It Came from Japan (and Ottawa)

Hey fab knitters!

After a quiet June on the Warm Hands front, stuff is starting to roll in. So last week, I got TWO big boxes from Japan (Takatsuki City to be precise), from our lovely Barb Dreher (aka obisaan from Ravelry). Barb is an ex-pat living in Japan right now, and has been contributing to Warm Hands for almost 2 years now.

The first thing I saw was that Barb made our very cool Mags Kandis pattern (hugs and kisses) which was created by Mags (of Mission Falls fame) especially for Warm Hands. Mags told me she thought of hugs and kisses because she wanted to convey to the kiddies that we knit for, that we're thinking warm thoughts about them.

Here is my favorite Barb blankie - Barb, I love it both for the pattern and the colour. I took the photo outside so the shadows are of tree branches hanging over the blanket. I love the stars.

And here are 6 more of the blankets that Barb made. I love the scalloped edges. Barbara, thank you thank you thank you!

Here are some mittens knit by Daphne Edmonds of the Knitting guild. Daphne has knit over 100 pairs for us since we started - thanks again, Daphne, my librarian!

And here are a couple of cute hats by Peggy Holton, also of the Guild! Guys, I love the little tags that you attach to your stuff. I think its great when we attach something that says to an Innu mom, "this was something made especially for your child, from warm hands, and warm hearts".

Love you all - you make this project happen!

Anita and Amy

The Germans are In!

So we were contacted by Esther, a German now living in Canada who asked if we'd be interested in hooking up with a Ravelry group out of Germany who are fans of Drachenwolle, owned by the very generous Christiane (more on that later). Of course, Amy and I said "the more the merrier".

Well they are going to town. I can't even keep up with them (esp since most of them discuss in German, and babelfish gives me great translations like: "Yes, I like Kurt also! More coming!") but here's a link to their ravelry group:

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/drachenwolle

And here is a link to Christiane's company, Drachenwolle - her yarn is beautiful and she has graciously offered to donate yarn to the Germans for our campaign. Yay!

The three pictures above are actually teasers of her stuff. Titillated? Check out her site at:

http://www.drachenwolle.de/english-navigation-1.php

The Count from March

I just realized that I never did post the count from the March Innu shipment, so here it is:

Socks: 108 pairs
Blankets: 22
Hats: 218
Sweaters/vests: 56
Mittens: 62

Thanks to each and every one of you, and here's to the September 2010 shipment!

Anita and Amy

Carolyn H of Ottawa

Hey everyone,
So I dropped by Yarn Forward last week, and they present me with three big new bags full of stuff. As happy as I was, I am dearly hoping that you folks dropped off the items after our deadline, 'cause I just got them. They will certainly go into the September shipment.
So first, here's CarolynH's stuff. She has a great blog and takes her knitting to a level I will never be capable of (I'm also not capable of good grammar - check the dangling modifier).

On the left are Elann Peruvian socks made out of Highland Wool.

I took a close-up of this hat because it was so pretty. The reverse is wayyyy neater than any intarsia I am capable of - 0 lumps! This is "Mireille" using Cascae 220 Wool.


And below is a picture of the intricate Serenity pattern, again with the Cascade Superwash. The hat is a pattern called Filiage mde with Andy's Merino and lined, no less.

I took the picture below because I think I've got a thing for noro. These are Mitered Mittens in Noro Silk Garden. Okay, I admit, I tried them on. Its like being swathed in handcreme.

Thanks Carolyn H - Don't know how you fit this in, in between the kitchen reno (done that, never again), but you're amazing!

So What Happened?

I'll tell ya what happened:

Amy and Anita got crazy busy and didn't update the blog. So here it is:

1. We dropped off the stuff in Montreal (thanks again to Provincial Airlines and the lovely Ed Fude who can't understand me because of my accent - too central Canada apparently. We spent a lot of time on the phone, saying "pardon me?" and "come again?"). The total amount shipped: an insane 163 pounds. I will post on the contents of the boxes soon. Every single thing that you sweet people sent to us was shipped.

Which means we're now back to 0 inventory!

