October recap

Hi everyone! I am sorry I haven't been posting more in this blog, but I don't have any lovely pictures to share like the rest of you. :-( But I have been out there, getting involved, thinking, talking ... and changing. Have the rest of you noticed that your perceptions are shifting? That you are suddenly much more aware of the other levels on which life is lived? It has been a most interesting and unexpected development for me.

I have posted an October recap over on my blog, Mainely Stitching, if you'd like to look. No pictures yet, but there's always next month!

A Couple of Scarves

With the next Harry Potter movie coming out in November, I thought it would be fun make a couple "Gryffindor" scarves; one for my daughter to wear to the movie and one for charity. This pattern is over at Lion Brand and has color combos for every "house" at Hogwarts.

I also made a wonderful skinny scarf out of Caron Simply Soft. The scarf is "wiggly" as my daughter says, and has a nice drape when worn. I've seen similar scarves over at Old Navy. The pattern works up quickly and is a great way to use up some of that stash yarn.

Tomorrow I plan to gather up these scarves and two hats I've already made and bring them to my church's donation closet.

Booties and Fedora

These are the first booties and fedora I have ever crocheted! This is my childhood doll Thumbelina (she's over 40 yrs old) modeling them for you. I am mad that I didn't try to make these when my son and nephews and niece were little. I guess I can look forward to grandkids and of course more charity crocheting. They were fun! Thumbies' feet are really tiny so the booties go up to her knees.
I want to make a couple more sets and send them off before Christmas to a hospital or shelter.

Item No. 1

This may look like a basic hat, but it is my first KNIT hat!! I used Bev's Basic Cozy Cap pattern. It is knit flat and is very, very easy to do. I am already starting cap number 2.

This one is going to Afghans for Afghans or the Dulaan Project.

Rad Bad Beanies

I am donating to Rad Bad Beanies for part of my 25 Things and here is one Rad Bad Beanie:

Courtisy of my son's head. Here is the pattern:
Snowboarder Skullies (if you click on Dana E's Mods, you'll see the "flamin' idea"). I made some modifications in the pattern and used two strands of Simply Soft held together in black so I think I can get 3 hats out of it. Not bad for 4 dollars worth of yarn and some left over red and orange from my stash.
Have a great weekend and keep up the great work, people!! We are so good. . .
~ DAWN

Lapghans #21 & 22

I finished 2 lapghans yesterday.

"Christmas Granny Square"
I got this green/white/red multicolor yarn at a yard sale last Saturday,the 15th.It was wound into a ball that was a different on the outside,so I didn't know it was there!I made eight 5-round squares on Saturday and 2 on Sunday,using all the yarn up.I joined the squares together on round 6 with more yard-sale yarn in white.Wednesday,still using the granny-squre stitch and working around the joined squares,I added green(Walmart clearence).Yesterday,I added a round of white and red(thrift store)and finished it off with a round in sc in white.

"Scrap DC"
I started this one earlier in the year.I made a ch-100 and worked single rows in DC stitch,using about 15 yards of scrap per row.I make 5 rows of DC and put a row of SC in black.Since I only added scraps,this is why it took so long,LOL.

28!

We now have 28 people who have joined our challenge. I want to welcome everyone who has joined in the past week. We are very happy to have you.

I have send out e-mail invites to everyone to join the blog. If you did not receive one, please e-mail me your e-mail address.

I have really enjoyed looking at everyone's projects. You are all an inspiration and a reminder that I need to get off my butt and start making my 25 items! I will start as soon as I finish a few projects. I ordered some Knit Picks wool that I have earmarked for charity projects. I'll post pics once I receive it.

Don't forget to post about us on your blogs or to your lists.

Hi Everyone,

Here is another baby hat I have done. It works up so quickly. I love the colors. I still have picked a charity for them. But some women at my church are part of a local shelter for young ladies having babies. So I will check that one out.

Nanci

Hello All!

My name is Amanda and I joined the group last week but the blog did not show up in my dashboard until today, very odd blogger. Anyway I knit and crochet for an organization called Warm the World I have been working with them since July 2005. I think I have made around 18 things for them so far (mainly hats and scarves) and I am planning on making 5 baby blankets before the end of the year for them as well. In addition to knitting and crocheting for Warm the World I also started a group at the University where I am working on my MA in Literature. We work with various local groups making blankets, hats, scarves, mittens etc. I have also made toys and scarves for some of the kids in my mountain town in Colorado (mainly toys that were knitted). It is great to see other people making things for others and I look forward to seeing more of everyone's projects. Soon I will get a collage together of the things I have made to date for others.

Happy Crafting!
Amanda

JoAnn Coupons

Here are two 50% off coupons good for this Friday and/or Saturday only.

My First Official "Thing"!

An infant hat and mittens set to go with a blanket I just finished that is going to China (didn't count the blanket since started it before this drive began) I didn't even use a pattern for the hat...just did it as I went along I love the trim it's Joann Bamboo yarn and so floofy! When the baby grows they can turn down the brim and it'll fit for a longer time. Will be mailing these out this week cause the family taking them to China is leaving a week from Saturday! I'm so excited, this is the first thing I've made to go there but sure won't be the last...

Great to see so many people involved...even if each person only makes 25 items that'll be almost 700 things made in the next 12 months (675) that's fantastic!!!

hugs to all
Ro

"My Blanket"

I recently finished reading They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan. I found this passage and thought I would share it with you:

We slept outside under blankets. My blanket was the strongest, the most beautiful and the best thing I had ever owned. It had yellow, blue, red and gray stripes alternating all over. When I washed it, I had to sit all day and watch while it hung from a tree to dry so that no one stole it. I loved that blanket. It stayed thick and strong and when it was wet, it smelled so good it almost felt like I was back home in our village with the sheep.

I don't know where this little boy got this particular blanket. I only hope that all the items we make will help to give someone the same bit of comfort and sense of home.

The Lost Boys of Sudan

American Red Cross Page: The Lost Boys of Sudan

Hi and Thanks!

Thank you for inviting me to 25 Things. I'm really excited about this idea. About a month ago I thought I would like to crochet some things for charity and started this blanket for the Snuggles project and these 2 hats for our churches donation closet. I'm so glad to be able to join a group of people with similar ideas. Now the few things that I do make can contribute to a bigger more meaningful collective even though we're donating to a variety of charities. With all the disasters, man-made and natural, that have occured lately, it's been a bad year for humanity. 25 Things is a warm and wonderful idea and definitely is a bright point of light. I hope to make more hats, scarves and pet blankets this winter. Here's a pic of my first efforts.

Check This Out

All of this from one skein of LionBrand Wool Ease Chunky!! That is one winter ski hat, one headband (for cold ears), and one scrunchie (to expose the ears). That is a total cost of $3.22 plus tax. I have one more skein and then I plan on digging through the 'ol stash and making more hats. I haven't decided what charity they are for but I am leaning toward a shelter or maybe one of the reservations.
Peace~ DAWN

thanks for having me!

I'm very excited to be part of this group! Thanks a lot to Dianne, who featured 25 Things for Charity in her own blog.

I have only been doing charity cross stitching for about a year now, though we are involved in other charities and volunteer programs. With our three young children, we keep pretty busy :-). I want our kids to grow up helping out other kids and people. It's too easy to overlook how lucky we all are in the general rush-rush of daily life.

I'll start my 12 month count from this month. I have already done a few things, which I'll detail in another post (when I have a bit more time ... tonight is a work-from-home night).

Okay I am here

and thank you for letting me join the gang. I am so excited about this. Right now I am working on a set of cards for a friend who asked for donations for her Chemo center. She has a basket set up and the patients can take birthday or other occassion cards to send to family.

Some cat nip toys

Here are the little stuffed catnip toys I made for the Hugs for Homeless animal shelter-the snuggle projects. That's my boy Cosmo posing with them. He actually swiped another blue one off the table and gave it a test drive. It was very wet and played with. They are stuffed with fiberfill, wax paper (to make a noise) and of course some of Cosmo's catnip stash. Next I will make the little mats for the kitties.
Next I want to get my crochet hook out! You are all very inspiring! Thanks!! : )

Hello to everyone

I was excited to see so many e-mails this morning relating to 25 Things for Charity. I am slowly making my way through all the e-mails (while trying to also get some work done). I will get to everyone by the end of the day. Remember, I need your e-mail address in order to send you an invite to join the blog.

Dawn, I love the poem. I would like to add it to the Join Us post. (If you don't mind.) It is so beautiful I don't want it to be lost.

Okay, back to my inbox.

Glad to be here!

I just finished my 20th lapghan of the year yesterday!

I leave my lapghans for my mother to give to her parish priest,who gives them out at Christmas to a nursing home.I have also made 3 capes to donate to the same nursing home.

