Socks for A4A

I have finished this pair of adult size socks -- about a man's size 9 - and will get them in the
mail this week for the current campaign.

ready to go

Two pairs of mittens and a pair of socks, ready to go. I was about to say they'd be in the mail tomorrow -- but the US Post Office is closed on Monday, November 12, in honor of Veterans Day. I hope I've saved some of you a fruitless trip!

Blue socks: Bartlett's Maine wool in Blue Loch Heather, with stripes in Thistle; red mittens: Bartlett's Maine wool in color (I think) Mountain Berry; ragg mittens: Lion Brand Fishermen's wool held double, with Paton's classic held double for the stripes.

The socks are the standard 40-stitch heavy worsted pattern I carry around in my head; the red mittens are these; and the  other mittens are made following the instructions for the smallest size in this pattern. Because I used a double strand of yarn and larger needles, they came out sized to fit a small to medium adult, which also fits many of the bigger kids. (You can do the same with a bulky yarn -- because the pattern is written in numbers of rows, it stays in proportion.)

We are one third through November, with contributions hoped for by the end of the month. I hope everybody has time to make one small thing.

hurricane news, and yarn

One week ago, Hurricane Sandy was on the way, and never in a million years would we have imagined how hard it was going to hit. I do not live on the coast -- in fact, I am about 70 miles inland, here in southeastern PA. At our house, we did not even lose power, although many people not far from me are still without electricity, several days after the storm. Even those of us who live up here, though, have connections to the shore communities, and looking at those pictures - of places you know - is a totally disorienting and heartbreaking experience. My grandmother built a very small house on one of the NJ barrier islands back in the 1930s, before anyone else was there. It's one of the worst-hit areas, in north central NJ. We had resigned ourselves to finding nothing but a pile of sticks, if that, but we have found out that that house is still standing. The front porch is gone, and the house that was one row in front of us (beachfront) is gone. There is no sign there was ever a house there. It is all very strange. Many people have lost everything they had, and I cannot imagine.

While I was sitting inside on Monday, waiting for trees to fall down and the power to go out, I started the next pair of worsted weight socks for A4A. (It will be interesting to see if the second one comes out the same size; I was a little bit tense.) And I started thinking about the kid who's going to wear it. We were attacked here by a storm -- a force of nature that just is, with no personal animosity, or any animosity at all. There is no malignant component, no looking it in the eye and trying to make human contact. The people in Afghanistan who will wear our gifts are in need because of human malice, intent to harm, vicious acts, horrible things. . . it made me want to knit up everything I could find.

I have a friend who has a yarn shop, and she gave me a few bags of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine to share. This yarn is 50% wool, 20% alpaca, and 30% nylon. Each 100-g skein is 400 meters (433 yards). You'll want to use it as a carry-along with worsted, or held double or even triple to make mittens and hats. And it should work for socks, too, with that amount of nylon and wool (alpaca alone is not good for socks, but with those additions it will be wonderfully warm). I have bundled up several packages of 4 skeins to send to anyone who asks. For this give-away only, I am limiting it to the U.S., because things must be in by the end of this month. Note: I know you probably won't knit up all 1600 meters by the end of the month -- that is OK! But I am hoping this will inspire you to do one thing right away.

If you would like to receive some of this yarn, send me your name and mailing address (I cannot mail packages to email addresses!) at yarnystuff@gmail.com (please include that y in the the middle of the address) and I will get it right out to you. I do ask that you post here or email me a photo to show my friend what her yarn turned into.

I have mittens and socks on needles now, and expect to finish those two things in time to mail by Thanksgiving.

I hope all of you who were in Hurricane Sandy's path are safe and warm tonight.

New campaign just announced!

For those of us sitting here in the upper right quarter of the United States on Sunday night wondering how hard Hurricane Sandy is going to hit our particular houses and towns, here's something else to think about. And it's a great time to knit a hat or a pair of socks!

Again, hats, mittens, and socks, for ages 5 through adult. All wool or other animal fiber (or at least 75%), as always. It's not a snob issue -- it's just plain warmer. People receiving our gifts are highly likely to have, at most, one other pair of socks, for instance.

Right now we're asking for everything to be there by the end of November -- it's kind of a blitz, but the legendary basement is undergoing repairs and renovations during the month of December. If things are there by November 30, they can be boxed up and ready to go early in January if we get lucky.

Here's word from Ann:

"We have two possible opportunities to get more of our wool gifts on
air flights to Afghanistan that are coordinated with two different
reputable humanitarian organizations with experience in Afghanistan.

We're not sure yet of air schedules and corresponding campaign due
dates. Recipients may be school children, street kids, or families in
refugee camps, or all of these populations.

However, we are certain that either of these flights and agencies are
able to responsibly transport and distribute wool socks, mittens, and
hats for ages 5 through adults.

We know the fine work of both these organizations, dedicated to
serving the people of Afghanistan, no matter how the situation evolves.

Therefore, let's continue with the same guidelines for our last
completed campaign for Aschiana. Will you join us?

Please use the guidelines here --

http://www.afghansforafghans.org/currentcampaign.html"

Time to cast on!!

