June 2009 Delivery

I took all your beautiful gifts to my doctor yesterday, and laid out a few for him to see. The rest were in a huge box! Our final tally was:

6 blankets
9 sweaters
3 shawls
15 scarves
8 hats
8 pairs mittens
5 hat sets (with either matching scarf or socks)
1 hand made toy

He was thrilled, and we talked about some ideas for the future as well. He happily posed for a picture, but I caught him while blinking. Sorry Dr. G! I didn't notice until this morning!



Thank you to each of you who donated for this round. Information on the next round will be posted this week!

Big Fat Generosity

You've overwhelmed me with your generosity once again! Today was the deadline for the latest Botswana Project collection, and I've got to cram a lot of gifts into this one post!

Sweaters, by Vicki, Anne Marie, Lara, and Bev:



Here's a better look at the ones at the bottom of the pile (Lara's and Anne Marie's):



Thank you for all the gorgeous gifts. I'll be taking them to my doctor on Monday, and I'll have an update for you next week!

Lisa sent shawls and blankets:



Hats by Maria, Corinna, Yasemin, and Carol:



Hat/scarf sets by Maria and Corinna:



Baby hat and bootie sets by Corinna, and a toy from Bev:



Mittens! Courtesy of Bev and her Monday night knitting group:



A whole mess of scarves from Anne Marie, Maria, Laina, Clarissa



More scarves from Clarissa, Maria and Anne Marie:

Finish Line

The last donations have arrived, and I've got a mountain to show you!



These adorable Bobs are from vismajor. Freaking adorable!



Turtleknits sent this blanket and 5 hats. The yarn is very squooshy, too.



The scarf, 8 hats, granny square blanket AND super cute socks are from tiniestmonkey.



This bright pink blanket is from DianaW. She did a secret agent hand off to my husband in the lobby of his building to turn it in. He may be 6'4" tall with a buzzcut, but the man is not embarrassed to carry a bright pink blanket around (in a shopping bag).



Finally, these two funny guys are from Clarissa68. I think these are the first toys she's made, and they are fantastic!

Thank you to everyone who contributed items for this round of the Botswana project! I did promise prizes, so I'll be posting about that tomorrow! And your lovely gifts will be delivered to Dr. G on Monday!

Long Way 'Round (with prizes!)

cross-posted to my blog and the Swatchy blog


By now, you know all about the Botswana Project and that our next collection deadline is March 13th. My doctor personally carries all donated items to Botswana for distribution to children in need. So many generous knitters and crocheters have contributed items, including friend magnusmog.

How much do I love getting packages addressed this way!


Magnusmog lives in Scotland (lucky!), so her hand-knits are taking the long way round to Botswana via my house in the United States. She sent me two scarves and 6 hats for the kids!



It seems to me that since all of you have been so generous in your support of this project, I would return the favor. Everyone who sends me items for these children will be entered to win a prize from my own stash! I won't tell you exactly what yarn (because I haven't quite decided yet), but I will give at least three - count 'em, three! - yarny prizes to three of you (selected with a random generator thingy by Mr. Tumblyday).

What do you need to do to enter? Send me one or more hand-knit or hand-crocheted warm item, sized for children. You can email me for an address. The deadline is March 13th, and the prizes will be announced on March 16th.

Botswana, The Next Round of Knitting

I saw Dr. G this week, and he is recently returned from Botswana. He told me that our gifts were a tremendous hit with the volunteers and children.

There were so many beautiful things, that the staff divided them up. Larger items went to the orphanage near the hospital. As I think I mentioned before, 85% of those children are AIDS orphans (meaning their primary caregiver(s) have succumbed to AIDS), but only 15% of the children are actually HIV positive. All of the baby items went to the pediatric ICU at the hospital. Dr. G said over and over that our gifts were so deeply appreciated, and that the care you put into making them means so much to the recipients – much more than a donation check ever could.

So let’s do it again! Weather is getting warmer in Botswana right now, so I suggest we aim for sending knitted items as our spring approaches. Here’s the essential info:

What to knit: All items are needed, and I’m waiting for an update on any specific requests.

Fibers: Think WARM, so wool is better than cotton. Think DURABLE, as most items will be washed by hand in a tub, and hung to dry on a wire fence or similar.

Colors: Any and all colors, especially bright colors.

Our deadline is March 13th. Email me for information about sending in your donations.

Spreading Joy

Remember Swatchy Doc? He was traveling to Botswana along with a box of toys, socks and blankets made by some of our wonderful knitting friends. Dr. G passed the box on to a volunteer organization, and on Monday, I received the most beautiful pictures of the children who received our gifts. All of these children live in the country of Botswana, and many of them have been touched by HIV/AIDS in some way. They may have family members who are ill or who have passed away. The disease is so prevalent in Botswana that most of them know someone who has suffered. Your generous gifts have brought happiness to these beautiful children. Some of them look very serious in these pictures, but we're certain that the toys and other items are already treasured.



I've already asked the volunteers what types of knitted items they would like to receive in the future. I'll let you know as soon as I find out! In the meantime, please email me if you are interested in helping out with the next round of gifts.

Introducing Swatchy Doc

New Year? New Swatchy!



This is Swatchy Doc, reporting for duty. I made him for a very important assignment.

My own doctor, Dr. G. (no, not that Dr. G) founded an HIV/AIDS program in Botswana a few years ago. With support from his university and pharmaceutical companies, the project has grown to a full-time presence, training for residents, and improved care throughout the area. A few months ago, I was chatting with him about it, and he told me that they work with an orphanage where 85% of the children are AIDS orphans. Because of the improved access to drugs, only 15% of those children are HIV positive themselves, but they've lost their primary caregivers to AIDS. I asked him if the children needed anything, and offered to knit something.

My friends over on Ravelry came through, and we put together a donation of blankets, socks and toys for the children. Swatchy Doc came with me to my most recent doctor's appointment to deliver the gifts.



Dr. G. was so happy and surprised! He will be carrying the gifts to Botswana in a few weeks.



Swatchy Doc will be riding along. Dr. G. promised to send me a few pictures of Swatchy Doc with the children and others. I'm hoping he can become a new mascot for the project. And we will be collecting knitted items again for donation, so email us if you are interested in donating!