Charity Begins at Home

How else can I apply my knitting and crocheting to charity?

The basics are easy.   Figure out what you want to do.   Find a charity that will accept the thing you want to make.   Get the finished thing to them. 

Now that I have put on my captain obvious hat, I will take it off and give some not so obvious points. 

No perfumes or smoking.  Many people are allergic to or highly sensitive to smells.   These two can cause nausea or vomiting or worse can close off the airway of the very person you are trying to help.   How can you prevent harm?  

First, wash your hands.   Seems obvious but it isn't. You want to start with least amount of smell as you can. 

Second, if you are a smoker in the house don't store your yarn in the house.   It will absorb the odor.  This will also mean you have to work on the thing outside the house and store the partially made thing where the yarn is kept. 

Third, don't store the yarn in the attic or cellar and definitely don't put dryer sheets in with the yarn.   Attics and cellars can have their own unique smells and worse can be a haven for mold or mildew or rodents or bugs.  These things can cause a lot of harm to people who are in physical illness or are homeless. 

Check your chosen charity's website for particulars.  You are going to want to know if you have a restriction on fiber type,  if you have to use new yarn or can recycle yarn,  if there's a specific pattern to use,  specific sizes allowed. All these parameters are for a reason.  

Most charities will not accept wool.  So many people have discovered sensitivity or outright allergies to wool.   It also is not usually a toss in the washer and dryer fiber. Some, like the knitted knockers,  require specific brands of yarn and fiber because the area of use is extremely sensitive. The yarns they specify are the least irritating and most comfortable while giving women what they need. 

Some of us are in financial hardship but still want to help.   So unraveling sweaters and afghans give a way to get a lot of yarn for not a lot of money. However, no one except the donor,  knows what the blanket or sweater was exposed to before we bought it. These are recycled yarns and not usually acceptable.   Check your chosen charity for guidance. 

Many charities have requirements for finished sizes and won't accept any other.   Many times this is for ease of joining.   Having every thing the exact size means someone else can zip through the joining.  For those who say it's good enough,  your contribution may well be tossed in the garbage.  For those who say the charity can send your unusable contribution to someone else that will be able to use it,  no they won't.   They don't have a running list of what charity accepts what.   Even the internet can't do that.   One organization has made a small dent in this, career.  Even they recognize that changes occur and they can't keep up. 

Specific patterns might be requested because that is what they need.  Baby blankets may need to be solid rather than have holes because little fingers and hands can get caught up in the holes and,  if not caught quickly, can cause loss of circulation or the need for amputation. 

Some charities request each donation be presented in a zippered plastic bag.  This helps keep the donation clean and contaminate free.

So follow the rules for your chosen charity or find a charity that aligns with your way of doing things.   They are grateful for the items donated that follow the rules they have. 

Resources for the charities mentioned 

knitted knockers

carewear

warm up America

Charity Knitting - Clothes

 I've been housecleaning my UFOs and WIPs.  I've also been housecleaning other's UFOs and WIPs.  You would be amazed how many of these things can be repurposed into things for various charities.

From all the things I made as samples for my time teaching at a big box craft store, I have a chest full of things I can donate as is.  Hats, fingerless mitts, and scarves are ready to go with little to no modifications.  If anything, I need to add length to scarves.  This is an easy finish.

A slightly more difficult thing to accomplish is putting together colors.  I definitely don't have the colors of the samples from a decade or more ago.  Trying to match colors is difficult.  Finding complementary colors is easier.  

One thing I have that is causing me some head-scratching is the short novelty yarn scarves.  I definitely don't have any matching yarn.  They definitely don't have a use in today's cold weather wear nor today's fashion wear.  I hate to throw them away.  It's part of the waste not want not thought process I was raised with.  But I've hit a block wall for ideas.

One of the things I do think is great to create, the Guidepost T sweater.  These are sent to many 3rd world countries.  They go quick because of all the garter stich and very simple shaping.

One of the other patterns that is a great thing is the pillowcase dress.  I first saw this on the Sewing with Nancy show on PBS years ago.  Here is the little dress.  These are for the girls obviously so they can go to school.  School for girls was not something that happened.  It is slowly becoming more common.  

You will have to choose what calls to you.  Who do you want to help?  How close to home do you want to have your donations?  Read this last question as how much do you want to spend on shipping or postage.  

The one thing I can't stress enough is to go to the website for your chosen charity and print off the requirements for their donations.  Don't send shetland wool to the knitted knockers.  Your donations will be tossed.  The distribution center people don't have time to send it on to another place where it can be used.  The needs have been carefully thought out.

More Cozy Knitwear in the Sunny Summertime

I'm currently working on a project for the knitting guild to which I belong.  I'm partnering with some of the other members to catalog the various techniques and patterns that have been done over the last 20 years.  Oh boy are there a lot!!

We seem to have an affinity for shawls and hats.  Those are the most prevalent.  Some of the ones I have not done before, I will be doing for the Lace Lovers Guild for the yarn bombing in November.

Some of the patterns include the Leni hat, the 21 color slouch, brioche starter hat, quick ombre hat, prism hat, anthology hat, owls hat, baable hat and so many more.  I also have seen koigu feather and fan cowl, zickzack scarf, grey gardens headband, thanks, it has pockets cowl, whistlewood hat, simply harika, da Vinci cowl.  Every one of these is available on Ravelry.

All I have to do is pair up yarn, needles and pattern.  Sounds so easy, yet it really isn't.

Cozy Winter Wear in Summer

It's summer.  It's hot.  It might be a dry heat.  Or if you live where I do, it's humid.  But as we all know, winter is coming.  I'll be doing a workshop of simple and easy winter accessories.  What fiber to use?  Weight of the yarn used? What patterns to use?  We'll take a look at this and more.

