June Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

June 28, 2009



Today’s topics:
 Domestic violence occurs in every neighborhood, even yours.
 We distributed more than 1500 scarves this year and received “thank you” notes from many shelters.
 All our shelters want summer scarves.
 Handmade’s members make valuable suggestions. We couldn’t make and distribute so many scarves without everyone’s creativity.

And now for the details.

One evening, while knitting with a lovely group of women at a very nice yarn shop, I commented aloud that we all are knitting in a fairy tale, far from where domestic violence occurs. I expressed how lucky we all are. One of the women replied that her daughter actually had been in a local shelter. The shock of the women around the table was considerable. We didn’t know what to say. Yes, we are lucky that we personally have not experienced domestic violence, but we realized how close to all of us it is. No matter what neighborhood we live in, someone is or knows someone who has been a victim. Incredible isn’t it. Statistics show that abusers come from all walks of life, including families of doctors, law enforcement, and others in the helping professions. No group is exempt.

The mother of the abused daughter went on to tell us that when her daughter left the shelter, she took her comfort scarf with her, because it meant so much to her. Another shock. We have been making and distributing comfort scarves for not even a year. And an abused woman has already received one, gone through counseling to help her overcome the experience of her abuse, and graduated from the shelter. And took her comfort scarf with her. We have an important responsibility. Making and donating comfort scarves does help change the lives of women who have been abused.

We distributed just over 200 scarves this month, and over 1500 so far this year! The wrapping and delivery processes seem more routine now that we have been doing this for 9 months, but the value of the donation is just as important as when we started. All the shelters seem surprised and GRATEFUL at our continued involvement. They have sent us numerous thank you cards and letters to express their appreciation. One shelter even sent cards from the recipients addressed to the actual maker of the scarf she received. The notes were very moving. You can see a few of them in the photo above. The thank you cards complete the circle. We donate the scarf, the woman receives it, writes the card, the scarf maker receives the thank you. I know you don’t need personal thank you notes to motivate you to stay involved, but they are very nice to receive when we get them.

I have forwarded the cards to the appropriate scarf makers. If you did not receive one, please understand that we gave that shelter only 20 comfort scarves (at their request). They hope for 20 again next month. And the month after. Etc. Your card may be coming in the future.

The shelters want summer scarves. The directors acknowledge the value of receiving comfort scarves in breaking the cycle of low self-esteem/acceptance of domestic violence. So it doesn’t matter that it is summer and the weather is hot. What is important is the giving and receiving of the scarf. If I were in business, I’d call it the “cash flow,” but since our “cash” is comfort scarves, let’s call it the “scarf flow.” Summer or winter, the shelters want them. The point isn’t style or warmth; the purpose is showing the abused woman that she is worthy of receiving a beautiful, handmade scarf, that we, and rest of the world, haven’t forgotten about her.

I have posted several patterns for summer scarves on our website, www.handmadeespecially.org. I have also posted a pattern I think you will like for adding a ruffle to a scarf that. Somehow I feel ruffles are more summer appropriate than fringe, but whatever works for you is fine with me. I have a lot of pieces of yarn that are too small to make into one scarf. I have been grouping them by color and knitting them horizontally. The resulting scarf is very nice. I use big needles so even though I make the scarf in garter stitch, it looks very lacy. I bet you have a lot of yarn in your stash that you could use the same way. For really too short pieces, you can make scarves with only 10 or 12 stitches, and just change yarns frequently to use up the pieces until the scarf is 60 inches long. Don’t bother weaving in the ends. Tie them on the outside so that they become part of the design. No pattern to this kind of scarf. Use your creativity and see what happens.

Shirley contributed a “ruffle scarf” pattern that is very pretty and very popular. It needs a lot of yarn, size 101/2 needles, and a lot of time to make. It is worth the effort. You can find the pattern on the website.
To our group of OVER THE TOP KNITTERS (Annie, Beverly P, Auntie “D”, Cindy H., Diane, Janet, Kathy, Leslye, Lisa, Sharon, Tammy, Vicki, Wednesday Night Knitters at Concepts in Yarn) and the women from the Meyler Family Literacy Program, we welcome Betty W. (who sent us 10 scarves and a donation to cover the shipping, etc.). Even though summer school has been cancelled in Los Angeles, the women from Meyler Family Literacy want to continue making scarves over the summer. I hope all of you can fit scarf making into your summer plans. Keep up the good work, everyone.

