The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworkers Circle: Topic for today - Charity needlework

11/2/05 | Knitting a Conundrum

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Problems hurt.

But it is good to have friends who know and care.

Fun is having weather triggered arthritis, and having both NSAIDS and narcotics give you different stomach troubles.

Binky Patrol sounds neat!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Interweave press has a nice list of charities, too:

http://www.interweave.com/knit/charities.asp

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Some more charity links.

Project Angel Kisses - specializes in stuff for preemies.
http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/1index.html (warning: music on home page! But it is pausible)

Patterns
http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/1memberpatterns.html

Project Linus, which like the Binky project makes blankets for the traumatized.
http://www.projectlinus.org/index.shtml

The Ships project to support our troops
http://www.projectlinus.org/index.shtml

[pinz-n-needlez]

This isn't just a regular FR thread, I think we all know that emotion/physical/spiritual pain are all real. ;-)

80sqmi, my husband has had Crohns disease for 34 years. You have a sympathetic ear here.

I've got 4 kids, 19-28 years, so I know how life gets interrupted by crises, both the urgent knd, and the important kind. lol

This thread is a calm respite. I'd love to see us work on some sort of charitable project together. I think Project Binky sounds wonderful.

Pinz

[knittnmom]

This isn't just a regular FR thread, I think we all know that emotion/physical/spiritual pain are all real

Absolutely! And I read today that women feel pain more intensely because we have more nerve endings. Go figure! It isn't just in our minds - it's at the end of every nerve!! I LOVE to knit - if I could quit work and do anything I wanted, I think that would be it. (My handle on another site is knittnmom.) Fortunately, my Crohn's is usually under control - I've only had a few bad spells. I've read of some promising research being done, so I am hopeful that a cure will be found. Someone said the Marshall Protocol - described at marshallprotocol.com is a cure. I haven't found a practitioner yet, and plan to speak to my dr about it. 34 years! Wow! I've only been dealing with mine for just over 3 years.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

This is what a circle of FRiends should be like.

We are here to listen and share.

I bet we can all share war stories and horror stories in plenty, and we all need a safe place to get away from it when it gets bad.

And you're right. Finding some project we can all contribute to would be a nice thing. I personally would like it to be more than blankets. I am better with small items like socks and caps than whole afghans. But there is sooooo much need out there, I am sure we can find a group that can use all the items we like to work on.

[pinz-n-needlez]

My husband has been receiving Remicade for 15 months. There haven't been dramatic improvements with each treatment, but he is in much better shape than he was a year ago.

We have a sweetheart of a GI doctor, who's mostly willing to go along with requests for alternative approaches.

I fought the Remicade tooth and nail, but must admit it has helped a lot.

I was a knitting fanatic for years, but last winter I put in too many 6 hour days knitting and have a real problem with tendonitis in my right arm. Thank goodness I'm mentally prepared to do Extreme Weaving this winter. lol

I worked on a sock for several hours Sunday afternoon, and my arm still hurts. I miss knitting dreadfully. I need to jot down a reminder to look up the word 'moderation' in the dictionary some day. ;-)

Pinz

[pinz-n-needlez]

In our area there are several businesses which have Christmas trees in their lobbies that are decorated with hand made mittens, hats, scarves and gloves. These are accumulated during the season, and then take to a local homeless shelter or Salvation Army to be distributed to needy neighbors.

Making cloth dolls, or animal toys is another project that could go to local police or social worker centers for children who are experiencing traumas in their lives.

Alex Anderson (Simply Quilts on HGTV) has information on fast, easy-to-make quilts that are given to children by police who are rescuing them from various bad situations. Not sure I have that much in extra fabric, but the quilters here might want to look at that.

I'm on the Injured List this year when it comes to socks and mittens, but maybe we could keep thinking of some projects that we could all support one another on, and distribute in our own communities.

