Thanks, everybody, for inspiring me to get cracking again.  Here are mittens made from sock yarn donated by Elizabeth D's friend, combined with worsted from another source.  I find that one strand of the sock weight combined with worsted makes for an interesting tweedy effect while beefing up thickness and warmth.  And don't worry--those excruciatingly mismatched bows are simply ties to hold the pairs together!

Socks, big and small

Like Elizabeth D. I am psyched for knitting a bunch of baby socks during the sunny month of June. It is going to be fun seeing how many pair I can get out of a skein of regular fingering-weight or dk-weight wool. Last night I cast on for a pair with some leftover Opal sock yarn I had on hand.

When knitting baby socks especially, I have learned the hard way that a flexible top edge is essential. Remember, baby ankles and calves are proportionately chubbier in relation to their feet than on older children, and no baby will be happy with ribbing that hugs the leg too tightly, no matter how perfectly proportioned the sock may look. After my first failure, I researched the topic thoroughly, and I found out that the best way to ensure a stretchy top row is to cast on slowly and carefully. I use the regular long-tail cast-on but I pause and stretch my stitches slightly on the right-hand needle every 3 to 4 stitches. The difference is significant.

For this sock, I cast on 36 stitches on a size 1 circular (I like to knit socks Magic-Loop style). The 1/1 ribbing took about 6 rounds before I switched to stockinette. I should have a couple more done by the end of the weekend. Another pair that went fast was this one, intended for a teenager, knitted in KnitPicks Swish DK. I cast on 40 sts on a size 3 circular. I used leftovers from 2 different skeins but I think one whole skein would work for a pair of approximately the same size.

June Baby Shower: Socks

By now you should know about the June Baby Shower - a quickie campaign to collect wool hats and socks for babies in Kabul. Details are here on the A4A web page.

Socks should be of a size to fit newborns to age 1 year -- a minimum foot length of 2.5 (6.3 cm) inches and a maximum length of about 4 inches (10 cm). I have a list of patterns I am checking out, but I will not be recommending any until I have tested them myself. Here is the first on the list, and it is a good one:

This is Susan B. Anderson's Jelly Bean sock, a free pattern for worsted weight yarn, available here. (Scroll to the bottom of the blog entry to get the pdf.) The ribbing pulls it up nicely so that the leg fits snugly around my thumb, indicating that it will stay on a newborn, but it can stretch out to fit an older baby too. The cuff can be folded over when the baby is very young, or pulled up when he or she is older. I made this sock with Cascade 220 (I think), and I have shown it on a 1-inch grid so you can see the finished size. Make only the smallest size from this pattern; the others are too big. I am planning to knit the feet of all my socks to measure 3.5 to 4 inches from heel to toe so they will fit the baby for longer; these socks are going to some of Kabul's poorest families, and there won't be a drawer full of socks to draw from when the baby grows out of these.

As always, use a yarn that's at least 75% wool. Because babies this age don't walk in shoes, the socks can be made with a softer yarn than usually would be recommended for socks.

Making this sock was a lot of fun and took very little time (you cast on just 28 stitches). I will make the second one tonight and start stacking them up. I may never get to the smaller-gauge yarns -- these worsted weight socks go so quickly that I am going to be able to make a whole bunch for this campaign.

Summer knitting season opens in 6 days

Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the opening of summer in the U.S., and it starts this coming Friday. Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, we've had an unusually cold and snowy winter followed by an unusually chilly and prolonged spring. I fear payback time is soon to be upon us. . .

I have learned to knit small things during warm weather, and what could be better? They don't sit on your lap and make you hotter; if they get dirty -- I have never been to an outdoor concert that wasn't muddy or dusty, and there's always the risk of spilled lemonade -- they're easy to wash; and they're easy to toss in a bag and take along.

This year afghans for Afghans wants to collect as many mittens, socks, and hats as possible.


These are the perfect things to knit on long car trips, at outdoor concerts, sitting on the sidelines at soccer and baseball games, waiting for your kids, or just because you love to knit. (And don't we all?)

I participate in another knitting program, and I have big plans for birthday and holiday presents this year, but I also want to do as much for our friends in Afghanistan as I can.  Remember -- you don't have to knit more than anyone else for your contribution to count! One pair of mittens is one whole person who's a little more comfortable. Sizes needed are to fit anyone from about age 7 up to adults.

To keep myself on track, I am stating out loud, right here, that I will commit to finishing 5 things for A4A by the end of August. (One mitten only counts as half.) The pair in progress in the picture will be the first.

I will post a list of tried and trusted patterns sometime this week for those who would like that. Feel free to use your favorites, though -- and remember, animal fiber is WAY warmer. Wool socks stay warm when they are wet, and if that's your only pair of socks, that matters.

You can find all the details at the A4A blog; scroll down to find the list:

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

P.S. Crocheters -- just fill in the word "crochet" where I've written "knit." We love you too.

Mailed Yesterday

A member of my church knitting group and I decided to do some charity knitting during Lent, and these are the results: 3 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of mittens.

They should be arriving at A4A HQ later this week.

A few of us, along with our ever-energetic leader Ann, spent a recent afternoon in the AFSC basement, where we were greeted by our favorite sight:

Piles and piles of envelopes and boxes, all full to the brim with gorgeous, colorful and warm hats, socks and mittens. Our mission that day was to open each package and to sort items by category, which left us plenty of time to admire the quality and creativity of so many knitters and crocheters.

Marina (left) and Sue got a first-hand look at the latest package from a4A cheerleader, Renée. It was great to see all these socks and mittens in person after admiring them on Ravelry, where Renée (revknits) co-moderates the "Fans of afghans for Afghans" group.

