JoJo on the GoGo

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but at one point I was considering walking the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk with my pal Miss Jodi (aka JoJo). After much thought, I decided this year was not the time to be adding the stress of training and raising the $2300 (I think?) entry requirement on top of fixing up the house and hanging out with the hubs and the pups. However, I still wanted to do as much as I could to help JoJo get the moolah she needed.

I gathered up a bunch of crafty friends, and together we decided to make and donate things that JoJo can sell at a craft show at the end of this month. Since everyone has different talents, there will be an array of different crafts: sock monkeys, scrapbooks, jewelry, magnets, and lots, lots more. Miss Kaia created the following logo, which Miss Stacey took and made into a stamp so that all of the items will have cute hangtags.
Below is the pile I'm donating. It contains the last three shawls I knit ( #2, #3, and #4), two skully camera bags, and two skully pairs of socks. Now fingers crossed that she sells out of everything!


If you'd like to make a donation to help breast cancer and JoJo get on the GoGo, go here!

A *Heart*ful Thanks!

I received the sweetest note and handmade heart from the Dee, the organizer of the Mattaponi charity project, on behalf of the women of the Mattaponi tribe. While I was completely happy just to help, this little note really brightened up my day. What a wonderful surprise.

Art Auction: Let's Put This Baby to Bed

OK, technically, the art auction ended at 5pm on Thursday, but I had more pictures than I knew what to do with. Add that to the fact that I'm low on the crafting due to numb hands and a pain in my back. Instead I've just been doing a lot of lying around. Lame, I know. Yes, I'll admit it, the art auction was a cop out. But it was better than nothing.

Here are the last two crafts that just didn't seem to fit in with anything.

Record bowls and chart topping coasters. So creative!

Teensy weensy baskets. I mean teeny! Someone handmade these. Amazing.

Auction Day 6: Cubicle Quilts

I don't really use quilts as art since I love cuddling up in quilts more. But I know how beautiful they can look in a room. And in a cubicle...genius! This mini-quilts are called Cubicle Quilts, and they're just the right size. The details are amazing...but yeah, the camera. Whatever. I'm over it.

Art Auction Day 5: Jewelry

I never really make jewelry, so I'm always blown away but people who can. Here are a few pieces on the auction block.

Art Auction Day 4: Actual Wall Art!

Hanging leaves. The colors are really vibrant.

Beautiful butterfly photo

And another

Trees in sepia tones. So serene. Sorry my camera f-ed up the beauty of these!

Auction Day 3: Let It Sew

Here are some sewn treats from the Art Auction.

I can't believe how detailed this fairy and tree house are. I just wish my camera would've captured it better.

Another one my camera fails to show detail. In real life, this bag has so much texture.

Rubber ducky, you're the one. You make sleeping on the couch when it's cold so much fun!

Auction Day 2: No Foolin'

I'd like to say that I have some great April's Fools Day joke planned, but I don't. Boo. Instead I bring you knitted items from the UW Art Auction!

Lots of itty hats for the wee ones. I love the strawberry hat.

Felted bags

I think these are knitted, but they might be crocheted. Teeny easter baskets with candy. Yum.

Live...from the Art Auction

Well...let me correct myself, the United Way Art Auction lost it's "Art" from the title this year. So while it's still an auction filled with great arts and craft made by co-workers (as it was in the past), it now has the added...and dare I say "dreaded" bonus of "stuff." I'm talking world record number of theme baskets. But the best: "crap" from people's attics. No kidding. Don't get me started.

On a brighter note, I'm dedicating this week's posts (well, as many days as I can) to the ART in UW Auction. First up: arts and crafts from my peeps. I have such talented pals! Way to go, girls (and guy)!

Jess's sock monkeys really need no introduction! Here's Janine.

Annie and Justin made this. Justin drew the design and Annie (a coworker friend) brought it to life.

Shelley's beautiful beret and matching mittens.

A triple bunny quilt from Miss Mandy. Gorgeous!

And last...but not least...are pet portraits from Shelley. The auction is for a portrait of your pet. She auctioned twolast year, and then was commissioned to make more from the "losers."

Another Donation

I know that I said I hated United Way yesterday, and I still do. But I'm a sucker and feel like I should donate more than just the purse. So I'm also giving the UW auction at my work the cabled legwarmers that never sold on Etsy and make my big feet look even more ginormous than they alreadyare.

Deconstructed Sweater Reveal

Ta-dah! I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with my accidentally shrunken sweater, but just like the book said, the sweater just sort of turned into this. Read yesterday's post for the first-half of the story.

I'm going to be donating this purse to the United Way auction at my work....despite my strong dislike of the United Way. I'm focusing less on the organization and more on a chance to share my craft with others. (Which I guess goes against the whole idea of donating and giving, but whatever...)

I cut the top of my sweater and used the bottom ribbing for the top of the bag.

I already had the hoops from a previous purse that I tried to make that went awry. I just placed them on the sweater where I wanted them and used a white chalky pencil to cut out the shape.

I lined the inside of the bag with leftover Amy Butler fabric that I had from my living room pillows.

I forgot to take pictures of the sweater before I started cutting. But here's what was left. Notice how fuzzy it was. How did I fix that? A handy dandy disposable razor (new...not used...gross). That thing worked miracles!

Here's the cut piece.

Giving Beats Getting!

Sometimes when you donate something to charity, it just goes away, never ever knowing where it's path ended. When I donated the scarflette and fingerless gloves to the Mattaponi tribe, I won't lie, the thought did cross my mind that the $46 I was hoping to sell them for on Etsy would be gone the moment I gave them away. I made myself OK with it because winter was coming to an end (or wishful thinking anyway) and the need for such items would be dwindling. Plus, I like the way giving to someone who needs it makes me feel. But once the items were in the mail, I never thought I'd see or hear about them again.

