inc. is an Australian Internet based association of dedicated knitters and crocheters who give warm clothing and comforting items such as blankets and toys to needy people throughout our Country. 
They have a huge following and ongoing projects that serve a variety of charities.

In memory of their sister, two women have launched "Kaps for Kendall."

From their site: "Our goal is to raise money to fight Fanconi anemia, the disease that took the life of our sister, and to provide special hats for kids and adults, who have lost their hair from chemotherapy and radiation.









If you have a group or know of one, leave info in the comments section and I'll add you to this list."

Inspiring

Two of my favorite things in one place, a trailor and knitting.

Upcycled T-shirt Needle Case

The front of the case.

I found an old t-shirt of my daughter's that my sister had decorated during her Swarovski period. Delaney had been regularly raiding my tool drawer in pursuit of her hew love of bookmaking. Knowing she'd be going back to school after Christmas I decided to kit her out with everything she'd been using. I found some squares of felt, some buttons, embroidery thread, bits of ribbon & scraps of fabric.

Inside the case

I layered 3 pieces of felt together.
Then I made a pocket on the top from the sleeve of the t-shirt and filled it with embroidery floss.
Under the purple flap is a bone folder.
The scissors are attached with ribbon and put into a pocket made from oilcloth (the points of the scissors poked through regular cloth.)
I cut a hole for the awl & embroidered around the edge so it would be stronger.
I made a little pocket out of another bit of the t-shirt with a crystal flower and tucked in a needle-threader.
I stitched a piece of ribbon down to hold safety pins.

Back of the case

At the top is the flap that holds in the bone folder.
The paisley is just a decoration.
I used buttons to strengthen the corners where the pockets are sewn on.
And the whole thing closes with a bit of elastic that catches on a button.

She loves it. It's portable, has everything she needs in one place and everything's tied down with ribbon so she doesn't misplace it.

A thank you gift for Ayi

I've just packaged up this scarf I made using Teva Durham's "Braided Neckpiece" pattern from her book Loop-d-Loop. It was quick and easy to make up. I  used Berrocco Memoirs, a yarn that has now been discontinued, that's a blend of 43% Wool, 40% Mohair, 14% Rayon and 3% Polyester.


I'm sending it off to our Ayi, to thank her for her help and kindness during our time in Shanghai. She's definitely one of the things I'll miss most about life in Shanghai. She's probably the best employee I've ever had, most likely because of my almost complete inability to communicate with her, leaving me therefore, unable to tell her how to do her job. She was always patient with my pitiful attempts at Mandarin, somehow figuring out what I really wanted when I asked her to do something that made no sense (like asking her to iron the dishes, or wash the bed). Hopefully this will keep her a bit warmer as she goes about Shanghai in the bitterly cold, wet, icy and windy winters.





The scarf was quite fun to make, you sort of make a hole, then make some strips that you weave between. Harder to say in words than it was to do.  There's an interesting texture created by knitting one half in stockinette with the knit side showing, and one half with the purl side showing. Which contrasts nicely when it comes to the weaving in and out part.  

Lintilla Scarf

Finished Lintilla Scarf

finished size: 51" on straight side. 10 1/2" at widest point. 21 ruffles on long side. 14 ruffles on short side.

gauge: 21 stitches/ 24 rows in 4"

Yarn: Regia 4-Fach Haltbar, Design Line, Kaffe Fassett. Color 4259. Used 2 balls + very small amount from a third.

To get the striping I worked 2 rows at a time from two different balls (both coming from the inside of the ball.)  When I ran out of those balls I pulled from both the inside & the outside of the third ball.


Notes and pictures on my progress:

Serape Inspired Cowl

After finishing a baby blanket in this yarn the wrong side reminded me of the Mexican serapes I used to see in Tijuana. I liked the idea of the pattern as a cowl, which is currently my favorite thing to grab and throw on as I dash out the door. It’s freeeeezing now in Shanghai and this is a great final layer.

Used leftover bits from 13 colors of yarn. Knit a 30” tube in garter stitch.

These days nothing seems finished to me unless it’s got a crocheted edging. Thank heavens for Edie Eckman’s “Around the Corner”. I used pattern number 2 at the lower edge; and pattern number 20 on the top edge. I did round 2 in purple and round 3 in green, adding a 3 stitch picot at the top of each scallop. This is one of my most used stitch dictionaries, with easy to read written instructions and charts that make customizing it to work for your project easy.   

Knit Headband with Crocheted Flower

Something to keep Delaney's ears warm at school. We saw a headband at Anthropologie that was similar and much more expensive and not nearly as soft as the ball of yarn it took to make this.

Crochet Flower Motif Pattern

Ch 51

Row 1: (dc, ch 2, dc) in 5th ch from hook, *ch 2, skip 2 ch; dc, ch 2, dc in next ch* to last stitch, dc in last ch

Row 2: ch 3, turn, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in first ch-2 space, *skip next ch-2 space, (ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch-2 space, repeat from * to last stitch then dc in last dc

Row 3: turn, *9 dc in next ch-2 space, (sl st, ch 1, sl st, ch 1) in next ch-2 space, repeat from * to end of row, tie off. Weave in end.

Flower shown here is done with Cascade Yarns Eco Duo and a size "G" hook.

Freeform Afghan #2

Finished! My second attempt at a Freeform Blanket

For weekly notes and photos on how this thing came together click on read more below

Freeform Afghan #1

Blanket made from scrumbles collected during a round robin swap. Finished size is 50" x 72".