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These fair-isle mittens are the work of another long-time supporter, Gail. Not only are they beautiful, but the color-stranding makes them exceptionally warm. What a truly special gift to pass on to an Afghan child or teenager. No wonder we all came out from the afternoon's shift motivated to cast on for even more small handknits for this campaign. Please join us if you haven't already, and continue to send mittens, hats and socks to the AFSC -- these small handknits are going to make a world of difference to so many.

That's Bolani with a capital "B" in Culver City.

Last December, I was knocked out to find Bolani's bolani for sale at Costco in San Francisco. (Bolani, with a capital B, is now their trademark.)

Well, lo and behold, I was at the farmer's market in Culver City (next to Los Angeles) a couple weeks ago and ran right into the Bolani booth! Meant to be, no doubt. I was with my friend Wendy. We spent quite a long time hanging out with the hospitable Ahad, who joyfully served samples of bolani, including spinach, pumpkin, and lentil, with sauces. He's was a magnet for shoppers in a place where no one slows down for much. How about a bumper sticker that says: "We brake for Bolani! (I am going to email Ahad about that.) We had such a fun time and went home with several packages, but not enough. One of Wendy's sons is a vegan, so she was thrilled to find a new option for the family table.

Ahad's family left Afghanistan in the 80s, and he talked with us some about their experience. Ahad is a marvelous ambassador for his homeland. He's also modest and doesn't really like photos, and I think he was just too darn nice to say no --

(I am the one in the Noro shawl.)

If you or your friends are in Los Angeles. Visit the Culver City farmer's market on Tuesdays and say hello to Ahad.

Tell him you are knitting and crocheting for the people of Afghanistan. Stock up on Bolani.

a quick pattern update

The link for Mrs. Murdock's mittens, a very fine crochet pattern, has changed. In case you were looking for it and couldn't find it, you can now find this pattern here:

http://www.crochetme.com/media/p/109505.aspx

Remember -- socks and mittens are being accepted!

deep winter

For most of the United States, this has been an unusually cold winter. There have been several mornings when it's been 7 degrees (that's Fahrenheit; Celsius equivalent is -14) when I've driven my daughter to school. Now, for those of you in Wisconsin, I know that's short sleeve weather [joke] but here in southeastern Pennsylvania, that is uncommonly cold. And a lot of people all over the country have seen temperatures that you usually don't. Now imagine it without mittens. Or even socks. And pick up those needles and start knitting frantically for our friends in Afghanistan!!

Although there isn't an official campaign at the moment, small things -- especially mittens and socks, but also hats -- are being collected steadily. In fact, Ann tells me they're packing on Wednesday. It's great to have things on hand when the opportunity to send them over comes up, because there isn't always time to organize a campaign.

In other news, Ravelry hosts an event that accompanies the Olympics. Many Ravelry groups participate, and our friends at Fans of Afghans for Afghans are involved. Renee -- a long-time member of this group as well -- sent us this information:

Ravelry hosts a crafting challenge along with each Olympics called The Ravellenic Games. You can join Team Afghans for Afghans as they knit mittens and socks for their campaign. Participants establish projects on their Ravelry project pages tagged appropriately, but wait to cast on until the opening ceremonies in Sochi, and to get their Ravellenics "medal" they finish their project before the closing ceremonies are over! It's a lot of fun and knitting together gives us motivation.

Stop by the Fans of Afghans for Afghans group where group moderator Renee Rico (aka rev knits) leads the team. This link takes you right to the Ravellenic information.

A new year

Happy 2014, everybody, and so many thanks for everything you did in 2013. Right now epically cold weather is bearing down on the northern middle states in the U.S., and my own part of Pennsylvania is also in line for historically cold temperatures. While I fret about tomorrow's forecast of freezing rain and how it may spoil plans I had to do something fun, I am forced to think about the people we knit and crochet for in Afghanistan. I have heat, and food, and warm winter clothes, and a sturdy house, and I have no reason to expect that won't see me through this spell of rough weather. Many of them do not have those luxuries. 

Even though we don't currently have an official campaign going on, I am going to cast on a pair of mittens right now for the Afghanistan box, and I invite you all to join me in that . . . 

a4A at the Textile Museum in DC, Last Sunday

For more than a year now, Sarah's been representing the afghans for Afghans project at the Quarterly Knitting Circles at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, near Dupont Circle. Thank you, Sarah! Wish I could have joined you all. I've always loved the Textile Museum since the days when I lived in DC during the Reagan Administration. Too much information, I know!

Below, Sarah is to the left of Textile Museum Curator of Education Tom Goehner in the middle. I've mentioned previously that Tom has been a friend of a4A since the beginning, back in late 2001 when I contacted Tom, then the curator of the Red Cross Museum, about knitting during wartime. Andrea, on the far right, is a long-time crochet volunteer (ask her for advice on crocheting superb, well-fitting mittens). Knitting volunteer Debra is to the left of Andrea. And, Museum volunteer Linda is on the far left. This is not a political spectrum, don't worry! The turnout may have been low because no exhibits are on view, with the pending move, coming up. Small is beautiful in any case.

Here are the ladies posing with the ancestor above the mantel. Oh, this house will be missed ...

I actually don't think we're saying good-bye to the historic house in Dupont Circle just yet. There may be one more Quarterly Knitting Circle in March. We'll post to our email list when we can confirm.

Bolani at Costco!

Boy, was I surprised when I walked into an Afghan food display at Costco in San Francisco. Now, that's making it in America! Very cool. I bought 1 spinach bolani. Must go back for more.

A little blurry ... low-calorie and low-carb. Super marketing!

This is Yasmen, the son of the owner. We visited while he and Daoud packed up their display at the end of the day. He was only a kid when he emigrated here. From time to time, he returns to his homeland to visit.