I mean that I'm getting rid of a lot of yarn, but the subject of this post reminds me that I need to wax, too. All that time in high school when I couldn't wait to grow out of my acne, I wish someone would have told me that even more horrifying skin issues would crop up over time. Then I wouldn't have been in such a hurry!

Back to the yarn. I had no idea I had so much of it crammed upstairs in my stash corner. And, now I need to condense it and move it so that I can fit the desk we're getting from Heather in that same spot.

Most of the yarn wasn't really expensive, and I didn't buy it with the idea of making anything specific with it. I just can't seem to NOT buy yarn if I see it's available, and heaven help us all if it's on sale!

I think that I need to declare a moratorium on yarn shopping, and go cold turkey until I use up some of what I have. And, in the meantime, I'll make more squares for LoveAfghans for Pine Ridge Reservation. I haven't sent her a box of them in ages, and she makes such pretty blankets that it would be nice to get involved again. Maybe I'll even start this before I finish up my Crayola-inspired socks.

Does anyone want a ton of acrylic yarn in odd amounts? Let me know, I can hook a sister (or brother) up...

Labels: charity crafting, cleaning, cold turkey, ouch, socks, yarn

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  Kala, over at Vegan Craftastic, is running a contest to win a copy of the book Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time.

I love to craft for charity, and this looks like a really neat resource. Check it out!

Labels: charity crafting, knitting

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DONATING GRANNY SQUARES 1. I know I normally talk about knitting, but today I want to talk about crocheting, which I have actually done a whole lot more of in my life. 2. Do you know how to crochet? If not there are several tutorial pages on the internet, as well as classes offered at local craft stores. 3. If you live near Denver, email me and I will teach you. 4. If you want to take advantage of #3, you have to be serious about learning to crochet, and not a serial axe-murdering rapist or something. I have enough issues already, thank you. 5. I especially want to talk about Granny Squares today. 6. Granny squares are easy to make. Here's a step-by-step tutorial from Crochet Cabana. I really recommend her site, she has a TON of great information and patterns for folks interested in crochet. 7. One of the things I really love about granny squares, is that they are quick and easy to make, they look good in just about any yarn, so you can use up leftovers, and there are many, many people who accept them and join them to make afghans to donate to various charities and groups. 8. I recently sent a box of squares off to Love Afghans for Pine Ridge Reservation. This group assembles the afghans, and sends them up to Pine Ridge, where many people live in substandard conditions, and a blanket can make a big difference. 9. You might also be interested in Squares for Survivors, a group that is turning donated 12" grannies into afghans for the folks who survived Hurricane Katrina. 10. If neither of those grab you, Bev has a huge list of folks accepting grannies for all different sorts of places, nursing homes, babies, the homeless, etc. She has about a billion other patterns and ideas for places to donate on her site, too, for all kinds of home made items not just crochet. 11. If you're ready to make fancier squares, Stargazer has links to 6", 7", 8", and 12" squares at her site. She really more crochet patterns in one place than any other site I've seen, so if you're looking to make anything, you might want to start at her Crochet and Craft Links. 12. So, if you have the inclination, and an hour or so, why not make a square and send it off to someone? It's not a lot of work, and somewhere down the line it will definitely make a difference in someone's life. Remember, many of these places will take knit squares as well! 13. Happy Hooking! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! I'm using the FABULOUS Mr. Linky again! If you're playing the 13, please link yourself up and leave me a comment. Don't skip the comment part, though, because I get all twitchy when people do that.

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Labels: charity crafting, crochet, knitting

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