Just a Couple Things

Just a real quick post today. Power is back on at home! But there are still plenty without! Including on my block. The homes near where the tree fell on the pole are still out, as well as a couple others further down the road and the stop light at the end of our street.

Here's a bunch of places you can go to help out those affected by the storm:

Jan and Terry created this group: Squares for Comfort.  They're customers at the shop and wanted to expand on the square idea in a way to help others directly. So if you knit some Relief Counterpane Squares and don't like seaming, you can mail them to these ladies! They will assemble blankets and distribute them locally.

Next is another customer at the shop: Suzy. She's got a list of patterns and websites contributing funds to Sandy relief over at Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser Group. There's also lists of donation items needed.

Last for today is probably the fastest and easiest for everyone. Maria from Subway Knits Podcast is running what in the past has been a very successful fundraising campaign. All you have to do is donate minimum $5 to a charity and forward the receipt to her. You then have to post in the thread on Ravelry for a chance to win a donation incentive. And there certainly are a lot of prizes!

ETA 11/7/2012:
Jessica of the Knitting Brooklyn is hosting a KAL in conjunction with Squares for Comfort.  It will be running until 12/31 and there are PRIZES!

Baby Kayleigh

I haven't been giving too many knitting updates lately.  I know.

I've mostly been doing work knitting that I cannot share on here.  So my other projects have been resting.

There has been one project I've pumped out recently, though, and with a big helping hand from a Raveler.

About a month ago, I learned through Facebook that my former Assistant Teacher from the daycare was in the hospital.  Concerned, I made it a priority to check her updates.  The doctors didn't know what was wrong with her.  Then I saw the "congrats" posts further down her page.  So now I realized she's in the hospital and pregnant.

A week or so later, Miss C gives birth to precious little baby girl, Kayleigh.  And I really mean little.  Kayleigh was born 26 weeks early at only 1 pound.  Time to get my knitting butt in gear.

I had bought some yarn to make baby Autumn another blanket, but after the baby shower, Mama J said no to any more blankets.  So instead those balls of yarn go to Kayleigh.  Her blankie is made from Artyarns Cottonspring and is the Corner-to-Corner pattern from Knit Baby Blankets! (Lion Brand also has many similar patterns).

I had 4 skeins of yarn.  Perfect!  Two for increases, two for decreases.  I powered through this thing.  I mean, Kayleigh was already here.  I had to get it done!

After the second ball of yarn, I moved to the decreases.  Ah, the rows were finally getting shorter and faster.  But...wait...what the...but how?  Somehow, at about 45 stitches still on my needles, I had come to the end of my fourth and final ball of yarn.

Curse curse curse!  Panic!

I don't want to rip half a blanket's worth of knitting out.  Think think think.  Then I remembered - I had just heard one of the ladies on Here's to Ewe mention how she had run out of yarn and found someone on Ravelry who had the same yarn in their leftovers and sent it to her.  I though I'd take a chance and searched.  One other person had the colorway I needed.  She had .3 of a skein leftover from a project.  I quickly sent Borie a message offering to buy or trade for her leftovers.  She mentioned no payment but promised to send it to me. Miss C reported that Kayleigh wasn't doing so well so I really wanted to get this done for her.

Borie sent the yarn fast and it came on Friday.  Between Saturday and Sunday I got Kayleigh's blankie finished.  But I still had some yarn left from what Borie sent me.  So I crocheted her a preemie sized hat (see down below) and bib.  They may be too big for her now, but within a few weeks she may be big enough to make some use of them.

So here's a BIG thank you to Borie for being my yarn angel this past week.  It was a sweet thing she did sending me the yarn expecting nothing in return.  But I have her return address from the box so she will be getting a present in the mail soon :o)

And please keep Kayleigh in your thoughts and prayers.  Being part of a military family, her daddy cannot be with her right now or be there to give her mommy a shoulder when she needs it.

And if you'd like to help the family out, please purchase the pattern for Kayleigh's Preemie Hat or make a donation using the Paypal button.  All proceeds (what's left after the website processing fees) will be donated to the family to help pay the medical bills resulting from Kayleigh's premature birth.

Kayleigh's hat, with an Avocado model

And thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness!