Gift Card Wreath: Purples & Pinecones, Item 3

A friend at church wanted to bless her care group leader with a gift card wreath.She liked the Purples and Pinecones, thought it would look great in Cathy's home long after the cards were spent and their envelopes detached. So she asked for spots for 3 gift cards, which I gladly made using coordinating scrapbook paper. People of the care group collected money toward three places where Cathy and her hubby can enjoy themselves.

Kate gladly made a donation to our Russia trip with Global Aid Network.

This is Item 3 for te New Year here.

Never Ending Chocolate Wreath: Item 2

My friend Connie made a donation for our Russia trip in exchange for this wreath which she served to guests on Christmas Eve.

Between now and Valentine's Day, I hope to sell many to husbands and sweethearts for their special honeys. I'll just change the colors to pinks, reds, and whites, and probably stack a small heart-shaped box of chocolates in the center of the wreath. This type will be the kind they have to set on the table or nightstand. Think it'll sell?

Sleddy Bear Wreath: Item 1 for New Year Here

I made this wreath for my friend, Barb. My mom gave a generous donation toward our Russia trip just after I sent this as a Christmas gift, so I am counting it in among my 25 Things. Barb collects ceramic Boyd's Bears. I found these soft stuffies at a great discount store in town.

New Member

Hello Everyone!

Welcome Diane.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

Item number 2

Here is my second item for the year (working from December 2006 to December 2007). I'm enjoying not being at work full time at the moment so there's a lot of knitting getting done. I try to do one charity item for each of my own items I make. My husband helped me with the pompom as I've never done one before (really). This hat is destined for the Hottentots Holland Hospital Helpers to distribute. I will see the collection lady at my quilting guild meeting in February and I'm hoping to have quite a little collection of goodies for her.

The doll is there to show what it will look like on. Meet Heidi (I got her when I was eight and had just finished reading the Heidi series).

Ruth

24 & 25

Ta da!

The hats are destined for the Rad Bad Beanie Project, not sure which direction I will send the quilt yet. It's flannel, warm and bright and colorful.

Scarf for the Red Heart Project

This is a scarf that I made in Tunisian Crochet. It will be in tomorrow's mail for the Red Scarf Project.

Charity Hat Pattern

Merry Christmas everyone!




Vickietoria at Crochetville shared her original hat pattern with a request that one be made for her charity group called From The Heart of Texas. She sent me the pattern and I whipped one up quickly using Red Heart Ocean yarn. I'm going to be sending this one to her for her charity, and will then make more to send to Roswell Cancer Institute. This pattern is so pretty and works up quickly and easily. It's really a great pattern!

Thanks, Vickie, for sharing the pattern! I love it.

Numbers 22 & 23

It's been awhile since I have posted any photos of charity knitting..lots going on, but next week I have a package headed out to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte in San Jose, CA. I found this charity online through Volunteer Match. They are looking for: any number of items that babies can use, such as blankets, booties, or beanies. I coordinated one set with a hand made quilt and then did 4 sets of hats and booties. To send the items to them and make them a little more special I picked up these little white bags with handles at JoAnns...braided a little of the left over yarn to make a tie and a bow. I punched two holes in the top of the bag and put the cording through there and a little tag. It was fun to package things up for a change as I know these items will be handled out individually.

A different spin on charity knitting...

I learned to knit in the third grade at the local elementary school. So learning to knit at school is near and dear to my heart. When I read on Mama Squid's blog that she needs some help from fellow knitters I knew it was time to spread the word.

From Mama Squid---"Yes, I'm appealing ... to you all for your unwanted needles -- particularly in sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 -- and yes, even yarn."

I went through my collection tonight of old metal needles and managed to come up with a few sets to donate to the cause--I am not going to tell you exactly how many..it's embarassing... I stopped at JoAnn's picked up a few sets on the way home tonight. You've heard the expression Each One Teach One? In this case maybe it should be Each One Reach One. If each person that reads this blog would send one pair of needles to the cause that would be one more new knitter in this world..more importantly one new CHARITY knitter to carry on the cause when we are too old and feeble to move the needles..

Tis the season..won't you help a mama out?

<3

Ann

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season.

Big Project

Hi

I am Simone Coetser. My big project for the year is fundraising for a childrens playground to be put up in the area that we live.
I hope to combine some of the events with local charities.
Example - A Big-Knit: The money will go to the project and the knitted squares will be made
into blankets and given to either the local hospital or Cotlands.
I am still in the process of research and planning.

Ideas, suggestions, past experiences et. etc will be welcomed.

A New Member

A big welcome to Simone!

Simone is learning to knit and sew. Meanwhile, her craft of choice is baking!

The first item

These little booties are my first item in my 25 things. I'm planning on working from December to December.

