Warm Woolies 2008 Finale

Now that the year is winding down, and my stamina is too, I think it's about time I recap my Warm Woolies goal of knitting 100 items this year. It didn't go so well. I knit quite a lot of stuff, but didn't make my goal. I think perhaps I could have, if that was the only thing I knit all year long, but there were other responsibilities that needed attending to. I know I shouldn't feel guilty about that, but I do anyway. If you look at my accomplishment in terms of grades, I'd only get a C. I passed, but barely (this would be funnier if all of you were Jack Black fans like I am ;) . But since I'm laying it all on the line here, these are the final stats for my year of Warm Woolies knitting:

* Knit 70 items total

* Knit 55 pairs of socks, 5 Hats, 5 Vests, 1 Cardigan Coat

* Completed sections of 3 Oddball Baby Blankies

* Seamed 1 Blanket of 36 squares

* 22 squares for the Knit a Square, Join a Swap Group on Ravelry. However, I'm not counting these in my final total because it takes 36 squares to make one blankie and therefore, these do not count as one item :(

My 1st Seamed blanket for the Knit A Square, Join A Swap Group on Ravelry

Crocheted Cuteness: My last contribution to the Warm Woolies Baby Oddball Blankets Group On Ravelry

I met so many wonderful people this year working towards this goal, and among them was my blog-free pal Kathy, who sent me a ginormous box of yarn to use for WW projects. What a generous and thoughtful gesture, and I'm so glad to have gotten to know you this year Kathy! I promised that I would post a few pics of items I've made from the yarn Kathy sent, so here are the last 2 vests I'm mailing out this year. The blue/grey/black one is made entirely from yarn she sent, and all the brown yarns in the second vest came from her stash as well. Thank you again Kathy!

My knitty friend Troy, also contributed to my endeavor with 10 adorable hats that he knit for me to send to WW. He tells me that I should count them in my total, as he knit them for me to do so, but it just doesn't feel right since I didn't knit them myself! But I would love to claim them as Troy uses only the most beautiful fibers and gorgeous colors for his hats :) Thanks so much for your generous gifty Troy!! Here's a pic (which just doesn't do them justice):

With that, my Warm Woolies goal draws to a close for this year. I'll keep contributing in the years to come but I think I'll try less to focus on a number for 2009, and more on the joy I experience in the projects I do. It's not supposed to be work, right? It's supposed to be fun and make me feel soft and fuzzy inside to be able to warm up cold little munchkins.

Thank you so very much to all of you wonderful LovePurl participants! You have all made my journey much more fun this year and it's been wonderful hearing about and seeing all of your projects here on the blog :) That being said, I don't plan to continue with the blog in 2009. Now that Ravelry is here, and so many of us are joining groups there, I don't see a need for this blog anymore. There are piles of charity knitting groups over there that are filling the space this blog used to fill and I hope you can each find one there that you enjoy. I'm afraid that maintaining this blog as well as my own has been quite a lot of work and I haven't done well with consistently posting here - death for any blog or group! I hope you all understand :) It's been a joy and I thank you all so very much for all your hard work and kindness.

Hope your 2008 was joyful and that 2009 brings you all that you could wish for!

********
P.S. If another member of the group would like to take over the blog, you are more than welcome! Just e-mail me via the contact info in the sidebar and we can chat about that. Otherwise, if I don't hear from a replacement by the end of January, I will be deleting the entire blog. Please, if there is information here that you want to retain, get it before I do so. I would hate for anyone to lose precious info. Thanks so much for your understanding!!

checking in

I wasn't very productive at the beginning of the year but in the last couple months I've been able to get a little more done. It helped being part of a Ravelry group where knitting for a charity was one of the challenges.

Warm Woolies Wednesday (On Thursday)

Warm Woolies Items #39 - #42

So, I’m a day late. Such is life. Thanks so much to everyone who weighed in on the subject of putting the group on Ravelry. I appreciate all your thoughts on the subject! I was just thinking it might bring us a little more activity or a few new members if we had a group there. But I will definitely let you know before I do anything major and keeping the blog but also making a group on Ravelry is definitely an option too.

I mailed off my second box for the year to Warm Woolies on Monday. Nestled inside was the cardigan coat I made recently as well as 17 pairs of socks, bringing my mailed off total to 34. Warm Woolies is still holding their contest until November 30 and in reading the fine print the other day it says you can be eligible for $50-$75 worth of prizes if you knit 25 items for them by that date. What a nice little bonus, though I am certainly not doing it for the prizes :)

The hats above bring my total of finished items up to 42 for the year and I am currently working on item #43 (another hat). After that I think I may try to make a couple vests and see how long they take me. Then, maybe back to socks. I’ll keep you posted. Keep up the good work everyone!

