on the needles

Just a Quickie :)

2009-07-25T17:49:00.003-04:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I have updated the sidebar section and added links to a bunch of new blogs. You can see them if you scroll all the way down....

In addition to the usual knitting blogs, I've added several sewing and quilting blogs that I think you will find inspiring as well - even if you don't sew or quilt. The colorful photos alone are worth a look!

Did you know that I also read History blogs? Perfume blogs? True crime blogs? Softie blogs? Even a parrot blog... There are also a few blogs that fit into what I would call the "domestic goddess or the art of living" category. The "blogs I read" section is like a little trip through my cluttered mind. :) But there are lots of blogs there that I think less eclectic people will really like as well.

And of course there are also some blogs written by my fellow CI sponsors.

Take a look. I'd love to know if any of you find anything new that you enjoy. Leave me a comment if you do!

Lesly's Home Repair Project - Completed!!

2009-07-15T17:30:00.001-04:00

I just received word from Aura's House that Lesly's Roof Project is complete!

Lesly is my daughter's sponsor child in Guatemala. They are nearly the same age and thick as thieves. :) Lesly's project was the first of my sponsor kids projects to be funded through Aura's House. My daughter helped out by donating her allowance and making and selling candies to raise extra money. But of course the support Lesly received from the donors at Aura's House was key to making this project possible. I can never thank them enough!!

Now the photos!!

Lesly with the supplies for her home repair.

Lesly's family received gravel and concrete to lay down a slab in the courtyard of their home. This will be a great help in keeping the home clean and dry since the courtyard got very muddy and stayed damp all through the rainy season. In the background of the photo you can see the tin sheets which were used to repair their leaky roof.

The new roof for Lelsy's house - keeping them dry!

Ta da! The new roof! Now the roof won't leak all through the rainy season. The family will be able to stay healthy and dry under their new roof.

Lesly stands on the new concrete floor which will help keep the dirt out of her home.

I love this photo of Lesly, proudly showing off the new floor. Lesly's father Hugo was able to do the repair work on his home since he works as a bricklayer. It must have been satisfying for him to finally be able to work to improve his own home! And I'm sure that Lesly's mother Aura especially appreciates the new floor since it will help keep the mud out of her home during the rainy season.

Lesly showing off her new propane stove.

How cute is Lesly in this photo?! I'm constantly amazed at what a sourpuss Lesly looked like in her first Children International photo. Despite that my daughter insisted that Lesly was the one for her. I guess my daughter knows that you can't judge a book by it's cover - Lesly hasn't stopped smiling since we sponsored her! Lesly's smile is so charming.

Aura probably really loves this new propane stove. I hope it has made cooking for the family easier for her. Previously the family cooked over an open fire. Anyone who has been camping and tried this knows how tough that can be. Try cooking like that everyday! So I'm sure this new stove is a huge blessing for Aura. The family also received some water containers to help keep their water fresh and clean. Their water comes from a community faucet so storage is always an issue in that situation.

Lesly with her new bed!

I love this photo too. It makes me think of Alice in Wonderland after she drank the bottle labeled "Drink Me" that made her shrink to "very small". Lesly looks like a little miniature person on that big bed! It's so nice to think of Lesly sleeping in a new bed and not getting dripped on by a leaky roof!

Lesly with her new bedding.

Lesly also got some new bedding. My daughter was really pleased with this because she thought it was "so beautiful".

My daughter wanted to pass her message along to all of the people at Aura's House who helped launch the project and all of the donors who helped make everything possible. She said:

"I felt very good seeing the photos of Lesly. Lesly is a very nice girl to know. I'm proud that I was able to help her. I feel really good about Lesly having a new bed. It means so much to me that you helped Lesly to get all of her new stuff. Thank you so much."

And on behalf of Lesly and her family I thank you too!

Sponsoring Siblings

2009-07-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

My Hubby and I recently made the decision to sponsor some siblings of some of our sponsor children. This was something I had been thinking about doing for awhile, but it was a hard decision for me to make.

On the one hand there are several families that I am very close to and I would like to offer them more help by sponsoring an additional child. Siblings are not necessarily automatically enrolled in the Children International program. I think each family is allowed either four or five children to be in the program at any one time but once two or three children from one family are enrolled and sponsored CI tends to concentrate on getting assistance to new families. So these siblings might never get the benefits of the CI program if I didn't request to sponsor them. Also, how crappy must it feel to be the only non-sponsored kid in a family where all of your other siblings are sponsored? Being left out while watching your siblings getting all the benefits from CI and letters and perhaps even gifts from their sponsors must really suck.

On the other hand I was very worried that if I shared my attention between two siblings I would make my original sponsor child feel less special to me. That's not something I want to do at all! I also thought it might create sibling rivalry (although I fully intend to do everything equally for each child - and actually there is probably more jealousy if one child is left out rather than if they share).

After thinking about it for a long time, and discussing it with my Hubby (he was for it) and with other sponsors (some mixed opinions), I finally made the decision to stop worrying about it and just do it.

So this feels like a grand experiment - we will see how it goes...

I don't have the children on my account yet because CI has to get the field office staff to go out and sign the kids up. It will probably be a month before all the paperwork is done, the first medical visit completed, pictures taken etc...And I guess there is always a chance that for some reason or another the families don't want to sign up another child. (Although I seriously doubt that.) So barring something going wrong, I will soon be sponsoring these three new kids:

Jerica Mae in 2008

Jerica Mae is Harry's youngest sibling. I think she turned five this year. She was the only eligible child left in Harry's family that wasn't sponsored. I don't think sponsoring her will upset Harry. He will probably be just fine with sharing. I think the fact that there is such a difference in their ages and they aren't the same gender will lessen any chance of there being a rivalry between them. Also, by sponsoring Jerica I will be able to keep in touch with Harry for a long time after he graduates from the CI program. So I think (I hope!) it will be a win/win for everybody. Plus, Jerica = Adorable!

Adriana in 2008

The second child I am adding is Ana's youngest sister Adriana. I think she is eight years old. She was also the only child who was not sponsored in the familiy. I am already in the process of setting up the family with an Income Generating Project through Aura's House. So until Ana graduates high school and is ready for further education, sponsoring her sister is the only other major way I could help the family right now. Adriana looked somewhat sad in the family photos I have. I hope she will feel happier now that she has sponsor too.

Dulce in 2009

Dulce is Hermelinda's younger sister. I think she is four years old. Since I am unable to do anything major to help the family with their houseing situation and they are unable to do an IGP at this time I think that sponsoring Dulce is the best way to releive some of their burdens. Besides - as if I could resist that little smiley face! From what I know of the sisters they seem to be almost opposites in personality. It will be interesting to get to know Dulce. I wrote to Hermelinda last week and told her that she was very special to me and that because I loved her so much I would like to help her family even more by sponsoring Dulce. I told her that maybe when she is old enough, she will help Dulce write her letters just like Hermelinda's brother helps her now.

So - I hope this is a decision that will work out for everyone. I'll be a little trepedatious until I hear from Ana, Harry and Hermelinda and hear what they have to say about it!

Alison's Blanket

2009-07-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

I think we've all caught on to the fact that I like to make blankets. It's just about the most mindless, yarn eating but useful knitting or crocheting a crafter can do. Making a blanket isn't rocket science but it is relaxing and it's fulfilling to see my crafting being used and loved by everyone who ends up with a blanket I've made.

Perhaps my readers will recognize this one. I think I posted about it before...

Alison with mother Carina and her blankie.

I sent this one to Alison as a sort of way of saying hello and that I was happy to have become her sponsor.

I also sent a card and bunches of photos of my family. The sponsor kids are usually as eager to get photos of me as i am to get photos of them. I try to send a few batches a year. I'm not sure Alison was too impressed though. :) I don't think she is really old enough to understand the concept of having a sponsor yet.

So I made sure to include some pretty, colorful stickers and some Hello Kitty crayons. What little girl can resist stickers and Hello Kitty? (Not me. I love Hello Kitty.) I'm not above bribery to get on my sponsor kid's good side. :)

I haven't really seen a smile from Alison yet but I don't think it is because she is shy or sad. I think she just isn't used to the camera yet. I sent her a special needs gift for her birthday last month so maybe when I get the photos back from that I will see a little smile. I hope she will be able to get something super girly because I get the impression she is a girly girl. And I respect that. :) I was thinking that, since I know she loves to dress up, I might hit all the after Halloween sales this year and get her a bunch of princess costumes. I think she would like that.

Sharing a Family

2009-07-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

My sister and I share a family. I mean in addition to the one we were born into. :)

We share a sponsorship family!

I started sponsoring through Children International in November 2007. It was something that I had thought of doing for a long time but had never found the right organization for me. Once I started sponsoring I discovered how great it made me feel to be getting to know my sponsor kids and making a difference in their lives. But I also discovered how skeptical and uninterested many people were in hearing about my sponsorship. The one person I could really talk to about it was my sister. I remembered she had sponsored a child for a few years through another organzation when we were teenagers.

My sister is a big softie just like me. She really liked hearing the letters I was getting from my sponsor children. I started encouraging her to sponsor a child of her own. I even sent her links to kids I knew she would think were cute. (My sister has a thing for kids with funny hair. I have a thing for kids with big pudgey cheeks.) She eventually sponsored five kids - two of them were ones that I "found" for her. :)

One of the kids she sponsored was Jhonathan:

My sister's sponsor child Jhonathan

Jhonathan is from Ecuador which is not one of the countries I initially sponsored in. But late last year the lady who babysat my daughter from the time she was born, died after a bout with cancer. She was a lovely person and was from Ecuador. I had heard all about how sweet Jhonathan was from my sister. In fact she really liked both of her Ecuadorian kids. They are very affectionate and their families are very nice.

Jhonathan with a backpack full of goodies my sister sent in 2008

I decided that I would sponsor some kids from Ecuador as a tribute to my good friend who had died. I initially sponsored Ana and Jhonny. A few months later my sister and I had a talk and we agreed that it would be great if we could team up to help out one of our sponsor families, so that is how I sponsored Alison, Jhonathan's little sister.

Alison in 2009 - the most adorable pokey little pigtails!

Alison is the youngest of all my sponsor children. She just turned three. She loves to dress up and her Auntie recently told me that Alison changes her dress many times a day and is very conceited. Lol! She plays with her little cousin, they fight, make up and play together again. She is lucky in that she is attending early childhood stimulation classes where she gets to color and is learning to use scissors. Alison's favorite color is red which is entirely appropriate for a little imp like her!

Alison and her mother Carina and brother Jhonathan in front of their home in 2008

When I started sponsoring Alison her mother Carina was a single mother. But shortly thereafter she married her boyfriend (who I think is Alison's father but not Jhonathan's father). At least I'm pretty sure they are married - it's sort of hard to tell exactly what is going on some times, that's the impression I got anyway. Carina recently had another baby - a boy, but frustratingly they didn't tell us his name!

Alison, Carina and Jhonathan in 2008

One of the immediate benefits of sponsoring Alison was that I get to hear about her in Jhonathan's letters to my sister. I also get double the photos of her since she is often included in photos of Jhonathan that my sister gets. She got these photos of their home in late 2008.

Alison, Carina and Jhonathan inside the kitchen area of their home in 2008

I hope the home isn't as dark and depressing as it seems from these photos but it probably is. From what I have been seeing from Steve's videos of his sponsor children this is a fairly typical home.

Alison, Carina and Jhonathan in the bedroom

The children share this bedroom with their parents. My sister bought the bunkbed that you can see in the corner. I thought that was a great idea. It greatly increased the sleeping space in the room and now at least each child has their own bed.

Carina, Alison and Jhonathan with the new bunkbed

I love the new bunkbed - and so does Jhonathan. He loves to make silly faces.

In addition to the bunkbeds, my sister bought the family some really nice furniture. (She had done the same for family in India - sadly all was destroyed in the recent flooding there.) :(

I love these pictures of the family. Little Alison is so cute standing on the chair.

Jhonathan, Carina and Alison with their new furniture

Jhonathan is really getting big fast. It's almost like you can actually see him grow up in these photos. My sister bought him the bicycle in the photo below. I think this is a great gift that the sponsor kids really love.

Jhonathan with a new bicycle and other special needs gifts.

What a nice family! Jhonathan's step-father Julio is a policeman. That's a great sign for the future of the family because it's considered a professional position. I hope that Carina and Julio will encourage the children to also aspire to a profession - it's the dream of many of the kids who live in poverty. The only problem is that Julio has to work in the city and can only get back home two days a month! My sister and I explored the idea of finding better housing for the family that would allow them to be together more but found that it was cost prohibitive. Unfortunately the same is true for the IGP plan that the family would like to do. Children International reccommended instead that we help with Jhonathan's schooling expenses so that he can go to a better school which is closer to home. I think that's a great idea and we intend to do that.

Sharing a sponsor family with my sister has been really great. We talk alot more in general and it has brought us even closer together. We really support eachother in our efforts as sponsors and it's great to have someone else who really understands how I feel about being a sponsor. I think it's going to be a rewarding journey watching "our" two kids grow up together and hopefully prosper in life. Taking that journey with my sister just makes it all the more rewarding.

More Photos of Harry

2009-07-12T13:55:00.001-04:00

Here's another set of pictures of Harry from around late October of last year. We sent him photos from our summer vacation as well as some little books about animals that we got on our trip. The Filipino kids can read English so it makes it easy to find books for them.

Harry with his summer package 2008

Harry specifically mentioned that he likes to read and some of his favorite subjects are animals, sea life, and the planets and stars. I'm always keeping an eye out for books for him. I specifically want to find him a good one about astronomy - easy to read but informative at an appropriate learning level for a fourteen year old and with good illustrations - and not too heavy! :) Anybody know a boy Harry's age who likes to study the stars and can give me advice on a good book to buy for him?

Harry 2008

Harry's Birthday Gifts

2009-07-11T13:25:00.000-04:00

This is another set of photos I've had for months and never got around to posting..

My dear precious friend Harry turned 14 (!!!) in December. As usual I sent him a special needs gift as a birthday present. I have about five sponsor children that have December birthdays so I've had to make sure not to choose any new children with December birthdays. December is a spendy month what with Christmas and gifts for the sponsor kids birthdays!

Harry got some Hot Wheels

I was pleased to see that Harry was able to spend a good bit of his money on clothing and even a new toy. As I said in my last post, my families in the Philippines have trouble even meeting their basic needs with their small monthly income. Harry's family gets by on only $30 a month! So, naturally when they get the chance they stock up on non-perishable food items.

Harry's new shirt

I'm thinking I might see that yellow shirt again in Harry's new yearly photo. My last yearly photo of Harry was in July 2008 so he's due for a new one here soon.... When I wrote back to him after I got these photos I told him I liked his hair longer like it is in these photos. It looks really cute on him. And doesn't he have the nicest smile? It really transforms his face. Harry is one of those people that really smile from the heart. I simply can not believe how much Harry has grown up in just the year that I have sponsored him.

Harry and birthday gifts 2008

And here we have the ubiquitous massive bag of rice! I don't think a special needs gift in the Philippines ever goes by without the purchase of a big bag of rice. It's such a staple for their diet.

The last letter I got from Harry was in May. He said he was spending his summer vacation with his Aunt and had been on a trip to go swimming in the ocean with some friends. He also described the Good Friday procession in his village/town that he had been to see. In general the kids in the Philippines are quite religious. They often mention such processions or other religious celebrations and holidays. Harry often ends his letters with God Bless! - which I think is so sweet. Even though I'm not religious I do appreciate the sincerity of Harry's belief and that he includes me in his prayers.

Flor's Birthday Gift

2009-07-10T10:11:00.001-04:00

The search for my camera charger is "in progress", so who knows when I will get any photos of my knitting & other crafting...

So in the meantime I'll post - you guessed it! - more about my sponsor kids. :) I've actually got a back log of photos waiting for me to get a round to post them. That's one of the coolest things about Children International - you get tons of photos. I've got over 350 photos! That's a crazy good number when you consider you probably get one photo a year with other children's sponsorship organizations.

One of my little Honduran girls, Flor, turned eight this past December. That is such a cute age! And Flor wears it well. I love her clumpy, curly pigtails.

Flor with her birthday gifts - December 2008

With her birthday money Flor bought a set of drawers and some clothing. I think the drawers look like a good choice. They look sturdy and easy to clean. Flor's mother Marta told me the drawers are going to be used to keep their clothes in and will help to keep their clothing clean.

Often my sponsor kids and their families choose to buy a bed with the first special needs gift I send them (except for in the Philippines where they almost always have to spend most of the money on groceries). Flor's family information sheet says that there are four wooden beds in the home. So Flor probably shares a bed with her two sisters. There may not be room in the home for another bed - that's often a factor in their buying decisions as well.

Flor and her mother Marta in December 2008

When I was writing up this post I took a second look at the yellow shirt Flor's Mom is holding and I thought I recognized it from somewhere...

Flor - January 2009

Oh yes - Flor wore it for her yearly photo that I got in January! It's so sweet how the sponsor kids are so thoughtful like that. They almost always try to wear something that I sent them or something that they were able to buy with their special needs money. It's their way of saying thank you and showing that they are thinking of me. I really appreciate the gesture! Plus Flor looks really pretty in yellow. :)

I enjoy getting Flor's letters, which her mother usually writes for her. For her part, Flor often draws - appropriately enough - flowers for me. One of her last letters featured a drawing of a bunch tall reddish flowers with little clumpy leaves in a flower pot. Little birds were on either side holding more flowers in their beaks. I thought it was quite artistic.

