Wow! Long Time Since an Update on Charity Crafting

<ItemPage> Strange how the pandemic affects our sense of time. You would think we'd be getting a LOT of things done and yet time seems to fill with other things.

Anyhow, for now, one of our girls, one who works from home and I pick up her finished scarves and drop off donated yarn to her, is taking a break until the end of September. Louise and I will finish some baby jackets we're working on and then we will jump onto fingerless gloves for a few weeks. We like to have a good stash of them to go with our hand made items for the local homeless. Our first distribution to our contact is usually between Oct. 15 and end of that month.

I've already got 6 big stuffed 13-gallon bags for the homeless in one end of my back closet. I've also got 2 stuffed bags with lap covers for the VA and we work on those usually in the winter because it's too hot in the summer for all that to be on our laps. And we hope to have a few bags ready end of November or in December when we sort of expect a baby-boom to occur because of folks being "close" at home during this pandemic.

Yep, we've been working all along, I just haven't been updating here. I like to do it regularly because it also helps me keep track of things.

Rolling along...

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Next Up, Louise's C19-Lockdown Projects

Yesterday I posted the projects I finished during our Charity Crafters' Covid19 lockdown (link for that here). Today, here's a photo of what our long-time member, Louise, finished along the way. It includes 9 pairs of our fingerless gloves for the homeless, 1 scarf for them, 1 lapghan for the VA, 2 baby blankets and 4 baby jackets for local needy moms/babies.

We stick to simpler patterns for the most part because a lot of people in need do not have access to hand-washing fancy/delicate things, and some, like the VA, wash the lap covers in industrial washers which are tough on items, and some young needy mothers need things that are easy to put on and take off.

Tomorrow I'll do the scarves that came in during the C19 lockdown. After that, I will take all this stuff in the 3 days of pix and pack and document and shove big white 13-gallon bags into my double wide closet in the back bedroom until we distribute to one of the 3 places we give things (VA facility, two priests who hand out directly to homeless, and a group that distributes to mothers in need).

Rolling along...

Charity Crafters Meeting Once Again!

Such a happy Friday morning! Our first "meet" since this pandemic started. Well, actually, Louise and I haven't shared a Friday morning since our last one back on 2/21/20. Then she left on a cruise, and then the cruise was messed up as they tried to dodge the pandemic bullet, and I'm so happy she did, but it was a long time before we could do this again. Let's see - she was here 2/21, then our Park closed our Clubhouse on 3/16.

It re-opened a week ago but I didn't know it so yesterday was our first re-meet - she brought me all the things she worked on, and I let her know what I had finished, and we caught up and were VERY glad to be doing it again. Along the way, our two main "invisible" members were working as well - the one who is on dialysis is still making loom-knitted hats and the one near our Clubhouse is bringing crocheted scarves every week or 10 days - she's brought almost 4 dozen since the pandemic hit.

So, at the moment, to begin to catch us up on this blog, the photo here is what I finished between 2/21 and yesterday: 6 hats and 5 lapghans for the VA...

I'll be sharing Louise's stash in a day or so after I count and take pix of hers. She did a lot more than I did - wait until you see. And then I'll do the scarves another day.

Later this week I'll be packing as much as I can for the closet stash before our hot weather hits the back part of the house again. This week we are blessed with under-triple digits. For June in Vegas, that is a treat -

I also need to update everyone on my Christmas Tote activities - although I'm thinking of just calling it my "gift stash" because I've already removed 2 or 3 things for sudden impulse giving.

Rolling along...

Our Charity Crafting Group's Anniversary

Because our clubhouse and events are on lockdown here in the Park and we have not been meeting on Friday mornings and because our monthly newsletter is also in quarantine, I lost track of time. Didn't we all?

Anyhow, April is usually the month we have a wee "party." We usually have snacks on Friday morning, maybe a few pretzels, chips, fruit, whatever. Then the April party and a Christmas one, we just bring a tad more, nothing grand. We used to have 4 or 5 in person every week and now we have 2 of us and sometimes our 3rd. The others work from home for several reasons. But we do still like to have something different for those 2 "events."