Hi Everyone, Here is my first hat for charity. Its a baby hat made with yellow sport baby yarn. It is my first hat and was very easy. I don't know what charity I will send them to yet.
Thanks Nanci

I'm here!

Oh, I'm so excited about this!! I would have been here sooner, but things have been horribly hectic. This is going to be so much fun! I have a couple of ideas of things to make for charities, but mainly I am hoping to donate to area animal rescues.

Here's a link...It's the Snuggles Project... http://www.h4ha.org/snuggles/ . My goals is 30, but I'm hoping to do more. I figure when I get tired of crocheting I can quilt or tie felt. Must keep motivated!

Glad to be here and can't wait to get to know you all!

Kat

Cristin's here....

Hey y'all! I just wanted to stop by and let you know I got the invitation to join and that I'm active in my charity projects already. I'm working on my 2nd hedgie blanket (no pics...they really aren't spectacular. I'm just doing a sc and using up some scrap yarn). I printed off a pattern for a chemo cap. Every day cancer gets closer to home for me. Seems like I know WAY too many people afflicted these days.
I'm making a Q hook ghan for a good friend of mine who just found out she has brain cancer. She's only 43. She starts chemo soon...I'd like to have the ghan done for her by then. (that one's not a charity project, just got on a tangent...sorry).

Words of Inspiration

Hey everyone, I wanted to share this poem with you all that I wrote last year and it seems so appropriate to what we are all doing so here goes:

The Current to Kindness

It's the little things

that keep the current moving-

That help lift the silt from the bottom

and turn it into mountains to stand upon-

That propels us forward

with momentum-

It's the current of kindness

that gets us to our destinations,

keep it moving

so we can go on. . .

I am so glad to be a part of this with all of you.

~ DAWN

The Rules

There are NO RULES!!! LOL. I know the lack of rules may freak some people out. Don't panic. Feel free to set up your own personal rules. But, I say let's go crazy and see what happens.

You can count anything as one item. It could be a square that will be a part of a larger afghan. It could be a preemie hat. It could be the biggest afghan we have ever seen. You decide the definition of "one item."

You can back date your time frame. If you started something two months ago and want your twelve months to start then - go ahead.

You can decide to make more than 25 or less than 25 items. I picked 25 as the number because it is a good number for me. At first, I was thinking 12. But, then I decided to push myself.

Donate your items to any charity. Please share your favorite charity with the group. I have a list of charities on my blog.

Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something.

Thomas A. Edison
US inventor (1847 - 1931)

We hit 20!

We have had 20 people sign up! Can you imagine how many smiles we are going to put on people's faces when they get our stuff? I think this is absolutely wonderful.

I have send everyone an e-mail requesting your e-mail address. I need it in order to send you an invite to join the blog. If you didn't receive a request, then please e-mail me your e-mail address. You can also just send me anything you want to post and I will post it for you.

introduction, preemie blankets

Hi! I'm Debbie. I live in Iowa and I've been making items for The Preemie Project (Hi Deneen!), a group that knits, crochets and sews items for premature infants and other babies in the newborn intensive care units at two (for now) Midwestern hospitals. Last night I made these:



There are five of them done and I have materials for three more of them. They are small, 20 x 22 inches, and will be used to place the babies on in their isolettes. They're a little over the top color wise, but we're doing special Halloween items right now.

Like Ro I technically started these before I became a member (but after I announced my interest in being a member). I hope that's all right. I plan to donate way more than 25 items this year, though, so no problem if they don't "count."

I'm really interested to see what others are working on, thanks Cindy for starting this project and for letting me join!

I made it! And a question for Cindy

Hi everybody! I finally made it here. This weekend was a bit crazy, sorry it took me so long to check in.

First thanks to Cindy for starting this wonderful project! I was just thinking last night that with 10 people signed up, just us even without anyone else will mean 250 charity items in the next 12 months, how awesome is that?! Thank you Cindy!

I will be posting about this on the One Small Thing site and blog soon as I can. Sorry for the delay in that too my child has been ultra clingy since getting back from her Dad's last night.

I have a question for you Cindy. Is it 'legal' to count items we've already started for charity and not finished yet? LOL I ask because I have two blankets about ready to go, one for Sunbeam Kids and another for the orphanage in China. Third I have a half finished blanket for Jackie's Squares for Survivors.

If you'd prefer I start from scratch with the count I understand! These items haven't been counted or donated anywhere yet so I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. Please just let me know.