Warm Woolies Update

Hi Everyone! I know it's been a while since I posted something here and I keep telling myself I need to do it, but it just never seems to happen :) I'm still knitting diligently away for Warm Woolies and have been trying to work steadily towards my big goal of 100 items for them this year. It's going very slowly and I have doubts that I'll make it, but I keep trying anyway! Recently, I've made it a point to post once a week on my own blog about my progress and I have been wanting to add those same posts here for everyone to see but there just never seems enough time for me to get to both places in one day. So hopefully, now that I've done this little intro, I can more smoothly post to both each week. Wish me luck!

Warm Woolies Items #36-#38

This week I did manage to complete 2 more full sets of small-ish sized socks and as of last night, I am halfway through a large-ish sized set of socks that will bring my total up to 38. The smaller socks are easier on me and faster to complete (i.e. more satisfying!) but I try to knit at least one large sized sock for every 3-4 small sized ones that I knit. After all, big kids need socks too! Once this large sized pair is finished I can go back to some small-ish sized ones which seem to be easier on my hands (which I'm having some trouble with). I’m trying to switch up projects too and not knit with bulky yarns as much, hoping that will give my joints a rest. Perhaps a hand massage is in order……

As of right now, I have sent off one package to Warm Woolies containing 1 vest and 15 pairs of socks. I also have another box ready to go that contains 1 cardigan/coat (pattern from their site) and 17 pairs of socks. I'm getting closer every day!

Everyone's projects are looking great so far and I thank each and every one of you for your hard work, and for joining me here at LovePurl! I love seeing what all of you are doing :)

A quick question for you - I've been wondering if it might be more fun for us to meet up over at Ravelry instead as a group. Any thoughts on that? Look forward to hearing what you have to say and have a great weekend everyone!

Kitty Blanket

I finally finished the kitty blanket for the local animal shelter. It finished up a good size, 30x47, so it will help keep one of the larger animals warm this winter.



Lynn/Orlando

Hat Quest

I was planning to post back when I had 4 hats, but life got in the way, and now I have 6 hats!
The top two are from the January 2008 issue of Creative Knitting - the snowed-under cap. I decided not to embroider the snowflakes because it would detract from the natural variegation of the yarn, and I'm not sure how well it would stay - not one of my best skills.

The rest of the hats are patterns I've made up. When I get one that works well, I'll post the directions on my blog.

I'm off to work on #7!
~Sarah

Contest

There's a contest up on my blog.... www.knitoneblogtoo.blogspot.com

I'm looking for hat idea for infants. :) Free yarn to the winner.

Kristy's Hat Quest

Thanks to ES posting abt this charity, I was able to send Kristy five more hats to add to her total. Here is the link again if you want to check out her ongoing totals.

Here are the hats that I sent her this past week.

They will fit kids 6-12 y/o, depending on the hat, and the bright red hat will fit one of the caretakers.

The majority of knitting right now is for the family, but I do have an afghan going that will either be for Warm Woolies or my local animal shelter. It depends on how big it is and when I get it finished. Here's what it looks like so far.


I'm doubling my worsted weight acrylics and its a perfect way to use up my white yarn. Once I finish the tan, I'm adding another white, then brown, then white, another tan and will finish off with the rest of the white. I'm hoping it will be big enough for a kid's blanket.

Hope everybody is having a great summer!

Lynn

Warm Woolies!!

Here is one box of stuff I sent off to Warm Woolies (in April)



i'm getting together another box & will post once that is ready to send :)

Just found out about a new charitable project

http://rabiesonmyshoe.blogspot.com/2008/05/300-hat-project.html

Knitting 300 hats for an orphanage in the Ukraine.

ES

Better Than Booties

I just finished this Better Than Booties sock from Knitting Daily. I see myself making up a lot of variations of this pattern since I have a lot of Cascade 220 left over from another project.

Pattern: Better Than Booties Sock Pattern
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: Size 2 dpn
Modifications: The pattern calls for using Lorna's Laces, however I thought the Cascade 220 would be a lot warmer. I decreased the cast on stitches to 30 and just separated the chevron's by 6 stitches. I also left off the chevrons on the top of the foot. These fit about a 3-4 year old. They're a bit snug on my 3 1/2 year old, but she's tall for her age.