Of course, that couldn't happen this April.

Still, it's good to celebrate at least here online with background on the group. The first meeting was April 9, 2009. My best friend ever had just passed away that February and I had been 24/7 caregiver for 3 years along the way. I didn't know how to fill in the hole in my heart at that time. Then I remembered she and I had talked off and on about charity crafting. I decided to post a note in the newsletter about a group, and I got 2 responses by email. We went back and forth and settled on a day and time for each week. They showed up the first week. The 2nd week, my now right-hand long-time member, Louise, showed up with her sis-in-law, who since passed away. Louise doesn't even live here but she loves the charity crafting so she kept coming even after her sis-in-law's passing.

We have 1 who sometimes comes in person, another who used to but health issues stopped that and she works from home, and another 60 miles away who only makes hats but faithfully presents us with hundreds each fall.

Making a long story shorter, this April 9, the group was 11 years old. I can't believe we lasted that long and that we've done so much. We've gone through many members along the way and remember them all. We remember their crochet styles, what they did best, what they hated, and the yarns they favored. It has been a good 11 years.

Thanks, Louise, for still being part of it and helping me hold it together.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Rolling along...

Jan. and Feb. Charity Distributions!

I keep forgetting to post this. We made our last distribution for the hats, scarves and gloves for the homeless in January. No more until October. And we made the last one for the babies in need in February and no more until end of summer.

We are happy to announce our group has made and given away (in January and February) the following items:

•           Hats                                         35

•           Scarves                                    57

•           Gloves                                     27

And

•           Baby Hats                               88

•           Baby Blankets                         9

•           Baby Quilts                             15

•           Baby Jackets                           39

•           Hoodie, Poncho, Pinafore       3

•           Bibs                                         15

•           Booties                                    8 pair

We are thrilled to help with these items.

Total Distribution of Our Handmade Items for 2019!

Our little Charity Crafters group is happy to announce the 2019 totals for all that we made (crocheted, knitted, etc.) for the local needy last year. These are just the things we already gave out and distributed. We always have more that is being accumulated for when we have enough to drop off for distribution.

For our local and nearby homeless:

Hats - 418

Scarves - 227

Gloves - 74 pair

And for a local VA center

Lap Covers/Afghans - 16

Shawls - 8

Walker "organizers" - 2

We didn't get the chance to distribute our things for babies in need last year but I'll be posting in a few weeks about what we just distributed to them a couple of weeks ago.

We are grateful for the yarn that’s been donated for these projects.

To date, we have made a total of 7,282  items for the local needy! We began April 9, 2009, almost 11 years ago. Doing some quick math shows me that we are distributing about 600 items each year. Considering our member count varies between 4 and 8, and seems to average about 5, that is incredible in my eyes.

Plus our ladies love doing this. I love our ladies!

Rolling along, happily...

Charity Crafting Organizing, Packing, and Documenting

Back on Thursday, I caught up with some charity crafting organizing in here. It's a time-consuming part of the effort but it's not hard, just easy to push aside and overlook.

When I come home on Friday mornings from our two-hour sessions, I bring home anything anyone finished and turned in that week. It can be anything from scarves, baby jackets, lap covers, and so on. But it usually just comes inside, into a pile, and sits there. Then I get a day like Thursday when I get tired of staring at the little piles and say, "gee, there's enough in that bunch to make 13-gallon bag."

So I grabbed a few bags and began grouping the things. First I piled the hats, scarves and fingerless gloves onto the bed. I then counted each item: so many scarves, so many hats, etc. And I make a note on a paper to put onto the computer when I am done, and I write the contents of that bag on a piece of paper, punch a hole in the corner of the paper, and attach it to the bag. I do the same with all the baby items, and ditto, the VA lap covers. I had some baby quilts but that pile must go into a big carton, I think.

The finished bags go into 3 different spaces, depending on their intended destinations, inside the big closet. And I add the counts to my file on the computer.