Marta often tells me about the seasons in Honduras and what the landscape is like where they live. (Despite having sponsor children in countries all over the world I am always impressed with the concept that it is summer time for me and winter time for some of them. What can I say? I'm simple.) :) In the letter I received about a month ago, Honduras was entering winter time. Marta said the weather was cool and that there were many pretty flowers and trees where they live. I often think it is "easier" to be poor in a more rural setting like Flor has. At least Flor can enjoy the beauty of nature which I know she does because she often mentions such things. I feel sorry for my sponsor kids who are poor in a big city. At least in the countryside there is less crowding and some fresh air!

I hope that the recent political unrest that Honduras is experiencing has not affected my two girls there. I have no reason to think that it has but I do keep my eye on the news. It's sobering to think that poverty is sometimes not the biggest problem my kids face. Natural disasters and unstable governments contribute more than their fair share of difficulties to their lives - much much more so than anyone in the USA ever has to go through. Imagine things like Hurricane Katrina happening pretty much every year and that's closer to what it is like for my sponsor kids.

To Whom It May Concern

2009-07-09T03:25:00.002-04:00

Would the person or persons who borrowed my camera (you know who you are) please find the lost charger so that I can take some knitting photos? The knitting blog natives are getting restless. If I don't post some knitting photos soon they're going to turn on me! Help a girl out here!

More photos of Carla

2009-07-08T08:21:00.000-04:00

I've got some still photos to share of Steve's visit with Carla in Chile.

This is the first group of children Steve met in Chile - Kevin (sponsored by Jo I think) and Jo's other sponsor kids three year old twins Martina and Monserrat (which is which I do not know) and of course my Carla and her mother Margarita.

Steve with Carla and Margarita and me in a "Flat Stephanie" version. :)

A beautiful candid shot of Carla. She looks exactly like an angel. Probably one of my favorite photos ever of any of my sponsor kids.

Carla and "Flat Stephanie". Carla has the most beautiful almond shaped eyes and eyebrows a super model can only pray for. Seriously, how can I get eyebrows like that??

Carla and Margarita. Carla is the only person I know with hair longer than mine. :)

Robyn asked about my plans for Carla's IGP. I do hope to make Carla's IGP my next Firstgiving project. I probably won't receive the info from Children International for another month but it will work out alright because my next project is scheduled for the #20 slot and we are still raising funds for #11 & #12. I only hope that the project comes in under the $500 mark. If not I will probably try to pay the extra amount myself.

Video of Carla in Chile #5

2009-07-06T08:30:00.002-04:00

I love this video - Carla is with the other children and their mothers in the room that the field office workers had set up as a little party for the children. They had balloons and cookies and a drink that I think was milky coffee. I love how Carla is on her best behavior, sitting so properly and sipping her drink like a perfect little lady. So precious!!

Here's what Steve had to say about Carla:

What a doll! Too cute for words. She certainly recognized Stephanie from her photos and her Mom read her the letter she got. She could audition for a child acting part and steal the show.

I have to admit that Carla is the one sponsor child that I chose because I instantly loved her little face. I was looking for a child to sponsor in Chile and Carla was "the one". :)

I hope to have an updated estimate from Children International in a few weeks for an Income Generating Project for Carla and her family. Their original idea was to fix up a room in their home and run a small general store selling household items and personal hygiene products. I think it's a great idea, especially since it would allow Carla's mother to earn an income while staying at home and taking care of the house and children. I think many mothers would jump at that opportunity. :) Apparently there is no such store in their area so it would be convenient for the people of the community and hopefully therefore a success. So, we will soon see if that is still the plan and how much money I will need to raise.

Video of Carla in Chile #4

2009-07-06T07:30:00.003-04:00

In this video Steve gets the whole group of children and their mothers to say "Hello!" to their sponsors. This was the "first wave" of kids that Steve met - another bunch came to the sponsor center a little later.

Yesterday my father said that every time he mentions my sponsorship he gets the response that essentially it must be a scam. There aren't really any kids and even if there are they aren't really getting any money/help. Sigh. I'm getting pretty sick of that response from people. I've got literally hundreds of photos and hundreds of letters from my sponsor children. Every single one is an individual that I am privileged to have gotten to know. They are all different, some are silly and happy, some more serious, some write funny letters, some put alot of effort into making drawings for me and every single one of them is getting medical and dental care, food, clothing and help with education that they would not otherwise be able to have at all. Every single one of them is a treasured friend of mine. From little Alison who just turned three all the way up to Glenn who is a grown up of fourteen, they all teach me so much about life and compassion and love and just how to be a human being. I only hope they get as much out of their relationship with me! :)

So I'll get down off my soapbox now and end by saying that I feel sorry for people who maintain that kind of attitude. I don't blame them for some initial suspicion - believe me I did my homework before choosing to support Children International. I'm not parting with my money lightly! But if you live your life hiding your head in the sand and not getting out there and seeing what can be done, what you can do to contribute...well, to me that seems like a real waste. It's not living up to your potential as a human being...

Video of Carla in Chile #3

2009-07-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

Oh yes she can! In this video Carla's mother reads her the letter I sent. Afterwards she asks Carla what she would like to say back to me. Carla takes a deep breath, prepares to speak and .... her mind goes blank. LOL! At the end Carla makes a kissy face and sends me a "beso y abrazo" - a kiss and a hug! Her little voice saying "ciao" - too sweet.

I'm slowly learning some Spanish from reading my letters from my sponsor children. I always read the original letter in Spanish before I read the translation. I am now able to go to Chile, Ecuador, Honduras and Guatemala and ask anyone for hugs and kisses and thank them for writing me a letter. :) Fortunately several paople in my family actually are fluent in Spanish so if/when I visit my sponosr kids I will drag one of them along.

Video of Carla in Chile #2

2009-07-06T06:30:00.001-04:00

In this video, Steve gives Carla the photos I sent as well as a letter to Carla that I had my sister translate into Spanish for me. The smile on her face when she sees the photos is super precious. Margarita says, "look, look who is that?" and Carla says. "Stephanie!"

Carla says I'm pretty (blush!) and then she holds my picture up to her face and says "Beso!" (Kiss!) Can she be more adorable??

Video of Carla in Chile

2009-07-05T23:25:00.000-04:00

Steve has posted his videos of our group's sponsor children in Chile. I think he ended up meeting about 8 or so of them. Of my two Chilean children, Javiera didn't show up (I rather expected that). However, Carla did show up and she was totally adorable!

In this video Carla says Hello! to her Madrina (Godmother/Sponsor) and tells me that she likes to get my letters which her mother Margarita reads to her. She says she is going to school to learn to read and write and that she will write a letter to me soon. Steve asks when she thinks she might be able to write to me herself and Carla's mother answers that it's been going slow but Carla is learning to write and hopes to be able to write in a few months. Right now Margarita writes Carla's letters for her.

I think it's so funny how the sponsor kids all seem to lose their minds the minute they are expected to "deliver a message" on camera. I think their minds just go completely blank and then the moms step in and prompt them on what to say. Carla doesn't have any trouble once she gets started though. At one point, Margarita suggests that Carla say "Don't forget me!" and Carla gives her a totally skeptical look. Carla knows darn good and well I'd never forget her! :)

It's a Miracle!

2009-07-02T17:55:00.001-04:00

Many of my fellow sponsors have expressed their concern for my little Guatemalan sponsor child Hermelinda. After seeing her living conditions in the video that Steve shot for me on his visit I contacted Children International to inquire about the possibility of getting the family into better housing. I didn't hold out much hope for a positive out come but I thought it was worth a try. Unfortunately I recently received a letter from CI informing me that it would cost around $14,000 to purchase a plot of land and build a suitable house. The family, quite understandably wishes to remain in the same village where they have family support and friends. There is a lack of adequate housing in general so it's not feasible to simply move them to another house. It's a complex situation and sadly the solution is just beyond me financially. :(

So I spent several days feeling very bummed out. I only wish I could solve every problem for my sponsor kids and it's so frustrating to not be able to do so.

Then I received these photos of Hermelinda and a report on the first special needs gift I had sent them. Look closely - what do you see??

A smile from Hermelinda!

I opened the envelope and took a look at the photos and instantly burst into tears. The very first thing I saw was that smile on Hermelinda's face! My Hubby was standing right next to me and of course was curious as to what was causing my emotion. I handed him the photo and could only say, "Look!"

Hubby took a look and said, "Oh that's so great! She got her gifts."

I said, "Yes - but who is that."

He took another look, "It's Hermelinda."

"Yes, and what is she doing?!"

Hermelinda's new shoes.

"She's holding up her new little shoes and...oh!...she's smiling!!"

I'm not going to say that Hubby got tears in his eyes too or anything because I wouldn't want to out him on the blog but I will say that he is just as big of a softie as I am. :)

It's taken about a year and a half but I finally got a smile out of Hermelinda. It really feels like a small miracle. It perked me up out of my unable-to-buy-a-house-for-my-sponsor-kid doldrums and reminded me that I may not be able to do everything - but I can certainly do something.

Last night I made a list of the approximate dates for when my sponsor kids will graduate from the CI program. Aside from the fact that I am just sort of a compulsive list maker, I actually do need to start to think about this sort of thing so that I make sure to keep the graduation dates evenly spread out. I will be able to help with further educational needs better if all my kids don't graduate at once. Not to mention the "sponsor panic" I will go into if I lose too many kids all at the same time! I figured out that my first couple of kids will graduate in about 2012. (Doesn't that just sound like a futuristic, fictional date? I still can't believe we are in the 2000's.) One of the first to go will be my precious friend Harry - which I am not going to think about.....! Hermelinda will graduate sometime around 2020. I'm so grateful and excited to have so many years to watch her grow up and be a part of her life. Getting a sweet little smile from Hermelinda feels like the first step in a long and exciting journey. Is it weird that I miss her grumpy face just a little bit? :)

I'm so happy to see all the things they were able to get. That wardrobe is pretty impressive and the new metal bed with complete with mattress, blanket and sheets made me happy. I hope Hermelinda now has a comfy place to sleep.

I'm also expecting another report soon for a second special needs gift I sent that will buy the fan that Steve suggested as well as new cookware and some other household supplies. I will update everyone about that as soon as I hear anything.

And I'm waiting and holding my breath to see the photos from Steve of his visit to Chile where he got to meet with my sponsor child Carla!! I will share those photos as soon as I can.

New Photo of Nyslin

2009-06-30T06:31:00.002-04:00

Nyslin in 2008

Nyslin's new photo 2009

Here's Nyslin's new yearly photo! I just love her sunshiney face. She's such a sweet little girl. I smile every time I think about her. I can see that she has grown up a little in this photo but she will always be a tiny little thing. She looks so pretty in pink.

I'm hoping that the timing of this photo means that she went to the CI office to get her funds for her Income Generating Project and they took her yearly photo at the same time. I'm hoping at least! I can't wait to see those chickens. Did she get the supplies? Was she surprised? Was her family happy? Or maybe she received the little package I sent her with the earrings. I don't know - but I have a feeling more photos can't be far behind!

Make a Change

2009-06-29T17:10:00.007-04:00

Heather, from the sponsor group I belong to, has created a website for our fund raising activities called Make a Change. The website is in rough form right now but will be added to over the coming days. You can find links to all of our current fund raising projects as well as updates (when they come in!) that will follow the progress of the projects we have funded.

Right now we are funding our 11th project - split into two parts! These are for two children that will soon be graduating from the Children International program. We are hoping to give the children Angelito and Jhonalyn a graduation gift that will cover some of their special needs.

Heather also has a large project running on Aura's House for her sponsor child Diego in Columbia. He has some special medical needs and has lost both of his parents to disease. He is currently being raised by his grandmother. Heather is trying to raise funds for Diego's medical care and also to provide household and educational needs. She also hopes to set up Diego's grandmother in an Income Generating Project. Heather is offering a Zune as a raffle prize to people who donate to the project - so go check it out!

One of the other sponsors from our group, Su also has a project up for her child Gema in Guatemala. Su is raising funds to give Gema some much needed household furniture.

Last but not least - my dear Ana and Zoila still have their projects going at Aura's House. Ana's project is over halfway at $1599/$2770 needed. Don't forget the Hexagon Blanket I'm offering to one lucky donor when the project is funded. Ana's family desperately needs the second income which her father Luis could earn by being able to uses his skills as an electrician. Ana's project will buy Luis the tools he needs to have a home workshop. He is unable to work outside the home due to his disability.

Zoila's project has hit the halfway mark as well - $425/$824. Hooray!! The Honduras is undergoing some political upheaval right now that makes it even more urgent to help Zoila's family have their own business raising chickens. The more self sufficient Zoila's family can be, the less they will be effected by the governmental turmoil.

So there you have it. We're working everyday to Make a Change!

Chance to Support Knitters in the Third World

2009-06-29T16:53:00.003-04:00

I ran across this Kiva loan that should appeal to all the knitters out there:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=118403&_tpos=1&_tpg=1

It's for a group in Bolivia that produces hand and machine knitwear. They still need quite a bit of money to fund their loan.

I love funding craft groups in Bolivia. It's been my experience that they pay the money back very quickly. So if you've been thinking about joining Kiva now would be a great time!

Javiera: My 2nd Chilean Sponsor Child

2009-06-27T06:18:00.000-04:00

When Steve goes to Chile he will also hopefully be meeting my other sponsor child Javiera. I haven't mentioned Javiera on the blog much because, frankly I don't know that much about her.

What I do know doesn't seem very positive.

This is Javiera's home. She does have a bed, running water, a portable gas stove for cooking and toilet facilities.

Javiera's family situation is hard to figure out. She shares her home with her mother Valeska (I'm not sure which one she is - I assume the one in white), her Aunt and Grandmother. Javiera is six years old and has a brother Osvaldo, who is one year younger than her. Again, I'm not sure which one he is - I assume the one in the striped sweater? The other two children are Javiera's cousins that also live in the home. Javiera's father has abandoned the family.

I was very dismayed when I got these pictures. Javiera shares the general problems of poverty that my other sponsor children have as well as the lack of any adult males in the picture (again a common denominator in many of my sponsor children's lives). But in many respects Javiera seems to be by far the worst off of all of my children. Her home seems more unkempt than any of the others and Javiera herself seems neglected.

In this picture it looks like Javiera has not had a bath in some time and her hair looks like it hasn't been brushed. Her clothes don't seem very clean and the other children seem to be in the same state.

I was very depressed by seeing these photos. I've had these photos for over six months and haven't shared them before now because I don't really know what to say about how I feel. I don't wish to judge anyone with how they cope with such a situation of poverty. I don't know how my sponsor children and their families cope at all! But in every other situation I at least think that I see love, hope and a close family that is doing their best to survive. With Javiera I just don't know what I see.

The field worker form CI who took the pictures and talked to the family shares my frustration and also seems a bit baffled as to what to do. The family showed no interest in starting an IGP. Javiera's mother Valeska is a street vendor (as are the Aunt and Grandmother). The family has $200 a month currently - although it was closer to $100 until just recently. Maybe one of them has a new job? I don't know... The field worker in fact went back to the home on a second occasion to try to talk the family into an IGP but still with no luck. Children International is certainly trying to do it's best for this family. But the situation remains very frustrating. I'm pretty much at a loss as to how to help other than with sponsorship and special needs gifts for Javiera's birthday. Anyone have any suggestions?

Javiera's most recent photo is slightly more encouraging. But then again they obviously knew that she would be having her picture taken that day... I've never seen Javiera smile. I sometimes wonder if I ever will. I should be getting a more recent photo any time now as this one is almost a year old.

This case is a hard nut to crack. The letters I get from the family are very short and pretty much the same every time. "Javiera is fine, thanks for your help." The only other info I have learned about her is that she is very active, and mischievous and fights with her cousins. :) Hopefully when she gets old enough and she can write her own letters I can help her more and give her some encouragement. Thankfully she is in school as of the last report...

As for now I can only speculate about Javiera and hope...

Carla's Birthday Gifts

2009-06-26T06:00:00.005-04:00

How cute is Carla? The high ponytails are so sweet. :) Her birthday was in March and I recently received these photos from CI.

Carla's birthday gifts.

Carla seems like she is a girly-girl. The kind that would be a Hello Kitty fan. So I kind of chuckled when I saw the pattern on the package. It looks like Hello Kitty to me - or at least the Chilean version! I think the package contains her new sheets for her bed.

This is the first year that I sent a special needs gift for Carla's birthday. I think last year I had just barely started to sponsor her and had not yet caught on to the idea of sending a special needs gift for birthdays. I was still thinking I would be sending packages and small gifts of money. Since then I have figured out that a special needs gift works out so much better all around. The larger chunk of money all at once helps the family out more and goes farther and I get photos. Win-win!

Carla's new coat!

Carla was especially happy to get a new winter coat. It must be windy and cold in Chile because all the kids always seem to be bundled up. Maybe it's the elevation...

Carla and her mama Margarita writing a letter to me. Margarita has beautiful handwriting.

I think that the special needs gift and the fact that I remembered Carla's birthday have helped to convince Carla that I am really going to be there for her. That I'm not going to just disappear. She seems to have opened up more and started becoming more interested in me as a person. In her last letter she drew a picture of my daughter. It was cute to see what she thinks my daughter must look like because she hasn't seen photos yet. In Carla's mind my daughter is something of a fairy Princess. It must seem that way to her when she thinks about this other little girl that lives so far away.

I hope that Steve's visit will help reinforce to Carla that her sponsor is thinking about her! I'm so jealous that he gets to meet her. I hope I will also someday.

Carla's Family and Housing Photos

2009-06-25T20:30:00.001-04:00

Next week super sponsor Steve is flying to Chile to meet and spend some time with several of his sponsor children. As he did when he recently went to Guatemala, Steve has volunteered to meet with and take photos of other children sponsored by people in our group. In fact, he will be meeting with 11 children on his second day! I hope Steve has lots of room on his memory card - 11 kids sounds like tons of photos!

