KnitterlyNotions

I've posted about Helping Hands for Our Children in the Chippewa Valley before, and about a week ago they posted this on their Facebook. It loads small, I wish I could get it bigger! Basically they're already searching for donations for winter. Hats, coats, mittens, boots, snowpants.. you name it. Shauna plans her first winter gear distribution for September, with subsequent ones in October, November, and December, plus she still gets requests for gear throughout the winter. Last year she was out of hats, mittens, etc by the end of January. This is where I come in. :) I am holding a Hundred Hats for Helping Hands Challenge over in the Charity Knitting group I help moderate on Ravelry. I'm trying to get at least a hundred warm hats for Helping hands in sizes from baby up to adult, with special focus on school age kids. I'm working on my third and fourth hats right now (one is knit, one is crochet, so they're going simultaneously). Here are my first two: ...

I am freaking losing my mind over here. I have a massive care of startitis, coupled with a complete lack of inspiration on WHAT, exactly, I actually want to knit. This is not a good combo. I've been traipsing around Ravelry and there are so many groups that need things. So many people are hurting in some way or another. I could start any number of things and be able to find a place for it. The problem is I don't know who or what I want to do. I have an package ready to mail to Matthew's Gift, so that's off the table for just now. I needed a break from thinking about the lost babies. I know how those mothers feel. I've been there. I feel guilty that I need to step back, but I do. I've been reading about Pine Ridge Reservation again. Do a bit of research, it's awful there. There are three groups on Ravelry that serve PRR: Bundles of Joy, which is a lot of baby knitting with occasional other goals thrown in. For the Children of Pine Ridge, which serves ...

I found a sweet pattern for a baby burial bunting that I got actual loss mama recommendation for. It's the  Knitted Burial Bunting pattern  and one of the moms in HAPL on Ravelry said she got one for her daughter. She said it was just right. I'm taking that recommendation to the bank and am making a bunch of them. First one is meant for Rochester Methodist Hospital in Rochester, whenever I get there again. Second and third ones are for  Matthew's Gift  (link goes to a previous blog post that I did about them, which contains pertinent links). I am about to cast on my fourth one. They're rather addictive. I'm also working on a crocheted bunting that is similar to these knitted ones. I'm making up the pattern, noting what I'm doing, and I will probably put the directions up here. There aren't too many burial item patterns, or perhaps I should say there should be more patterns. Especially patterns that are nice for boys. Lace and frills are...

I discovered a new charity. Well, I knew about it, but I hadn't paid too much attention to it. Recently though, I read through it all and I now have Tiri's little froggy bank repurposed as a postage saving bank. :-) Here is the  Matthew's Gift Facebook page  and the  Matthew's Gift Ravelry group . Matthew's mom is putting together memory boxes for lost babies, with gowns and hats for the babies and keepsakes for their mothers. The photos of her first donation are lovely. I would have loved to get a box this beautiful and personalizes when Freddy was born. I've been knitting and crocheting, of course. I'm working on a  Knitted Burial Bunting . Adorable little thing! I made one that I plan to take to Rochester at some point, and now some for M'sG. If you have the heart for it, please check out Matthew's Gift and contribute what you can. <3

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a donation in memory of Freddy. The name evolved a few times, but ended up being  The Freddy Project Memorial Donation 2015 . On December 10th, Jerek and I went to Eau Claire, WI and I delivered 72 hats to two hospitals and a crisis pregnancy care clinic. 72 hats, divided by 3, equals 24 hats per place. Each place for 24 because Freddy would be 24 months. Sacred Heart Hospital got this set: Luther Middelfort Hospital, part of Mayo Clinic Heath System, got this set: And Apple Pregnancy Care Clinic got this set: 72 babies will wear my hats in Freddy's place. I hope their mothers love them as much as I love Freddy.

I've been slacking a bit with the knitting and crocheting. Just feeling slow, and my hands aren't as happy as they were. I think I need to have my chiro work on them again tomorrow. I can't *not* make things though, so here is what I've managed lately. This one was made mostly during my birth class. I'm thinking of keeping it, if for no other reason than that. :) Charity hat. I was going to take it to WIC, but we shall see. It might go to the Yarnology knitting group instead. These are for Fritz. I called them Diaper Bag Booties and Diaper Bag Hat. They were supposed to be a set but the hat came out rather bigger than the booties. They should both fit him eventually though. They are in the diaper bag, for those times when you encounter unexpected chilliness. Charity hat using a whole small skein I got on clearance at JoAnn's. It's very soft, but a pain to work with as most boucle yarns are. These two use scraps that I found at...