I was so happy to pack a full bag of baby items, 2 full bags for the homeless, and put aside a lap cover for the VA but loose for now until I have enough to bag those. And the quilts must still go into a carton but I am sure I have one in another room.

One of the most tedious jobs was measuring and documenting those 15 little handmade and absolutely beautiful baby quilts from one of our park residents. I thought some of them would be the same size. Not. Of the 15, not any 2 were the same size. I always turn in a paper to these places when we distribute to help them know what's inside each bag so they can decide what to open and when. I measured all those pretty puffy little quilts and documented them... ranging in size from 17x26 to 32x32, so from preemie to maybe six months. I've included photos of those tonight.

My back and my legs held up for the few hours it took to gather it all, count and document and pack it all, and get it all stashed.

Done. For now...

Rolling along...

Updates on Distributions and Baby Quilts

As soon as our next newsletter goes out, on 1/1/20, I'll post publicly here about our December distribution to a VA facility.

And I hope to take a few photos this week and post them showing 15 lovely baby quilts a Park resident made for our group. I can't wait to take all our baby things to Baby's Bounty. Hoping to make it there before Christmas week. Oh, wait - so that's next week latest, right? Where on earth does the time go?

Can't wait to post the quilt pix - I just need to sort of stack them in a way to show a few off. The sizes range from pretty much for preemies, to perhaps a year old...

Rolling along...

Recent Charity Crafting Distribution Counts

About a week ago, I posted some photos of all the bags outside my home, waiting for Louise and Georgie to pick them up and take them to the next stop on their short journey to the local homeless. I promised to post what was in those bags, oh, and if you missed the photos, you can see that post at this link.

Meanwhile, we were so happy to be able to turn in the following:

Hats/Earbands              342

Scarves                         132

Gloves                          54

There are thousands of homeless in every major city today, and we are no different. This barely scratches the surface, but we love thinking that something we made with donated yarn will warm a cold lonely bod out there this winter.

We aim for quantity rather than fashion, and we try for hats first and foremost to warm from top down and over ears, then scarves because they can be pulled up over ears and mouths, and then fingerless gloves which work up quickly for hands that are usually thrust into pockets.

The hats in the photo are the ones made by one of our invisible crafters. She and her hubby live about 60 miles away and she makes them on a knitting loom and brings 300 to us once a year. They are very soft, flexible and warm.

Feels good...

Sent Off a Gazillion Bags for Homeless Distribution

Thursday morning, bright and early, my long-time charity crafting friend and her hubby picked up a gazillion bags for the next step of their journey to the local homeless. I think we had 20 or more bags out there. Thankfully, they did manage to cram it all into their vehicle!

Then, this morning they dropped those off to their contact who will take over and get them to each of the two priests who will hand them out personally to local homeless.

In a few days, I'll list what we sent off but I need to post it in our November mobile home park newsletter first. I don't want any of our residents seeing it here first... but at least I can include the photos of all those bags...

So, now half of my big closet is empty of white bags. Except, of course, for a few for Baby's Bounty and the VA. The baby things will go before Thanksgiving, and the VA lap covers will go sometime in December, I think.

Along the way, we begin rebuilding the stash... odd, how quickly our folks in our group become addicted to this...  it's a good thing.

Rolling along...

My Poor Back Bedroom -

Aside from taking stock of my poor back bedroom today, I didn't do a lot today except for dividing up some things from the fridge into serving sizes and tossing them into the upright freezer.

The back bedroom (the bigger one) and the bigger closet is where I store the 13-gallon white plastic bags stuffed with our handmade items for charity distribution. At the moment, the poor closet is stuffed with 5 full bags for babies and vets. AND there are 10 bags for the homeless in that closet, and 8 outside the closet... okay, what's that, 23 13-gallon bags back there. It's also where the desktop PC is, and the bed I sleep in, and the recumbent exercise bike (which has 2 bags on the seat at the moment). I don't mind all of this... and neither does the cat. In fact, the cat loves to snuggle up against the plumpest ones - never could figure that out.