These will go to my local public hospital - that I do all my charity knitting for.

New Blogger

I am not switching this blog over to the new blogger until the end of this month. I am hoping that by then all issues will be resolved and all of you will have switched over.

I'm new...

Hi, thought I'd stop in and introduce myself. My name's Ruth. I'm an Australian, but I'm currently living in South Africa - just finishing up my first year here. I'm a knitter and a sometimes quilter. Mostly I knit stuff for our local public hospital, there is a group of ladies who distribute clothes to the patients and their families, this was started because some of the families were so destitute that they didn't have clothes for their newborns, but has been extended to all ages, including adults.

Stop by my blog to learn more about me. I'll be back to post some items in the next few days.

Ruth

New Member

Welcome to Ruth!

Ruth asks:

...what if I don't get 25 things done?

LOL! Don't worry about it Ruth. Just jump right in and do what you can.

Pinafore Dress

I finally finished the custom knitted baby item for the charity auction. Here it is:


I learned a lesson with this auction. The Yuletide Gnomes I knitted ahead of time netted a tidy sum. The items folks don't see in front of them really didn't make much. Live and learn.

10 Scarves

Click any picture to see larger.

Same pictures with yarn description are on my blog.

These all go to OperationGratitude.

Hanukkah Happiness Wreath, Item 4

My mom ordered this wreath in exchange for a donation to her beloved granddaughter's mission trip to Russia.

12 Hats for Soaring Eagles

Yesterday, I finished up the last of the 12 hats I am sending to the Soaring Eagles Project. I also included some other goodies for the children in the box I am sending out today. I think that will be it for charity work until next year.

show & tell

Phew, it sure gets busy around the holidays! I'm coming up for a bit of air and to share a couple of pictures of recently completed charity items. I've sent Christmas ornaments to the Busy Needle Ornament tree again this year - they're great people and they really do make a difference! The bookmarks are for a friend's needlework chapter, which does a big adult literacy drive every year at this time. I hope to contribute more next year.





I hope the holiday season finds you happy and healthy and surrounded by loved ones.

Two New Members

Welcome Top Champ and Pam! Pam shares:

I have committed myself to making bereavement blankets for the hospital I work at and hope to make at least 25 in the coming year.

Item 3: Scott's Wreath

The most meaningful wreath I've made yet, this one is a memorial wreath. Scott Bishop was killed four years ago in a car accident. Having 3 teens myself, my heart breaks for his mom, my friend Donna. I didn't know Scott well, so I had to ask Donna what he loved. She said football, nature, snow, and all things Christmas. They wanted fall colors in memory of the month he died: November.

I got help from another friend (who may be going to Russia with us) to get the picture printed and laminated. (The family wants to hang the wreath on a cross that Scott's dad built and put at his grave, so the wreath has to withstand the elements.) I found the beautiful brown bird with feathers tinted burnt orange to compliment the leaves and pumpkin-colored berries. The snowman? A Godsend. I popped into a little discount store where an 18-year old(ish) girl listened to what I was looking for: a football, a snowman, and something Christmassy to put on a memorial wreath. She showed me this: a snowman with a logo of the Ravens (Baltimore's pro football team) which also plays Jingle Bells! Perfect! Then she told me she went to his same high school (never met him, though) and knew where I could find a purple helmet to put on the wreath. So I tracked down the gym teacher who gave me leftover helmets (plastic, strung on a necklace) at no cost to me. My husband wrote Scott's jersey number, 76, in black Sharpie for me on the helmet. A few other bits of nature adorn the wreath.

I gave Donna the wreath on Saturday at a ladies' Christmas breakfast. She clutched it , cried, hugged me, showed everyone, hugged me some more. What more could you ask for than to know you've touched someone's heart?

Item 2

No picture. I forgot to take one. But it was another Never Ending Chocolate Wreath which had 54 pieces of Hershey's chocolates on a 14" flat-surface wreath. It's Item 2 of the new year.

Item 1, Year 2: "Apples for my Sister" Wreath

I'm back. (I never actually went away. I just voted myself back in and hope to make another 25 Things this year.)

My sister Rachel wanted two Apples wreaths to give as gifts (to different people). This is the second one I made for her.
Proceeds go a missions trip with Global Aid Network that my daughter and I want to take in the spring, most likely to Russia or Ukraine.

Chayce is So Happy!

Chayce is a sick but very happy little boy who got a quilt from Love Quilts. Some of you might remember that I posted that my daughter (17) made a quilt square Chayce. He loves sports, so receiving this sports-themed quilt made his face beam like a Christmas tree. Take a look at the picture Sarah posted on her blog. You can't see her square since it is lower and to the right, but you can't help but notice Chayce's joy. Check out the picture at www.77thpsalm.blogspot.com.