Warm Up America

If you have some small balls of left-over yarn and you don't have any special plans for them, may I make a suggestion?

Warm Up, America is a charity that sends out afghans, caps and friendship shawls to people in need. If you would like to make the smaller items, Warm Up, America will distribute them. If you just have enough yarn to knit or crochet a piece 7" by 9", you can send those to WUA and they will have volunteers sew the pieces together into afghans and baby blankets.

Here's a list of places to which they donate:

• Women's shelters
• Nursing homes
• Children's hospitals
• Hospitals and hospices
• Daycare centers
• Veterans' homes
• Churches
• AIDS facilities
• Homeless shelters
• American Red Cross chapters

Patterns are provided for both knit and crochet items in case you need ideas and/or instructions.

http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html

   

Thanks for sharing your craft abilities with others in this season. I'm guessing some of WUA's donations will go to the communities affected by the tornadoes.

Happy crafting,

Kathi Linz

Some Recent Crochet Projects

Here are a few shawls and laprobes that will be donated to hospice around Valentine's Day.

I hope this inspires you to make something comforting for your favorite cause.

Happy crafting,

Kathi

9th Annual 60 Scarves in 60 Days

It's time to gear up for the annual 60 Scarves in 60 Days event.  The rules seem to be pretty simple.  Try to make a scarf every day between September 1 and November 30.  Give the scarves to the charity of your choice.  http://crochetwithdee.blogspot.com/2011/09/eighth-annual-60-scarves-in-60-days.html

Maybe you have a local shelter, community provisions, clothing closet, or some organization that helps people with warm clothes for the winter.  No postage required. 

If you don't mind shipping your work a little farther afield, Crochet 'N More has a list of charities that welcome contributions.  http://www.crochetnmore.com/123charitylinks.htm  One that especially asks for scarves is The Red Scarf Project.  They distribute red scarves to foster children who are entering college.  Foster children who turn 18 are technically on their own.  The scarf reminds them that someone still cares about them.

Maybe you aren't super speedy with your knitting or crocheting.  Although this project is specifically scarves, you might challenge yourself to make smaller pieces for charities. 

Warm Up America (http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/how.html) takes knit and crochet sections 7"x 9" and sews them together to make afghans for various groups. 

Perhaps you would like to make laprobes for wounded soldiers. No fringe please.  It can get stuck in a wheel chair.  https://soldiersangels.org/blankets-of-gratitude.html

Even your scraps can be made into something useful to warm the heart of someone who needs a little something to make their life easier.

We have books at the library with a skazillion patterns for everything from afghans to caps and booties for tiny people.  (Think premies in the hospital who need caps and warm blankets or chemo caps.  Soft, think soft.)

Here are some knitting for charities books available through the library:

Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: A Charity Guide for Knitters by Debbie Macomber
Knit Red: Stitching for Women's Heart Health by Laura Zander
Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time by Betty Christiansen (in EI system)
5 different knit or crochet books on making prayer shawls

Happy crafting,

Kathi

8th Annual 60 Scarves in 60 Days Challenge

I looked for the official rules for the "60 Scarves in 60 Days" 2011 challenge, but could not find it on the web.  Someone somewhere knows the official timing of this event, but I can only go by what has gone before.

Usually, the 60 days in question cover September and October.  You can knit or crochet using any pattern or color you wish.  The point of this great heap of scarves is to donate it to a local charity - or two or three.  Maybe you do work so beautiful that the local hospital can sell them from its gift shop. Or a homeless shelter/community clothing closet/soup kitchen/mission would certainly be happy to hand them out. If your local schools have children who haven't enough warm clothes for winter, perhaps someone there could be found to distribute the scarves judiciously. 

If you want to foot the bill for postage, http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/charity-links.html has a list of possible choices in various parts of the world.  If you can scroll down to "Scarves" past all the other places that need knitted and crocheted items, you're a stronger person than I am.  I might be tempted to sew a few of those scarves together and send out a blanket to Pine Ridge Reservation or Afghans for Afghans.

If you enjoy working with the color red, you might want to contribute to the Red Scarf Project which gives scarves to foster children going to college.  Once they are eighteen and leave their foster home, they no longer have an official family.  The Red Scarf Project reminds them that someone cares about them and their future. Here's a good link for that project: http://fc2success.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/

There are only 8 days left to scrape up some soft yarn and a couple of fast patterns.  Big hooks, everyone.  On your mark, get set......

Happy crafting,

Kathi