Boy, was I wrong!

Dee, the woman on Ravely who helped set up this service knitting project, shared the following picture and story with me. Words can't describe how moved I am by this little girl'story...and smile.

This is Aris.

“But what really touched my heart was 9 year old Mattaponi Aris found and put together an outfit that comforted her as nothing else has. Aris is wearing an auburn colored muffler with buttons and thumb gloves and a cream colored shawl of some sort over her cotton dress. Her grandmother, brought her to work [at the clinic] all day. Aris actually slept in her new knitted garmets over her night gown and immediately put them on again upon rising. and she is smiling and happy! Christmas day, her home burned to the ground, her step Dad is in critical care in the burn unit, and she is living with her grandparents. She also lost a young cousin in a car accident recently. She has suffered a lot for a little kid.”

I think it's important to remember people like Aris when it comes time to donating and doing for others. I think now how stupid it was to even consider not making $46, when this little girl's smile is nothing short of priceless.

First Donation Package

I thought I'd share the first package that I sent out for the Mattaponi tribe, because what I was originally planning on sending isn't what actually went out. Why? Because I'm a moron. One of the two baby sweaters I was planning on sending had actually been sold on Etsy...by me...months ago. Yeah, who knew? Obviously not me!

So I quickly pulled the Orange Crush scarflette and fingerless gloves from my Etsy shop that hadn't sold and added it to the donation pile. I also added a black men's hat that I knit for something else, but came out a little too big. The last item added was a teeny baby hat I made when I first started knitting. I had given it to Camela before her baby was born in the case that he was born a she. But alas, he was born, and the hat was given back.

Shelley donated a whole bunch of drugs....no, not those kind. Things like aspirin and tylenol were on the list of needs by the local clinic.

New Service Project

The Knitters for Obama decided on the next service knitting project. We will be knitting and crocheting a variety of items for the Mattaponi Native American tribe in Virginia. According to the KFO post: "There is a staggering amount of poverty and need among many Native American tribes. The Mattaponi tribe lives in Eastern Virginia, and for some unknown reason are not recognized as an official tribe and therefore do not receive federal funding. This is shocking considering that the tribe was here before the first European settlers arrived in the 1600s."

The nice thing about this project is that there is a wide range of projects that people can work on, because items for everyone from babies to adults are needed. I haven't started any projects yet, but I will be donating two baby sweaters that were in my Etsy store but never sold.



If you'd like to donate but aren't crafty, you still can! Contact me or leave a comment with your contact info when you post if you'd like to donate yarn to the group for knitting or a variety of essentials from Mattaponi Healing Eagle Clinic Wish List:

• Adult & Senior Multi -Vitamins/small bottles
• Children’s Vitamins/small bottles
• Glucosamine Coated Tablets 1000/500 mg strength only
• Vitamin E
• Calcium
• Omega 3 Fish oil in small bottles
• Tylenol (in small bottles only- urgently needed)
• Tylenol Arthritis
• Aspirin 81 (Baby Aspirin) Small bottles only
• Toothpaste
• Tooth brushes for adults and children
• Pill splitters
• Disposable underwear briefs: all sizes but especially, large, extra large size briefs
• Large kitchen trash bags
• Large green trash bags
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Cans of Ensure: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla; all flavors
• Cans of Boost, especially for Diabetics
• Urgent Needs: stamps (They use a roll a month.) and padded folding chairs so patients don’t have to stand in the waiting room. A donation of $17 buys one chair (monetary donations are tax deductible!)
  

Hats Are Hugs

KFO's Chemo Caps made it on the news! And two of my hats (this one and this one) make an appearance! But my favorite part is what the woman says at the end: "It's like a little hug when you put these hats on." That's what this is all about.

Hats Are Being Donated Today!

Today is the big day when all of the chemo caps that were knitted by the Knitters for Obama group are going to be donated to the University of Chicago Hospital in honor of Obama's grandma "Toot." As I mentioned, I was in Chicago over the weekend to reunite with some friends I went to grade school with, but first I swung by Loopy, a yarn shop where members from KFO were meeting up. It was good to get to see the people behind the Ravelry posts, as well as get to see three garbage bags full of hats that are going to a great cause. The final count came to just over 200 hats! How great is that? Here are some pictures that were taken by KFO member jmcatee.

Yep...Two More Hats

The Chemo Caps for the Toots charity need to be in Chicago this week, so I wanted to kick out another couple of hats before I put them in the mail. I was hoping to make more than this but with the holidays and all the gift making I was doing, I was only able to knit five total. Still, any hats help the cause.

3 Down...Lots More to Go

Another chemo cap complete. I used the yarn that bijouxmaster had sent me. I figured if I'm getting free yarn, the least I can do is pay my good fortune forward. I came up with the pattern for this hat on my own. I think it turned out kind of cute. And it's comfortable to wear, which is most important for sensitive scalps!

Cancer Still Sucks

...but at least this chemo cap is better. It was my second stab at it, and this time it went much better. I might add a little owl or something to the front, but for now, I'm happy it's knitted. I used the scrap alpaca yarn I had from the scarflette giveaway I did. And I still have scraps left to use. Bonus!

Cancer Sucks

...and so does this hat. I was making another Chemo Cap...all striped and autumn pretty. But one mess up led to another...the same way cells multiply to become a cancer. I refuse to send a cap out that has so much angst knitted into it, especially to someone who needs so much more positive in her life. So this one will be frogged. Ribbit. Boo. Another better knitting day will hopefully produce better results. *sigh*