Fibers not to use:  cotton, linen, hemp.  Fibers to use:  wool, alpaca, llama, acrylic, silk.  Why?  Plant fibers keep you warm, but not for long.  They absorb liquid and hold it to your skin making you colder.  Some animal fibers keep you warm, even when wet, others not so much.  It also comes down to affordability.  what can you afford to buy?  Especially if you are giving away the fruits of your labors, cost will play a big part.

What weight do you use??  This depends on a variety of things.  How cold does it get where you live?  How hot do you run?  How much stitching do you want to do?

If you live in the arctic, you probably don't want to knit a lace weight single layer hat.  Conversely if you live in somewhere like Brazil on the equator, you probably don't want to crochet a super jumbo yarn hat.  Are there exceptions?  You bet.  Older people who tend to do a lot of sitting get cold faster.  Younger people who are more active or people who experience hot flashes won't appreciate that very heavy head gear.

So I offer one source where you can choose the weight of yarn and an approximate age/size of the recipient.  It's Red Heart's Gotcha Covered #1 and Red Heart's Gotcha Covered #2 from purple kitty.   Knit Hat and the Crochet Hat  These are very basic beanies or toques  They work up quickly if you choose a small head or larger yarn.

Next thing up would be to keep your hands warm.  Mittens work up quickly but they have to be the same size.  If you have trouble with this, try working them at the same time  I tend to like the basic mitten pattern from Bev's Country Cottage.  The pattern can be found here.  There's also a glove pattern that I find to be interesting.  I'm not sure where I first saw it but I suspect it was from one of the books I learned to knit.  It's a garter stitch pattern.  Here is a similar garter stitch pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman on Ravelry.  Again if you have second glove syndrome or trouble with making things the same size, do two at a time on either long straights or circular needles.  

Yarns to use for gloves and mittens should be on the thinner side.  Why?  You need dexterity.  What yarns should you use?  Animal fibers, possibly synthetics in worsted weight or thinner.  

Have You Ever Played Bingo for Yourself?

 My knitting guild is doing a bingo game for this year.  I may have mentioned it.  You receive your card and fill it out with your own choices.  You then decide if you want to try for 25 in '25 or go in a row, column, or diagonally.  Or throw caution to the wind and just keep working on your WIPs as you want.  This is a year long endeavor.  

I have had to modify this a bit because I can't find the wreath frames and the Roman shades are being replaced by shutters, the purple socks have had to be changed to a different color.  It turns out I can't make out the stitches in that color purple.  On the other side of things though I have finished the crochet dress, 4 blankets for charity, 6 hats for charity, 100+ squares for the granny afghan queen size of the 342 needed, 4 square granny sweater, so far I have kept up with the jar scarf and I finished on time the cup cozy to teach steeking.  I can also cross out 4 mittens for charity.  Oh, my center is to put away all the books and printed patterns I have.  I succeeded in doing this with my knit and crochet patterns and books.  The sewing ones I have not found yet so I'm not counting them.

This might sound like gloating but I can assure you it isn't.  The blankets for charity, hats and mittens were in part found items in my home.  Others in those were ones I made.  Sometimes things just find their way into my house and I know I can find a home for them.  Then everything went topsy turvy in the move 5 ish years ago and only now am I getting things organized.  It's been long and interesting.  I'm discovering things I had forgotten.  I'm getting to greet things I knew I had but could not find like old friends.  And for my granddaughter who is interested in learning the crafty ways, I'm setting up a place for her to keep her supplies.

Here is the dress.  This was just a quick try on.  I wear it with a tank dress underneath to help preserve modesty and to help it keep its shape.  It's an alpaca yarn and has shown a tendency to grow.

I can't find a picture of the four squared granny sweater nor the coffee cup cozy.  The granny squares won't be enough.  I didn't order enough yarn when I started it.  And no I can't order more.  The colors are changed or discontinued.  Oh well, it won't be queen sized.  Updates will keep coming.

What Do I Listen To

When you knit and crochet or do almost any other handcraft, do you listen to something?  Watch something? 

I listen to audiobooks.  I listen to podcasts.  I listen to old movies on replay for things I need to pay attention to.  I listen to and watch new to me movies and tv shows for the things I don't need to pay attention to.

Audio books or book series I like include Mrs. Polifax, Harry Potter, The Cat Who, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and the Little House series.  Are there more?  You bet.  But these are the ones in my current rotation.

I like the old black and white holiday movies because they have been watched so often

that I don't have to pay that much attention to them.

Mystery Projects

 Let's suppose you want to do a mystery project on your own time.  Sometimes this can work with the ones you see online.  Sometimes it doesn't.  How can you set up your own?

1.  Choose if you want to knit or crochet the project.

2.  Choose what you want your finished object to be.  Blanket?  Shawl?  Scarf?  Sweater?  Something else?

3.  Pick the website, book, or a Pinterest search that has a variety of different stitch patterns for you to choose from.

    A.  write out twice as many stitch pattern names as you will need for the finished object on slips of paper

    B.  Find a receptacle to put them in with the source nearby.

    C.  Determine how long the stitch patterns will be done.

4.  Determine how often you will be doing the mystery project, once a week, once a month, something else?

5.  Gather your yarn and tools to be placed with the stitch patterns.

Now it's time to start.  Pick a slip.  Look up the stitch on the slip and create your first stitch pattern. 

This can be fun.  If your stitch counts change from one to another stitch pattern, consider having a section of resting stitches where you increase or decrease from one count to the next.  It also puts a visual break from one type of stitch pattern to the next.

You can add to the mystery of the finished item by having a variety of fibers and colors and grab  a new one each time you work on this project.