Finishy? And Meet Joey!

Well, we have all managed to survive the evil tummy bug and everything is back to "normal" around here. Phew.

I haven't been posting much lately because life has been keeping me busy (see above). But - the good news is that I have somehow managed to be super productive crafting-wise. In the past two months I have finished so many projects!

I have:

1. Finished my knitted Mitred Square Blanket. You've seen it in the early stages on the blog.

2. Finished my crocheted Hexagon Blanket. You've also seen bit and pieces of this one. I nearly frogged it but I'm glad I didn't.

3. Finished two (!) of the crochet Square Target blankets. You've seen some of the squares. I've still got stacks (and stacks and stacks...) of them that will become a king sized blanket when I get them put together. The leftovers became the two smaller blankets.

4. Finished my Nine Patch Quilt Top. Don't think I have ever shown this one on the blog. It turned out really well!

5. Finished the stitching for a needlepoint pillow. Haven't sent it off to be pillowized yet though.

I am also working on and close to finishing another quilt top, a skirt (!) and another needlepoint.

I don't know what came over me - I guess I have been feeling very finishy lately! :) It feels pretty good to clear the decks around here. (Okay - it would probably take another two months to actually clear the decks of all the projects I have in limbo - but I have made a huge dent.)

The problem is - I have been so busy working on projects that I haven't taken the time to photograph them. So for now you just have to take my word for it. :)

My other projects on Aura's House are moving along as well. Not as fast as I wish they would though!

Here are some pictures of another of my sponsor kids that you can see on Aura's House. His name is Joey and he is ten and a half and lives in the Philippines.



This is Joey at home with his family. Joey's father is a farmer. Aura's House is helping me to gather funds to help Joey's family set up a hog farming business that will provide them with a steady source of income. Currently Joey's family survives on around $21 a month! Joey is the poorest of all of my seventeen sponsor children.



Joey's sister Christine is seven and his brother Adrian is four. Neither of them have sponsors. Joey takes his responsibility as the oldest child very seriously. He tells me about helping his father tend the root vegetables that they grow. They grow some vegetables for themselves and the rest of the time Joey's father does day labor work for other farmers.



Joey's is fortunate to have fairly good housing. The family has wooden beds, a coal stove and a toilet but they still have to draw their water from a community well and do not have electricity. Their home is very basic - one bedroom and a kitchen room - but it looks well constructed.

The hog farming business would greatly increase the family's income and allow Joey's father to spend more of his working time at home. This is safer for everyone.

Here's the latest update on the fund raising at Aura's House:

Ana's Project: $531/2770 (went up!)
Nyslin's Project: $135/550
Zoila's Project: $110/824 (went up!)
Joey's Project: $117/723
Lesly's Project: $135/393 (went up!)

The projects are moving along but we still have a long way to go. Please remember that even a little bit helps...

And a big big thank you to everyone who has helped out so far!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some crafting pictures...