November 1, 2009
Today’s topics:
1000 comfort scarves are wrapped and ready for delivery for Thanksgiving
Making 2000 scarves for Christmas will be a lot of work by all of us. We can do it!
Talking Crochet Newsletter (Oct. 27, 2009) featured Handmade Especially for You
The generous contributions from yarn companies and individuals continue
We now have 6 chapters throughout North America and have many more shelters receiving our comfort scarves
Pros and cons of keyhole scarves
And now for the details:
In addition to our October delivery of 250 comfort scarves, we now have 1000 scarves wrapped and ready for delivery before Thanksgiving. I am very proud of all of us who have worked so hard to achieve this goal. Honestly, as much as I hoped for such a result, I thought it might be too big to complete. But we’ve done it. Now on to achieving the next goal -- 2000 comfort scarves for Christmas. It looks like we have a real chance to make that goal as well. Read on.
Talking Crochet Newsletter ran a feature story about us October 27, 2009. The response was incredible. I was at Disneyland with my daughter and granddaughters when the story ran. When I returned and checked my email, I was truly overwhelmed. There were hundreds of letters. Some were from people who wanted to participate; some from those who want to start their own chapters; some to generally support our movement; and some from women who had been abused themselves and wanted to tell how important they think our comfort scarves are to those who receive them. You can view the article at: http://www.crochet-world.com/newsletters.php. I have been busy making and sending kits ever since it appeared.
Yarn companies continue their generosity. This means a lot because I am making and sending out so many kits that I am going through miles of yarn every day. Knitting Fever and Crystal Palace Yarns continue to be exceptional donors. Their yarn meets all our requirements--soft, colorful, beautiful, including solid colors and lots of ribbon yarns and fun fur we use to decorate our scarves! Mountain Colors sent another box of their beautiful hand dyed wool. Many of you greet me with bags of yarn. I appreciate all contributions. And I use everything as I’m sure you’ve seen if you use my kits.
Community support is growing as well. On Oct. 18 Wabi-Sabi Knits held a community knit-in in Playa del Rey to support us. That was a first. They have a big bin right now half-full of comfort scarves. They expect it to be filled by Nov. 13, when I will do my first pick up there.
I knit with a group of seniors at Golden West Tower in Torrance. The group is small, but very productive. They have a lot of fun. One of the women encouraged her daughter (a young woman my age) to join us. The two of them talked up the project so much in their family that now the daughter’s daughter has organized a group of her co-workers to make comfort scarves. They are the first (that I know of) 3-generation family to participate.
A woman in IL requested 12 kits for girls she is teaching to knit. She just wrote telling me the girls want to donate their scarves to the Constance Morris House in La Grange. People everywhere are joining our movement.
As a result of our new chapters, we now have several new shelters to add to our list of recipients. The group in Rogers, AR delivers to the Women’s Shelter of NorthWest Arkansas; the San Diego chapter donates to Saint Clare’s Home; in Naples, FL they contribute to the Naples Shelter for Abused Women and Children; Giving Hands, our chapter in Nelson, BC so far gives to Cicada Place for Youth and the Aimee Beaulieu Transition House. Marge has even bigger plans for her chapter.
Finally, in order to reach the seemingly impossible goal of making and delivering 2000 comfort scarves before Christmas THIS YEAR, I have suggested we start making keyhole scarves. They are about half the size of our regular scarves. Thus, they make up very quickly. And it is much easier for me to make the kits. For a variety of reasons, some of our participants feel this is too great a shortcut and that the recipients need the full size scarf. I feel our mission is to recognize and acknowledge victims of domestic violence. I feel receiving a keyhole scarf is better than receiving no scarf. I understand the point made by those who disagree. So I suggest that if you want to make a full size scarf, please do. I am still making kits for full size scarves. But if you are willing to make the keyhole scarf, also please do. Happily, the knit and crochet versions use the same amount of yarn (the crochet has fewer stitches) so I can make the same kit for both and you can do either. Please check the website for the patterns I recommend (on size 15 needles or K hook, of course). Whichever scarf you choose to do, I will appreciate receiving it. We reach our goal one scarf at a time. Your scarf counts!
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
www.handmadeespecially.org