2. We've kicked off the new campaign for September 2010. The deal this time is that we want to focus on blankets and socks. There are a bunch of reasons, but here are a couple:

1. blankies: the community wants to give a new blanket to each newborn. Its a great way to get new moms into the community health clinic, and also ensures the littlest ones get some warmth.

2. socks: As a mother I can tell you that every kid needs 1 hat (or maybe 2 if the lose one), but kids need multiple pairs of socks. Combine that with many children who don't have boots, and you can see why warm dry socks are very much appreciated. This time, we shipped about 60 pairs which was amazing. The community tells us the more socks the better.

Personally, I have a soft spot for sweaters for the same reasons, and I'd be open to adding sweaters to our campaign again. Of course, if your a die-hard hat person, we won't say no, but we're going to make sure that absolutely all blankets and socks get priority this fall. We're also working on the boot front, trying to figure out how to move that project forward, which does take up some valuable weight in our shipment!

3. For the American knitters and crochet artists, Terry at Wool-Aid has put together an incredible set of instructions on the project within their Rav site, and what she will be collecting and shipping. Wool-Aid has been a tremendous American partner for us this last shipment. Terry, if I missed anything please comment on this post or send me a message. Given the costs to ship to Canada, Wool-Aid also appreciates it if you send in a couple of bucks with your items to help with the shipping.

4. Check this out: Terry also sent me a link to a project that Colin Firth is promoting that involves the (guess!) Innu! Basically its the promotion of a book that is published by a group called "Survival" that focus on tribes all over the world that need to survive for the better of everyone. In Canada, its the Innu. Here is a link to a section on their website. There are a series of photos at the bottom of this page, that I think are in the book as well, and they give you a real mental "picture" of the Innu - the pictures may be of the Quebec or Labrador communities - its not clear, but they are very moving nonetheless. Here is a picture from the website (and, I believe, the book):

Okay I will post more later, but I want to say thanks so so so much for the tremendous campaign contributions. Please know that the items will go from your needles onto the bodies of many many little ones.

Thanks Wool-Aid!

So around December, Terry from Wool-aid contacted me. She has a great Rav group - basically she and her knitting posse produce massive amounts of stuff for a variety of projects, then she coordinates the packing, shipping and delivery.
This week, I got 50 pounds of stuff. Here are the snaps, graciously created by Terry. The Ravelry posse includes:
abby100, caitysmom, Caryn, cinderga, dobiegirl, geekgirl, greyhoundsknit, JCL, kirbanita, kjschwartz, knitanne, lambylady, lisabeedesigns, lismi, margaretg, Memaknits, mlb, moomsy, morningthunder, redheadeb, vmtknits, Wolle, zuelene
Above and below is a lovely arty collage (much nicer than me spreading out stuff on the kitchen floor):

Speaking of hats, Carleneruns has been a huge supporter of Warm Hands. Carlene, when we were packing up the boxes today, I was thrilled as usual about your blankets. You make me want to crochet. Carlene is being interviewed by the Crochet Guild of America (okay check me if I'm wrong, Carlene) about her crochetting, and in particular all of the hats she's made for Warm Hands. Here is the hat pattern that she used for us (this is just 1 of a massive stash of her stuff going to Labrador in this shipment):

Patricia and Janet

I got some lovely parcels from Patricia of Toronto (I think this is your second shipment to warmhands, right?), and Janet of Fredricton.









So the picture above and below are from Patricia's House of Knits. My grouchy daughter is modelling the balaklava (see how she's shooting me the googly-eye?), because I thought they were great, and a photo on the kitchen table doesn't do them justice.




Below are the items from Janet of New Brunswick. Janet is awesome, both because she makes super warm stuff (the thrummed mittens to the right are like wearing your pillows), but she's also a great commenter/contributer to the rav site which I must say is a big way that we've been able to raise awareness and contributions for the Innu project. Thanks for your sweet note, Janet!





Finally, for all you American contributors out there, who shipped through Wool-Aid to us - just got an email from Terry who tells me that the items are boxed, and I should be getting them shortly! Here is a pic she sent me:




I haven't mentioned the Dulaan project - we are still planning a Cdn shipment to Dulaan this year. I got this great link from Olyweaver which shows the distribution of items via Dulaan in Dec 2009 (some of your items were probably distributed in that shipment!).