I finished my second red scarf on Friday. The yarn is the same as the yarn in my first red scarf, Berrocco Ultra Alpaca but this time the pattern is mistake rib.  It’s a simple pattern, maybe a little boring to knit, but it produces great results.

The snow is a bonus that I’m quite happy about it. I just think the white stuff makes a perfect backdrop for the red scarf. Too bad it didn’t arrive in time for our Christmas on the Common celebration. Instead we got soaking rain. Blech.

So how about you? Have you knit a red scarf yet? The deadline is 12/15 so you really need to get cracking!

You all know about the Red Scarf Project, right?  This is Norma’s charity of choice and it’s a fine one.  I could try and write great things about this project and why it’s so important but Norma has already said it much better than I could.

The Red Scarf Project, a project of the Orphan Foundation of America, or Orphan.org, collects scarves to send in Valentine’s Day care packages to college students who have aged out of foster care. These brave young people are going it on their own and trying to improve their lives and the community by attending college. The care packages are welcome tokens of encouragement to young people who otherwise receive little to no mail.

I lifted that right off Norma’s Red Scarf Project blog but I don’t think she’ll mind.  And I don’t think she’ll mind that this year, instead of sending money as I have for the past 2 years, I’m sending scarves.  Here’s the first one.

The pattern is Mabel’s Scarf by Larissa Brown and the yarn is Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in a beautiful tomato red.  I only used one skein and it could perhaps be a might bit longer but I’m hopeful it will make a college student warm and happy this Valentine’s Day.

I love the geographical pattern and think that makes it very unisex – something that’s very important for these scarves.  Another thing that’s important about these scarves is that they be of excellent quality.  Oh hell, I’ll let Norma say it again.

Please remember QUALITY.  This is not for beginner knitters or crocheters.

The goal is for gift-worthy tasteful unisex collegiate scarves for middle class American college students — something they would feel proud to wear, just as if they were your own college-age son, daughter, or grandchild — using the following guidelines:

• Soft yarns, a drapey gauge, evenly knit or crocheted (but not anything that could be interpreted “lacy”)
• Does not have to be machine washable (but please include washing instructions)
• DK or light worsted weight is the preferred weight (can be fingering weight doubled)
• NO BULKY or SUPER-BULKY (it does not fit in the care package boxes)
• 5-8 inches wide
• 60-70 inches long
• RED!  is the MUCH PREFERRED COLOR.  Other tasteful UNISEX colors are acceptable, but RED is PREFERRED.  Absolutely NO PINK or LAVENDER, and no colors that the general public might not like.  Yellows, oranges, and certain shades of green are examples of what I’m talking about.  Some people (me included) love those colors — others really get turned off by them.
• NO LACE.  NO FRILLS.  NO ROTINI SCARVES.  NO FUN FUR.
• UNISEX, please.
• No felted scarves.
• No used scarves.

So that’s the deal with the Red Scarf Project 2009.  Scarves can be sent from 9/1 – 12/15 and I plan on knitting another scarf or two to go along with this one.  I’m hoping that some of you will join me and make a hard-working college student warm and happy.

I responded to Jean’s call for hats by knitting 3 hats. This was a great way to try out some patterns I’ve been considering for Dale. The good news is that he loves all three. Or wait – is that the bad news?

Here’s the 3AM Cable Hat

And Norma’s Bulky 2X2 Ribbed Hat

And the Seaman’s Cap

I knit them all with some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride I had in my stash. They took very little time and I think they turned out pretty well. They will be warm and that’s what really counts.

In conclusion – - –
Money spent? zero dollars
Time spent? a few hours
Great feeling achieved knowing I’m helping someone else? priceless

A few people have asked about Knit Unto Others, the charity knitting blog that Margene and I have promoted for the last two years. You heard it here first: we aren’t doing it in 2008. Of course we still support knitting for charity but the prospect of tracking knitters and their projects and prizes and their distribution, well, we just didn’t have it in us this year.

We know you understand, just as we know that you don’t need a prize to bribe you into knitting for someone less fortunate. You already know that knitting for charity is a wonderful and rewarding thing. You also know that many of us have much while too many of us have very little. Even without Knit Unto Others you know that now is the time to share that abundance with someone less fortunate.