Anyhow, a few years ago, I used those big green or black Hefty lawn bags. Then they became way too heavy for me to lug from there, through the house, through the pantry, down the back steps, down the drive to the car trunk. These 13-gallon ones are manageable and I'll keep doing this as long as they remain manageable. That will probably be another couple of years.

While I was counting and stacking by destination, I also packed one filled with scarves; the gloves will go into the next one. That sounds simple but it takes time. I must gather what I've accumulated, count as I plop it as neatly as possible into those floppy bags, then attach a tag to the bag and make sure to document it in the file on my hard drive. When we take things for distribution, a little printout goes with those things with a list, a count, of the items being donated that day.

So, my old double-wide mobile home is happily holding for later distribution, not to mention the yarn donated for these items. About that yarn - do not ask!

Between things, I began a pair of slippers for a friend - she stopped in Friday at our usual charity crafting session and asked if I still made them. She bought a pair from me a few years ago, back in '13, I think. Anyhow, I love making those, so I began her pair so she can pick them up this coming Friday.

Rolling along...

Our Stash for the Local Homeless is Almost Complete

It won't be long before we pass along what we've been making since last winter. One of our "invisible" members (those who work at home and drop their items off to us) dropped off 300 hats this weekend to me. They went inside (all 9 thirteen-gallon bags of them!), added to those already stashed in one of my closets.

In a couple of weeks, before month end, my "right hand" in the group will stop by with her hubby and they'll pick up over a dozen bags and haul them to the next stop along their route. The gal who gets them at that point will divvy them up between the two priests who then hand them out directly to local NV homeless.

There are lots of places to give these things to, but when I began this group back in April of '09, my main goal was to do it for here, at home. We have thousands out there on the streets each winter. And even though we do not get the bitter eastern or midwestern or northwestern weather, our nighttime desert cold is c-c-c-cold, especially if you are out on the pavement and unprotected.

We feel so grateful to be able to make a little difference in their lives, provide even just an item or two for them to warm their bods.

Yep, I love seeing this pile of stuffed white plastic bags grow - and I love the gals in our group - without them, none of this would be possible.

Fingerless Gloves - and I Packed More Bags

We've been busy building a stash of fingerless gloves for the upcoming winter for the homeless. We like to turn in a few dozen, at least, each October. Here's a pic of the fingerless gloves from the past two weeks. Yesterday, two of us turned in 9 pairs between us.

I also spent an hour this morning packing more bags to shove into the closet for later distribution. At the moment, that poor closet is holding the following (these are 13 gal. kitchen bags)...

VA -2, Babies - 3, and Homeless - 9

I use the 13 gal. bags for transport because they are the easiest for me to handle. At one time, before I, um, "matured," I could handle huge Hefty bags but those days are gone. I handle them many times, from packing, to stashing, to later dragging them all from the back end of the house, through the house, out the pantry door, down the steps, to either my trunk or to the side of the house for Louise & Georgie to pick up.

Anyhow, we'll likely distribute to the local homeless mid-October (when it's cold already on the streets), to the babies just before Thanksgiving (before it gets really cold), and to the VA in December.

Rolling along...

I've Fallen In Love With The Granny Ripple Pattern!

I was searching online a few weeks ago for a ripple pattern when I couldn't find mine on my hard drive. I found quite a few granny ripples popping up. However, after checking out at least half a dozen of them, and finding them very oddly complicated, I settled on one by Yolanda. Her blog link is at the top of the pattern. Hers is quick and simple to master, ever so easy. For my charity crafting team, quick-and-easy is our mantra!

Anyhow, here are photos of 3 lapghans I finished in this pattern. One is is with one size hook in Simply Soft, one in another hook with worsted, and the third in yet another hook size in worsted. Once I begin one of these, I just can't stop! It is addictive!