Hopefully Steve will be meeting with two of my children - one of which is Carla.

My sponsor child in Chile, Carla.

Carla lives with her family in/near Valparaiso, Chile. I have been sponsoring her for a little over a year.

Carla outside her home with her mother Margarita and brother Hans (13).

Carla is fortunate that her home has running water and a toilet. These are luxuries that many of my sponsor children do without. They also have beds and cook on a portable gas stove - again, things many of my sponsor children do not have.

Carla's home.

Carla's father Carlos is a street vendor like so many of the parents. Margarita stays home with the children. The family has requested an IGP to set up a small store in their home where they could sell household items and hygiene products like soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc. I think it's a good idea since it would bring a second income for the family while allowing Carla's mother to still stay at home with the children. They need the start up money to buy stock as well as supplies to repair that part of their home to make it suitable for a store. I'm waiting for an update on the IGP and hope to get it started within the next six months.

Carla and family outside her home.

Carla's family has always been at the top of my group of sponsor children in terms of the money they have to live on. They currently have $226 a month - somewhat less than they have had in the past. However, I don't think the impact of poverty can be judged solely by the dollar amount associated with a family - there are so many other factors. For instance - it may be easier for Joey's family to live in a rural farming area for only $21 a month and much harder for Carla's family to live in a town/city on considerably more money.

Luckily Carla's brother Hans has a sponsor. And having only two children in the family helps to keep the financial stress down somewhat.

It took quite awhile for me to feel like I had developed a connection with Carla. I'm sure that part of the reason is Carla's age - she just barely turned six years old. So her mother has been in charge of writing letters for her. It's hard to get a six year old child to express their thoughts for a letter to someone they have never met. I'm also Carla's first sponsor so I'm sure that she has been trying to figure out how this whole relationship works. :) Carla's letters were very short and general for a long time. I kept at it though and recently I have been getting more of a picture of Carla's character and her likes and dislikes.

She recently requested that I send her some photos of me and my family which I did. Hopefully she has received the package - or at least will very soon. I was happy that she was expressing curiosity about me and wanting to get to know me better. She also seems to like to hear about my daughter. I think Carla is curious to hear about the life of a little girl in another country and culture.

So - all in all things have been going well with building my relationship with Carla. Some of my children became very attached to me right away (Ana, Harry and Maica come to mind.) Some of the children have very sunny, open personalities (Nyslin and Jhonny) and we became friends very quickly. Others (Hermelinda and Zoila) are more shy and reserved and more slowly come to believe that I am a friend who will be there for them. It's a different journey with each child and I enjoy the process with all of them.

I think that when Steve meets Carla he will meet a very cute little girl with gorgeous long hair and a radiant smile. I've never had a problem getting a smile out of Carla! She's very photogenic so, like I said, I hope Steve has lots of memory on that camera of his!!

Carla's most recent photo from CI. She's such a beautiful little girl!

I'm really looking forward to the years to come, watching Carla grow and change and our friendship to grow stronger.

Next time I will show you the photos of Carla getting her birthday gifts!

Lesly's Birthday Presents and Other Updates*

2009-06-25T15:42:00.002-04:00

Whew! Summer has well and truly kicked in around here. Mother Nature finally stopped with the incessant rain she'd been pouring on us for literally a month, and now has decided to try to sweat us all to death instead! It's 90 degrees and humid. Ick.

The school to summer transition has settled down so I can catch up on what's been going on since my last post....

The hideous heat hasn't stopped me from working on a ginormous knitted blanket though. I'm always so out of sync with the knitting seasons... sigh.

Last week I knit two (of four planned) large log cabin blocks and of course promptly changed my mind about how I want the blanket to look. So I've switched over and begun a log-cabin-of-many-colors blanket. This one will be a single, huge log cabin block and will hopefully use up most of my stash of Elann Sonata. That stuff is excellent for blankets.

Speaking of blankets - Mike who won the blanket for Nyslin's project requested that I donate the blanket to a charity. I chose Project Linus. I'm sure that my blog friends already know about Project Linus but I'll include the link anyway. I dropped the blanket off with the local chapter last weekend.

And Steve, who won Jester's project blanket, says he has received the blanket it looks good in his apartment.

So it's been happy blanketyness all round. :)

And in more good news my Income Generating Project for Joey over at Aura's House has been fully funded!! Thank you!! Thank you!! Joey's family of six somehow gets by on only $21 a month. Joey's family has the least income of all my sponsor children. And he is the only one of the children that is sponsored so he is the only one that gets the medical, health and educational benefits of sponsorship. Raising and selling hogs will make a huge impact on their income.

And the good news just keeps on coming because Kanika's project is completed as well. One of the other super sponsors, Dana, had the brilliant idea of holding a raffle. She raised hundreds of dollars for Kanika in the blink of an eye! Way to go Dana! I don't know yet how Children International and Kanika's family will use the money. Hopefully they will be able to at least start re-building their house. We will probably have to raise more money for Kanika in the long run but at least the family can get some significant relief right now.

We also recently received these adorable pictures of Lesly showing us what she bought with her birthday money that we sent. I love how she is nearly swamped by all the groceries in the first photo. It's sort of a Lesly version of "Where's Waldo". :)

Lesly with the spoils of her birthday shopping spree.

We should be getting an update on the progress of Lesly's roof project any time now. I can't wait!!

I just love Lesly's Cheshire Cat smile!

I talked about this in my last post but I've been thinking some more this past week about what my next step will be for my sponsor kids after I get all of their Income Generating Projects in place. So far I have funded (or am funding) projects for:

1.Harry
2.Maica
3.Jhonny
4.Lesly
5.Nyslin
6.Joey
7.Hermelinda (2)
8.Zoila
9.Ana
10.Jester

I have proposals in the works for:
1.Jenie
2.Glenn
3.Mary Joy
4.Flor
5.Javiera (special needs)
6.Carla
7. And hopefully and additional housing project for Hermelinda.

I'm also teaming up on a project for Alison with my sister who sponsor's Alison's brother Jhonathan.

I can probably get most of these projects launched by the end of this year. That's my goal anyway! After that, I am thinking I will concentrate on making sure that all the children have adequate bathroom facilities. Some of them do already but most of them share a community latrine. It would be much healthier of they each had their own - can you imagine not having a bathroom? I can't.

I have nothing in the works yet for my three newest sponsor children. I have to get to know them and their families better before I can determine what their needs might be. I'm sure I will end up doing an IGP for those three families as well sometime in the future.

And lastly - I finally feel like my eyes have gotten adjusted to the contacts. Now I can "See the world in HD" just like that annoying TV commercial... I've gotten pretty good at putting them in easily. Taking them out is harder but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

There you go. Those are all the updates I can think of/have time for right now. What have all of you been doing??

*If you are looking for creative blog post titles I'm afraid you are in the wrong place. :)

Kanika's Story

2009-06-19T06:03:00.000-04:00

If you read my blog it should be obvious to you that I am very devoted to my sponsor children.

Since September of last year I've been working my way through my list of 18 children, trying to start an Income Generating Business Project for each family so that they can hopefully work towards a better lifestyle for themselves. If the family is unable to sustain a business, then I have tried to help them with any special needs like home repair, buying beds, cooking supplies - anything they might need to live more comfortably.

So far I have helped seven families (one family has had two projects- so eight projects total) plus I currently have three more projects in the works. So ten families have been helped in all! At this time, I have only heard back from three of the projects so I am looking forward to lots and lots of pictures and reports in the near future. I can't wait!!

I also have plans for projects for six more of my families. Right now I am waiting for various updates and clarifications etc. so although I can't tackle those projects right away, I will probably start in on them in the late summer. The last two of my sponsor children are my newest kids and I have not yet made a plan for them.

So - whew! I've been BUSY!

In addition to my own sponsor kids, I am also part of a group that raises money to help other sponsors fund projects for their children. To date this group has funded eight projects and the ninth one is very close to completion! The group operates on a "pay it forward" type philosophy that has been very successful so far. All of these projects have been funded in the space of just a few months! In fact, we've been funding projects so fast that we haven't even gotten the report or pictures back from our very first project yet! So cool. I'm happy to be part of something so positive. I'm really looking forward to seeing those results as well.

So - all of this brings me to the subject of today's post. Our group has stepped up to help a young girl named Kanika.

Kanika

Her story really touched me, and her situation is so urgent that I've decided to post about it here. Kanika lives in India. Her region was recently affected with severe floods which totally wiped out Kanika's home.

Kanika's family in front of their mud home, now totally destroyed.

All of their possessions were lost as well. The family literally escaped with only the clothes on their backs. The good news is that the family does own the land on which their house stood - a rare circumstance amongst sponsored children. So if we can raise the money, we can build Kanika a new home! The other good news is that the US dollar goes VERY far in India. We can probably build Kanika a new, more permanent structure for very little money. The family had also proposed a plan for an Income Generating Business before the flood. Children International will now work with the family to determine the best course of action - proceed with the IGP or put the funds towards rebuilding.

Kanika with gifts provided by her sponsor, unfortunately now all destroyed by the flood.

You can read more about Kanika's story here. Any donations are tax deductible.

Someone said to me the other day that, "You have to do what you can, but you can't really change anything."

My reply was, "I may not be able to change everything wrong in the world but I know for a fact that I can change one child's world."

I hope to help change the world for Kanika!

New Yearly Photo of Joey

2009-06-18T15:57:00.003-04:00

This is the first new photo I have had of Joey for probably about six months. He looks so much more grown up to me. He's definitely turning into a pre-teen.

Joey also wrote me a cute letter that I received last week. Joey is not quite as fluent in English as my other Filipino children so his letters are sometimes unintentionally quite funny. Joey had previously mentioned that in the Philippines they celebrate with fireworks at Christmas time. This led to me telling him that we also had fireworks for our Fourth of July in the USA. In this letter Joey told me how much he loves fireworks but quickly assured me that "they are not dangerous for a user like me". Lol! He also told me that he had heard from his "olds" (I think he means elders) that they celebrate fourth of July in the Philippines in order to mark the day called "according to them, the Philippines - American Friendship Day" he goes on to say that "speaking to tradition, I always see to my olds - especially my grandparents". Lol! I'm sure he means to say that when he wants to know about traditions he asks his elders. Too cute.

He also told me, "I have also a youngest baby boy. His was Andre, he was ten months old, he was the cute and beautiful among the four children." Now - I am hoping that he means to tell me that he now has a new baby brother and how cute the baby is. But because of the confusion in tenses have/was, I'm worried that he might be telling me he had a baby brother who died. I hope not! I'll have to ask CI about it. Joey doesn't go on to say that he is sad or anything so I think the correct interpretation is that he has a new baby brother.

Joey's project is sooooo close to being completed at Aura's House. I'm very excited for him! I'm hoping that I will start receiving updates about my other, completed projects soon as well.

In crafting news - I've started a new blanket. That seems to be my "go to" project when I need something easy and stress free. It's a garter stitch log cabin. A good old standby. :)

I've knit the body of a February Lady Sweater out of Cash Iroha and Silk Garden. I love it so far, but put it on the back burner when it came time to do the sleeves. I'm not in the mood for knitting on DPN's right now.

Also - I was thinking about entering something in the fair this year but it turns out that the timing won't work out so I'm kind of bummed. :( Maybe next year -(although that's what I've been hoping every year). Ah well...

Beautiful Ana

2009-06-15T06:39:00.002-04:00

Just look at these new photos I got of Ana. Isn't she beautiful? There is just something about her that I really like. She has such a serene presence but at the same time she can be so silly and funny. I think the sweatsuit that Ana is wearing was her Easter gift from Children International.

The serene Ana...

and the happy, joyful Ana!

I wasn't expecting to get these photos. I had found some Easter cards in Spanish so I took the opportunity to wish my Spanish speaking children a Happy Easter and send them some family photos as well. I didn't think that such a simple gesture would get me these wonderful photos back - thank you CI!

This is Ana with her mother Monica. I was happy to see Ana's mother because she wasn't included in the family photos I have. Monica is currently the only source of income for her family due to her husband Luis's disability. She has to work long hours as a maid which is why she was unable to be present for the family photos.

Ana writing her letter to me. She told me that she is on her summer break and how excited she is that she will start high school next year.

Ana's twelfth birthday is just a month away. I've sent her (and Maica and Jester who also have July birthdays) a special needs gift so the family can purchase whatever they might need. But I also spent most of today making up little packages to send to Ana and several of the other sponsor kids as well. My daughter chose little items to send to Lesly and the other Guatemalan girls Nyslin and Hemelinda - little things like bracelets, earrings, hair accessories. Just girly stuff. And Carla had requested some new photos so I had to send some of them as well. I'm exhausted! It's amazing how long it takes to put together packages for seven different kids!

Wouldn't it be great to finish Ana's IGP project in time for her birthday?? If there ever was a kid that will appreciate such a gift, it's Ana.

Update from Aura's House:

Ana's Project: $1564/2770 - we're over halfway there!!
Zoila's Project: $390/824
Joey's Project: $669/723 only $54 left to raise!
Nyslin's Project: Completed!
Lesly's Project: Completed!

Winner of the Blanket for Jester's Project

2009-06-09T07:46:00.000-04:00

Today Jester's IGP was fully funded! Thank you to Camille who stepped up and made such a generous contribution to close out the project. And thank you so much to everyone who supported Jester. He and his family now have hope for an improved lifestyle. Thank you all!!!!

Now to choose a winner of the handmade crochet blanket I made for Jester's Project!

I arranged this giveaway along the same lines as the one I did for Nyslin's Project. Every donation from $1-$5 was assigned a number. I came up with 113 numbers.

1-2 Dee
3-6 Efrain
7-8 Holly
9-10 Su
11-16 Kayara
17-26 Jim and Mack
27-31 Heather M
32-37 Steve
38-40 Robyn
41-44 Cherise
45-48 Tamara
49-52 Wilfredo
53-54 bsem130
55-64 Efrain
65-113 Camille

I plugged the numbers into the Random Number Generator and the winning number was chosen.

The winning number is #32 which belongs to Steve! Congratulations Steve! I will contact you and get your blanket to you ASAP.

I can't wait to hear from Jester when he receives the news of his IGP. He will "jump for surprise" (as he said in another letter). Jester waited two years before finding a sponsor and he has never failed to express how grateful he is to finally have that relationship with us. I'm really looking forward to sharing the updates and photos I receive of the progress of his project.

Hexagon Blanket for Ana's Project

2009-06-05T14:30:00.004-04:00

As promised - here is the blanket I will be giving away for Ana's Project over at Aura's House.

Ana's Income Generating Project is going very well - slowly but surely getting there!

I've been told that Aura's House is exploring the idea of beginning buying some of the tools Ana's father Luis will need for his workshop rather than waiting for all of the money to come in. I'll let you know if that happens.

In the meantime - about the blanket...

I used hand dyed sock weight yarn from various Etsy artists. The subtle variations in the colors are really beautiful. I especially like the grey because it has so much depth.

And the "green" is also brown, blue and bits of other colors as well.

I had fun crocheting this. I had never tried hexagons before. And the bobbles were new to me too. I like the texture they add.

The blanket is a comfy lap size - perfect for TV watching and otherwise lazing about on the couch. :)

The giveaway will work just like the one I did for Nyslin's Project. Every donation up to $5 gets it's own number. When Ana's Project is fully funded I will have a random number generator choose the winning number.

Good luck!! And thank you again to everyone who has so generously helped my sponsor children. Check back again soon as I have some beautiful new photos of Ana to post!

Winner of Blanket for Nyslin's Project

2009-06-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

Okay here we go!

I sorted out all the donations that were made to Nyslin's project. After subtracting any donations made by my relatives - :) I assigned a number for each of the remaining $1-5 increments. I came up with 101 numbers. I entered the number range into the random number generator and ......

The winning number for the Crazy Colors Blanket for Nyslin's Project was:

#95! which belongs to Mike E.

Congratulations Mike E. I hope you will enjoy your new blanket!

Thank you to everyone who donated. I wish I had a million hands and a million skeins of yarn (my stash is big - but not that big!) to crochet blankets for each and every person who supported Nyslin's project - and my other kids as well.

Stay tuned though because I do have something to giveaway for Ana's project as well!!

Great News for Nyslin and Joey!

2009-06-02T17:36:00.001-04:00

Great news! I announced the blanket giveaway for Nyslin's Income Generating Project and the next thing I knew the project was completed!! A heroic donor stepped up and not only finished out the rest of the funding for Nyslin, he also brought Joey's project up to only $87 away from the goal. I'm stunned by the generosity of everyone who has helped out with the Aura's House projects for my kids. Thank you so much!

Here's the latest update on my sponsor kids projects at Aura's House:

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1548/2770 - we're over halfway there!!
Nyslin's Project: Completed!
Zoila's Project: $293/824
Joey's Project: $636/723 only $87 left to raise!
Lesly's Project: Completed!

I will announce the winner of the blanket for Nyslin's project ASAP!

In the meantime, here are some photos of Joey with his summer package:

I think Joey has a cute smile.

Joey loved the postcards we sent, especially those of the sea animals because Joey loves the ocean and loves to swim.

Like many of our sponsor kids, Joey says he likes to take the photos we send him to school to show to his friends and teachers. So sweet!

I also want to mention that Aura's House is celebrating their 5th birthday! That's five years of helping children and their families to be able to live a better life. In honor of their fifth birthday please consider making a donation of $5 to one of all of the projects on their site. They have added two new projects lately, one for Mirriam in Zambia and another for Joselin in Guatemala in addition to the projects for my kids, Ana, Zoila and Joey that are ongoing. Happy 5th birthday Aura's House!!