I wanted to also offer if people need ideas or inspiration for unusual items to make and places to donate don't hesitate to ask. I pick these things up along the way and file them away for future reference...basically pretty much anything you want to crochet a place can be found that needs it!

Gotta run, have to feed the kid and get homework started (homeschooling is a job in itself!) I have a blanket to finish and pictures to take of a blanket I just finished and post that on the website...etc...so much to do today hope I can make a dent in my list.

hugs to all you wonderful generous people you!

xoxo
Ro

Ideas I came up with..........

Those who read my blog and "know" me then know sometime I am a proverbial fountain of useless knowledge. I also cannot seem to ever get my brain to slow down. My mind wanders, as do my posts, but this is about ideas I came up with since last night.

I plan to make some shelter blankets, hats for the rescue missions, blankies for the NICU unit, etc, but wanted to do something else too. I made these slippers last night and thought how great they would be for nursing homes. Not too tight, comfy. warm, etc. I know they come in different sizes, but I could make some for the local nursing home and the people who don't have any family. I could make a few pair in each size from 6-10, label them and drop them off. Then I also started thinking cause I want to donate to the Atlantic County Women's Shelter for battered and abused women and children. So then I thought, bibs and lovies for the kids, soft cotton chenille face cloths for the moms with some nice smelling soap. I'm trying to stick with local causes (this is for myself, not to make anyone else feel that's what they should do) because I have enough places in the area that would need items donated. We have two animal shelters, the women's shelter, the rescue mission, several nursing homes all in my county.

So now, that's the plan. I also plan to start this week on my quest.........

Just joined

Thanks to Cindy for answering my question so quickly and for the invite :) She's covered pretty much everyone I was going to suggest in this entry, with the exception of Blankets for Canada, which is the Cdn version of Warm Up America *g*

Happy crafting everyone!

item 2

My first attempt at a mitten! I've never done any wearables before, so this pattern for textured mittens by Sue Norrad was a lot of fun. It's an excellent project for beginners, seeing as even if it isn't perfect, the texture manages to be very forgiving. Now I just have to make the second one...lol!

item 1

Well, I think I'm past the hardest part...doing the first project! I've also decided to divide my donatation between 2 causes. The first batch will be family items. And for number one...I was able to pop out this adorable duckie bib by Margret tonight.

Charity Links

I have a list of possible donation options on my blog.

Ro, always has organizations that need items. She was able to find me a charity in South Africa (Sunbeam Kids)that helps children with AIDS. I plan to make this the first place I will send items.

Also, Lion Brand has links for charities accepting items as well.

There are tons of places around that need items. The local homeless shelter, animal shelter, hospital .....

Patterns

I've never done any crocheting for charity before and I'm at a loss for what to make. Maybe some of you are having that problem too? I thought maybe we could take some time to share some suggestions and links to get us all started. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate your comments! Or you can email me at vigilant20@gmail.com.

I know I'm ready to go...I just have no idea what's needed or wanted. I'm also trying to figure out where in my area I can donate. I'm thinking of giving the items to my church to distribute among needy members before they pass them off to shelters, etc. A few of the ladies have been hinting at wanting me to teach a crochet class and I thought I could try to get them involved as well :) It may make for a nice new ministry.

Wow!!!

I think there are eight of us doing this now. I am so excited!!! You guys are all so wonderful.

I have sent almost everyone an invite to join the blog. [I am still waiting for the e-mail addresses of two people.] This will allow all of us to post here. So, don't be shy - post away.

If you don't want to sign up with blogger then send me your posts or pics. I'll be glad to post to the blog on your behalf. I am going to be adding everyone's names to the sidebar sometime tomorrow (if you sign up to post it will be added automatically by blogger).

Don't forget to add us to your blogline subscriptions. I'll add a subscribe button tomorrow.

We have a button!!!

Thanks to Lynn for this great button!!!

Welcome to 25 Things for Charity

Make a commitment to craft 25 things for charity in 12 months. It can be any item for any charity.

Send me your e-mail address if you are interested. I'll send you an e-mail invite to join the team. This will allow you to post on this blog. My e-mail address is cynabel@yahoo.com. Please use the subject "25 Things" in your e-mails to me.

Thanks!
~ Cindy

The Current to Kindness

It's the little things

that keep the current moving-

That help lift the silt from the bottom

and turn it into mountains to stand upon-

That propels us forward

with momentum-

It's the current of kindness

that gets us to our destinations,

keep it moving

so we can go on. . .

~ DAWN