Oddball Blanket #1 is Complete!

[Shandeh]

Thank you all so much for the LOVE!!!

I'm feeling a little better now. I slept for over two hours, then made myself get up to do a few things in the kitchen. (You can read about it in my KH blog if you want.)

I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the night, and knit on a prayer shawl for a lady at my church. I've been putting that project off long enough. I also started a spring shell for myself with some bright blue ladder yarn.

[Cristy]

Glad you're feeling a little better Shandeh! I like the blog you started for the blanket--I just checked it out--you're going to be a busy lady keeping up w/ all of this blogging! LOL!

[letah75]

Hi,
I have two ideas for charities.

1) A Rape Crisis type orginization. Often times when they go to the hospital with women who have been raped in the last 72 hours they like to bring something to cuddle with as hospitals can be cold (literally and figuratively). Also their clothing is often taken by the police for evidence and until they can have someone bring them clothing they are sitting there shivering.

2) An orginization like CPS (their drug division). I work in law enforcement, and when raids are done on drug houses, there are usually kids there. Often times officers/CPS workers will keep a knitted or crocheted blanket in the car so when the child is taken from the home, they have something cuddley.

I know this blanket will be too big for a child, but if you get some more going at a later date maybe we could get two children's blankets going at a time as they would be faster to knit up.

[newamy]

Speaking of yarn designated for charity I recently found this organization http://www.warmwoolies.org/index.html
called Warm Woolies. Like a lot organizations they want items knitted in wool, what I like about them though is that not only do they donate to China and Russian orphanages but also to Indian Reservations here in the states.

I haven't knitted anything for them yet, as I only discovered them recently, but if you read through the site and click on "thin your stash" they take yarn donations so that people who want o knit for them in the Denver area can get some yarn. They want wool and it also says they take novelty yarn. But it also says no acrylic- isn't novelty yarn usually acrylic??

Anyway Shandeh, this might be a good rout for you to thin out some of this charity yarn. You could e-mail them about acrylic novelty yarn as well.

[Shandeh]

Great ideas, letah75!!!

I'm liking the "rape crisis" blanket idea. That's perfect!
A battered women's shelter would be good too.

I think it's also a good idea to make some children's blankets. I have a feeling we'll be making LOTS of Oddball Blankets.

NewAmy, I'll look through my stash and send some photos to them. Maybe they can use some. We'll see. I've known about "warm woolies" for a long time, and have planned on making some things for their charity. Maybe I can just ask them for some ideas on how I can use the novelty yarn.

[lissalue]

if we go with the battered women's shelter idea, maybe you could check with them about using some of that novelty yarn for something for the kids. a lot of times women have kids who would probably get a big kick out of a cute fuzzy hat or toy or something. just a thought.

[Shandeh]

Good plan. Let me see what I can find out about some shelters.

[Shandeh]

I just received an email from lucky_alf2, who has agreed to be one of our "pinch knitters", in case someone has to back out of their commitment to knit on the blanket. Thanks lucky!

[Tammy6071]

These all sound like great ideas! Another idea for the next blanket might be to finish it off in a different part of the country, and have the last person send it off to a charity in their area. That way we'd be spreading the wealth!!

[Shandeh]

Good plan, Tammy!