iCreate

Now that the worst of the cold weather is behind us, I'm finding myself more able to knit when I have some spare time. I've imposed a due date for two items that I have been working on for a bit. One is a blanket for my daughter's 13th birthday, and the other item is a blanket I have been working on for my MIL since August of last year. I want to give it to her for her birthday in June.

So when I'm not working, I'm knitting.  Both of these projects are simply me creating. No pattern to follow, no wrong way to do it. I add yarns that I like the look and feel of, and away I go.

I'm also working on a pair of socks for Hubby (still) and various items for Keeping Kids Warm. I've made some neck warmers, or neck cowls; like a scarf but totally round with no ends to get caught on anything.

This is the blanket I'm working on for DD2. Do you think I can get it done by Friday?

This is sock number 2 of the pair for Hubby.

This is the multi-coloured blanket for my MIL, using worsted weight, 4 ply variegated yarns.

A closer pic so you can see the rainbow of colours.

The sized 6.0 mm bamboo circular needle(s) I'm using to make MIL's blanket. Probably part of the reason why it is taking me forever to finish it!



I'm thinking of starting a collective project of blankets to be made of squares kitted by volunteers, and having them mailed to me from knitters wherever they may be. Are you a knitter? Do you know a knitter? Think you might like to get involved in this project? Email me, and share this idea with others. If I can get 5 knitters to commit to making 2 ten inch squares, I'll do a giveaway. Let me know what you think.



The $100 Challenge, The Second Year

Last year, Hubby & I participated in the $100 Challenge. Don't know what that is? Read the Story that started it all here.  Basically, Andrew, a Londoner, gave a man in need $100. And felt good about it. It got him thinking about how such an amount could do some good for another human being.

I wrote about the $100 Challenge last year, found here. What I didn't tell anyone really was some of the follow-up to what happened that day.

Last year, Keeping Kids Warm collected gently used coats and clothing for those in need. After our giveaway of well over $100 worth of coffee and cookies, the clothing items were gathered and dropped off at various agencies so that folks who needed them could get access to them. At one of the places, a man asked one of the volunteers if we had any dress shirts as he had a job interview the following Monday.

With donated money, and some of her own, that volunteer drove the man to a thrift store, and let him pick out a dress shirt, pants and shoes so that he would look presentable for his interview. He was truly grateful, and it made the volunteer feel wonderful to help someone who truly needed a hand up.

Well, the man in this tale got the job he interviewed for. The agency has since told us that he is now doing well, has an apartment of his own, and has become a volunteer to help others who were once where he was. When he speaks of the events that helped him turn his life around, he always starts the story with a lady who was dropping off coats and how kind she was to him.

It doesn't take $100 to help another fellow Londoner, but imagine what we all could accomplish if we just try to make a little corner of the world a better place?

I urge you to join dozens of other Londoners and give a little something to someone else. You don't even have to be in London! The $100 Challenge has people registered as far away as Australia who will be taking part on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

If you have $100 to give, or only $10, use it to make soneone's day. Buy a coffee for the person in line behind you at Timmie's. Offer to pay for someone's groceries. Approach a stranger, and give them $20. It doesn't matter how you do something, just do it on that day. Please. It can make a world of difference.

Challenge Anyone?

Monday, I stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit and did something I have never done before. I volunteered at The Soup Kitchen. Together with customer service associates and other residents of Boardwalk Properties, we served breakfast and lunch to over 300 people.  I spent over four hours making and serving trays of hot food and beverages for people.

There are many programs that are in need of volunteers to help out. I'd like you all to consider giving some of your time and of yourself to those less fortunate. Call your local Soup Kitchen or Food Bank. They always need volunteers. The Salvation Army also needs volunteers to assist with their Christmas Hamper program, sorting and packing donated items and foodstuffs (although their volunteer program is a little tougher to get into).

How about spending some time with an elder person to assist with household tasks or running errands for them? With winter coming shortly, there will be lots of older folks who will need someone to shovel and salt their sidewalks for them.

Here's my challenge to you.

Give some of your time to give a hand up to someone else. Even for a couple of hours. It will help you keep your life in perspective, I promise.

What other great ideas can you all come up with to give of yourself to those who are in need?



http://www.info.london.on.ca/docs/HardTimes.pdf

1000 Acts of Kindness

This morning, I read the local newspaper which announced the 1000 Acts of Kindness challenge in the Forest City.

Upon reading this article, I imediately thought that I had to post about this on my blog. I know that random acts of kindness can lift a person's spirits, brighten a person's day, or bring about a general feeling of goodwill that can easily be regenerated. I know this because I have been both the recipient and the giver of a random act of kindness.

I have purchased the coffee and doughnut of the person in the vehicle behind me in the drive-thru at Timmie's. I have donated my time to help at a local soup kitchen that provides warm lunches to Native Elders in our city. I have knitted then donated dishcloths to the auxilary who sells them at a hospital on the palliative care floor.
I do many things for others, without wanting any recognition for what I have done, in order to keep the goodwill flowing.

Thinking back through recent years, I should say thanks to the lady who returned my purse after it had been stolen and dumped in a creekbed. Not having to replace all the identification in it was a godsend, yet I have no idea who she is. Thank you kind person.
I have had a mechanic repair a leaky tire without asking for pay; another mechanic repair my vehicle and then allowed me to make payments over a couple of months for the parts, something that seems to be unheard of in today's society.
I have had folks give me clothing for my children, new and used, free of charge, and been given baby furniture as well. Strangers hold the door for me in my apartment building, and drivers wave me through when traffic is heavy and it seems I will never make the turn before the light changes.

There are a million incidences that come to mind where I have recieved a kindness from another. Yet I still feel like I am lacking in returning those kindnesses.

My challenge for this month will be to try my best to do one act of kindness per day, however small, for someone not in my immediate family.
My challenge to you is to think about the random act of kindness that is most prevalent in your mind, and try to reciprocate by doing something equally meaningful for another person. Heaven knows we could all use more kindness in this world.