Socks for Warm Woolies

Well, I finished my first pair of socks for Warm Woolies last night whilst watching Dancing with the Stars.

The cuffs are a little funny looking because I had to go back and add on to the them, since I misread the pattern originally. Oh well!! They now fold over perfectly :)

They were knit with Reynolds Lopi, so are fairly thick.

Two Packages Going Out

Now that school activities are starting to kick into gear, I've been winding up my charity knitting for the month of March and I just wanted to post what's going out.

A4A had a quick challenge for Root for Peace. Their deadline is March 18th and this is what I'm sending in today's mail.

There was no request for this on their website, but it was posted on the blog. Check it out if you have some wool things sitting around not knowing where to go....

And then I have a package going out to CIC.

The current challenge is to knit up some vests and sweaters. I've already sent out two vests, but I wasn't happy with them so I knit up two more and some socks. The bigger of the vests is in the above picture going to A4A.

Not alot, but a little something to keep a couple of parts warm. I've still got a wool afghan started for A4A and I have an acrylic afghan started for my local animal shelter so as time permits, I'll work a little bit on each of these. Charity work is always there, esp baby socks. They are great for mindless TV knitting.

Lynn/Orlando

More warm toes

Another pair of "BIG" socks for the current sock drive by the Mittens For Akkol group. These measure out at 10 3/4 inches, toe to heel. They are made of Worsted Weight 100% wool. I am not crazy about the color combo, but trying to use from my stash. Hope they keep some toes warm and toasty.
KathyInIowa
http://nuttinbutknittin.blogspot.com/

Mother Bear Project

I just got the nicest note from the Mother Bear Project. I'd sent in a bear, and Amy Berman (the founder) sent me a card with a preprinted message along with a handwritten note saying she liked the glasses on my bear (so she really saw it and it wasn't just a form letter). She also included a couple extra tags. So, my first bear is on his way to Africa and I've just cast on a second bear.

ES

Socks in the Pile

I just finished off a pair of socks for charity. Which one? I'm not sure yet. I usually knit for CIC and will put it in the bag to see if the next campaign is for socks. Right now we are doing vests & sweaters, and while I already sent in 2 vests, I wasn't happy with them. So I cast on for another one. While I'm loving the vest, it looks much bigger than a size 3-4, so it may be going to another charity that is looking for bigger vests.

I'll post a picture of that once it's complete, meanwhile here are my socks.

I used up some wool ends that I had hanging around to make these.


But I thought they were too light and would show dirt too quickly so I pulled out some Cherry Kool-aid and nuked them!


They look and smell great!

Lynn

Introducing Myself

Hello,

My name is Sarah, and I just joined LovePurl. I really need some motivation and accountability in my projects. As soon as I finish knitting my pretty-purple-shawl-that-doesn't-look-like-the-pattern, I'm going to knit some squares for Warm Up America; my local craft store has a collection box for the squares.
One of these days I'll get around to e-mailing Lollypop Farm to see if they are part of the Snuggles Project. I may also do some knitting for the Mother Bear Project. The trouble is, the knitting projects that I plan are way ahead of my needles. I guess I'll see what happens after I finish the next 3 or 4 projects I have lined up. :)

~Sarah

Tajikistan Needs Help

I just read about how Tajikistan is having it's coldest winter in over 50 years. Babies are dying from the cold in maternity hospitals. There are food shortages because people are spending every penny they have on keeping warm. I cannot imagine the hardship these people are going through. As much as I complain about the cold here in Northern Wisconsin, at least I have heat (and a mini heater under my desk!!)

I know that Unicef as well as the UN will be distributing aid. Does anyone know of any other organizations that would distribute to this area? I looked on the Warm Woolies site, and they don't specifically say Tajikistan, although they do distribute to countries in that region. I'm assuming that woolen items would be preferred since they are warmer than cotton or acrylic. Any ideas?

First Four of 2008

A friend gifted me this pretty coral colored yarn for Christmas. It didn't fit the bill for any upcoming projects, and I was feeling really horrible that my charity knitting was non-existent... so I spent a weekend whipping up four quick knits. A scarf and ear warmer in seed stitch, and a scarf and ear warmer in garter stitch. And voila, four pieces of charity knitting complete and one skein less in the stash!

Pieces will be donated to the Whatcom Volunteer Center's Project Warm-Up, a local "charity" in NW Washington State.

Keep up the great knitting everyone!