I'm pasting my adjusted version here, but if you prefer a pdf instead of copying/pasting, I will be happy to send you a pdf version - just leave a request in the comments below and your email/contact info... Oh, I truly do love this one... can you tell?

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Granny Ripple Stitch, Fast & Easy

by Yolanda on February 17, 2016

https://allcraftschannel.com/tag/granny-ripple

Note: I have adjusted Yolanda's original pattern to make it easier for my charity crafting group... you will find the original at the link above, as well as lots of others she's posted.

NOTE: MUST MAKE SMALL SWATCH TO CALCULATE BEGINNING CHAIN - SEE P.2- pattern is done working multiples of 18; suggested chain counts on p. 2.

(suggested hook: H for worsted)

 Chain 18

Row 1:  3dc in the 5th chain from the hook (loop on hook doesn’t count as a chain), skip 2 ch, 3dc in next ch, skip 2 chains, *[3dc, ch 3, 3dc] in next ch, [3dc in next chain] 2 times,**, skip next 5 chains,[ 3dc, skip next 2 chains] 2 times, rep from *across  to ** (end last rep at **) 1dc, in last chain

Row 2: ch 4, turn work, [3dc, in space between next two 3dc groups] 2 times,  * [3dc, ch 3, 3dc] in next ch-3 sp, [3dc between next two 3dc groups] 2 times,**, skip sp between next two 3dc group, [3dc, between next two groups of 3dc] two times, rep from * across to ** (end last rep at **) skip, next 3 dc, 1dc in top of 3rd ch (turning chain)

Repeat row 2 for pattern until finished.

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Swatch and chain counts:

Make test swatch which is ONE point only (below)

Test Swatch

Ch 18

Row 1: 3dc in the 5th chain from the hook (loop on hook doesn’t count as a chain), skip 2 ch, 3dc in next ch, skip 2 chains, *[3dc, ch 3, 3dc] in next ch, [3dc in next chain] 2 times,**, skip next 5 chains,[ 3dc, skip next 2 chains] 2 times, rep from *across  to ** (end last rep at **) 1dc, in last chain

Row 2: ch 4, turn work, [3dc, in space between next two 3dc groups] 2 times,  * [3dc, ch 3, 3dc] in next ch-3 sp, [3dc between next two 3dc groups] 2 times,**, skip sp between next two 3dc group, [3dc, between next two groups of 3dc] two times, rep from * across to ** (end last rep at **) skip, next 3 dc, 1dc in top of 3rd ch (turning chain)

Repeat row 2 for pattern.

Starting chain, for width:

Measure test swatch across and decide how many "points" you need for your width

          Beginning chain must be multiples of 18, as here:

          1 pt, 18 ch

          2 pts, 36 ch

          3 pts, 54 ch

          4 pts, 72 ch

          5 pts, 90 ch

          6 pts, 108 ch

          7 pts, 126 ch

          8 pts, 144 ch

          9 pts, 162 ch

          10 pts, 180 ch

...and so on...

Length:

Make at least 4 or 5 rows high for gauge for how many rows for length

Recent Baby Items Finished by our Team

Over the past 2 or 3 weeks, I have gone behind posting our finished items. Here are some handmade baby items from our crew. Cute little baby hats and baby blankets.

Some of us hate joining squares now that we are older but one of our group still has fun doing that, hence the one blanket. The other blanket is an all-time go-to for baby blankets, the ever-appropriate ripple pattern. Considering we use donated yarns, these turned out so very nice.

It's almost time for me to make a distribution of baby things to the local agency that acts as an umbrella agency for distribution to about 100 other groups in our city. Normally I do that in August, but I think I'll wait until it cools down a bit, more like late September, because many of these items are geared to cooler weather...

We'll likely have more to add to our stash, including baby jackets, hats and blankets.

Rolling along...

Distribution to a Local VA Facility

Back in June, we had a small but happy distribution of our hand made items to a local VA facility. The only other group member who's been with us as long as I have, for 10 years, must visit there with her hubby a few times a year, and made this connection for us. We just give her the items and she moves it along.