Blanket dimensions

Hi.  I am wondering what are the usual dimensions for blankets?  I know that they are decided when there is a need, but it seems like the dimensions are usually the same, only I can't remember what they are.  The thing is, I need to use up some of my stash, which is overflowing all of its containers.  I also want something quick and easy to do to keep my hands busy when I watch TV or drink my morning coffee.  Getting tired of knitting socks and baby sweaters (expecting twin grandsons any day now).  So I have started on a garter stitch-large needles-2-or-3-yarns-at-a-time blanket.  I have a width of 43 inches, which could be the length, if that is too large.  If I make it too small, I can always pick up stitches to add a border.  I just need a rough guideline.  If we never need a blanket again, I'll just keep it.  (No, the babies won't need any blankets--their mom has lots, and I would never expect a mom of twins and a toddler to hand-wash anything).  The blanket is turning out really pretty and very warm.  I just need to know when to stop.  :-)

Diane's Fulled Afghan Carpet Bag

Diane -- one of our indispensable behind-the-scenes volunteers -- emailed me photos of her version of our Fulled Afghan Carpet bag pattern. Diane made such a beautiful bag using Lambs Pride (and she has some nice kilims, as you can see). Our pattern was designed by Marilyn King of Black Water Abbey Yarns based on a small pile carpet tribal bag.

Diane helps with responding to our incoming emails. Where does the time go? I have absolutely no idea. Here's Diane with us back in December 2010. I am grateful for Diane's support and very impressed with her Afghan Carpet Bag. I always think that felting/fulling takes courage.

The afghans for Afghans project has 6 Afghan-theme patterns that we sell to promote cross-cultural appreciation. One of these days I will turn them into downloadable PDFs. We're still sending out paper patterns in plastic sleeves.

Packing time in the basement

The deadline for the current campaign has just passed, which means that our corner of the AFSC basement was looking like this when packing volunteers arrived on two recent shifts. Packages needed to be opened, knit items needed to be sorted, then counted and finally repacked into boxes labeled for the long trip abroad.

Tiny or large, every package or envelope is exciting to us. Here's Carol taking that first step.

Since this drive focused on such a wide age-group, socks needed to be measured and sorted into two categories. Admiring your beautiful sock-knitting techniques is one of our perks, as Ardis demonstrates.

For more sock-gorgeousness, check out this two-tone beauty held by Sue.

Hats are not to be outdone by socks, mind you.

We all fell in love with this one, modeled by Rachel. It reminded of us of cheerful thrummed mittens.

Laura, Sue and Ardis take a (very short!) break from counting hats to pose with just a few of our favorites.

Someone didn't only knit this lovely hat and mittens set; they also embroidered it beautifully.

More handknitted goodness shown off by Rachel and Keiko, right before the socks get packed for Afghanistan.

Now, even though it is not nearly as colorful, this is the sight we volunteers love most of all: columns of sealed and addressed boxes, ready for shipping!

On Their Way...

Thanks to Elizabeth and Sandra for the yarn.  I had fun with these; they just sort of "happened," depending on whim.


When tying the mittens together, I like to crochet a long chain with the same yarn and use it to make a big bow.  That way, if the mitten ever needs darning, the recipient can unravel the chain for that purpose.  Or a little girl can use the chain as a colorful hair tie.  Fun!

Contributon to Current Campaign

Hi, everyone. Here is a picture of the hat, mittens, and socks I made for the current campaign.

The brown yarn is Lion Brand fisherman's wool in natural brown, and the red and orange yarns are leftovers I had lying around. I lost the ball bands long ago, so I have no idea what brand they are, although I suspect that the red is Patons wool. Anyway, I'll get these in the mail tomorrow.

Mailed a parcel yesterday

Hi all,

It's been a really long time since I checked in here, but I figured I'd just make a quick note that I popped a parcel in the mail yesterday.  Hopefully, it'll make it in time!  Not as much as I would've like this time (a hat, two pairs of mitts and two pairs of socks),  but every bit helps, I guess.

I'm looking forward to finding out what the next campaign will be, and enjoying seeing the pictures from The Basement.  Thanks to all the volunteers who put in so much hard work!
--Amber

Going for Gold in the AFSC Basement This Week

Susan, Carol (in Norwegian ski hat ... this isn't the Winter Games?), Jill, and Ellen beaming on the podium after a winning team relay race to open the pile of envelopes and packages that arrived from talented and generous knitting and crochet volunteers across North America and even a few bubble bags from Europe. We had a thrilling afternoon together! We all left pooped out and happy.

Did you know that yesterday was Swiss National Day? Ellen proudly waves the national food and (sort of) the colors of her ancestors' flag. Thank you to the volunteer who tucked the fancy chocolate bars in with their wool gifts! The AFSC Basement volunteers send their love!

Another volunteer tucked silver cranes in with her wool gifts. The birds enjoyed alighting briefly on Jill's top-quality mittens before we packed them into their cartons destined for winter use in Afghanistan. The pretty cranes stay in San Francisco.

Big thanks to all who have sent in packages for this Aschiana campaign. The quality has been terrific. The mounds of wool socks, mittens, and hats are building. We don't seem to have too much of a single garment vs. the others, so if you are still knitting and crocheting for the August 15 due date, please make whatever gives you the most pleasure. We haven't counted yet, but let's hope we are able to add some warmth to the lives of a few thousand Afghans this winter. Enshallah.

Afghanistan is competing in the Olympics!

Knitting not sexy? We're invisible?

I just read this. What if you knit with cleavage showing?

July 11, 2012, New York Times
Knitting My Way Home