Not Fit For Man Nor Beast Out There

The weather forcast is looking like this...

Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs zero to 5 above zero. West winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chill readings 30 below to 40 below zero.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows 14 below to 19 below zero. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chill readings 25 below to 35 below zero.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light snow. Highs 18 to 23. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Wind chill readings 30 below to 40 below zero.

Saturday Night Not as cold. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light snow. Lows 12 to 17.

So I've decided that it is not fit to go out in. It's not the highs that are bad, it's the 10-20 mph winds that will get you. I'll be sitting at home working a lot of Rambling Rows... here's the progress so far. It's made with 100% cotton Fantasy yarn, so I will probably donate it to one of the hospitals here in town.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you're all staying warm.

Two Hats?

Well, I actually had two hats complete, threw them into the washer, then dryer. Guess what? When you forget to label your balls of yarn, it's very easy to mix superwash wool and regular wool. What happened? You got it! They felted!

One is still definately usable, but the other shrunk differently and now will only be good as a felted bowl. I'll be working on a new one in the morning.

A Contest From Warm Woolies!

A few of the socks I've been knitting for Warm Woolies

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Warm Woolies is sponsoring a contest for people who knit 25 items for them between now and November 2008. You can find all the details here. I swear I made my goal for myself before I knew about this contest! :) I just thought I'd share this info with you though in case any of you needed any extra incentive! So far, I am up to 5.5 items completed right now towards my goal of 100 for the year. You can read more about it on my blog.

Great job so far everyone! Your knits are looking great :)

CIC Vests

I finished off 2 vests for Children In Common. I'm not thrilled with them, but I'm sending them off anyway. I'm hoping they will work. There is a reason I usually knit socks......

Size 4 vest


Size 2 vest

His and Hers Flat Hats

I made these two hats to drop off at my LYS, which is participating in the Warm Heads, Warm Hands, Warm Hearts Campaign. The hats are Sauniell N. Connally's One Flat Hat pattern, which I seamed using a mattress stitch.

Purple!

Yes, this is one purple sweater! Normally not my color, but this was a fun knit. I totally enjoyed it - even the color.This sweater will be going to Children In Common, as part of their current toddler sweater challenge. It is the "Snakes and Ladders" pattern from the "Knitting Ganseys" book by Beth Brown-Reinsel. It was very entertaining, and surprisingly easy. While the pattern called for sport weight yarn, I used worsted weight from my stash. It came out quite nicely - and will be even warmer than were it from sport weight.

I am finishing up another lager size of socks, so will be back soon with a photo of them.
KathyInIowa
http://nuttinbutknittin.blogspot.com/

Two Finished Objects

Hello,

I have two finished objects. I've been doing so much knitting for friends that my charity knitting is falling slightly behind. I plan on whipping up a few more quick projects just to catch up.

This is my first baby hat. It's also the first object I have ever finished on double pointed needles. It was nice to do more than start, fudge and frog a sock. The hat is small and slighlty misshapen but I love it. :-) It was made on size 6 DPN's with Simply Soft Berry Yarn.


My second object was created using a regular gauge knitting board and Paton's Carmen Yarn. It so soft and fuzzy. Such a delight to touch. Makes me wish I'd bought a skein for myself. The scarf looks a little short but because of the way it wraps and molds to the skin if feels perfect.



Looking forward to seeing and being inspired by the FO's of others.

Take Care,
Kecia

Sweater finished

This sweater will be going to CIC or "Children's in Common". They currently have a toddler sweater challenge going on. The pattern that I used is "Jerod's Gansey" from the book "Knitting Ganseys" by Beth Brown-Reinsel. It is made of "Galway" yarn, a 100% wool worsted weight wool. It was a fun knit, never boring with all the stitch pattern variation.

Help Me Out Please!

Although this is not charity knitting, I would really appreciate some advice. I am in the process of making a baby blanket for my sister (due in April). This sister is extremely picky about colors, i.e. it can't be too bright because that might make the baby agitated, it has to be girly and it should probably match the 50,000 outfits that the child already has. I love my sister dearly, but this decision makes me crazy. Would you mind checking out the yarn on my blog and weighing in on the decision? I may even pick a name out of the commenter's and give that person a prize.

Baby Surprise Jacket finished!

Sorry it's a bit dark. And I think Mr. Bear is looking a little wistful, wishing it fit him better. With 4mm needles and Bernat Sweet Stripes (sport weight, color "Sunny Stripes") this came out to a 20" chest, or about a 6-9 month size. Here's a closeup of the buttons:

This will be going to Living Alternatives.

