Final Count, and Prizes!

Our final tally of handmade gifts for Botswana is impressive: 2 bags, 4 blankets, 5 pairs socks/booties, 7 sweaters, 8 toys, 11 scarves, and 47 hats! More hats and gloves were purchased and donated by you, as well. My husband and I delivered everything to my doctor this morning, and he says thank you thank you thank you! He was amazed at how much you gave, and where the gifts came from!

I promised prizes, and my husband did the honors of pulling three names from his (Eagles) hat:



Our winners are Anne Marie, Lizzie and Laina! Congratulations! I've already emailed or messaged you about sending your prize. What did they win? In order, clockwise from the right: 4 skeins of Classic Elite Paintbox, 1 skein of Great Adirondack sock yarn, and 2 skeins of Fearless Fibers worsted.



Thank you everyone for your generosity. We will do this again, if you are willing!

One Last Box

To my delight, I received a box yesterday from Amy in Kuala Lampur!!! She sent these hats and adorable children's sweaters. Thank you!!!!

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!

Raking it In

Last night was Knit Night, and you can guess what that means! The ladies loaded me up with their generous gifts for the Botswana project.





Laina made this adorable crochet poncho and hat, and the hat, bib and booties.



Debbie made this hat. It's stranded knitting, y'all!



Debbie made this hat and sock set too!




Rosemary came through the pretty pink scarf, plus the hats and gloves. How cute are those snowball hats!?





All those sweaters? Anne Marie made those sweaters. ALL the sweaters!



Anne Marie made the hat and scarves too. How completely wonderful are all these gifts, and how completely wonderful are these knitters? Pretty freaking wonderful, in my book.

If you want to contribute, you have until March 13th. And there will be prizes!

Cuties!

These absolutely adorable booties, made from handspun, arrived yesterday from Leslie for the Botswana project. Thank you!! You still have time to contribute. Our deadline is March 13th, and there will be yarny prizes!! Get in touch if you would like to mail in a few warm, handknit items for the kids.

Circle of Hats

Check out these adorable hats! They came from Otiva in the UK. She and her mum knit up these nine hats for the Botswana project.



You still have time to send me your own contributions to the project. Our deadline is March 13th, and every participant will be entered to win free yarn!

Three by Three

Another day, another package!! This time, the goodies came from Blizzy.


Three scarves . . .


Three hats . . .


Three fish toys, and a bag!

Thank you for these beautiful gifts, Blizzy! And remember everyone, there will be at least three prizes for contributors (selected at random). The deadline is March 13th!

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.

First Batch

The wonderful ladies in my Knitting Group gave me the first batch of donations for this Botswana round last night:



Anne Marie made the blanket, green bag and yellow scarf. Laina made the two large hats and red scarf. Bev made the adorable little pink hat.

I've heard from a number of people, promising knits by our deadline of March 13th. Thank you thank you to each and every one of you!

ETA: Anne Marie made the blanket, green bag, yellow scarf and red hats. Gina made the red scarf. Whoopsie!!!

Skating

Dear Knittah,

Today Noricum and I went skating. Well, Noricum skated, and I took in the view from her sock bag. Before we started skating, she bought some new skates:

These ones are much better than her old ones, because her feet don't hurt in them. She was able to skate quite a bit before her feet started to ache a bit, and then they only hurt a bit. Plus, the wire "laces" with the dial to tighten them are a lot faster to put on and take off, or even to adjust when necessary. Plus they're insulated. That's a necessity for outdoor skating!

We also had some hot dogs and hot chocolate that he Knights of Columbus were handing out.


We hope you're keeping warm.

Love,
Swatchy

Botswana Time!

We've done it before, now it's time to do it again! Readers already know that my doctor, Dr. G, founded an HIV/AIDS clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Last year, I asked him if they treated many children. He said that treatment for pregnant women who are HIV+ is widely available and effective, and so not many children are born with the virus.

Dr. G then said that there is an orphanage near the hospital, and that 85% of the children there are "AIDS orphans" having lost a caregiver to AIDS. Did they need anything, I asked. Everything, he said. This was the beginning of our Botswana project. Friends, relatives and knitters joined me in making warm things for Dr. G to bring to the children.

And let me tell you, we've impressed them! The last collection was a true tower of love - eighty-six hand knit and crocheted items, including twenty-six blankets! Dr. G told me that the children (and adults) in Botswana are amazed that someone in America would make something just for them, by hand. They treasure every item we send, and put it to good use.

Botswana is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons there are the opposite of where I live in the north. In winter, it falls below 40 degree (F) and no one has heat. Outside Gaborone, it is can be especially cold. So will you join me in making a gift for another child?

What to make: Hats, sweaters, socks, mittens, blankets and toys in bright colors
What to use: Warm, easy care fibers - superwash wool is a plus, but I'll take anything
When is it due? Our deadline for this round is March 13th

Email me for the address to send your items or to make other arrangements.

Finally, a big shout out to my knit and crochet group! These ladies rock hard core, and are largely responsible for the avalanche of gifts last time. Mwah!!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Christmas Tree Hunting

Dear Knittah,

Yesterday Noricum and I went Christmas tree hunting. It was *cold*, but it didn't take long for us to chop down the ditch tree using a pair of pruners. You can read more about the tree here.