Crazy Colors Blanket for Nyslin's Project

2009-05-29T19:13:00.000-04:00

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1548/2770 - we're over halfway there!!
Nyslin's Project: $414/550 - only $136 left to raise!!
Zoila's Project: $293/824
Joey's Project: $236/723
Lesly's Project: Completed!

The totals for my fund raising projects over at Aura's House continue to creep up. Slowly but surely we are getting there!

To add a boost to the fund raising process and to say Thank You! to the generous people who have donated, I am giving away this blanket:

I hand crocheted this blanket from cotton sock yarn. I love the happy colors!

This picture shows a good idea of the overall size of the blanket.

Do you know a child that would love a cozy blanket for their crib? The blanket is machine washable so it would be perfect as a snuggly blanket for a child. Or keep it for yourself to keep warm while watching TV this winter. :)

The close up photos are an accurate depiction of what the blanket actually looks like. The others are slightly washed out. (My photography leaves something to be desired. Sorry!)

The bright colors make me think of the famous traditional woven textiles and embroidery of Guatemala. So I will be giving this blanket away to anyone who has donated to Nyslin's Income Generating Project.

The giveaway will work the same as the one for the blanket I am giving away for Jester's Project. Every $5 donation to Nyslin's Project will be assigned a number. So if you donate $25 you will get 5 numbers. (I realize that some of the donations are smaller than $5. Any donation from $1 to $5 will also be assigned a number.) Donations that have already been made will count. When Nyslin's Project is completely funded I will have a random number generator choose the winning number. Then I will announce the winner and send them their new blanket!

Nyslin's Project is only $136 away from being fully funded! Let's see if we can get all the way to the $550 we need. I want to give away a blanket! :)

Good luck and thank you to everyone who has been so supportive!

The Tale of Jester's Birthday Package

2009-05-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

At the beginning of summer 2008 we sent Jester a package for his birthday. I made sure to mail it about 8 weeks ahead of time so that it would be sure to arrive in time.

We got these photos about six months after we sent the package. Somehow, it had taken months and months to arrive. I'm just happy that it arrived at all! Children International was so great. They tracked the package down and stayed on the case until Jester had his birthday presents. So far I have sent several packages each to Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Philippines and this is the only time we have had any trouble at all.

At this point I mainly only send small packages to the sponsor kids - mostly so that I can send them pictures of me and my family. They love getting photos of us just as much as I love getting photos of them! It makes them feel connected and more like I am a real person rather than some mysterious being that they never get to see like Santa Claus. Other than sending little small things I have decided to stick with giving special needs gifts of money because I think it is more useful for the family.

That said though, Jester was very happy to get his presents. You can see the plaid button up shirt in the middle there. That's the one he chose to wear for his yearly photo. When I got the yearly photo I thought I recognized that shirt...:)

I really hope we will get to visit Jester someday. Although the description of the traveling we would have to do to get there made me shudder a little. It involves flying from the US to the Philippines for hours and hours and hours. Then taking a smaller plane to a smaller city, then a bus to the port, then a boat to another island, and finally hitching a ride in a small fishing boat because the larger boats are too big to go into the port city. Not to mention whatever we have to do to get to the CI center and Jester's house. Yikes! I keep telling myself it will be fun but being the nervous traveller that I am I know I'm lying to myself. :)

I'm going to make the effort though. I'm not going to let life go by without meeting my sponsor kids!

Jester's Summer Package

2009-05-27T06:00:00.002-04:00

Other than his new yearly photo - these are the most recent photos that we have of Jester. I got these about two months ago.

We sent him (along with all the other sponsor kids) a package of things we picked up on our summer vacation last year.

The package included family photos, books about animals, postcards of the places we went, stickers and other little things of that nature. Each package for each sponsor kid was slightly different based on their age and gender.

In Jester's package we included a necklace - a leather cord with a lion pendant that was carved out of stone. I thought that the lion really suited Jester's personality. The lion's symbolism of courage just struck me as fitting for him.

Jester especially liked the necklace and singled it out as his favorite item. We tried to include something individualized in each child's package. Even though we have 18 sponsor kids I don't want to relate to them on an assembly line level! Many people ask me how I can "keep track" of all of them. I actually find it easy to do. Once you get to know the kids then it is easy to see how individual they all are.

The Fugly Sweater

2009-05-26T14:00:00.000-04:00

Just because Chris said she had to see it...(and if you have to gouge your eyes out after seeing the horror - blame it on her!) :)

Presenting the Fugly Sweater - otherwise known as the Beast.

At first glance it's not so bad. The yarn, Schaefer Elaine in the Renata Tebaldi colorway, is reasonably pretty, it knits up well and didn't pool or flash.

Although boucle isn't normally my cup of tea (okay never my cup of tea) - still I had fun knitting this sweater. The pattern was perfect for mindless tv knitting - you knit the front and back panels and the two sleeves and then join them together and knit the yoke in the round. Minimal seaming - what's not to love about that? The pattern for the High-V Sweater was created just for use with this particular yarn - which pretty much implies a guaranteed success, right? The pattern was well written and easy to follow. Also, it came free with the yarn.

So far so good. It's only when you finish the sweater and try it on that you realize how horribly wrong everything is.

No - I'm not going to model it for you. The silly face picture is as far as I am willing to go in the self humiliation category. Suffice it to say that if you are "well endowed" a slim fitting sweater in a bulky boucle yarn is not going to do anything for your figure. Not anything nice anyway.

This yarn and this pattern were never meant to be joined together in my opinion. Not unless you are a size negative zero and really need a sweater that will disguise your severe anorexia. Otherwise, I don't care how slimline the sweater is - you are going to look like a linebacker. A linebacker that got puked on by a truckload of pastel mini marshmallows.

Absolutely vile.

However - don't you think this yarn would cute on a little girl? Maybe as a Tomten ala Elizabeth Zimmermann? Or a Baby Surprise modded to be more like a coat? What do you think? Is there any hope at all? I do want to try to reuse the yarn since it is obscenely expensive.

The silver lining in this cloud is that I looked up Renata Tebaldi. She's fan-freaking-tastic! (Not sure if I think that Schaefer's colorway really fits her personality though...)

See Renata Tebaldi performing Madame Butterfly! (I dare you not to get tears in your eyes.)

And performing O Mio Babbino Caro (one of my all time favorite arias!!!)

And I have to throw in this one just because her hair is ultra-fab! You go opera girl!

Blanket for Jester's Project

2009-05-25T17:45:00.001-04:00

This is the new yearly photo we recently received of Jester. He is wearing a shirt that we sent him for his birthday last year. I love it when the sponsor kids wear clothes we sent them for their photos. It's so sweet of them! I think they do it on purpose as a way of saying thank you. I think Jester looks so handsome!

Fund raising for Jester's project has been going amazingly well. We're almost halfway to completion! I'm so surprised and thankful for all the support!

So, to say thank you to everyone who has helped out with Jester's project, I am going to be giving away this blanket:

It is hand crocheted by me out of cotton sock yarn.

I'd call this a good sized lap blanket. It's also suitable for a child to snuggle up in. It is machine washable so you wouldn't have to worry about letting a kid use it. :)

Hubby is holding the blanket up for the camera - gives you a fair idea of the size.

And a close up. This is a better picture in terms of showing the true color of the yarn. I had a hard time capturing the colors in natural light. In real life the colors are much richer.

So here's how the giveaway will work:

Every $5 that is donated will get you a number. (Donations that have already been made will count!) So if you donate $25 you will get five numbers and so on. When Jester's project is fully funded I will have a random number generator choose the winning number. Then I will announce the winner and mail them the blanket. Simple as that!

Here is the link to Jester's Project.

PS - I will also be offering similar prizes/thank yous for the projects at Aura's House as well. So look for those in the next few days. :)

Queen Victoria's Knitting Bag Sold

2009-05-25T13:47:00.003-04:00

I came across this interesting bit of historical knitting news today... Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day!

A knitting bag once owned by Britain's Queen Victoria was sold at auction yesterday (21.05.09).

The purple, velvet-line pouch - thought to have been knitted by the monarch herself - went under the hammer in Lichfield, Staffordshire, where it was expected to fetch over £1500.

Bidding was sluggish and the bag was eventually sold for just £800. It was bought by a Spanish collector who placed his bid via a telephone link.

Auctioneer Charles Hanson was disappointed with the sale, as he had hoped the item would go to a public collection of royal memorabilia within the UK.

He said: "I think it was an accessory of great personal importance but I am pleased it's sold."

Victoria - who died in 1901 after 63 years on the throne - was a keen knitter, whose pieces were said to be "worth their weight in gold" when they were sold at fairs.

It is thought she gave the bag to her doctor, Sir James Reid, as a thank-you gift.

Meanwhile, furniture the once belonged to Victoria will be auctioned later this month.

The antique items - which once furnished Windsor Castle - are expected to fetch up to £12,000 when they go under the hammer on May 29.

A pair of gilt wood chairs, a silk screen, a table and two cabinets will be up for grabs at the sale.

Read more: "Queen Victoria's knitting bag sold - Monsters and Critics"

On the Subject of Dogs, Contacts, Charity and the Fugliest Sweater Ever Knit

2009-05-21T16:28:00.012-04:00

I haven't had much time for blogging lately. We're in the middle of the inevitable end of the school year frenzy of activity. Every year we are pretty much booked solid for the last four weeks or so of school. It's exhausting but at least it's all nice busyness. :)

So I'll just sum up:

I don't talk about my kids on the blog so all I can say about them is that they are awesome!

Some other things I'm happy about:

1.I got contacts and I'm absurdly pleased. I'm convinced I'm actually better looking now that I have contacts. Maybe I'm just not as blurry? :) The only sad thing is that I can't find colored, daily wear lenses in my prescription. :( Bummer. I totally want to change my eye color everyday.

2.I got an update on my projects from Aura's House. There was a long but unavoidable delay but happily the totals have still gone up!

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1419/2770 - we're over halfway there!!
Nyslin's Project: $389/550 - only $161 left to raise!!
Zoila's Project: $293/824
Joey's Project: $236/723
Lesly's Project: Completed!

Hopefully Hubby and I will have a chance this weekend to complete the quilted placemat sets and get them up in the Etsy shop. We should be able to raise enough money to finish Nyslin's project.

And I got some beautiful pictures of Ana today so I will post those ASAP. She is such a gorgeous girl!

3. My fellow sponsors (and friends!) from our sponsor group are helping me to raise money for yet another one of my sponsor children! Click on the link to see Jester's fundraising page. We have started a fundraising group using a "pay it forward" philosophy that has helped us as a group to raise funds for Special Needs and Income Generating Projects for six children so far! Jester's project is to set his mother Agnes up in a reatil clothing sales business. If she can get this business started she will be able to live with her children rather than her current situation where she has to work and live in another city. If you think you might be able to help with Jester's project that would be awesome. Any little bit helps and, like Aura's House donations, these are also tax deductible.

4. I'm also happy because I was able to make another Kiva loan! I think I have 8 going right now. And I am tickled pink that the one that has been the most successful so far has been the one I made supporting a crafts group in Bolivia. Go crafters!!

5. In non-charity related news - After much thought we decided to get Clementine and Sarah ready for summer with some pretty drastic haircuts. Here they are sporting their new looks:

Clementine had hair that a showdog would kill for. Her feathers were literally down to the ground. But it was a really big pain to keep up with because it tangled and matted very easily. She also gets the typical spaniel problem of ear infections so I thought taking away all that extra hair would help get some healthy air circulation going there.

You can't tell it from this photo but Clemmie loves her new haircut. It's like we cut off a couple of years of her age rather than her hair! She has been playful and happy and frisky like a puppy. Actually exactly the opposite of her usual self. :) Some dogs act ashamed and embarrassed when they get a drastic haircut. Not Clemmie. She gives her new look two paws up! We will be keeping her hair trim and tidy from now on.

We let Sarah keep her long ear hair. She doesn't have the same tangly type of hair as Clemmie and no ear infection problem. The rest of the fluffy hair had to go though.

Sarah always looked like a fat little muffin with all of her hair. Now she looks like a lowfat muffin. Both of the dogs are so soft and pettable now - they feel like bunny rabbits.

The verdict on the haircuts is: A+.

Sadly, there is also one item on the unhappy list:

I recently knitted the worlds ugliest sweater. I'll try to get a photo to show you (if you think you can hack it) before I frog the beast. It's pretty appalling. Not only did I knit the whole thing, but in defiance of logic I actually sewed it all together too. Shudder.

I had to cast on for a February Lady in Noro Cash Iroha and Silk Garden to try to erase the memory of the fugly sweater. It's really that bad.

Video of Hermelinda

2009-05-11T15:35:00.003-04:00

I (hopefully) figured out how to embed video on the blog.

So here are some videos of one of my little Guatemalan girls, Hermelinda. "Super Sponsor" Steve took these videos for me last month when he visited his own sponsor kids in Guatemala.

The first video is of Hermelinda (in the pink shirt) and her family at the Children International center in Guatemala. Hermelinda was too shy to smile or wave at the camera. Plus it looks like she was given a lolipop and I doubt she wanted to let go of that long enough to smile. :)

This is video of Hermelinda's family in the van on the way to her home. Hermelinda is still overwhelmed by all the attention. And the CI field worker keeps urging her to smile "or else your sponsor will be sad". Poor Hermelinda! I hope she doesn't think I'm disappointed with her. I think she is adorable with or without a smile.

This video is of Hermelinda's family home. I think the video gives a much better idea of what the situation is really like. My poor kid lives in a level of poverty I've never seen in real life (and I've been to some seriously poor areas in the USA). I'd like to say a big thank you to all the sponsors who have expressed an interest in helping Hermelinda. It means so much to me!

I am waiting for word from Children International about plans to improve Hermelinda's situation. I'll update you all as soon as I hear anything.

Happy Birthday Yumi!

2009-05-07T06:30:00.002-04:00

Today is Yumi's birthday. She is one year old.

For her birthday, Yumi got two special doggie biscuits and this wonderful birthday crown.

Yumi just loves her special birthday crown. She hopes your day was special too.

Happy Birthday, Yumi!

Aura's House News and New Lesly Video

2009-05-06T06:30:00.001-04:00

Lesly with her "summer vacation package" 2008

I thought I'd share this news from the latest Aura's House newsletter about my ongoing projects for Ana, Nyslin, Joey and Zoila as well as an update about Lesly's roof project.

"Hello there Aura’s House Community,

Here are the latest goings-on at the Aura’s House website. We’ve been making great progress on all of our current projects, with some just a few hundred dollars away from completion. For example, donations to Ana’s Income Generation project are still being tripled up to the first $1500 raised. The goal for this project is to help Ana’s disabled father start an electronics repair business. We’re just about halfway there! Also, we are only $306 away from being able to help Nyslin and family of Guatemala purchase chickens that would enable them to earn extra income and lift some of their financial burdens. Finally, there is just a little over $500 to raise each for Joey’s Hog Income Generation project in the Philippines and Zoila’s Chicken Income Generation project in Honduras. Thanks again to all who have helped these families so far get a little bit closer to a better standard of living.

We’ve also recently finished our Roof Project for Lesly and family of Guatemala on April 17, 2009. Thanks to our generous donors, Lesly and family soon will have a safe and sturdy roof that keeps them dry and healthy during Guatemala’s rainy season. Our goal was $393 and $554 was raised in total. The extra funds will go towards other pressing family needs such as food and clothing supplies. Stay tuned for photos and updates of the gifts purchased!"

I'm very excited about Lesly's project. I can't wait to hear how the family reacted when they learned they would be getting a new roof! Lesly's father Hugo will be doing the labor himself. I think Children International will also send before and after photos so we can really see the improvements in their home. Yay!

Check out this sweet video fellow sponsor Steve made for me of Lesly and her mother Aura at the community center in Guatemala.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9x_L0kT7m0&feature=related

Aura is telling Lesly what to say and then Lesly repeats it in her little high voice. Adorable!! Lesly keeps trying to shyly chew on her fingernails and her mother keeps "reminding" Lesly not to do that by pushing her hand down. Too funny. Mom's are the same everywhere eh? :)

And in other news, Hubby and I spent part of last weekend making some more quilted items to sell in our Etsy shop to raise money for the sponsor kids. I'm really happy with how this last batch is turning out! Hopefully we will finish them this coming weekend - So watch this space!

Ana - I'm Proud of You!

2009-05-05T06:29:00.004-04:00

These are photos of the "summer vacation" package that we sent to Ana in Ecuador.

Ana is very special to me. She's like a daughter that I have never met. She has such a great attitude and is so thoughtful and really takes her schooling seriously. I hope that she will go on to gain a higher education. I've told her to keep up the good work because I will help her with whatever she needs to continue her education.

Since sponsoring Ana and Jhonny (and now also Alison and Stefany) I have the impression that the Ecuadorian people must be quite friendly as a whole because all of my Ecuadorian sponsor children are super sweet.

If Ana could read my blog I would tell her that I love her, send her a big hug and tell her that I am so proud of her!

Ana's Income Generating Project is still on going over at Aura's House. While you are there check out Joey, Zoila and Nyslin's projects too. The project totals so far are:

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1334/2770
Nyslin's Project: $244/550
Zoila's Project: $288/824
Joey's Project: $200/723
Lesly's Project: Completed!

Gracias! from Jhonny

2009-05-04T06:30:00.001-04:00

In October last year we sent each of the sponsor kids a big package of photos, coloring books, stickers, postcards, and other goodies that we had picked up for them on our summer vacation. I haven't had a chance to post them before now - but these are the photos we got back from CI.

