Sweater mailed

Thought I'd pop in for a minute to say I mailed off a sweater yesterday. It's a size 12 (34" finished chest), with the ribbing doubled in length on the sleeves to provide a little extra growing room. Here it is, modelled on my (petite) 17-year-old.

--Amber

Vest Ready for Shipment!

Hi All,

 

 I cast this vest on in January.  It was a pleasure to knit with the Outback Wool and the pattern is so easy.  The pattern is "Great Beginnings Vest" by Anne Russell.  You finish it as you knit and only need to sew the shoulder seams.  Anyhow, I will knit a few more of these.  I did add several inches to the bottom of the vest, making it longer. 

 

Textile Museum Gathering, February 26Washington, DC, near Embassy Row and Dupont Circle

This feels like a family photo album to me!

First off, Elizabeth -- our moderator! of mitten and sock tutorial fame! -- took the train from PA to meet me for a morning tour of the Capitol ... why didn't we try to open this tantalizing door when we had the chance?

Tom Goehner, curator of education, arranged for us to hang-out in the ancestors' drawing room (or is this the salon?). As I mentioned in an email -- small world! Tom was the archivist at the Red Cross Museum when we contacted him in late 2001 for historical information about knitting during wartime for content on our website. This was meant to be. Tom gave us a personal tour of the exquisite ikat coats. He also showed us a 20th-C. patchwork quilt (with 9-patch, flying geese, etc) that came from Afghanistan, and we scratched our heads trying to figure out how that happened. Thanks, Tom and the Textile Museum!

(Turkmen cloat on Ann)

Attention, DC-area friends! If you would like to help Tom lead a regular knitting group at the Textile Museum, please email me, and I will put you in touch. Wouldn't you love to knit here once a month! Who wants to take on this honor?

Like Elizabeth, Nell's (on left) been a supporter since 2002, when we first met at Stitches East in PA. Eileen (in pink) came all the way from NY! Linda (top, in her chic orange knit sweater) traveled from Philadelphia! Just for the day to be with us!


Our friends included Andrea and Julia and her mom Su. Here is where I have to ask for help for names of our 3 friends on the right ... so sorry, my one big mistake was not bringing a guest book (which my mom would have remembered) ...


Say cheese: Barbara, Elizabeth, Nell, Eileen, Linda, Cynthia ...


Andrea and Su modeled Afghan embroidery and tribal jewelry -- lapis and silver -- that Nell brought to show us ...




After last call in the gift shop, we say farewell ... until we meet again ... here's to opening more doors!


(Not sure how I got in so many photos. This was my camera! I am usually better at avoiding the spotlight. Please forgive. Won't happen again.)

Doing what we can and what is needed

Seeing all these photos of sweaters being sent to the AFSC basement for the current campaign has been very inspiring to me. Next week I should be able to add two photos here, as I have two pullovers almost done. At least something good is coming out of my compulsive knitting-while- TV News-watching, especially over the last, upsetting few days...

If I may add a comment, speaking as an occasional basement volunteer, I would like to urge everyone to follow the guidelines for this campaign precisely. It is so disappointing to open a package and find garments or blankets in a size that cannot possibly fit the requirements of a4A's partner NGO, or items that are felted, or with too short a body or short sleeves. These items simply cannot be sent to Afghanistan.The guidelines are there for a reason and a4A cannot tweak them. The easiest way for each of us to help is to provide the children of Afghanistan with exactly what we have been asked to provide for them.

Basement Family Album: Packing for Help the Afghan Children

Recognize our faces by now? This is the great gang that sorted and packed the recent collection for Help the Afghan Children. A few of our basement friends were camera shy -- that's OK -- and are not pictured here.
Say hello to ... Emily ...

Kate, Edie (visiting from Massachusetts!), and Jill ...

Annette and Ann B (with her crocheted afghan) ...

Amy in action ... from the SF Opera costume department!

Daisy ...

Annette with her crocheted blanket ...

Chris ...

Jo, connecting pairs of mittens and socks (please remember to tie together next time) ...

Annette (bless you!) brought her son, Ryan, to help us tape the boxes and move the whole collection from the Basement to the street level for pick up. And, Ryan wanted to make sure his mother was hanging with a decent crowd ...

Ryan getting props from Steve, the AFSC building manager ...

Pam and Ann (me) sending off our wool gifts ... our message to the people of Afghanistan loud and clear ...

One more look at the expertly packed boxes before they start their long journey to the other side of the world ...

Thank you, knitters and crocheters for Afghanistan, for taking action when we have the opportunity. You are very generous. I will post numbers to our email list soon.

Ikat Show at Textile Museum in DC

I stayed several days in DC after our get-together at the Textile Museum and am back in SF now and catching up. Haven't had a chance yet to post photos, but will so do soon. We had a terrific afternoon in the paneled drawing room, with tea, our yarn, and the best company, including our beloved blog moderator Elizabeth Durand and curator of education Tom Goehner, who also gave us a personal tour of the ikat and recycle exhibits.

I want to alert those who were not able to attend that the exquisite ikat exhibit closes on March 13. And, be sure to check out the surprising textile (no reproduction postcard available) from Afghanistan in the recycle exhibit.