300 Pairs of Wool Mittens Needed. Over 1000 delivered!

[Shandeh]

Afghans for Afghans needs 300 pairs of mittens by November 20th!!!

Here is the email I received from them this week:

** We Need 300 Pairs of Mittens By November 20! **

We have just been presented with this special opportunity to send more mittens through Roots of Peace and participate at their upcoming program at the U.S. State Department. Time is short, but we know we can do it ... let's give it our best ... as always ... mittens can be knit up in a week and easily popped in an envelope.

Our mittens will first travel to Washington, DC, where Roots of Peace is honoring Afghan Ambassador Jawad for his service to his homeland. Roots of Peace would like to show our mittens to all the dignitaries as a tangible example of how North Americans reach out in friendship and peace to the children of Afghanistan. This is our people-to-people initiative in partnership with Roots of
Peace -- mittens for young hands that hopefully will never encounter the scourge of landminds. Roots of Peace will subsequently transport the mittens to Kabul for distribution to girls and boys for their winter wear.

Please make mittens in 100% wool (or other animal fiber), sized for school kids of ages 6-16 years. Use bright, happy colors. We'd love our huge pile of mittens to be in an infinite array of hues and patterns -- distinctive mittens for all the individual girls and boys. Please tie or safety-pin the paired mittens together. Use a favorite pattern or try something new. (No thumbless mittens, please, and gloves are OK for the extra ambitious.)

For those who wish a basic 4-needle pattern, Elizabeth Durand kindly offers her free version here:
http://www.afghansf orafghans. org/mittens. html

And, here's a suggestion for crocheters:
http://crochetandkn itting.com/ mittensm. htm

Please mail your mittens for arrival at our San Francisco AFSC collection center by November 20.

Our general guidelines and mail address are here:
http://www.afghansf orafghans. org/blanket. html
(Sorry, but we don't have time to accept mittens via our Canadian address at elann.com in BC. To participate in time, Canadians need to mail to San Francisco.)

Please forward this email to fiber friends who may like to join in.

Feel free to post this message to your online knit and crochet communities to help get the word out.

Here is the mailing address to send your mittens:


<B>

afghans for Afghans

</B>

c/o AFSC Collection Center

65 Ninth Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

[Mulderknitter]

Hi sandy!
I see you have no replies yet, so I wanted you to know I read the post, but am stretched a bit thin at this time with other stuff and don't think I can help right now. I really wish I could. I'm sure all of the other readers of the post are thinking the same thing.

[Shandeh]

Thanks!
I figured it's that way with a lot of us.
But, I did want to get the word out.

[Jan in CA]

Wow.... that IS last minute! I will if I can, but not sure.

[Shandeh]

Thanks Jan!

I just got another email from the organization that handles Afghans for Afghans.

There is a CONTEST for those of us that turn in a pair of mittens in time for this need!

YarnMarket.com generously donates gift certificates for stash to acknowledge the volunteers who are knitting and crocheting for the people of Afghanistan.

To enter the drawing, please send your mittens by November 22. Inside your package, include your email address, name, and mailing address on a slip of paper or card.

They will select three names to receive *$50 gift certificates* from the online store YarnMarket.com, purveyor of first-class brand-name yarns and supplies.

[Secksiebrat]

I've never knit mittens before but I have some wool yarn that's just sitting around. I'll see if I can make a pair or two by the end of the week! Thanks shandeh!

~danielle~