Isn't this the sweetest thing you ever saw? Jhonny took the photos of us and made a poster. He told me that he was going to hang it in his room so he could always think about us and know that we are thinking about him. It's such a sweet gesture and that "Gracias" brought tears to my eyes!

Jhonny is very anxious to get to met us in person. He always tells me all the things he would show me about his "beautiful city" in Ecuador. I hope and pray that I will get to meet him someday. He's a really special kid. It's been a privilege getting to know him.

We also got a new yearly photo of Jhonny. He's so cheerful - always smiling. In fact the first thing that he ever told me about himself is that he is a "cheerful" person. He must be a nice kid to be around. :)

Jhonny 2009

I can't wait to get a progress update on his family IGP. I hope it is going well!

His Favorite Sweater Ever

2009-05-01T06:30:00.001-04:00

Ta da! The Cobblestone Pullover by Brooklyntweed via Interweave Knits. A nice woolly sweater just in time for summer! LOL!

I'm probably the last person in the world to knit this. Bandwagon's don't seem to stop at my house...

No blocking has been done because Hubby pretty much grabbed the sweater as soon as it came off my needles. :)

The Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed in "Muffin"
The Needles: Addi Circs and Knit Picks size 8
The Details: Size small used up about 7 balls. Yorkshire Tweed has great yardage.

This was a fun knit. I like anything that has lots of knit stitches and can be done pretty much in one piece on circs. I should have taken a photo of the armpits because I kicked ass on that Kitchner Stitch. :) I'm still not sure I was picking up the wraps right, it looked a little weird to me... but I couldn't find any guidance other than what was in the pattern so...I just did what it told me to.

The back side. LOL! I think that Cobblestone pattern done in this color looks like a beehive which of course reminds me of Winnie the Pooh which makes me think of cuddly, comforting things like woolly sweaters so...Success! Can you follow the logic there? No? Okay - moving on...

I do love the rustic look of the Yorkshire Tweed. Some people might find it scratchy and if you knit too fast with it you will get yarn burn but still, I love it. I think it will bloom and look softer when the sweater has it's first bath.

Hubby raved about how much he loves it. His favorite sweater ever! I've got more Yorkshire Tweed - should I knit another one? :)

(And you guys thought I didn't knit anymore.) :)

Video of Lesly!

2009-04-30T17:36:00.003-04:00

Steve uploaded this short video of his meeting in Guatemala at the Children International center with Lesly and another sponsor Barbara's child Marelyn. You can see Lesly sitting on the bench with her mom Aura. Even though this is just a short, random video (Steve says he will upload more!) it is so exciting to see Lesly "in action" so to speak.

So for the doubter's out there (I always hear from people who suspect this is all a scam.):

Lesly and Marelyn

My sponsor kids are REAL!

Jhonny's Income Generating Project

2009-04-29T14:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I showed you Hermelinda's story of poverty. It's depressing and sad and as of yet has no clear solution.

Now let me give you some good news! One poor family now has a new source of income, thanks in part to my blog readers!

These are the photos I got of Jhonny's Income Generating Project that I funded through the proceeds of the stash sale I held a few months ago. So if you bought some yarn from me, take a look and see what I did with that money. And pat yourself on the back - you helped give a whole family great hope for their future!

Children International calls these Income Generating Projects. I think they should call them Hope Generating Projects!

Jhonny shows off the new equipment that will enable his family to start their own business. Jhonny was especially grateful for the new refrigerator. He wrote:

"I am happy for your help...We didn't have a freezer and now thanks to you we have one to keep the chicken and the sausages, so that they don't go bad and we don't have to ask our neighbor to keep them for us as we used to."

Can you imagine not having a refrigerator?

Jhonny's mother Fanny was so happy about her new kitchen equipment! She told the field workers that she would "seize the opportunity to to do her best and to be able to support her children in the best way possible". She said:

"I didn't expect this, it is a big surprise for me and I want to thank the sponsor for all the support Jhonny receives. God bless you!"

In addition to the new fridge, Jhonny's family also bought some large cooking pots, a fryer and a propane tank to run the fryer. Jhonny told the field workers:

"My siblings and I will keep helping my mother in everything we can. This is very important to us and I would like to tell my sponsor that we will never forget this. Thank you so much for caring for my family and me."

Check out that fryer!! That thing kicks ass!! Jhonny's IGP plan is for his mother to cook foods such as french fries and fried chicken which they plan to sell at sporting events. I think it's a great idea! It's almost guaranteed to be a success. And it will allow Jhonny's mother Fanny to work from home which is important since she has eight boys to care for. (I'll bet the boys are really enjoying all the fresh food and cold drinks from the fridge and the french fries as well!)

Jhonny wrote:

"These things will serve for us to prepare food to sell. Delicious french fries with sausages to sell!"

Jhonny with his mother Fanny, his twin Joe David and his step-father Pedro. They all look really happy. Jhonny says:

"The money will be used for our education and the family's expenses."

The field workers also emphasized that Jhonny's parents have the goal of saving money for their children's schooling. I think that's fantastic!

Jhonny is twelve years old and lives in Ecuador. His family income is up to $200 a month. I think that is showing a small increase already and will probably get even higher once they really get under way with this business.

Jhonny wrote:

"My mom says she is very grateful and that God bless you and your family always. Thank you so much! God bless you and big hugs to you."

Jhonny and I always say "big hugs" to each other. He's such a sweetheart. I hope I can meet him and his family someday. Jhonny often tells me he very much wishes that we will meet each other someday.

Jhonny with his brothers in 2008. Only two of his other brothers have sponsors, Jhonny's twin Joe David (behind Jhonny in the white shirt) and Anthony (in front on the left). I'd love to find a sponsor for his four year old brother Jhon Michael. He is the little boy in the center of the picture wearing overalls and sitting next to Jhonny. This is a really close, wonderful family and it's been a great experience getting to know them.

Now I am looking forward to the next report which will let me know how their business is going. I've also asked Jhonny to tell me all about it in his next letter. I'll share that with you whenever I get an update.

I'll end this post with a quote from American writer Albert Pine:

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.
-Albert Pine

This Is What Poverty Looks Like

2009-04-28T17:13:00.020-04:00

Let me take you on a tour of Hermelinda's family home in Guatemala, courtesy of Steve. These are still photos taken from the video he shot for me.

The trail leading up to Hermelinda's isolated home - 200 steps up a very steep hill.

Hermelinda's father Victor holds her two year old sister Marlyn in front of the tin sheets which comprise the walls of their family "home".

The kitchen. Hermelinda's mother Dorca cooks here over a fire in the open air.

Hermelinda's family in a photo from 2008 that I got from Children International. Mother Dorca holds baby Marlyn, Hermelinda next to her mother in a purple skirt, Yessica and Victor holding little Dulce. Since this photo the family has added one more child - I think a boy. After that birth Dorca had her "tubes tied". I think this was a smart decision for the future of her family.

This is the "pantry". A large barrel I assume is for water storage that hopefully will keep out the worst of the bugs, animals, rain and dirt.

The "bathroom". This looks like it is also in the open air with a curtain for privacy.

The family stands by the "front door" in 2008.

The "bedroom". The family has two metal bed frames for seven people.

The "living room". Hermelinda's family also sleep on the floor here.

Hermelinda's isolated home and extreme poverty readily explain the rarity of her smiles.

Hermelinda waves goodbye to me through the camera.

I have Children International looking into options to try to arrange better housing for Hermelinda's family but it is a problematic situation since they are essentially squatter's on the land that their "home" sits on. If I provide them with new materials to build a more secure structure there is every likelihood that the owner of the land will kick the family out and keep the new house to rent out to people who can pay. The only other options will probably be to buy them a piece of land (likely to be out of the range of what I can afford - thousands of dollars) or to attempt to relocate them to a rental (hard to see how they could afford to rent anything but possibly a move to a less isolated area may enable me to set them up an Income Generating Business). Anyhow - the housing situation outlook remains rather bleak.

In the meantime I have sent a special needs donation and have asked CI to enquire about portable household items the family could use - bunk beds, cooking utensils, furniture etc. - that will help make their situation better in the short term and can be moved with them if they can get into a better home.

The good news is that in addition to Hermelinda, Victor and Yessica also have sponsors. Please - if you can - consider sponsoring little Dulce:

or Marlyn:

Sponsorship is $22 a month and the aid this family gets from sponsorship is literally the difference between life and death for these kids. Without the food, medical and schooling help I don't see how they could survive. Contact me at the email link in the sidebar if you think you can help.

If you can't commit to a sponsorship please consider donating to one of my Income Generating Projects for some of my other families over at Aura's House. Donations seem to have slowed down so I really need your help!!

I'd also love to give out some surprise gifts to anyone who donates so please email me or leave a comment and let me know if you do!

I Decided to Make it 18

2009-04-27T14:03:00.002-04:00

Meet Stefany Valeria my 18th sponsor child.

18 is a much "rounder" number than 17 don't you think? (Yes, I know that 20 is even rounder than 18...don't give me any ideas!)

When I saw my little namesake something about her just spoke to me. That's the way it is sometimes. :)

She is nine years old and lives in Ecuador. My other three sponsor children in Ecuador have been so great that I was more than happy to add another. I think that Stefany is new to the CI program because this is the only picture in her account. My daughter saw her photo and said, "She is beautiful!" I think so too. :)

Stefany's situation is not as dire as many of my other sponsor children - at least as far as I can determine from the Children International report. She lives in a concrete (probably cinder block) house with a concrete floor and roof. They do have running water in the home but still have to use a community toilet. So I assume the water is only for the kitchen. They also have a portable gas stove for cooking and metal beds. So at least they aren't cooking over an open fire and sleeping on the floor like many of my other children.

Stefany shares her home with her mother Rosa and a one year old brother Edgar. Her father abandoned the family. But I assume she may have a step father since she has a much younger sibling. They get by on $180 a month.

I can't wait until I have a chance to exchange a few letters and get to know Stefany better!

In crafting news - I finished my Cobblestone and it got a great reception from Hubby. I'll have to get him to model it for some photos. The 90 degree weather we are having should make that pretty fun huh? ;) I always seem to finish up my sweater projects just in time for summer. Sigh.

I know I have been totally neglecting posting my FO's. I seriously have finished tons of things! The problem is getting photos taken of them. I don't have my own camera and Hubby always has some crazy funky lens on his or has it on some weird setting. That makes it hard to take photos while he is at work. I just don't have any spare brain space to devote to figuring out what is going on with Hubby's camera at any given moment. I am very much a point and shoot type gal. Maybe I just need my own camera. Something simple to use but that takes really good quality photos. Any suggestions??

Update on Lesly's Roof Project

2009-04-22T06:30:00.000-04:00

One of Steve's photos of Lesly.

Aura's House has posted this update on the status of Lesly's Roof Project:

“What great news … $553 has been raised for Lesly and her family. We’ve transferred the funds to our agency in Guatemala, and they’ll be coordinating the repairs to the home with Lesly and her family during the coming weeks.

I look forward to sharing updates on this special project as soon as I receive them!”

Lesly and her mother Aura

It's fairly humid in Guatemala right now so I'll bet Lesly and her family are looking forward to that new roof!

Lesly and her famous "Cheshire Cat" grin.

Cobblestone Pullover and Hermelinda*

2009-04-21T17:15:00.001-04:00

*Aka: I hate trying to come up with clever blog post titles.

So last night I finished up the knitting on a Cobblestone sweater for my Hubby. I just have to kitchener the underarms and weave in the rest of the ends. So I'll be all done by tomorrow probably. I really like the sweater and want to knit one by myself but I'm a bit put off by the wraps on the short rows. I can do them just fine when I am knitting traditional stockinette but something about the garter stitch in the round seems to be throwing me off. The problem is not doing the wraps themselves - that I get! - but what to do with them on the next row...the whole picking up the wraps thing. I followed the instructions in the back of the magazine and think I understand what they want me to do - but the results aren't so pretty. Am I just being overly picky (it's been known to happen...) or is there something I don't get about the technique or some mysterious tip that would help them look better?? Helps!!

I used Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran - sadly discontinued but I literally have bags and bags of it. I used "Muffin" which is almost the same shade as the Brooklyntweed original. I love Yorkshire Tweed. The colors are so awesome and it is just so woolly. I admit it's sometimes not so fun to knit with though. Knitting it straight out of the skein/ball is a pain. It loves to stick to itself and tangle up which slows me down. I finally re-wound the skeins into "cakes" and it helped the problem some. The yarn is also rather rough and will give you rope burn if you knit for any length of time. It's also heavy and hard on the wrists when you have a whole sweater on the needles all at once! But still - I do love it. :)

Has anyone tried the girly version of Cobblestone? (I forget the name of the pattern but I know it's around here somewhere...*rummages around*) Thoughts?

And for your amusement (because I hate posting without photos)...here are some photos of Hermelinda that I somehow never posted when I got them last year.

She is doing her typical Hermelinda pose, looking like she is in hostage negotiations. (You know where they make the hostage hold up the current newspaper to prove that they are still alive...)

I think she's adorable whether she smiles or not, but it had become a personal mission to actually see her smile.

Thanks again Steve!!

What a Wonderful Gift!

2009-04-20T14:49:00.007-04:00

A smile from Hermelinda!

Isn't she the sweetest thing you ever saw?

These are the pictures that Steve took for me while he was in Guatemala. I have never seen Hermelinda smile before! It really transforms her. In other photos I have of Hermelinda she looks shy and unsure. But I feel like in these new photos you can see her real personality. I can tell she is still very shy but I hope that she will continue to gain in confidence and her personality will have the chance to blossom. The increase in self-esteem for these little girls is one of the best effects of sponsorship.

Hermelinda with her family at the CI center in Guatemala: (I think Steve was making silly faces at them in this sequence. :) )

Hermelinda's family are: her father Victor, mother Dorca, oldest brother Victor (11), oldest sister Yesica (8), Dulce (age 4, being held by her Daddy), and youngest sister Marlyn (2)peeking out behind Yesica. I don't know the baby's name but I think it is a boy. As of the last report I had Dulce and Marlyn need sponsors.

Happy!

2009-04-17T16:57:00.001-04:00

Lesly is getting a new roof!!

Thank you!

Almost As If I've Been to Guatemala! (Another Great Big Ole Post)

2009-04-16T06:30:00.004-04:00

So, in addition to the recent visit from Meaghan and Franklin from Children International (which was totally awesome btw!!!) I also have some other great sponsorship news. One of the other "super sponsors", (my name for the group of CI sponsors that I hang out with online - hi all!!) Steve is currently on a trip to Guatemala to visit several of his sponsor children. I think he has somewhere around 25 kids! Anyhow, Steve very, VERY generously offered to meet with some of my sponsor children as well. Hooray - the next best thing to seeing them myself!

Steve was able to meet with Hermelinda:

and Lesly:

He took lots of photos for me (dying to see them!) as well as video!! I'm so thrilled I could burst.

Steve travels all over the world visiting his many sponsor children so he has a unique perspective on poverty and the potentials of sponsorship. His descriptions of his trip have been so thoughtful, entertaining and insightful. I feel like when I go to Guatemala myself someday (please!!) I will feel more prepared for the experience.

Steve sent me the following email about Hermelinda and gave me permission to reprint it here.

Hey Stephanie,

I met Hermalinda (not sure of the spelling) today, along with her 5
siblings and both parents. Your child is painfully shy. Maybe it was
seeing this guy she´s never met nor knows anything about. Her parents
did their best to coax a smile or two out of her. I´ll be sure to
send the still photos upon my return.

I took some video too. Unfortunately, the walk from the town to their
place did not record. I screwed up and feel terrible about it. We
were ready to leave when I realized my error, so I went back and took
video of their home, the family, and their neighbors. Unfortunately,
I was not willing to make the trip from the beginning. Be advised
that their place is on a hillside, and the walk is not for the faint
of heart. There are probably 200 steps to get there. If you plan to
visit, you might want to train on a StairMaster or something!

More importantly, Hermalinda´s home is a metal corrugated shack. The
temperature in there during the summer months must be sweltering.
From what I can tell, they do have some access to electricity. That
family needs a fan badly!

They are poor. Very poor. The trail to their place is strewn with
garbage, and many of the steps are uneven and little more than rocks.
This is no environment for small children. Actually, this is no
environment for anyone. I don´t know how human beings live like
this. I can´t imagine what a predicament they´d be in without your
help. Your are their Godsend. That is their message that I´ve
recorded, and I hope to somehow figure out how to post it for you.
Failing that, I can make a DVD and send it to you.

I can try to fill in some of the blanks later for you if you have
questions. Right now, I´m a little beat and need to grab some dinner
and prepare for tomorrow.

Again, thanks for your efforts with that child. God knows she needs
it.

Steve

This email made me sad but also excited that I have an opportunity to make a difference. Fortunately I had already funded a special needs project at the beginning of April for Hermelinda. The family had requested the following:

1 metal bed
1 chest of drawers
2 sets of bed sheets
2 bedspreads
1 poncho
1 pair of shoes
1 pair of jeans
1 blouse
1 pair of stockings
3 underwear

Now thanks to Steve, I know that they also could use a fan. I will be sending extra money for a fan if they don't purchase one with the money I have already sent. I included some extra money already and asked that they buy something special for Hermelinda since her birthday has just passed. I know that the money has arrived at the field office but I don't think they have had the chance to take Hermelinda's family shopping yet.

Lesly's special needs project is still up over at Aura's House. Only $98 to go!

You can read about other "super sponsors" at these blogs:

Heather runs a sort of "super sponsor collective" blog at Children Are the World where she posts about her own sponsor kids as well as those of other "super sponsors" like Efrain, Mack, Victor, Alice and Barbara. (Did I miss anyone?)