Karen continues to wind big skeins of yarn into smaller balls. Kit making still is a big job, but it’s a lot easier when I have so many pre-measured balls to work with. This is a great contribution. If anyone would like to join Karen in making balls of yarn for kits, let me know. As our organization grows, we need more and more kits. Many thanks to Karen.

Betty W., one of our new participants, checked the websites of several of the shelters to which we donate scarves. She noticed one of them had laundry baskets on their wish list. She suggested we deliver our comfort scarves in a laundry basket so the shelter can give the laundry basket to someone who needs it. A great idea. I wish I had thought of it myself. Betty made a donation to cover the cost of buying some laundry baskets for next month’s deliveries. I hope others will do the same.

We depend on each one of you for Handmade’s continued growth and success. We couldn’t donate scarves to so many shelters if you didn’t contribute. Whatever you do, adds to the total. Whatever you do, whether you knitted or crocheted a scarf, created a pattern, donated yarn, money, equipment, spent time winding or wrapping, all is important. Many, many thanks.

If you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:
Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
Leslye

A home for donations

I have been making baby things for a long time and giving them to them to a couple of different local hospitals on my own but recently I found a chapter of Newborns in Need that is about an hour drive from me and took this group of donations to them. I was so impressed with this organization that this will be my permanent home for my donations and where I can learn and be challenged to do even more.

1-3 POUND BURIAL GOWN

I DECIDED TO MAKE A FEW GOWN SETS TO KEEP ON HAND IF NEEDED LOCALLY. THIS IS THE FIRST ONE. AS ALWAYS I WILL DONATE IT IN THE NAME OF EGF.

May Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

May 31, 2009

Here’s a brief outline of today’s topics.

I had an amazing experience visiting one of the shelters. This reinforced my determination to broaden the scope of Handmade Especially for You.
We distributed more than 200 scarves and received donations from two more yarn companies.
We’re busy researching and trying out patterns for summer scarves, which are much in demand.
Thinking ahead to how many scarves we will need for Thanksgiving and Christmas donations.
The number of people who participate in every aspect of Handmade continues to grow. We couldn’t make and distribute so many scarves without everyone’s contributions.

And now for the details.

When I delivered scarves to one of our new shelters (we donate to 11 shelters now), the director wanted to show me the remodeling going on there. In the kitchen, I saw a woman eating an ice cream. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw us. She tried to hide the ice cream. She looked down when we tried to acknowledge her presence. I was truly shocked. She didn’t feel worthy of having that ice cream. I wanted to reach out to her and tell her that it was OK to enjoy the treat but it was clearly inappropriate for me to do so. I saw the woman a few more times as we toured the shelter. She always seemed like a deer caught in headlights.

I thought about her for a long time afterwards. Suddenly I understood what other directors had been telling me about the impact of our scarves. They say the women are amazed that anyone would make anything so beautiful for them. They feel they are not worthy of receiving such a gift (like the woman felt she wasn’t worthy of enjoying the ice cream). Yet receiving it starts to break their cycle of low self esteem that allows them to accept abuse. For the first time, I understood what the directors were saying. We must keep on with our project and distribute scarves to as many abused women as we can. It is one important way to stop abuse and domestic violence.

We distributed just over 200 scarves this month, 50 each to two shelters who needed more for Mother’s Day after our initial donations in April. We received inspiring thank you letters from several shelters. “Everyone” at Laura’s House sent us a colorfully decorated handmade card with many signatures thanking us for the “beautiful” and “gorgeous” scarf the woman received.
Robert Armstrong, President of the Board of Directors of Interval House, wrote: “Dearest Friends, We can’t begin to put into words how very appreciative the women in our shelters were to receive your fabulous scarves. It is very obvious that a lot of love went into making them and all the women felt very special. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts…”

Sherelle Robertson, Project Director at Jenesse Center, also wrote a lovely letter. She said: “Thank you so much for the donation of the handmade scarves. We were very excited to share them with the ladies in our shelters. We gave the scarves to the transitional shelter residents for Mother’s Day. They loved them so much. The shelter staff reported that they were wearing them the next day.”