If I’ve convinced you to do some charity knitting then I hope that you’ll consider making a contribution to Jean’s hat drive. You can read all about it on her blog but the quick and dirty version is that she is collecting hand knit hats for the homeless in New York City. It’s cold out there, people, and everyone could use some wool to keep warm.

If we all knit with a thankful spirit I believe we can really make a difference. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends – I’ll be back on Friday for Eye Candy Friday: Thanksgiving Style.

A bit of blog business: The 20,000th comment came in on Thursday morning and it was left by my real life friend and fellow blogger,Betty! Watch for a special package from me, Betty. And thanks to all of you who comment. I read and respond to every single one. They really mean a lot to me.

Okay, let’s talk about knitting! Charity knitting. Yeah! So, how did you do with Knit Unto Others? Due to my confinement to the couch for much of last week, I did better than I expected.

That’s 3 pairs of mittens and 4 hats. Yeah me.

Truthfully, I don’t like to make a big deal about charity knitting. It’s something I do now and again and I try to be gracious about it but I do get antsy to get back to my regular knitting. So, for me anyway, Knit Unto Others is perfect. I do it for two weeks and then I’m done. No guilt, no glory.

Now is the time to tell us how you did with your charity knitting. Send an email to knituntoothersATgmailDOTcom and tell us you participated. You don’t have to tell us how many things you knit or where you sent them because you only had to participate to be entered into the random drawing. However, it might be fun to add up all the different items that went out to all the different places so if you want to include that information, go on ahead and do that.

We’ll award prizes next week so get those emails to us by Friday, December 7th, okay? And, thanks to the generosity of Anne, Gale, and Kirsten, they won’t just be from Margene and I.

Let’s hear it for the kindness of knitters everywhere!

Today is the official start of Knit Unto Others 2008. That’s right, Margene and I are back for the third year in a row to ask you to spend some time knitting for charity these next two weeks. In order to simplify things we are suggesting that you knit for one of these charities:

Lucy at Mind’s Eye Yarn in Cambridge, MA is collecting mittens for the Somerville Family Network. This group works through Somerville Public Schools to make sure lower income kids have all the warm things they need for the winter. The mitten tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving and comes down New Year’s Day. For more information contact Lucy at: lucyATmindseyeyarnsDOTcom

The Soaring Eagles Project is collecting hand knit mittens this year. The purpose of this project is to knit items for elementary school-aged children in Oklahoma. As Jane says on the Soaring Eagles blog, “The idea was born out of a child asking me about my knitting one day. I told her I was making a sweater for my daughter. She replied, ‘I wish someone loved me enough to make me something.’ The very next day Project Soaring Eagles was born. If you choose to knit for this charity you should send an email to theprocrastiknitterATyahooDOTcom when you are ready to mail your items.

Finally, Birdsong has asked for completed blankets in worsted or bulky weight washable yarn with a finished size of 30 inches square to 40 inches square, or a rectangle that is similar, for the Kare Crisis Nursery in her area. If you’re owant more information, send an email to Birdsong at burrobirdATgmailDOTcom.

Our purpose in promoting Knit Unto Others is for you to knit something that will make a difference in someone’s life. We encourage you to participate in whatever way you are comfortable, whether it’s through one of these charities or one of your own choosing. At the end of November we’ll ask you to send an email to knituntoothersATgmailDOTcom and tell us what you knit and where you donated it. We will then randomly select two participants to win something special from each of us.

Now, please, go forth and knit unto others! And thank you.

Yo! Bloglines! WTF?!?!

So. Charity Knitting. Norma and I were discussing the other day how it used to be that when she talked about charity knitting the silence was so deafening all she could hear was crickets chirping. And I’ve been trying to figure out why that would be the case.

Basically, I think charity knitting is like any other charity donation and people react the same way as if you’re asking for money. And asking for money, well, that can evoke all kinds of emotions and responses in people. One theory I have is that thinking about charities and people in need can make those of us with so much feel a bit guilty. So we say nothing and pretend that people don’t really need our help. But another theory I have is that maybe people already have charities they support and they just don’t want to support another one. And they don’t feel like they want to tell you that because it will just sound like an excuse so they say nothing. I know I feel guilty when I see commercials on television for St. Jude’s or other charitable causes. I want to contribute to everyone! But, the truth is that I only have so much I can give away and I have a few key charities that I support. I’ve researched them and believe in their causes and that’s where my money goes.