Heather has also set up a fundraising site for small projects for the families at: Firstgiving where she has just finished funding the very first project!

Heather also gets her children involved in sponsorship and you can read about her little sponsor Jaden here.

Skye blogs at Life, Love and Happiness - when she isn't on the Children International's homepage that is!

Robyn shares stories and great photos of her sponsor kids at robynapplause.

The official Children International blog is at here.

You can see and read about all of Steve's sponsor children here.

And of course my Hubby blogs at our crafting site Flaming Lotus Creations and posts updates about our sponsor kids as well. He just sold his first set of coasters for our sponsor kids! (And I was serious about him taking requests.) :)

I'm sure there are more great "sponsor blogs" out there... (and you all thought I was the only one!:) )

Phew! Another huge long post. What has gotten into me? :)

Something You Might Like...

2009-04-15T06:16:00.002-04:00

I know most of my blog friends are from the knitting side of my crafting life - but I thought you would still enjoy seeing this:

It should be fun and a great source of inspiration. Check it out!

Maica's IGP and Other Updates...

2009-04-14T18:04:00.000-04:00

These pictures aren't great - maybe they were taken with a disposable camera?- but they will give you a good idea of Maica's IGP project in action.

Here's Maica and her mother posing at their food vending site. They sell the food they cook as street vendors. The umbrella makes the job more comfortable and attractive.

Man that food looks good! I don't even know what it is but I would totally eat that! I hope that if I ever get to go to the Philippines I will be able to sample some of Maica's mother's cooking.

Serving a customer.

Maica says that she helps her mother serve the food in the morning before school and then she helps after school. She also helps by washing the dishes. I don't think she has to work there all the time. I think she just helps out as much as she can. It sounds like the whole family pitches in together.

Maica's family income has doubled since I started her IGP. I can tell in her letters that she feels happy and proud of her mom and in how she helps out. Maica was always a good letter writer but I think this project has also brought us closer together. I think she sees me as a "real person" now and someone who is a friend. That makes me happy!

Aura's House update:

Ana's Project: $1100/2770
Nyslin's Project: $169/550
Zoila's Project: $230/824
Joey's Project: $200/723
Lesly's Project: $295/393 (only $98 to go!!)

Fundraising is getting there - slowly but surely. I'll be very excited when the first project is fully funded!

In other fund raising news...

My Hubby has been making some things to sell in our Etsy shop in order to raise funds for our sponsor kids and their Income Generating Projects. He's made some coffee/tea mug sized quilted coasters and who knows what he'll do next. He will probably take requests if you ask him. :) I know some of you have been hoping he would turn some more pens and nostepinnes. The weather is finally warming up so maybe we can convince him to get back out there and fire up his lathe!

In health news...

Turns out that the mystery virus that felled me and my daughter last week was Fifth Disease. The tell-tale rash has appeared and now my poor daughter has super pink cheeks. (It actually looks kind of cute on her. But then, doesn't everything?) Fifth's is no fun to have as an adult. I don't recommend it. The joint pain can be severe - in my case I really felt like I had been hit by a mack truck. And this effect can linger for months. Months! Cripes! So I guess that explains why I just don't feel back to 100% yet. Bah!

In crafting news...

In my continuing quest to finish projects that have been lingering...I have finished the sleeves on my Debbie Bliss sailor coat. Now I just have to sew it together and knit the collar. Which I will do just as soon as I can get the pieces blocked. Which I will do just a soon as I can find my double pronged pins that I like to use for blocking. Drat! Where have those little buggers gotten to?

I'm nearing the end of the pile of "to be finished" projects (otherwise known as UFO's). :) Pretty much everything that is left has been put in a timeout while I consider frogging. I'll probably frog all of it it. So many things were started when I was a new knitter. So at this point, I either no longer have any interest in the project or my knitting has improved so much that it would come out looking like it was knit by two different people and cobbled together. Yuck.

So there you go. Now you are all caught up. Pat yourself on the back if you made it this far with this long, long post. You are obviously a trooper - or maybe just really really bored at work? Whatever, I thank you for hanging in there. Lol!

Jester the Ping Pong Champ!

2009-04-06T19:40:00.002-04:00

Well - I am finally feeling better from the nasty whatever-it-was that I had this weekend. At one point I had a temp of 103 which is pretty bad for an adult fever. :( Anyhow, I'm better but not all better. Good enough to keep my appointment with the people from Children International (says the Dr!) - thank goodness.

Also, as if right on cue to cheer me up I got some letters today from three of my sponsor kids. I think I was in sponsor kid withdrawal because I hadn't heard from any of them in about three weeks. That's a long time between letters when you have 17 little correspondents. :)

So today I heard from Jester. He lives in the Philippines and is 13 years old. He is the boy in the grey shirt.

Jester and his mother and brothers outside their home.

Jester's oldest brother (in the white shirt) is too old for the sponsorship program. His second oldest brother Jerome does have a sponsor but his youngest brother Jericho does not. We sponsored Jester when he was featured in an article that Children International did about children who had never been sponsored and had been waiting a long time. Jester had been waiting two years. One of my children saw the article and asked to sponsor Jester so now Jester is one of my kids sponsor children (although I also write to him). Jester was the first boy we ever sponsored.

The last time we heard from him he was practicing ping pong (table tennis) with his coach and hoping to be chosen to be on the school team. Well, Jester had good news for us today in his letter. He made the team and they won the tournament! Yay! He got a trophy and a certificate. Doing well in school and school activities is really important to my sponsor kids because most of them realize that an education is their best opportunity to move up in the world. Successes at school also give them a good dose of self-esteem and some recognition in their communities. So we are really proud of Jester!

I hope to be able to fund Jester's IGP sometime within the next few months. Currently his mother works as a maid in another city and so Jester lives mostly with his Grandmother. Jester's mother is hoping to start a clothing retail business. I think if she is able to do this then she would be able to live at home with her kids which I know for a fact Jester really would like. His father abandoned the family a few years ago and the few things that Jester has said about that have really let me know that it was a painful blow to him. So having his mother around would be a huge thing in his life. I know how valuable it has been for my kids to have me around!
As far as my crafting goes - there has been pretty much zilch in the past few days. I've been way too wiped out. I'm working on the yoke of a Cobblestone sweater I knit for Hubby so I should have that done just in time for summer. LOL! I did get Hubby to take photos of all those other finished projects that I mentioned but picky me didn't like any of them so...it's a do over. Whenever we have time that is!

Zoila's Birthday Gifts

2009-04-03T09:26:00.000-04:00

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

Ana's Project: $1056/2770
Nyslin's Project: $169/550
Zoila's Project: $190/824
Joey's Project: $137/723
Lesly's Project: $266/393 (only $127 left to raise!)

All of the totals have gone up and as you can see, Lesly's project is getting close to completion!

I also privately funded Hermelinda's special needs project this month. Her family lives in an isolated area in rural Guatemala so they wasn't a large enough community for them to feel like they could set up a sustainable Income Generating Project. I will share the pictures with you when I get them in a month or so.

Right now, here are the most recent photos I have of Zoila. Her project still has a way to go before all of the money is raised.

Zoila is the smaller girl with the shy smile. I'm not sure who the other girl is - probably a cousin. I sent Zoila a gift of some money for her birthday recently and these are the photos I got back showing me what had been purchased. Zoila turned eleven on her last birthday. She always seems younger to me in her photos because she looks like such a petite little thing.

It looks like she was able to buy some clothing items, a chair and a foam mattress. I'm always happy to see mattresses purchased because I don't like the idea of children sleeping on the ground with nothing soft to lay on.

Speaking of bed... I'm off to lay back down. I feel like I might be coming down with the flu or something because I'm achy all over. I think that it is probably actually just the effects of the weather lately. When it goes up and down, from sunny, warm and dry to gloomy, cold and wet and then back again - well I get to feeling achy. Anyone else get like this?

Ugh. A pox on this weather! (Old fashionedy curses work the best in these situations, don'tcha think?)

Oh My Goodness!

2009-04-01T14:13:00.003-04:00

So guess what! Yesterday I got a phone call from the regional director at Children International saying that she was going to be in the area next week for conferences and that she and one of her colleagues would like to stop by to meet me! Oh my goodness!

I was so surprised! Frankly, I'm just really glad that I wasn't majorly rude when I answered the phone. (I hate marketing phone calls so when I see a phone number that I don't recognise I usually don't answer the phone in a very polite tone of voice. And I hang up pretty quickly as well.) So - that would have been a bad first impression, huh? :)

I asked if she would like to stay for dinner - so in addition to cleaning the house like crazy over the weekend I will also be praying that I don't burn the food or something!

Seriously though, I am so excited to meet some actual "Children International People" and I can't wait to tell them all about my sponsor kids.

Wish me luck!!

New Photo of Jenie

2009-03-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

We just got a new photo of Jenie! She is my daughter's second special sponsor kid. Jenie is nine and a half and she lives in the Philippines.

I love this photo of Jenie because she is wearing the dress she bought with some of the money we sent her for her birthday last year. It's so sweet that she dressed up for her photo. I think the red really suits her. Jenie has said she would like to be an actress someday but the case workers say she is rather shy around them at first.

These are some photos we received last year of Jenie at her "home". I say "home" because unfortunately Jenie's family is homeless. They are currently living under a bridge.

This is Jenie in front of the door to her "home". Her family has managed to use concrete blocks to brick in a space under the bridge in an attempt to make their home more secure. However, they are in constant danger from drug dealers (who do not want anyone living where they work) and also from gangs that are essentially in competition with the family to use the space under the bridge. It is not a safe place for a child to have to live!

Here you can see Jenie and her family in front of their "home". You can see the support beams for the bridge above. In addition to the danger from other people, just imagine trying to live with cars zooming by overhead, shaking the roof of your home. I know I would be terrified!

To top it all off, Jenie has to climb up and down this slope all day as she goes in and out of her home. In the rainy season this must be very, very slippery. I really worry about Jenie and her family being hurt in a fall.

I asked Children International about possibly raising money to get Jenie and her family into a proper, safe home but the report came back that it would cost $10,000. Unfortunately I can't afford that much! However, I am working on gathering funds to help the family set up a stable, income generating business (like the projects I have going over at Aura's House) so hopefully I will be able to get those funds together sometime this year. And hopefully, the family may then be able to afford to rent something safer to live in.

My daughter is devoted to her two sponsor children. This weekend we made some candied lemon peels (first time making anything like that - can't believe it worked!) and then my daughter sold them to friends and family to raise money to donate to Lesly's project at Aura's House. Thanks to a big hearted grandpa and other relatives that can't resist buying sweets from a kid with a sweet face my daughter was able to donate $32. She so was proud of earning money for "her kids". On top of this she has already donated a big chunk of the allowance she had saved as well. She's a wonder!

I know many people are feeling the pinch in this crappy economy but I still think there is room for charity, kindness and giving in every one's life. If you can't give money then give some of your time. If you can't think of any ideas about what you can do to give back to the world then just ask your kids for some. I'm sure they will inspire you!

Somethin' to show ya!

2009-03-23T12:16:00.010-04:00

Okay - I finally have somethin' crafty to show you.

It's the Bo=Peep skirt from Anna Marie Horner's book Seams to Me.

I made mine in a ballet length (hit's mid-calf) and used an Alexander Henry print for the main panels. I absolutely adore the retro '70's type prints that are popular these days. The large scale and the strong colors just make me happy. My daughter loves it too - she has worn it twice already. And everywhere we go she gets compliments on how pretty it is.

This is the first article of clothing that I have made in years and years. The last time I attempted anything like this was when I was fourteen - so you can draw your own conclusion as to how long ago that was!

I learned so much from this project - french seams (so cool and useful!), rolled hems, basting (hate it), and working with ruffles (did mine by hand - can't wait until the local fabric store re-stocks the ruffle foot for my machine!). One of the coolest things about this particular design is that I can replace the elastic in the waistband as my daughter grows. She could still be wearing this skirt when she is in her teens.

I loved making this skirt! Especially because (prepare to be totally jealous of me) my Hubby made one also. It was so much fun to be able to work this whole sewing clothes thing out together. We are both totally hooked!

Here's Hubby's version:

He made his shorter than mine - just below the knee. The main print here is also an Alexander Henry. This picture really doesn't do the skirt justice - it is SO cute.

You can see more photos of reader made projects from the Seams to Me book in the Flickr pool here.

AND - Here's an update on the Aura's House Fundraising:

Ana's Project: $966/2770
Nyslin's Project: $149/550
Zoila's Project: $165/824
Joey's Project: $117/723
Lesly's Project: $184/393

I couldn't be happier! Thank you, thank you!!

Finishy? And Meet Joey!

2009-03-16T19:20:00.001-04:00

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...

Aww Cripes!

2009-02-27T21:18:00.003-05:00

Spoke too soon. Kid number 2 just yacked.

This is the kid that can never tell that the puke is on the way until it's actually there. So I am expecting a "clean up intensive" experience.

I'm going to have a FUN weekend.

Meet Nyslin

2009-02-27T18:05:00.001-05:00

Nyslin's photo from 2007 when I began to sponsor her. I couldn't resist that toothless grin!

Little Nyslin is another of my sponsor kids currently featured over at Aura's House. Nyslin is seven and a half and lives in Guatemala.

Here she is outside of her house:

Nyslin is the little girl in the brown dress on the left. Her mother is in the back holding baby Carlos. Miriam is her older sister and Marvin is the little boy in the middle. Of Nyslin's siblings, only Marvin has a sponsor. There is also a new baby boy named Angel that was born after this photo was taken.

Nyslin is just full of sunshine. She doesn't write her own letters to me yet. Usually a relative writes them for her. But she always ends her letters with a "strong hug and many kisses". She addresses me as her "dear Godmother". Nyslin is a typical little girl who loves dolls and playing with her friends.

Nyslin and her family outside of their home in Guatemala. A typical huge Nyslin smile!

Nyslin's family gets by on only about $115 dollars a month. Her father Carlos is a daily laborer which means that his income is probably inconsistent. Their family home has one bedroom and a kitchen where they cook over an open fire. They are lucky in that their home is constructed of concrete and has a concrete floor. The roof is of corrugated metal. They also have running water and a toilet - something that many of my sponsor kids don't have.

Nyslin with some photos and postcards that we sent her last year.

It's obvious though that Nyslin doesn't have much in the way of personal possessions. She is almost always wearing her brown dress in the pictures I have of her.

Nyslin really enjoyed getting the postcards of animals that we sent her and a Spanish language book about animal that I found.

The next two photos are of Nyslin on her birthday last year with the things that we sent her. It's obvious that the clothes are way too big for her. (Drat! But at least her older sister will wear them and then Nyslin will get them as hand me downs later on.) I had no idea how tiny Nyslin is until I saw these photos. It's so cute how they sat her on the table like a little doll!

The teddy bear we sent is almost as big as Nyslin herself!

Nyslin's Income Project is for her mother Vicenta, to raise chickens. She has some experience with this in the past so she thinks that she can make a success of it. It will also enable her to work in the home and not have to leave her children unattended.

Another bright smile from my little Nyslin.

And now an update on the project totals from Aura's House!

Ana's Project: $456/2770
Nyslin's Project: $135/550
Zoila's Project: $60/824
Joey's Project: $117/723
Lesly's Project: $75/393

All of the totals have gone up this week! Thank you!!!!!

A Wee Bit of Complaining...

2009-02-27T17:11:00.003-05:00

I'm feeling like an exhausted - but happy survivor today.

The past three weeks have been like this:

1. Little One has the flu. Some puking. Lots of high fever. Many days home from school. I get little sleep.

2. As soon as the Little One gets better my Mom has her heart attack. I get little sleep from worrying.

3. As soon as Mom gets out of the hospital the Little One gets a stomach bug. This time much puking and only a little fever. Lots of days home from school. I get little sleep.

Today has been good because I slept pretty much the whole day. Little One had a good day back at school. So I am happy. :)

The only problem is my Mom. (Thanks to everyone who expressed concern or sympathy - I appreciate it!) But I just don't know what to do with this woman.

She had a heart attack and about 5 days later I called up to check on her and found out that she was at her new house supervising the movers unloading the furniture! WTF?! Seriously - who the hell has a heart attack and then moves house 5 days later? Her excuse was that the doctor said she can do normal activity as long as she avoids physical strain. In my opinion moving house is not a normal activity for anyone - ever. Moving house is stressful. Very stressful when you are a perfectionist like my Mom.

So I called my step-dad and bitched him out for allowing my Mom to be doing this. What the hell is the use of him being out there to babysit her if he can't make her take care?

I lost my mind (as politely as I could without beating around the bush) and I left it at that. I obviously can't control what my Mom does. But at least I voiced my opinion.

So to some extent I have mentally washed my hands of it. What else can I do? Does anyone else have parents that are this stubborn?

Sigh.

Meet Ana

2009-02-24T16:20:00.000-05:00

Meet Ana!

I know that my regular blog readers have already been introduced to Ana, one of my sponsor children from Ecuador. But I thought I would post little "features" on each of the children (Ana, Nyslin, Joey, Zoila and Lesly) who I am raising funds for at Aura's House. I have lots of pictures you haven't yet seen! :)

Ana's Income Generating Project is the largest one on Aura's House right now. We are trying to raise funds so that her father Luis (who is disabled) can work from home. Luis has skills as an electrician so the money raised will be used to set up an in home workshop where he will be able to repair small electronics.

Ana - in the pink top - stands outside her home in Ecuador with her siblings Jennifer (13), Adriana (7) and Daniel (5). Adriana still needs a sponsor.

One of the key elements that we are raising funds for is a special chair for Ana's father. This chair will accommodate his handicap and make it possible for him to sit comfortably while working. Having a way to support his family will be a huge self-esteem booster for Luis. We estimate that his work will be able to double the family income.

