Hat donation deadline

The first group of hats will be sent the first week in April. So please have your donations to me by Easter (3/31).

If you can't make this round, no worries there will be more!

Thank you all for your support!

Calling all yarnworkers! You are needed!

That means you! If you love to knit or crochet and have any extra yarn and extra time, please take a minute to read this post. I have mentioned before how I would like to get some donations together to send to my area's local hospitals. The nurseries and NICUs are in need of hats and blankets for the little ones and their parents.
When I had my daughter I was thrilled to have a keepsake besides her hospital bracelet. Now that I am getting ready to have my second child this summer it has gotten me thinking about getting a serious donation together.

I'm looking for all sizes, (from small preemie to a larger full term baby) all colors, all patterns, (although keep in mind, these are small infants, they don't really need fancy earflap hats) plus the goal here is to be able to send off as many as you can, so keeping the pattern simple will help.
You can also feel free to make very small "angel" hats for the parents of babies who are born too soon or born still and do not get to go home. In addition to the hats, small granny square memory blankets are also needed, they can be a great source of comfort for grieving parents.

Here are some links with patterns/sizing help:

http://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2011/03/knitting-newborn-hats-for-hospitals.html

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/hats-hats-hats.html

http://www.oodles-4-noodles.com/2011/08/crocheting-hats-for-preemies-tutorial.html

http://www.miracleshappen.us/patterns/

http://www.knittingforcharity.org/

If you have hats/blankets to donate please contact me at crafttacular@hotmail.com  and I will tell you where to send them. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

*This will be an ongoing donation, so there is no set deadline, I will post updates on when I will be sending a shipment out*

um, no one call Hoarders on me, ok?

shout out to my girl Jo-Ann!

Check out this clusterF*&K

I have a serious problem ya'll. It's the yarn, I can't resist it, I'm a crafter obsessed. I literally have a closet full of yarn and yet I can't go to a craft store without buying more of it. You know on Hoarders when they show you piles of crap with new crap still in the bag on top of the old crap. Yeah, that's starting to resemble my yarn stash.




 The thing is, I'm making projects, I'm getting things done but now I just have a bigger list of projects to make, so of course my supplies have to be in order. I'm expecting a shipment of some eyelash yarn for a very special project coming up that I can't wait to share with you.

I love closet organizers

In the mean time I'm going to be heading to Target for more closet organizers. Apparently my current set up can't contain my impressive stash. To help deplete some of it I decided I'm going to use my baby yarn and Homespun yarn to make hats for preemies/infants for my local hospital. I would like to make it a recurring donation so if anyone would like to help please let me know, I'd be happy to take donations of hats and send them along. I'm doing this for 2 reasons. #1 like I said, to put a dent in my stash of yarn that otherwise would just sit there and make room for the yarn i'll be using, and #2. I love the hospital where I gave birth at. It's a wonderful place and I would love to help them out. I know how important it is for these babies to have their hats, and I also know how much crafty moms like myself love to use those all symbolic hospital hats.
I've put my daughter's in a shadow box with her birth info. (I'd post a pic of it but I'm not taking the risk of waking her up)

So, please, if you have A&E on the line, hang up. I don't need an intervention just yet. But, I do have a lot of yarn. ;o)

Say hello to "Buster"

That's what I've named the bear I just finished knitting for The Mother Bear Project.
Not perfect by any means but I'm excited to make more and improve my work! The embroidery was definitely harder than I expected it to be but I will be using more YouTube videos for help next time!
Without any more suspense, here's Buster!

The Mother Bear Project

I've been knitting for close to 20 years (yes i'm only 28 but I learned quick thanks to my amazing Grandma) and before recently all I ever managed to turn out were scarves and small blankets.

I've been trying to expand my knitting horizons and while doing some surfing on Facebook I came across the Mother Bear Project. MBP is a non profit organization that sends hand knitted and crocheted bears to children in Africa that have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
So I decided to do my part to help and I ordered my kit, which came very quickly I might add!
In the envelope there was a set of knitting needles, yarn, and a pattern, which even for a scardey cat-I'm-only-sticking-to-scarves knitter like me I found the pattern easy to follow.
After another night or two (after I figure out how to sew everything up!) I should be finished and I'll post the finished product here. I can't wait to finish it and start making more bears!
As a bonus I'm impressed with myself that I'm making something more involved and it's given me confidence to try new things!
So if any knitters out there are looking for a project that goes relatively quickly and is also for a great cause, give the Mother Bear Project a try!