The places we donate to have changed over that decade, and who delivers what to where has changed. But when one door shuts and a facility no longer needs or wants handmade items, for one reason or another, we always seem to get connected to another. And who takes what to where changes depending on the connection, where it is, and other factors. It always seems to work out.

This time, we were able to give them the following - 

      Lap Covers                                   11

      Vest                                               1

      Jacket                                            1

      Button-on Walker "organizer"        1

Because it's a VA facility, we had fun making a few of these in red-white-blue combinations. You can see one of those in the one photo and you can see the walker-pocket-organizer (it's white with black trim) in the other photo. I wish I had take a good photo of that organizer all by itself. But I'll do that with the next one.

We do not usually have a large amount of items for this distribution because we only make lap covers (for those in wheelchairs but they actually lie flat on a hospital bed as well), and those take a while to finish.

We were surprised by one of our newer members who donated a pocket-organizer to hang on a walker. It was really cool, with 3 pockets on the front, one just right for a bottle of water, and buttons to attach at the top. The rest of us agreed these weren't in our own comfort zone so we will be thrilled with any she makes for us in the future.

Rolling along...

Wow - Gotta Catch Up on the Charity Crafting Project Posts

Looks like I haven't posted pix or updates since the one for Friday, June 14th. So I've missed 7 Fridays. Hmmm. I think I'll group the projects all in one merged group photo.

So, over that time, we finished over a dozen baby hats, a few baby jackets/sweaters, a dozen or more scarves and almost as many hats for the homeless, as well as a lap cover for the VA.

There are 3 other items, but I wanted to do them separately and explain some things.

The photo of the lap cover, the colors aren't exactly right - it is so much prettier in reality, with the blending of the winter white, soft green and gray. Apologies to Louise on this.

We love that baby sweater pattern because it is so adaptable to small amounts of various leftover yarns we all seem to have in our yarn stash - if you crochet or knit, you know that ever so well.

In June, I also forgot to mention a small distribution we made to the VA but I'll do that separately, as well. Didn't realize how far behind I was. Ah, well - it is what it it. No biggie.

Friday the 14th - Finished Projects

Just a few baby items this time, 2 blue baby jackets from me and a yellow one from Louise. 

We had small items this time. This was due to our other projects. I finished that red/white/blue lap cover last week and just went to smaller projects for a week or two. And Louise is in the middle of a lap cover at present but squeezed in the little jacket along the way.

We have always kept to a casual routine in the group. We have 3 types of projects that any of us can choose from, depending on our bods, our households, and life itself. It works well for us. Lots of variety and wiggle room.

We are also trying to build up the baby item stash for a distribution run in August.

Friday the 7th - Finished Projects

Louise had taken our lap covers to the VA last week and had one more visit there to make Wednesday, so I managed to finish one more for her to take. Because it's the VA, we try sometimes to use patriotic colors. The lapghan in the pic here is one of those. Last week in the ones she turned in, we had one from her in patriotic colors and one from Malinda. It is fun working those out...

The cute little baby jacket is from Louise...

And there are 11 scarves and 5 headbands from one of our "invisible" members...she has medical issues and says making these helps distract her and calm her down.

Later.

Friday the 31st Finished Projects and other...

Here's a photo of the previous week's finished projects. We ended up with all baby items -  a baby blanket, 3 baby jackets and a baby hat. In another month or two or three, I'll take what we've got over to Baby's Bounty for distribution.

Meanwhile, our VA contact took some items over on Wednesday - 11 lap covers, a vest, a jacket, and a pocket/organizer to hang on a walker. I'm trying to finish a lap cover this week because she is going once more next Wednesday and can drop one more off...

Our invisible members are still working behind the scenes in spite of medical issues. Hats are still being made 60 miles away, and right here, our major scarf-maker seems to somehow turn in at least a dozen or more a month... both ladies tell us how it helps them distract themselves from the medical problems...if you knit or crochet, you know already how good needlework is for stress-busting...

Rolling along...