Love,
Swatchy

PS: Noricum still hasn't found my tuque! I'm going to pester her to make me a new one, before my hair freezes off!

Manitoba Art Expo

Dear Knittah,

On Friday, Noricum, her friend, and I went to the Manitoba Art Expo. There was lots of lovely art there. I mostly hung in my travel pouch, but Noricum remembered to bring me out to introduce me to Linda Glowacki:

She does lovely needle-felted artwork, and got a real kick meeting me. She seems like a fun person!

We enjoyed looking at all the art, and Noricum saw lots of people she knew... some were from the art club she belongs to, and others she took workshops from.

The driving to and from the show was really scary, though. The roads were really icy! Plows and sanders were out, but they were having trouble keeping up with the conditions. Noricum's friend is a really safe driver, though, so we made it there and back without any accidents, although one red light we weren't sure if we'd manage to stop before the intersection. (After that we watched the walk signals, and slowed to stop if they turned red. That method had us stopped at a green light once, though. We felt a bit silly... but safe!) We saw one accident happen when someone couldn't stop for a red light, and another where someone slid all the way through a red light. In that second case, we were really glad there was a clear lane beside us, because that person *had* been in our lane. Had there not been an empty lane, we would have been rear-ended!

Driving was much better on Saturday when Noricum took me grocery shopping. We were both very relieved that the roads had improved so much.

Love,
Swatchy

Winter Wonderland

Dear Knittah,

Winter has arrived. Please send warm thoughts.

I wonder where I put my tuque...

Love,
Swatchy

Vote Early!

Dear Swatchy,

You probably know that Election Day here in the U.S. is Tuesday, November 4th. The voter turnout is expected to be high with long lines, and Knittah just can't be wait in a line for very long (especially if it means sitting in her wheelchair outside). Luckily - did you know this? - she can vote by absentee ballot.

I got to check out the ballot before she filled it out. She said you are supposed to fill in the ballot all by yourself with no one around, so I had to go back to my shelf when she got out the pen.

But pretty cool, huh? Knittah says: "No matter who you vote for, make sure you vote in this election!"

Love, Nori

Rhinebeck 2008!

Howdy Knittah!

I've been pretty quiet lately, huh? You can blame Vicki - she keeps having work, and life and stuff get in the way. Ridiculous, I know! She even went to see the Yarn Harlot in Boston, and forgot to bring her camera!

That's not to say that I haven't seen our dear Stephanie recently though..




























(That was the second picture, taken after she said that she had dorked up the first picture, and requested a do over. The first wasn't that bad, but it did look like she was at the tail end of a crazy book tour..)





We went to Rhinebeck again! We weren't such good knitblogger stalkers this year, but in our defense, it was really really crowded!





































There were also a lot of people at the Ravelry party. They were less blurry than this in person.






























I was quite taken with this guy. His name is Thor, and he kept smiling at me. I couldn't tell if it was a happy friendly smile, or a get away before I bite you smile, but still, he was impressive.






























How many more days until Rhinebeck 2009? We can't wait to go back!

Manitoba Military Tattoo

Dear Knittah,

I'm sorry I haven't written much lately! Noricum and I have so many posts to write, but life has been so busy. This post couldn't wait though... because we met Fred Penner, and he said he'd look for our post!!! Do you know who Fred Penner is? He's an *awesome* singer of children's music, and Canadian, and Noricum has an autographed record of his from when he sang at her elementary school. He even had his own TV show!

Anyway, I suppose I should give a wee bit of a back story (before Noricum hares off to that silly desk of hers that she's trying to refinish).

Noricum's dad is in the Winnipeg Male Chorus, which was singing today as part of the Manitoba Military Tattoo. Fred Penner was the Master of Ceremony. After the performance there was a dinner, and Fred Penner (and the recently retired Chief of Defense for NATO) were sitting at the next table! After the speeches were over, Noricum twisted up her courage and asked for a photograph:

(Don't mind Noricum... she's a little star-struck, and didn't think to straighten out her vest.)

While we were taking photos, this one is of Noricum's neighbour, Don McCrae, who is the grand-nephew of the poet, John McCrae, who wrote "In Flander's Fields":


And this photo is of one of the handsome fellows from the 402 Pipes and Drums Band:

Noricum was a big fan of the pipe band performances in the show, and also loved the purple tartans. :)

We also spotted an RCMP officer in full formal dress while we were waiting in the car to figure out what entrance to use before the show, but Noricum was slow to think of me and her camera, and he was already half a block away (on a *cold* and *WINDY* day), so she didn't chase after him. Also, she was delegated with making sure Don made it to his seat, and didn't want to abandon him. Sorry! Next time, Noricum promises to think faster.

Well, I'd upload a few blurry photos of the show, but Noricum is complaining that she needs to do a tiny bit on her desk before dark. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up on some of the backlogged posts soon!

Love,
Swatcy

PS: No, Noricum didn't have the guts to pester the former NATO Chief of Defense for a photograph. Plus he had wandered off, talking to other people while Noricum was busy with Fred Penner.

PPS: We're getting kind of low on postcards... do you have more of them?