Ana with her siblings and her father Luis.

Ana's family currently has about $100 a month on which to live. Her mother works as a maid so she has to spend long hours away from home. She is the only wage earner in the family.

Ana looks like this photo caught her by surprise! :)

Ana is truly like a daughter to me. I have high hopes for her future. She is so smart and works so hard at her studies! Recently Ana was rewarded for her good grades - she was chosen to be the standard bearer for her school at a festival. It's clear that Ana is well aware that a good education is her best pathway to a brighter future. I do all I can to encourage her to dream big and work towards her goals.

Doesn't Ana have just the brightest smile?

I am so thrilled that Ana's project has launched at Aura's House! I often think about the day when she will receive word that the money has been raised. She doesn't even know that it is happening now! What a great surprise it will be for her whole family. I know how thankful she will be and how excited.

I want to say a huge huge thank you to anyone who has donated to any of the projects!

Here is an update on the fund raising progress (current funds first and goal funds second):

Ana's Project: $396/$2770
Nyslin' Project: $115/550
Zoila's Project: $15/824
Joey's Project: $97/723
Lesly's Project: $55/393

I also wanted to mention that the totals are updated about once a week. So if you do donate and don't see your donation reflected right away - don't worry! Just check back in at Aura's House in a few days or right here and you will see the numbers go up. :)

THANK YOU!!!

Catching Up & Finally an Announcement!

2009-02-21T17:54:00.005-05:00

Oy. We've been having a rough time at Chez Needles.

The bad news is that my Mom had a heart attack.

The good news is that she is out of the hospital & only requires medication (so far) in order to deal with the problem. The doctors say that the radiation she had when she went through her first round of breast cancer probably damaged that section of her heart and made it more vulnerable. Luckily they think whatever further damage she suffered during the heart attack may be able to heal. But as of now she is pretty weak and has lots of medicines she will have to take.

It really sucks to be so far away & not to be able to help - even though she does have other family members there. All I can do from here is try to stay positive and help my Mom feel more cheerful.

I don't really like to discuss depressing health stuff on the blog so I'll just leave it at that. My Mom has really had more than her fair share of trouble this past year!

Better news is that I have been doing tons of crafting. I've finished my nine patch quilt top & now just have to decide on the borders. I'm halfway through a second needlepoint piece (even though I still owe you guys pictures of the first one!). And *gasp* I actually picked up my knitting again! I haven't knit in probably 8 months or so. Luckily I haven't forgotten how. :) So I am nearing the finish of the mitred square blanket that I worked on last year.

I'll try to get photos ASAP so my blog posts won't be so boring. :)

And now....

The best news I have is that I finally have a moment to tell you all about the "project" I've been working on and semi-mysteriously mentioning off and on. :)

A charity group called Aura's House has agreed to raise funds to help five of my sponsor children. Aura's House has launched fund raising for Income Generating Projects for four of my sponsor children, specifically Ana in Ecuador, Nyslin in Guatemala, Zoila in Honduras, and Joey in the Philippines. The fifth project is to help Lesly in Guatemala with some special needs. Aura's House website will tell you all about each of the projects and has lots of pictures of each child and their background story. There's even a picture of me (unfortunately taken before my weight loss - 27 pounds now!) and some words about my sponsorship. You can also read more about each of the kids by searching their names in the tags on my blog.

Please go visit the website and check it out!

Aura's House has been absolutely wonderful to work with and I am so grateful to them for agreeing to help me! They have been doing this work for several years now and have helped lots of needy children in many ways. You can read all about their past projects and the history of Aura's House on their site. If you donate you will get a letter from Children International acknowledging your donation (at least I did) and it is tax deductible.

I'd like to give some random gifts/prizes as a thank you to my blog friends for donating so if you do - please leave a comment and let me know! Every little bit will help and maybe you'll get something yarny as well. :)

Plans for Valentine's Day?

2009-02-13T14:43:00.004-05:00

Just a bit of Valentine's Day advice from Luca the Love Doctor.

If you want to get anywhere with the ladies Luca suggests that you dress up and do your best to look spiffy.

Be on your best behavior and maybe your sweetie will let you give her a kiss!

Libby tried to follow Luca's tips...She got dressed up.

And now she's plumb tuckered out.

Happy Valentine's Day all. :)

Zoila - New Yearly Photo

2009-02-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I also recently got an updated photo of my other child in Honduras - Zoila.

Here she is last year age 10.

And now this year at age 11. Her birthday is also in December.

She looks a little taller but not as much difference in her photos as there was in Flor's.

Zoila has six siblings, just like Flor. Here she is at home with her family. Zoila is in the pink shirt in these photos.

The little girl in the yellow skirt is Zoila's sister Glendy. Zoila and Glendy are the only two sponsored children in her family. All of her other siblings are boys. Children International makes a point of signing up more female children than males. This helps to address the imbalance that usually exists in the educational and other opportunities for boys vs. girls. Children International tries to encourage families to seek education for girls and to keep them in school rather than marrying early.

Zoila's family has about $137 a month. Her father works as a day laborer which means they don't always have a steady income. Their home is made of concrete with a concrete floor and a tin roof. There is one bedroom and a kitchen. They are lucky to have a wood burning stove.

Unfortunately they have to use a community well for water and one of Zoila's chores is to carry the water every day. They do have wooden beds - many of my sponsored children sleep on the floor. Last year when we sent Zoila her special gift she bought a mattress for her bed. I'm told that is a typical first purchase for many families when they receive a special gift. I wonder what she will get this year! I'll post the photos as soon as I get them.

Zoila does go to school but she doesn't write her own letters to me yet. I'm hoping that she will soon! :)

Flor - New Yearly Photo

2009-02-07T16:32:00.005-05:00

I love getting the new yearly photos of my sponsor kids. Even though I usually have had several photos in between, it is comparing the yearly photos that really helps me see just how much the kids have grown and changed. I recently got new yearly photos for both of my kids in Honduras.

This is Flor last year at age 8. I love her slightly chubby cheeks, big eyes and shy smile.

This is Flor now at age 9.

She's in what I call a stretching out phase. She is getting taller and losing some of her roundness. I don't know why she didn't smile for this picture - she usually does. I think she is such a pretty little thing.

Flor loves going to school and she helps her Mom at home - sweeping and doing dishes. She has six siblings and her family gets by on around $158 a month. That is actually alot of money compared to most of my sponsor kids!

These are the photos I have of Flor at home with her family.

Their home has adobe walls (mud brick), a dirt floor and a corrugated tin roof.

You can see Flor (in pigtails) and her little five year old sister Mirsa in this picture. Mirsa doesn't have a sponsor as far as I know. Two of Flor's older siblings do though and one has graduated from the Children International program. Her family is of a typical size for Honduras.

It looks like all of Flor's brothers were not home when these photos were taken. They were probably off working.

Flor's home does have running water - which is lucky! But they use an earthen stove for cooking and a latrine for their sanitary facilities.

I'm so glad that Flor is going to school. I'm hoping that she will soon be able to write her own letters to me but for now it is usually her mother or one of her brothers who help her to write.

Flor turned 9 in December and we sent her a special gift. I'll post the photos we received as soon as I get the chance.

Is This Thing Still On?

2009-01-30T01:37:00.003-05:00

Sheesh - I think my blog might have expired. I haven't been near it in so long!

As you can see I haven't been able to post about my "secret project" yet due to circumstances beyond my control - but I am told it will be ready on the 9th, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

In the mean time I hope to placate my readers - if there are any still out there - with this sweet photo of Indy.

We weren't sure that we were going to be able to keep her at first but of course the longer we dithered over that decision the more we became attached to her. She is a real sweetie pie. I think she is the most likely to learn to talk of the three of our parrots. We finally bought her a proper cage of her own a few weeks ago. She was so happy she immediately jumped into her water dish and took a bath! Plus she seems to have finally discovered her pellets and makes a ruckus crunching them with gusto.

I hope I don't jinx it but we have been very lucky with our birds. They are all quiet and well mannered for the most part. They rarely have screaming fits - even when we play Rock Band at high volume late into the night. In fact the only time they ever make a fuss is when Hubby gets up late on the weekends and their food isn't delivered as early as they are used to. But even then they kindly give him a good three hours before they start to protest.

Other than playing Rock Band and keeping this family fed, clothed and bathed I have been working on some needlepoint and reading.

Recently I read Patrick Mcgrath's Asylum which I thought was very good. Not super brilliant but good enough that I stayed up late reading when I should have gone to bed! I tend to like stories about crazy people though. Especially crazy psychiatrists. :) I liked this book in the same way that I like Ian McEwan if that makes any sense.

Also read John MacLachlan Gray's White Stone Day. It is a sequel to his other novel The Fiend in Human which I enjoyed. White Stone Day is a Victorian crime story which uses Lewis Carroll as a main character and a journalist in place of a detective - a good start but unfortunately I thought the plot was a but scattered and rather struggled to come together. If you haven't read the first novel I think you would be quite lost trying to get through this one. But his characters are very interesting so overall I enjoyed it and will probably read something else of his. I will definitely read another Macgrath.

Adios, you jackass!

2009-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Pack your bags and be sure to take all of your bad mojo with you. America has a real President now.

So close!

2009-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I'm this close to being able to spill the beans about my secret project! Squee!

In the meantime we have been doing much Rock Band rockin'. In fact, I'm considering running away to join a rock band. Anyone know any geriatric rock stars that need a bass player? :)

Seriously though I do think Rock Band is a great game. Kids spend so much time being told to be quiet and sit still and behave - I love having an activity with them where I can shout "Sing louder, I don't think the neighbors can hear you!" Especially for girls who learn at such an early age to be "ladylike" (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean). I think when you learn at a young age that it's awesome to sing at the top of your lungs and who cares what you sound like - well, I think you will end up a much happier person. I know I feel happier when I sing at the top of my lungs.

And also, it's very very funny when Hubby sings "Mississippi Queen" at the top of his lungs. :)

And I got a new picture of Maica -

And some great news as well - her family income has doubled since I funded her Income Generating Project. I was so so happy to hear that. She now has far and away the most income of any of my Filipino kids. Most of them are in the $50 a month range and Maica is up to $200. Yay!! It's so great to feel like I can really make a difference like that in some one's life.

Our Happy New (And Old) Year

2009-01-02T01:15:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a very happy new year!

We stayed up to ring in the new year and then the whole family spent New Year's Day playing Rock Band on the Wii until the kids begged us to let them go to bed. When Mom and Dad start a rockin' it's hard to stop 'em! :)

We tried to keep Christmas reasonable this year and not go overboard buying presents. I think we were mainly quite successful. I got some Kiva credits for the first time so I was able to make 6 loans. There were so many people making loans after Christmas that Kiva actually ran out which I thought was wonderful! I funded a cattle rancher, two food markets, a clothing store, a crafts group and a tattoo artist in Lebanon. Awesome!

I was also able to fund my sponsor kid Jhonny's Income Generating Project right after Christmas. I'm so excited for his family! I can't wait to see the report when Children International disburses the money. Of course I will share the photos with you all as soon as I receive them.

2008 was a strange year in many ways and ended on sort of a sucky note with the whole economy collapse thing. Plus I spent the 23rd in the hospital in severe pain so my best Christmas present this year was actually being home for Christmas rather than in a hospital bed. So for that I am VERY grateful!

In 2008 I read 50+ books, lost 22 pounds (yay!) and fulfilled a long held wish to learn to quilt. We also added Yumi and Indy to our animal family. Both of them have turned out to be awesome pets - and thank goodness because we are now at full capacity! Everyone in the family is healthy and happy so despite the crappy economy I think we have a great 2009 to look forward to. :)

And... I have some really really great news that I will be able to share with you all in about a week! :)

More Christmas Time Crafting..

2008-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is a nine patch quilt that my Hubby made and gave to my Dad as a Christmas present.

You can click on the photos to see the fabrics closer. I love Asian themed fabrics - there's just so much you can do with them.

Hubby and I took a nine patch class together and this is the result. :) Mine is still in the design phase. I have all the blocks made I just need to decide how I want to put them together. So you will hopefully be seeing mine soon...

This is the back of the quilt. Hubby had alot of the main focus fabric leftover so he used a big panel of it on the back. It's kind of cool to be able to see where all of the little pieces came from. Kind of a quilting I-Spy. :)

Another Set of Placemats

2008-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here's another set of placemats - five this time - that Hubby and I worked on together. These ones were a gift to my in-laws.

Same as before - I chose the fabrics and design and did the cutting. Hubby pieced and quilted - this time with an echo quilting pattern. We both worked on hand sewing the binding.

These pictures were taken before we washed them so the quilting still looks all crisp. I think I prefer the after washing look where you can really see the puffy bits in between the lines of quilting.

The way we worked out these placemats is that each one has 5 "positions" or sections. So we chose 5 different fabrics and placed them in a different position in each placemat. So every fabric is in every placemat but always in a different position. It was fun working out a sequence that would always ensure that the fabrics complemented each other no matter where they were in the design.

Quilted Tablerunner

2008-12-28T19:34:00.007-05:00

Here's another of the quilting projects that my Hubby and I worked on together.

It's a table runner that we gave to my Mom for Christmas.

Once again I chose the fabrics and where they would go in the design. I did the cutting and then Hubby pieced and quilted it. The binding was also hand finished.

We had alot of fun making things as Christmas gifts this year. It ended up becoming a general theme of giving handmade items as gifts, either made by us or bought from other artisans.

I think we will probably keep trying to make the majority of the gifts that we give in the future - at least until we run out of ideas!

Finally Some Quilting!

2008-12-22T13:55:00.004-05:00

The photos are a bit washed out looking but at least I can finally show you all some of the crafts that Hubby and I have been working on. These have already been gifted so it's safe! :)

Hubby and I have been collaborating on lots of gifts this year. This one is a set of six placemats. We both worked out the design, then I chose the fabrics and decided which ones would go next to each other and did the cutting. Hubby did the piecing and the quilting on this set.

We've been toying with the idea of making some placemats sets to sell in our Etsy shop. What do you think? They are machine washable. :)

I've got so much more to show you but most of it probably needs to wait until after Christmas...

More Fun With The E-Collar

2008-12-21T18:32:00.007-05:00

Much to her relief Yumi doesn't have to wear her e-collar anymore. But I thought you would enjoy seeing some more funny pictures of the e-collar in action.

Here Yumi attempts to eat food while wearing the e-collar. For some reason she feels like it is best to take the food out of the bowl piece by piece and then eat each piece one at a time off the floor. This activity pre-dates the e-collar so that bit of weirdness has no excuse! With the collar on though the task was more challenging. Yumi would chase after the food with the cone clomping down over eat piece of food like a kid trapping a bug in a jar. Remember that toy from the 70's that was essentially a pair of plastic cans with strings attached so that you could walk around on the the cans? (Why was this fun? Dunno but it sure was!) That was the exact same clomping sound that Yumi made. Ahhhh - memories. :)

Here Yumi attempts to shake off the collar. I don't know how dogs can make their whole bodies shake so violently without making themselves throw up or having their eyeballs come flying out or something. Seems like it would be a handy skill to have though. :)

Yumi in the e-collar,

kept making me think of:

Marvin the Martian.

"Take me to your leader!"

The Handsomest Meyer's Parrot Ever

2008-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

My Hubby took this awesome picture of Scooter the other day. Isn't he just the handsomest little rogue you ever laid eyes on?

Scootie is such a character. He loves to be snuggled and held but he is just like a hyper little boy. He has to rough house a teeny bit before he will give in to the love zone. He makes this funny snuffling sound and squirms all around and bites us a teeny bit then he is ready to be loved and he falls into the scritches trance. What a weirdo!

Clemmie and Sarah

2008-12-19T16:44:00.003-05:00

Clementine and Sarah would like to show my blog readers that they have mastered their primary function in life - keeping the dog bed warm.

Clementine says, "It's an art form. Clearly I am the greatest dog bed warmer of all time. Cats have nothing on me. Now back off will ya?"

Sarah can't be bothered to comment. The effort of lifting her head would be too taxing.

Dog Portrait

2008-12-17T16:29:00.004-05:00

Libby wants nothing to do with Yumi and the whole E-collar business.

I love this double portrait. It's so strange, yet so revealing of the personalities. As soon as the camera comes out both of them have to charge right at it - Yumi frantically jumping and pawing and licking the air and Libby barging in and knocking her off balance every five seconds. LOL! The two of them are like chalk and cheese yet they get along quite well.

Look at how grey Libby's mask is getting. Poor old lady. :(

Okay, I lied.....

2008-12-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

I don't have any craft pictures...but I DO have this!

LOL!

Poor Yumi was spayed the other day and won't leave her stitches alone. So it's the dreaded E-collar for her - veterinary torture device of choice for only the most sadistic dog owners. :) She is somewhat miserable, poor little thing. It's got to be driving her crazy - a dog with a short little nose like that! She can barely get her face into the food & water dishes and if she drops a piece of food on the floor...there's no way to describe it but watching her chase after the food is pretty darn funny. I laugh internally though because I don't want to hurt her little feelings.

I do however, sing... "This is ground control to Major Tom..." to her several times a day. Do you think if I stuck her on the roof we could get better reception? LOL!

Jhonny's Family and Home

2008-12-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've been so, so busy! Crafting like crazy! I promise to get my Hubby to take some photos tonight of all the cool stuff we have been making - otherwise we are in danger of running out of time to take any photos before we give it all away. :)

In the meantime, here are some photos of my sponsor kid Jhonny and his family at their home in Ecuador. I am going to fund Jhonny's IGP project next. Hopefully, I will have enough money right after the new year. I've raised almost enough from the stash sale. (Thanks!!)