Judy Hessick, Director of Development at Rainbow Services, signed into our website and sent this note of appreciation. “A GIANT THANK YOU to you and all the volunteers involved with Handmade Especially for You. The scarves you have given Rainbow Services are truly “comfort” scarves to our clients. When the women come to our emergency shelter, they come with very little. We try to provide the basic necessities to get them started ….. But when we are able to give them one of the scarves, their eyes brighten and smiles come forth. They are really moved by the kindness, thoughtfulness and caring of your organization. Your scarves are like “hugs.” They wrap around each woman just like out-stretched arms…. Knowing someone cares about them helps to build their self-esteem. Your support and kindness are very very important. Thank you for all you do for Rainbow.”
Yarn companies are still sending donations. In addition to the yarn companies mentioned in previous newsletters, we received new donations from Blue Heron Yarns and Knitting Fever. When Trendsetter Yarns read our April Newsletter and saw that we distributed 464 scarves in one month, they sent another donation! These contributions allow us to make exceptionally beautiful scarves for abused women, many of whom have never before received a personal gift, much less a handmade one. We appreciate the tremendous support of these companies.
To our group of OVER THE TOP KNITTERS (Annie, Auntie “D”, Cindy H., Diane, Janet, Kathy, Leslye, Lisa, Sharon, Tammy, Vicki, Wednesday Night Knitters at Concepts in Yarn) and the women from the Meyler Family Literacy Program, we welcome Beverly P. (who sent us 15 scarves). Keep up the good work, everyone.
This month, Concepts in Yarn and Needlepoint, our wonderful sponsor, donated 15 scarves the staff made as store samples. They are exceptionally beautiful, showing off both the quality and variety of yarns Concepts in Yarn offers as well as the skill and talent of the staff in knitting them. Many thanks.
Chris wrapped all the scarves this month—a tremendous effort. The scarves look colorful and special when she finishes wrapping them. We have a good system going. Every time I have 20+ scarves, I take them to her for wrapping and pick up what she has finished so we don’t get behind. Plus it’s very 1950s to have a little chat as we make the exchange. Many thanks.
Karen continues to wind big skeins of yarn into smaller balls. She uses the yarn winder my son Mitch donated. Kit making still is a big job, but it’s a lot easier when I have so many pre-measured balls to work with. This is a great contribution. Many thanks.
As the Handmade Especially for You website plays a greater role in our work recruiting participants, I must say a special “thank you” to my husband, Phil. He smoothed out and refined the appearance of the website, got everything into the right type, and made a page filled with good keywords so people searching the web can find Handmade if they’re looking for an organization like ours. In addition, he built a yarn table in my office (really the yarn room), which holds my swift, yarn meter, and yarn winder so I could remove kit making from the dining room. He still makes all the tags that personalize each scarf. What would I do without him. Many, many, many thanks!!!!!
Summer is upon us although you wouldn’t be able to tell if you looked out the window at my house today. The sky is grey, there is so much fog in the air that the patio looks as if it has just been raining, and it is only 64 degrees outside. I want to knit for winter but I know in just one month it will be so hot that just the idea of wearing a scarf will cause me to turn on the air conditioning. So we need to make lighter weight, more open scarves. I have been experimenting with knitting lace and have come up with a pattern or two we can use. Even continuing with your regular patterns will work if you use bigger needles or hooks and lighter weight yarn. If you have suggestions for lighter weight scarves, please share. I will post all the suggestions on the Handmade Especially for You website, www.handmadeespecially.org
I surveyed the shelters asking them all to anticipate their needs, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their response has been overwhelming, so we must plan ahead. Adding up, I expect we will need at least 1000 scarves for November distribution and 2000 for December. Monthly, we will need about 200-250, especially during hot weather. I have been setting aside (all wrapped) the heavier scarves for cooler weather. So don’t think you cannot contribute if you cannot make lightweight scarves. We need every scarf you make, light or heavy weight, as you can see from the numbers above.
We depend on each one of you for Handmade’s continued growth and success. We couldn’t donate scarves to 11 shelters if you didn’t make your contribution. We understand not everyone can make 10 scarves a week, as many of our over the top knitters do. But whatever you contribute adds to the total. And whether you have knitted or crocheted a scarf, donated money, equipment, time winding or wrapping, it all is important. Many, many thanks.
If you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:
Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
Leslye

May Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

May Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You