Warm California Sun
Southern California was in the mid to high 80's when we were there and for me it was wonderful as I'm easily chilled. Dear Hubby, on the other hand, would have preferred it 15° to 20° cooler.
It was wonderful visiting with family there. It was mostly laid back visiting time, though we did visit a couple of malls - once just the "girls" and once my son came along. The evening before we left my son shared with us that he was to receive a promotion from senior engineer to staff engineer at his work! Congratulations, Son!
Hubby and his two daughters had great fun at Disneyland despite the heat. Sadly the girls returned home to find their garage had been broken into and all their tools, field equipment (for archaeology) and 3 new bags of kitty litter had been stolen. What kind of thief steals kitty litter? Maybe the same kind that steals cars and parts them out . . . kitty litter is often used to soak up oil.
While in So. CA. I had the opportunity to visit a couple of yarn stores I hadn't been to before. Skein in Pasadena, where the store was well stocked and the owner was very helpful. In Corona I visited A Yarn Affair where I only had a few minutes to spend, but it was visually pleasing and had a good stock to choose from also. I bought mostly yarns that will be used for scarves, but am excited about working with some new yarns.
While in San Diego I helped my 8 yr old granddaughter finish her first knitted project, and help her start a blanket for a doll she hopes to get for Christmas. I also finished a scarf made from my friend Joan's pattern knitted with Paton's Brilliant, and got the back and both front pieces of a baby sweater nearly done - a bit less than an inch to do before the shoulder shaping.
Appreciation and Thank Yous
On Friday I received a very nice note of thanks via e-mail from Jim Linderman and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Jim wrote;
nice article .. get any calls? we could use scarves!!!
Shelly - Friday AM ... I brought one of the boxes of scarves to the front desk of the cancer center .. our IV Therapy nurse has breast cancer; our chief radiation technologist has breast cancer; one of our Radiation Oncologists has breast cancer ... the ladies (front office etc) are going NUTS!!!!!! ((I'm a guy .. I see some scarves ...) .. they see "work; textures; love" .... the "non-cancer survivor staff" are bummed they don't get one! (I told them to start smoking 3 packs a day and they may soon qualify)...
also
the "tags" mean sooo much to the ladies .. whether "washing instructions" or "made by Amy in Israel" ... the "oohs and aaahs" are reverberating throughout the department
AND
Sandy (60 y/o stage 3 lung cancer) was just here for treatment .. she was planning on going on the "We Can" Retreat .. so she received a scarf also .. good stuff...
the 49 are going to fly out of here with the amount of breast cancer etc we see daily
thanks again
jim
Jim Linderman, Coordinator Support and Education St. Joseph's Regional Cancer Center (209) 461-5069 I got a warm "rush" when I read that! It's so good to know that others are going to feel the love that we put into each stitch as we knitted and crocheted those scarves, and that they will know we are here to support them in some small way.I believe Jim is right, they are going to run out of scarves quickly so I welcome anyone who reads this to join in the scarf project.
It also came to my attention today that in posting the list of locations the scarves came from I neglected to list Manchester, PA - my friend there donated 3 scarves which were much appreciated, and I need to aplogize for neglecting to include her location (:o( blushing with embarrasment). I believe I may have missed at least one or two other locations.
I have misplaced a couple of addresses of donors, (or failed to keep them from the mailing materials) so I've emailed all to ask for addresses so I can send thank you notes. You all may not feel they are necessary, but I feel so thankful for all the scarves donated - after all I couldn't have done this without your help!
Let's continue to "Wrap 'em in Love!
By clicking on the title line you can be taken to an article published by The Record, our local newspaper here in Stockton California. Sara Cardine wrote a nice article on the
Pink Scarves for Breast Cancer Challenge. I'm pleased with the article, even though as I've mentioned in emails - it isn't the story I would have written, but that's exactly why Sara works for the newspaper and I don't . It has gotten a positive reaction from friends and family alike. Already the article has drawn new members to our knit group, and that is a positive thing! Hopefully it will bring even more.Our local yarn shop "Knit Witz" located on the Miracle Mile portion of Pacific Avenue here in Stockton has agreed to run a blurb in their weekly email about the scarf project also, which is really good news! It should give us the push we need to keep the project going.
In other knitting content, I finally pulled the Bella cardigan out of the UFO basket to finish the sleeves, but couldn't figure out where I was on them so . . . ribbit, ribbbit, ribbit . . . yep, I frogged them and started all over. I got 11 rows of the lace pattern done before bed last night.
Have you seen the Diakeito Rococo yarns? I purchased mine from
www.seaportyarn.com on Saturday about noon. I emailed them right away to ask when it would ship because our postal carrier leaves packages on the porch. Within 20 minutes I had an email telling me it would ship that day. Later that evening I had an email showing that it had been shipped, and I received it on Monday. Talk about excellent service!!
I ordered colors #104 and 110 and am so anxious to start playing with them. The color on these yarns doesn't repeat. It just slowly changes from one color to another. The picture here doesn't do it justice. The one on the left ac
tually goes from a deep chocolate brown to black greys and blues, while the other one goes from oranges to magenta, teal, brick and to a yellowish orange. I'm not sure if each skein is different as I didn't see more than those that I ordered. There are several more colors available and if the funds were available I'd order some of each they are so yummy.
Still otn are two scarves which have now become filler projects. One is nearly done, the other about 2/3 complete.
It's nearing dinner time according to my rumbly tummy so guess I'll go see if the kitchen is still where it was earlier.
Scarf Challenge Stage 1 Complete
What a Beautiful sight!50 Awesome scarves, each made by caring hands and loving hearts, and sent with good wishes for those who are struggling with cancer, or who have had cancer! You ladies are the best and I can't thank you enough for your participation in the scarf challenge I started. 
Scarves were sent from the following locations; Mesa, AZ
Bridgeport, CT
Jeffersonville, IN
Clarkston, MI
Cosco, MI
Kansas City, MO
Omaha, NE
Earlwood, Australia
Netanya, Israel
Stockton, Ca
Lathrop, CA
On Tuesday, Oct 3rd the local newspaper, the Record, will be running a story covering the scarf challenge, our local knitting group Stitch 'n Bitch Stockton-Lodi, and the donation to the Sister Mary Pia cancer center. Pictures of some of your scarves will be used to border the article. I will be sending each of you a link to the article if one is available. This project began as a Pink Scarves for Breast Cancer Challenge, but at the request of Jim Linderman, my contact at the cancer center, I requested some manly type scarves and you all came through!
Wondering why the title of today's post ends with the words "stage 1 complete"? The need hasn't changed with just 50 scarves, so I've decided this will be an on-going project which I will call "Wraps of Love".
Anyone can participate simply by making a scarf using any yarn, any color, any size and shape, for any gender. Contact me for shipping information at Tink1944@yahoo.com
Following are the only rules I must ask that you adhere to;
(following these will insure that no one has an un-necessary allergic reaction to pet hairs, dust or smoke from our homes or chemicals used by the manufacturers. Labeling assures that each person receiving one of these beautiful scarves will receive one made from fibers they are not allergic to.)
1) The scarves must be freshly laundered prior to shipping. Please don't use strongly perfumed products on them.
2) Please provide laundering instructions, so that the recipient can care for the scarf appropriately and enjoy it for many years to come.
3) Please include either a label from the yarn or a list of the yarn contents on a piece of paper attached securely to the scarf.
Let's keep them
"Wrapped in Love"!