Tiri and I went to the Bundles of Love meeting in Winona yesterday. :) It was fun! There were several lovely ladies working there and it was such fun to just sit and knit with them. Tiri enjoyed herself too.  I took 13 items altogether: And while I was there, I made a simple little red knitted hat.  Annette, the leader, asked me to make some mitts and booties, or perhaps sweaters, since the get a lot of hats. I might be the Queen of Baby Hats, but I can adapt. :) I've made a pair of mitts so far! I love this yarn!!!! It's Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. It's deliciously soft and squishy.  I'm pattern searching booties right now. 

On Friday, August 15, I took a donation to the Winona, MN chapter of  Bundles of Love . I had heard of this charity several years ago, and last summer found out that there was a group meeting monthly in Winona. However, life, and pregnancy, and that whole thing, sort of got in the way Finally, finally, though, I got to go! I took these things: 25 baby hats in a good mixture of colors for either gender, 4 pairs of socks that match 4 of the hats, 2 pairs of crocheted baby booties, and 1 knitted washcloth. I took Michelle and Bexley, and Carolyn (Michelle's little sister) with me to Winona that day, as a little outing. Tiri wanted to go in with me when I dropped off my things, which I wasn't sure about at first. They adored her, though, of course. All in all, it was a wonderful experience! I will definitely go back there, and I may even attend one of the meetings to do some needlework. I mentioned that I wasn't sure about that, because of Tiri, and they all assure...

There were for Bexley: Pumpkin Hat Bunny Hat Preemie Bereavement Items: These are newborn and larger: I am also knitting a sweater to save for a Rainbow Baby. <3 More about that another time.

I am strange. Now, if you really do know me, this is a "duh" statement, but really. I am talking about something specific right now. I knit, a lot. And crochet. I make hats and scarves and various other things and I'm pretty good at it, or so I like to think. I have a big problem with one type of project though. I am not a mitten maker. It's not that I don't want to be a mitten maker. I do. I've tried I don't know how many times, and I've managed to make a few lonely single mittens. I have never made a pair, however. I keep trying though, because there is something about mittens that seems so... so... knitterly. I may finally be on the right track tonight. It is the progression of a mitten. This is the pattern,  Stashbuster Kids Charity Mittens . It uses double stranded worsted weight and size 10 needles, and the size I am making is only 24 stitches a round. That is not too bad! I don't want to put the thumb on yet, becau...

Correction as of June 2, 2018. Eyelet tow rewritten.  Last night I had to take Jerek to the emergency room with his back pain. Of course I am not going to take him to the hospital without having yarn and needles along! I was going to make another hat (I finished two yesterday while we were out and about with my uncle Allen) but I think I am hatted out for the moment. Instead, I made booties. Nice, easy garter stitch booties loosely based on some that Tiri was given. I though everyone might like the pattern. I am calling them Pine Ridge Booties because I am linking the pattern to the  Bundles of Joy group on Ravelry.com. They make baby things for the OB ward of the hospital on Pine Ridge Reservation. They expect about 30 births a month and the poverty on the Rez is staggering. The things the people in this group send might be all the baby has to wear at home. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Pine Ridge Booties Size 7US needle...

For a long time, I insisted I was no sweater knitter. I liked small, quick projects. This last winter, though, I decided that maybe a baby sweater wouldn't be so bad. I have several cast on, and I finished one of them last month (It looks like this:) Yarn and needle info and pattern link here. Then, on Ravelry in the Charity Knitting group, there was a request posted for newborn items for a birth center in Guatemala. Here is a link to the post. I was getting a little burnt out on making things for The Box, so I decided I wanted to make some things to contribute (they would like knit or crochet or even boughten things, link to the organizations website: http://www.motyl-szary.com/midwife//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=84 This is the donation page on the site, although there are a lot of other interesting pages to read there as well, including some photo of the people [and babies!!!!!! :D]) So, I started searching around and found the cu...