Pinz

[Knitting A Conundrum]

O Pinz, I know what you mean about putting down the knitting...I had to put it down for something like six months because of the achies. Now I am rationing how much I can do at a time to try not to have to do it again!

[Mercat]

Google prayer shawl. My psycho cat messed up my thingie so I can't link to it. It's basically an easy shawl, afghan to knit or crochet and to share with people who are in hospitals or hospice. I've had such wonderful response from people to whom I've given my simple baby afghans. And I tell them that each stitch is a prayer and IT IS.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

These are good ideas. The local Catholic Charities here, for instance, is always looking for layette sets for new mothers, and I bet most of the area hospitals with neonatal units need baby things, and there are always needs for caps, mitts, scarves, and blankets.

It ought to be easy to find hands for anything and all we can produce.

Lots and lots of patterns available.

Like the baby socks I am knitting. In fingering yarn, with a gauge of about 7 stitches an inch, cast on 36 stitches, rib k1, p1 for 10 rows (about an inch), stockinet for 10 rows, heel flap for about an inch, square heel, pick up 11 stitches per side, do the gusetts, and keep knitting until you have 20 rows from gusset edge, do a wedge toe. bind the toe. Easy. Might write it up as a more formal pattern, instead of sock knitter's shorthand.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

You mean this page:

http://www.shawlministry.com/

and this page:

http://www.chezcrochet.com/page0034.html

And here's a knitted pattern for one
http://www.trinitybeth.org/shawl.htm

[Mercat]

yes, thank you.

[Utah Girl]

My church group has knitted caps for chemo patients. I taught the non-knitters how to knit and the rest of the knitters knitted madly on a Saturday morning. Most of the non-knitters really took to knitting and still are knitting. I had one would-be knitter though who kept pulling the yarn so tight that it would break. I kept telling her to relax and loosen up. She has taken up crochet now and is doing much better.

Here are links to the patterns for the chemo caps, most patients like them really soft. The kids like them soft and funky. Have fun.
Cancer/Chemo caps
More chemo cap patterns

[Alia]

Thank you for the link. My local areas has SO many needling contributors to charities.. lol... I'm glad to know of links on line where I can add!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Poem -seemed rather suitable for this time of year.


Autumn -- overlooked my Knitting --
Dyes -- said He -- have I --
Could disparage a Flamingo --
Show Me them -- said I --

Cochineal -- I chose -- for deeming
It resemble Thee --
And the little Border -- Dusker --
For resembling Me.

Emily Dickenson

[pinz-n-needlez]

Go, Emily! Who knew?

How could she write such a body of depressing poetry as a knitter??? lol Must have blown out her wrist/arm somewhere along the line. ;-)

Thanks, KAC. I copied it and taped it to the wall next to my computer.

Pinz

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Poor Emily.

We had a joke in grad school that most of her poems could be sung to the tune of the Yellow Rose of Texas....

here's another poem (about needlework in general(I may have to add this one to the logo!:

To all dispersed sorts of arts and trades
I write the needles prayse (that never fades).
So long as children shall be got or borne,
So long as garments shall be made or worne,
So long as hemp or flax, or sheep shall bear
Their linen woolen fleeces yeare by yeare,
So long as silk-wormes, with exhausted spoile,
Of their own entrails for man's gaine shall toyle,
Yea till the world be quite dissolv'd and past,
So long at least, the needles' use shall last.

The Prayse of the Needle. John Taylor, the Water Poet, (1580-1653)

[pinz-n-needlez]

Wow. lol

What an, um, unusual view on the topic. ;-) The silkworm entrails are particularly picturesque.

This one is definitely getting copied too!

Thanks,
Pinz

[alwaysconservative]

I help with a lot of other charity projects, and now that I'm a scarf-knitting fool, (LOL, since I only know how to knit, not purl or reduce or increase YET), I would be interested in doing little knitted lap robes or square shawls for those in nursing homes. If they turn out okay, I will try to get hubby to post a picture.