Me again,

with FO number two for January:
These socks will be sent to Mittens for Akkol. They currently have a challenge for larger sized socks. These are 10.5 inches in length, made from Paton's Classic Merino. They have a very tight gauge, so hopefully will be very warm. The pattern is Thuja from Knitty. It was fun and quick.
Thanks for viewing...
KathyInIowa

A hat

Hello, my name is Jenny and I'm glad to be making my first post here!


I've made a hat using Classic Elite Beatrice yarn in the color Aspen Grove. The pattern is from Interweave Knits Fall 2007, Snowball Hat by Katie Himmelberg. Gunther the bear is wearing it now. The hat is fairly stretchy so I think the fit is fine for an older child as well as an adult. It is something I would actually wear so I feel okay about someone else wearing it! I am not sure what charity it will go to. I hope to knit and post here at least twenty items during the year.

Kids Are Hilarious!

I started the Close Knit Hugs project with my students today. If you're interested to read how things went, you can check out my blog. Kids crack me up.

Hi there!

My name is Kathy, and I live in Iowa. During 2006, I knit quite a few items for charity. (Mostly going to CIC or "Children in Common"). I fell short during 2007. Not sure why, but I did. So - my New Year's resolution is to do more charity knitting in 2008. My goal is at least one item each month. I hope to exceed that goal quite often.

I think being a member of this group will keep me motivated and on track. Thanks for allowing me to join in.Today, I finished my first item. It is a pair of felted children's mittens. They should be warm, and the "fur" should be fun for some little girl. They are 7 inches from bottom of cuff to tip of the hand. Not sure what age that will fit, but hopefully someone. They were quite fun to make, my first experience with "fun fur". Not sure which organization these will eventually go to. I plan to accumulate a few, and then go in search of a group that can use them. Some groups need certain items and not others....that sort of thing.

Hope to be back soon....with my next finished item. Thanks again for having me...
k

Happy New Year

I've gotten one more hat done for Fairview Hospital:

Simple pattern:

With size 5 dpns (6 if you are a very tight knitter) CO 60 (divide them 14,16,14,16 so you will always start the next needle with a K; I find this helps me avoid ladders).

K1,P1 ribbing for 20 rows, st st for 2o rows.

Decrease for crown:

K5, K2tog around, K 1 row. (Do not worry if it doesn't come out quite even; fudge if necessary)

K4, K2tog around, K1 row

and so on, until K2tog around. Cut yarn, leaving enough of a tail to run through the stitches and pull tight. Weave in ends.

And here is the Baby Surprise Jacket I'm working on. Bernat Sweet Stripes and 4mm KnitPicks Harmony needles.

Prayer Shawl Update

I just started knitting the Lion Brand Comfort Shawl for a coworker who is battling cancer.



This is the first time I have worked on circular needles, and woe is me. I know that circular needles are supposed to be more ergonomically correct, but my hands, wrists, and forearms are quite sore this morning. The cord connecting the two needles is still quite stiff and curly, and I keep pushing the cord out of the way as I am working. (It's driving me crazy!) The finished rows keep twisting on the cord, and the stitches aren't easily sliding from the cord onto the end of the needle as I work down the row. I find myself pulling/pushing the project onto the ends of the needles every few stitches.

What am I doing wrong? Do any of you more experienced knitters have some suggestions for me? I know of people who knit everything on circular needles and wouldn't go back to knitting on regular needles. I'm disheartened, because if it doesn't get any easier, I don't see myself ever knitting larger projects or projects in the round.

A Newbie's Intro

Hello, everyone! My name is Kimberlyn and I'm from Lansing, Michigan. I just started knitting on December 15, and I'm already addicted! I teach junior high school, and my hope is to start a charity knitting group with some of my students. We're going to knit squares for Close Knit Hugs, an organization that provides handmade blankets to victims of natural disasters here in the United States. Currently, Close Knit Hugs is piecing together squares and donating the finished blankets to Blankets for the Gulf. Each Close Knit Hugs afghan consists of 35 8 x 8-inch squares, and my hope is that my students can produce enough squares between now and June for at least one blanket.

Aside from Close Knit Hugs, the charities I would like to work with in 2008 are as follows:
Christmas at Sea
Knit Your Bit
Red Scarf Project
Project Linus
St. Casimir Prayer Shawl Ministry

Happy New Year to you all!
Kimberlyn