And I’m thinking that maybe the same thing is true for charity knitting. I know there are some people who knit for charity all year long. And I know there are some who will never knit for charity but they’re generous in other ways. I guess the point of all of this (you knew I’d get to the point eventually, right?) is that it really doesn’t matter whether you do or don’t knit for charity. And it really doesn’t matter whether you give money away or not. What matters is how you find your way through the world. For me, I need to give back. See, I grew up in a family that struggled financially. I remember running out of oil for the furnace. I remember seeing our name in the paper for nonpayment of property taxes. I remember food stamps. And now I have much. I have a home with heat and plenty of food. I pay my bills and buy gifts for my children. I have yarn and fiber and multiple spinning wheels. I can afford to give some money away. And I can afford to spend some time knitting for people who will be comforted by my handknits.

I know that many of you feel the same way. I know for sure that Norma does. There are 3 days left for Knit Unto Others if you want to join us. Or not. Do what’s right for you. Find your place in the world. And, please, tell me what you think. I can’t abide the sound of crickets chirping.

picture from The Covenant Companion, September 2006

Last Sunday in church the pastor read an article from The Covenant Companion, the monthly magazine of our denomination, The Evangelical Covenant Church. I’ve never talked about church here on the blog before (and don’t worry, I probably won’t again) but the nature of this article was too timely to ignore. You can go read it here. Yes, it will take you a few minutes, but it’s worth it, I promise. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

This story spoke to me for various reasons. Of course, there is the underlying theme of faithfulness to God, and that’s important to me. There is also the Swedish heritage I share with the author and her family. There’s no denying that Swedish people are proud to be Swedish and I always love reading about Swedes and their lives and particularly their role in settling the midwestern United States.

And finally, there’s the knitting. Even when this family had practically nothing, Thua Harrison was knitting for the poor. They never considered themselves to be poor for they had one another and they had God. Packages were assembled every Christmas and they always contained handknit mittens for charity. When Mrs. Harrison couldn’t even remember her name, her hands could still remember how to knit and mittens for others were found among her possessions after she died.

I’ll admit, this is the part that really spoke to me. Charity knitting isn’t something that’s part of my regular knitting. But starting on Saturday and continuing for two weeks, you and me and so many other knitters will be participating in Knit Unto Others. I know that I’ll be thinking about Thua Harrison and the legacy she left and the lives she touched.

I’ve never been so proud to be a knitter.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, hands down. I love the food, of course, but it’s more than that. I love the graciousness of this holiday and the fact that it’s simply about being with the people you love and being thankful. No gifts, no hype, no hoopla.

When I stop and think of all I have to be thankful for it really amazes me. I have so much. My life is full and rewarding with family and friends and work. And I have knitting and spinning and all you people who read my blog.

I don’t want to get too preachy but you all know that there are loads of people who don’t have the full lives that many of us do. Many people don’t even have the basic things they need. There are hurricane victims and tornado victims and people who live in poverty. And you know what? A lot of those people are cold. They’re cold right now and we all knit. That means that we can make them warm!

I’m telling you all this because Margene came up with a brilliant idea to create a charity Knit Along for the last two weeks in November. She dubbed it “Knit Unto Others” and then she asked me to make a button and co-host it with her. So, here’s your button and here’s your chance to do something for someone else during this time of Thanksgiving.

You all know how much I love Oprah, right? And last week she aired a fantastic episode which was all about doing things for others. I stole this directly from her website:

What Oprah knows for sure, she says, is that your proudest moments are almost always about what you can do for someone else. “When you give, it creates a circle,” Oprah says. “And it comes back to you, and you get even more in return.”

I believe Oprah’s right. I know I always feel great when I do something for someone else. So, I’ve got a freakin’ long ride to Gettysburg coming up this weekend and I won’t be knitting socks for myself like I usually do when I’m in the car. I’ll be knitting mittens and hats for someone who is cold and needs to get warm.

Won’t you join Margene and I and Knit Unto Others?