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!).

Things are arriving!

You're not seeing extra images - three plain white bags with simple white tags, and the work of an industrious woman - 20 mittens, 20 toques and 20 slippers! Wonderful!

One very thoughtful knitter donated some space bags. These will be very handy for Anita and I as we pack up the boxes over the next short while - we are determined to get as much as we can in each box, and these will be great! Thank you for these, and the very cuddly warm blankets they came with.

I am sure a little one will love to play pirates with this sweater on! And, check out the socks!

Check out this great stuff! Hats, socks (oh my), scarves, blankets, slippers... wonderful talent out there, and such generosity!

Thank you, one and all.

These are from some talented women in Little Britain. I used to work near there, and learned a lot from some volunteers from Little Britain and Lindsay. A beautiful area, full of giving people!

Knitting Ladies

I know not all of you are on Ravelry, so I thought I'd add this note here as well:

More news: I talked to Lorraine, in Sheshasuit this morning. I have to say, its so nice now. When we first started the project, I think the community was a bit wary - they have been through this before, I get the sense. Now that we’ve got a couple of years worth of shipments under our belt, its like they kind of trust us. Lorraine (who is a woman of few words) just giggled when I said we get stuff for the Innu kids from the US and Japan now, as well as all over Canada. So the conversation went like this:

Anita: Hi, its Anita, the -
Lorraine: Knitting lady (laugh)
Anita: Hey, how did it go with the the last shipment we sent?
Lorraine: Oh its all gone. The kids are wearing it now. Everything is gone. We gave out most everything at the clinic, and we took some of the hats and mittens to the school, and they all went fast.
Anita: Great! So Lorraine, are we shipping too much? We don’t want to overwhelm you…

Lorraine: Its not too much. Its all used. I’ll tell you when its too much.
Anita: Okay so February? I’ll get it to Goose Bay - you get it the rest of the way.
Lorraine: Yep
Anita: And next September?
Lorraine: Yep
Anita: You rock, Lorraine. You are so awesome! Thanks for doing this!
Lorraine: Thank you, knitting lady (laugh laugh)! and hangs up.

So I don’t know if Lorraine has a camera, but next time I will ask her, and see if she can email a photo or two that I can post - not sure if it will work, but I’d love to see some of the stuff on the kiddies.
Thanks to all you “knitting (and crochet) ladies”!

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!