It Came from Japan - the Sequel

So Barbara is a Canadian who lives in Japan right now (so she can be close to the grand-babies) and also teaches English (correct me if I'm wrong, Barbara).

Last year, she did a bunch of hats, and my boy tried one on and loved it. Well this year, she did a bunch again (see below) and threw one in for my boy - check him out modelling the Senators' number. He's right now wearing it, even though he's inside.

Thanks again, Barbara, you rock!

Post #1 - Jeanine and the gang from Ottawa

I have not even posted a third of the stuff that we got here, but here's a bunch of stuff I picked up from Knit-Knackers and Yarn Forward.

My cute but shy cousin, Ritu, is putting out the socks of Aubergine's mommy, Jeanine the sheep lady. Jeanine has been in this with us since Day 1 - we love you, girl!

Okay there were so many amazing things that came in the mail last week. Check out the next 2 posts below for more.

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Post #2 Corine and Chococupcakegirl

Hey, my cousin Ritu is here right now, helping me take pictures of this stage. Okay here are a bunch of pictures. The first two are from Michelle of Montreal, aka chococupcake girl. Cupcake (can I call you cupcake?), made these gorgeous sweaters. What yarn is it? Can you tell me where you got the pattern for the first one.

And below are some beauties from Corinne from Lachine. I took a separate picture of the mitties because they were so cute and warm (okay, I tried them on, I admit it).

Post #3 - Brandon and Scarborough

Above is something sweet I got in the mail from S Schira of Brandon MB. S, thanks for your note on the back of the package - it made me smile.

Lynne is our technical wizard - she redesigned our logo last year, and continuously fiddles with our graphics on Ravelry to make them brighter and better. Renaissance girl that she is, she also knits: so here are her socks and hats. Thanks, Lynn!

What do Fort Collins Colorado and Merritt BC have in Common?

You were going to say mountains, right? I'll tell you what they have in common: they are the homes of fabulous knitters. Check out these hats from Merritt.

And what about the beautiful blanket and vests from Joan Briar of Colorado? They are extra warm and cuddly. Joan, we got it, and there was no customs charge - very crafty of you to put a value of $5 on there, even though I know your stuff is priceless.

We also picked up a wack of stuff from Wool 'n' Things in Ottawa. I really love those guys. The lovely Gisele has also said that she's willing to keep on collecting after the January date. Yay Gisele!

Unfortunately, I see no nametags in the stuff dropped off to Wool 'n' Things, but I wanted to show you the amazing blanket that some beautiful, generous knitter put together, above.

So how were your holidays? We have fun in sunny California with the extended fandamily. We have a saying: "if nobody cries, it ain't Christmas". Christmas day went something like this:

Anita (to her 4 year old niece, Jasmine): Jasmine, please take that penny out of your mouth.

Jasmine: No.

Anita: Please, I don't want you to choke.

Jasmine: Why do I have to take it out?

Anita: Because if you swallow it, that's it. No more Jasmine.

Jasmine: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (then wets her pants).

New holiday saying: "If Anita doesn't clean pee off the floor, it ain't Christmas.".

Hope your holidays were swell. Best wishes to all of our Warm Hands partners in the New Year!

Thanks Erica

This a picture of the lovely and talented Erica Bregman. She started a project, through Jewish Family Services to collect warm coats and boots for the Innu and Metis in Northern Labrador. Read about it here.

So we called Erica and said, "hey, can we slip some boxes into your shipment? "Sure!" she said, and our stuff made it! 40 pounds of your hand-knit mittens, hats, blankets and sweaters will be distributed through the Labrador Friendship Centre to Innu and Metis in need. It is already on trucks and on its way. Thanks, guys. What a great Christmas present!

Other news: since we were able to get a shipment off so quickly, we are postponing our next shipping deadline to January 31st. Happy knitting!

Damn that flu

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to post a note and let you know that I talked to the community this morning. The boxes have been opened and partially distributed. One of the ladies tells me that one woman came in with 6 of her 14 (!!?!) children and they fitted her kiddies up well for the cooold winter.

Right now, they are distributing items as kids come into the public health clinic, however they have been a bit delayed because they’ve been hit by H1N1 and are undertaking a mass immunization over the next couple of weeks. I’ll let you know when I hear more.

In the meantime, we’re talking to an Inuit community organization here in town. They are very interested in having us ship some stuff to their northern kids, however we’re trying to figure out how the shipping might work. They’re going to see if they can work out the shipping themselves and get back to us. Cross your fingers…

Hope you're all still healthy!