Thursday, April 24, 2008

Saturday can't come soon enough . . .

Saturday, Saturday, I'm so excited. On Saturday I'll finally meet Dorrie, and her daughter, who along with her daughter's friend have periodically mailed me boxes of scarves for Scarves From The Heart. We're lunching at my new most favorite restaurant Elephant Bar and they're bringing along some scarves they've made which will help meet our goal of 125 scarves by the end of August.

That's it, the ends are woven in (see my last post for a picture of this scarf), and I swear off of the multi-directional pattern for a while. I'm not sure why that one was so difficult for me to finish when I haven't had that problem in the past. But it's done, it's not perfect and it's ok that it isn't perfect. It reminds me that only God is perfect, but I am to strive for perfection knowing I will never attain it in this life.

After finishing the multi-directional I balled up the two hanks of purple lace weight yarn I'd planned to make my friend Sue's scarf from. However, when knit together the blend of the two shades of purple just wasn't pleasing. Next option, purple Lorna's Laces sock yarn, and while it fit the bill color wise, it wasn't bulky enough to look right for the pattern I'd chosen. Finally the pattern won out, and I found this at our LYS.

Of course a couple of other yarns followed me home, but I thought I did well getting out with only 4 new yarns, in amounts appropriate for scarves. There was one yarn I left there, that I really didn't want to leave, but it was the yarn I lusted for, not a scarf (or anything else) made from it. It was a fine ribbon yarn with bamboo in it, and it had the most wonderful feel in my hands. But the yardage wasn't enough to warrant the price on this month's budget. Of course that means I may go back and buy it later. It gives me something to wish for. Right now my tummy wishes it weren't so hungry so I guess that's a cue to go to the kitchen.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Generous Donation

Wow! This wonderful batch of yarn was waiting at the post office today! Thank you Tiffani and Janet! It makes my fingers almost itch wanting to cast on something new. It doesn't help any that the current scarf on my needles has become boring . . . but I've resisted so far, and I did promise myself that I would finish the current scarf before starting another one. I didn't promise to finish the Moonlight Mohair one though, so as soon as I knit the next 80 or so feet of Teseo Di've then I will cast on another scarf.

This is the multi-directional with eyelets, and I have to say there are some things I will do differently next time, like do a set number of eyelets on each section because choosing to do them every 13 ridges means that they sometimes fall at or near the points of the section and they don't look as good there. But overall I like the look and it certainly breaks up the boredom a bit. I also like the colorway, even though I'm not a big fan of the color green. It's also a bit wider at one end but I've decided it's not bad enough to warrant frogging it.
That yarn that was donated is sitting in a basket just four or so feet away and I've never heard such screaming for attention! It truly needs to be used! Someone rescue me, I need help knitting and crocheting all this yarn. Seriously, if you'd like to make scarves for Scarves From The Heart and can't afford the yarn
email me! I have yarn to spare and storage is quickly becoming an issue.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Exciting News!

Susan, owner of Crystal Palace Yarns has donated two patterns to post on the Scarves From The Heart website - check them out! Scarves From The Heart

In addition, she has offered to donate the yarn to knit two of each of the scarves! I have to thank Laura from Yahoo's "knittalk" group for setting this up for me! Thanks Laura! You're awesome!

You too can design a scarf and have it posted on our website. The copyright remains with you, the designer, and you can ask to have it pulled at any time, though of course we hope you won't. If you're interested in designing a scarf for Scarves From The Heart just email me! You'll be supporting a wonderful cause!

In other news, on Sunday I attended the "Surviving Beautifully" fashion show put on by The Regional Cancer Center at St. Joseph's Hospital here in Stockton. Mind you, fashion shows aren't my usual kind of entertainment, but this one is an annual fundraiser for the cancer center. This was their 19th year of putting on this fashion show, and what an outstanding job they did! I can't wait to see what they do for their 20th annual show. It's so very touching because all of the models are cancer survivors, and they are such an inspiration. They have gone through so much and yet they give their time and effort to make the path easier for others who will benefit from services the money raised makes possible! I really regret not having taken my camera. The models ranged from a 4 year old girl going through a second round of bone cancer, which is not in remission, to a man who has had cancer twice, and modeled with his two grown daughters who have both had breast cancer, and one of the two was recently diagnosed with yet a second type of cancer.

These people, along with my daughter, are the reason I continue to push to make Scarves From The Heart a success. If I give them one moment of happiness or one bit of warmth or comfort then every little bit I've done has been worthwhile.

Our next big push is for 100, no let's make that 125 scarves by late August. In September the cancer center has an event at a small park adjacent to their facility where last year we gave away about 65 to 75 scarves and ran out before each survivor got one. This year our goal is to not run out! So if you're reading this and you knit or crochet, won't you make time to make just one or two scarves for this worthwhile cause? While you're at it, tell your friends who are knitters or crocheters about it and ask them to make one or two. To learn about our very simple guidelines, go to Scarves From The Heart. We will need both masculine and feminine scarves.