Jhonny is the one in the yellow shirt. The boy on the opposite end of the photo in the white shirt is Jhonny's fraternal twin brother Edison. Jhonny's mother is holding the baby and his step-father is in the back in the white shirt.

In this photo from front to back and from left to right are:
Jo David, Anthony, Jhonny
middle row:
Jhon Michael and Edison
back row: Wilson and Nelson

Only Jo David and Jhonny have sponsors. If you have thought about sponsoring then I can't recommend this family highly enough. Jhonny is a very sweet, cheerful boy. His letters are so full of life! He really takes alot of trouble to tell me about himself and his family and his country. I love getting his letters. With seventeen sponsor kids it's inevitable that I have a closer relationship with some of them more than others and Jhonny definitely has a special place in my heart! If you would like to sponsor one of Jhonny's brothers please email me and I can help you set that up.

Jhonny's mother, surrounded by her seven boys. Can you imagine seven boys????

Jhonny's IGP is for his mother to cook and sell candies and other foods out of her house. I think it's a good plan since it will allow Jhonny's mom to work from her home. I'm sure she has plenty to do there with so many boys. Truly the mind boggles! They need a refrigerator and other cooking gear as well as the ingredients to get started.

Jhonny in front of his home. I can't wait to get the IGP going! It will be such a great way to start off the new year for Jhonny and his family.

Next time - crafts I promise! :)

Lookie What I Won!

2008-12-10T17:08:00.002-05:00

Ugh...I've been felled by the dreaded winter cold. And since mine came from the worst source of all (my kids) it's been a pretty bad one. I think that every school should have a resident scientist to monitor the progress of the viruses as they make the rounds. You can probably see the darn germs mutating right there on the playground. :(

But the good news is that I manged to be lucky enough to win something during the recent Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. Jenny over at Babyfingers makes these adorable slings for little girls to carry their baby dolls around in and it must have been my lucky day because I won one! Yay! I know a little girl who is going to really enjoy that prize. Thanks Jenny!

Stash Sale - Again!

2008-12-02T16:40:00.004-05:00

I dug even deeper into my yarn stash and came up with some real goodies for the stash sale. I've almost got the money I need to start the next Income Generating Project for one of my sponsor kids - so let's keep going!

I want to thank everyone who has mentioned the sale on the blog & everyone who has purchased yarn so far. It's really been helpful!!

Please note that I have changed the shipping details slightly and adjusted some of the prices on the unsold yarn from last time. New yarn is at the botom of the post as well as the books I currently have for sale. I will be adding to the book sale as soon as I get the chance.

THE BIG STASH YARN SALE INFO:

Default shipping will be by priority mail either in one of the envelopes or the boxes, whichever the yarn will fit in. If there is a cheaper way I will try to find it (but I will have to charge a small amount for the padded envelopes or boxes I will have to buy so it usually ends up being about the same as priority anyway.) My prior experience with shipping the yarns I have sold so far has told me that priority mail has been the cheapest in 85% of the cases - just so you know what to expect...

If you would like any of the yarn please email me to let me know. My email addy is in the sidebar in the upper right. Please tell me your shipping address so I can figure out the shipping. Payment is by Paypal only please. I will send you a payment request. I will try to ship within two days of payment.

Non-smoking home. No cats. I do have dogs but they aren't allowed in the craft room.

So - here we go!

4 skeins of Shadyside Farms Studios. 185 yard each. This is a naturally dyed worsted wool. I think it would make a fabulous felted bag! Wound into cakes but never used. Originally $13 each. This set $30

2 skeins of Reynolds Utopia in White #111. Really soft! $6

10 skeins Katia Dolby. 137 yards each. Color 522. Really pretty ribbon style yarn. $40

2 skeins Dalegarn Falk in Green #0184. 100% wool superwash. 116 yards per skein. $8

8+ skeins of Plymouth Cotton Worsted in color 6423. 83 meters each. $15

1 skein Twisted yarn in "Batty". Fat Stripes style. Superwash merino. Light worsted weight. 240 yards. $15

9 skeins of Universal Deluxe Worsted 100% wool. Very soft! 220 yards each. Originally $12 each. $40

10 skeins of Brown's Sheep Nature Spun in Charcoal, Pepper and Snow. 100% wool worsted weight. 245 yards each. $45

Lauryn Waistcoat kit from Rowan containing 4 skeins of All Seasons Cotton Sh192. 98 yards each. $25

Rowan Dolly Bag Kit containing 2 skeins of Rowan Handknit Cotton. $8

9+ skeins of Schachenmayr Princess in color #42 - a pretty lavender. (I swatched with one skein and then frogged it. The yardage is all there but I am only counting this as 9 skeins since I did swatch with the one.) Ribbon type yarn. 125 meters each. $25

10 skeins Schachenmayr Punto. 90 meters each. This is a 50/50 cotton & acrylic yarn. DK weight. $20

10 skeins of Gedifra Fashion Friend Astrakhan in color 4701. This is a boucle yarn. 50 meters each. Worsted to bulky weight. (Originally $9 each) My price $60

Huge skein of lace weight wool. Wound into cake but not used. Pale blue, aqua. litght purples and grey. Much prettier than the photo shows. $20

1 huge skein of unlabeled Hand Dyed Cotton Laceweight. Gorgeous subtle colorway. $15

Unlabeled skein of lace weight. I think this is silk and wool but it may be just silk. Wound into cake but not used. Really nice sheen! $15

Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades of blues and pale greens and yellows. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20

Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades blues, greens, yellows, and peach. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20

Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. The colorway is "Dark Parrot". Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $14

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in "Coffee Pot Rock". Wound into cake but never used. Handpainted Superwash Meino wool. 560 yards. $12

Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $14

Zen Yarn Garden heavy sock weight in colorway "Ice Mint 2". Handpainted Superwash Merino. 250 yards $16

A Piece of Vermont Sock Yarn in colorway "Impressions". Handpainted Superwash wool and 25% nylon. 425 yards. $15

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $16

Celia's Basket Sock yarn in colorway "Neptune". Handpainted Superwash wool. 350 meters. $15

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $16

Spindle Cat Studio Sock Yarn in colorway "Tabbioca". Handpainted Superwash wool. 450 yards. $15

1 skein Celia's Basket sock yarn in "Painter's Palette". 350 meters. $12

1 skein Mama E's sock yarn in "Mermaids". 100% merino. $12

1 skein of Lucky Duck Farms Sock Yarn in "Mango Madness". 100% merino handwash. 440 yards. Wound into a cake but never used. $12

Hand dyed sock yarn 100% Wool color "Fruitie" $14

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Watercolors" Dye lot 6058 $22

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Mixed Berries" Dye lot 0050 $22

1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Purple Club" Dye lot 7548 $11

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Uptown" Dye lot 5181 $22

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Iris Garden" Dye lot 7487 $22

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Valentine" Dye lot 1089 $22

1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Mother Lode" Dye lot 8815 $11

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Irving Park" Dye lot 5739 $22

4 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Desert Flower" Dye lot 5467 $44

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Desert Flower" Dye lot 8813 $22

1 skein Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe 114 yards $12

These two Jojoland skeins would make a great striped scarf like the Noro ones that are currently making the rounds. The Jojoland would have longer repeats of colors.

1 skein Jojoland Rhythym Shade M22 100% Wool 110 yards $4

1 skein Jojoland 100% Wool Worsted Shade 266 110 yards $4

2 skeins Regia Stretch Color Shade 117 200 meters each $14

2 skeins KnitPicks Simple Stripes Sock Yarn Color #23548 231 yards each $8

2 skeins of Cascade Fixation shade 9442 $4 each/$8 total

2 skeins of Cascade Fixation shade 9941 $4 each/$8 total

Books - all in mint condition:

Knitting Yarns and Spinning Tales $6
Funky Knitting by Happy House $6
Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy $6
Sirdar The Seascapes Pattern Book of Aran Classics (Sweaters for the whole family) $6

Crafts of times past....Needlepoint

2008-12-02T06:43:00.000-05:00

Before I was a quilter...

Before I was a knitter...

I was a needleworker.

I used to do alot of needlepoint. It was my primary hobby. I even entered shows and won some nice ribbons. So..I thought you might like to see some of the needlepoint I worked in times past. So let's journey down Craft Memory Lane shall we?

This was my first needlepoint project ever.

I just love the look on this Camel's face. Of course if he was a real camel he would be about to spit on you and you would have about half a second to dive for cover. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

Luckily he is just a tapestry camel so we can look at him in safety. :)

About a year later I made a companion for the Crochety Camel. Maybe it's just me but I think you can see some improvement in my stitching. :)

The Giraffe is much sweeter than his fellow the Camel. You can tell this because the background is a nice rosy shade and because of the daisy in his mouth. Of course if this were a real Giraffe he would eat the daisy...

Anyhow, I liked these canvases because they are quite realistic looking but also a little whimsical. Not enough whimsy to be cutesy though which is crucial. There is way way too much cutesy in the needlepoint world.

Needlepoint is an expensive hobby. A pillow with a hand painted canvas will cost you about the same as a hand knitted sweater made out of good yarn. Even the mass printed canvases are quite expensive. Needlepoint is also time consuming and hard on the eye sight! But mostly it is not very portable. And teeny needles and teeny scissors are not very compatible with teeny children so when I had kids my needlepoint hobby gave way to knitting. :)

But lately I have been getting that needlepoint jones....so last week I grabbed a kit and now I'm halfway through another pillow. :)

I'm glad I'm multi crafty.

Maica's IGP

2008-12-01T06:25:00.000-05:00

So sorry this took me a few days to get this up. These darn holidays get crazy busy for us! All that food to eat and family to hang out with. :)

Anyhow - these are the photos I got from Children International about the results of the Income Generating Project that I set up for Maica's family.

Here is Maica with the supplies they bought:

Maica's mother proposed to set herself up in business as a street vendor of food. This is a very, very common job amongst the parents of CI's sponsor kids in the Philippines. Maica's mother had previous experience as a street vendor but had been out of work for a year due to illness.

The expenses associated with Maica's mother Carmencita's illness had eaten up their available money and left her with no way to re-start her business once she was well again.

The family was very happy to hear that help was on the way because in addition to the loss of income from Carmencita's lack of work, Maica's father Alexander was on the verge of losing his job as well. He worked in a factory where they made cabinets but unfortunately the factory was closing. Maica's family was facing a potential disaster if both parents are out of work. It only takes one such misfortune to push a family like Maica's over the edge. Even one month without work could be the difference between a family barely getting by and suddenly becoming homeless(like my other sponsor child Jenny's family.) I'm so happy that I asked CI to look into the IGP's for my sponsor kids! Otherwise, I might not have known about Maica's situation until it was too late.

Carmencita bought lots of food and cooking supplies as well as large bag of charcoal and an umbrella for shade while she works on the street. I was so glad to see that they had bought that umbrella! It makes me happy to think that Carmencita will have a shady place to sit while she works. I don't know what dish Carmencita cooks and sells - but don't those ingredients look good?

Maica wrote me a very sweet letter of thanks. And I loved getting these photos because she looks so proud and happy. The field worker for CI also wrote to me to tell me that Maica's family went to church and had a special mass of thanksgiving read for me. That really touched my heart because even though I am not a religious person I know that my kids in the Philippines definitely are. It made me cry to think that they were including me in their prayers because I know how much that means to them.

I want to thank everyone who has bought yarn or books from me. Your help has been so great! I am pretty sure that the next IGP I am setting up will be for Jhonny's family in Ecuador. I need $800 - $900 for that project and I'm nearly there! I'll be updating my sale with some more yarn and books soon so hopefully I can get the next project going before Christmas time. Yay!!

Destashing Some Books Too

2008-11-23T18:41:00.010-05:00

Here's what I have so far:

Knitting Yarns and Spinning Tales $6
Funky Knitting by Happy House $6
Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy $6
Sirdar The Seascapes Pattern Book of Aran Classics (Sweaters for the whole family) $6

All of them are in mint condition. Same shipping and payment rules as my yarn stash sale below. Still some great yarn left! Please email me with any questions or to reserve a book. I will probably be adding to this list but this is what I've got for now. :)

Maica's Family at Home

2008-11-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here is Maica at home with her family in the Philippines.

Maica is the youngest in her family and the only one of the siblings to have a sponsor. The eldest sister is not eligible for sponsorship because she is too old for the program. Her brothers can be sponsored. They are 14 and 16 years old. Again, if anyone would like to sponsor either of them please email me and I will help you get it set up.

I think Maica looks just like her mother. :)

Maica seems to get taller and taller in every new batch of pictures that we get of her. I think she is at that age that girls start to really sprout up.

Tomorrow - the IGP!!

Maica's New Photo

2008-11-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

I just a letter from Children International about one of my sponsor children Maica, letting me know about the Income Generating Project that I set up for her familiy. This was the second such project I have set up.

So my next couple of posts will feature Maica so I can share with you the results of the IGP...

First off, this is the new yearly photo we received of Maica!

Children International has been doing a great job taking the new photos of the sponsor kids. They are much less "mug shot" looking and more natural and revealing of each child's personality. I love it! Isn't Maica so pretty? She wants to be a teacher and likes to round up the younger kids to play pretend games where she acts the part of a teacher. Reminds me of myself when I was her age. I wonder if her "students" get bored and run away as fast as mine did. :)

Tomorrow, Maica's family and housing.

Stash Yarn Sale Phase 2

2008-11-17T17:00:00.010-05:00

I found some more yarn that I am willing to part with so the Stash Sale is in Phase Two. :) I've reposted the remaining yarn form the original sale post and added the new sale yarns at the end.

Thanks for taking a look!

THE BIG STASH YARN SALE:

Ok - here we go. I have finally started to attempt to get the craft room under control. You know, so I can actually go in there and craft. :) So, I will be posting yarn and knitting books for sale here over the next however many days. I am hoping to use the money I raise to fund some of the income generating or special needs projects for my sponsor kids in time for Christmas. I'd also like to get this stuff sold and shipped before the Christmas mailing rush because I (actually probably poor Hubby) don't want to stand in long post office lines.

Now for all the "business":

Default shipping will be by priority mail either in one of the envelopes or the boxes, whichever the yarn will fit in. If there is a cheaper way I will try to find it (but I will have to charge a small amount for the padded envelopes or boxes I will have to buy so it usually ends up being about the same as priority anyway.)

If you would like any of the yarn please email me to let me know. My email addy is in the sidebar in the upper right. Please tell me your shipping address so I can figure out the shipping. Payment is by Paypal only please. I will send you a payment request. I will try to ship within two days of payment.

Non-smoking home. No cats. I do have dogs but they aren't allowed in the craft room.

Oh & please do me a big favor and let your blog readers know I am having a sale. I've tried to make the prices fair and I've got a big selection of stuff coming. Thank you!!

So - here we go!

4 skeins of Shadyside Farms Studios. 185 yard each. This is a naturally dyed worsted wool. I think it would make a fabulous felted bag! Wound into cakes but never used. Originally $13 each. This set $30

2 skeins of Reynolds Utopia in White #111. Really soft! $6

10 skeins Katia Dolby. 137 yards each. Color 522. Really pretty ribbon style yarn. $40

2 skeins Dalegarn Falk in Green #0184. 100% wool superwash. 116 yards per skein. $8

8+ skeins of Plymouth Cotton Worsted in color 6423. 83 meters each. $15

1 skein Twisted yarn in "Batty". Fat Stripes style. Superwash merino. Light worsted weight. 240 yards. $15

1 skein Celia's Basket sock yarn in "Painter's Palette". 350 meters. $12

1 skein Mama E's sock yarn in "Mermaids". 100% merino. $12

9 skeins of Universal Deluxe Worsted 100% wool. Very soft! 220 yards each. Originally $12 each. $40

10 skeins of Brown's Sheep Nature Spun in Charcoal, Pepper and Snow. 100% wool worsted weight. 245 yards each. $45

Lauryn Waistcoat kit from Rowan containing 4 skeins of All Seasons Cotton Sh192. 98 yards each. $25

Rowan Dolly Bag Kit containing 2 skeins of Rowan Handknit Cotton. $8

1 huge skein of unlabeled Hand Dyed Cotton Laceweight. Gorgeous subtle colorway. $15

9+ skeins of Schachenmayr Princess in color #42 - a pretty lavender. (I swatched with one skein and then frogged it. The yardage is all there but I am only counting this as 9 skeins since I did swatch with the one.) Ribbon type yarn. 125 meters each. $25

10 skeins Schachenmayr Punto. 90 meters each. This is a 50/50 cotton & acrylic yarn. DK weight. $20

10 skeins of Gedifra Fashion Friend Astrakhan in color 4701. This is a boucle yarn. 50 meters each. Worsted to bulky weight. (Originally $9 each) My price $60

1 skein of Lucky Duck Farms Sock Yarn in "Mango Madness". 100% merino handwash. 440 yards. Wound into a cake but never used. $12

Huge skein of lace weight wool. Wound into cake but not used. Pale blue, aqua. litght purples and grey. Much prettier than the photo shows. $20

Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. The colorway is "Dark Parrot". Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $15

Unlabeled skein of lace weight. I think this is silk and wool but it may be just silk. Wound into cake but not used. Really nice sheen! $15

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in "Coffee Pot Rock". Wound into cake but never used. Handpainted Superwash Meino wool. 560 yards. $12

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in "Coffee Pot Rock". I did a tiny swatch with this one but the yardage is all there. Handpainted Superwash Meino wool. 560 yards. $12

Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $15

Zen Yarn Garden heavy sock weight in colorway "Ice Mint 2". Handpainted Superwash Merino. 250 yards $18

A Piece of Vermont Sock Yarn in colorway "Impressions". Handpainted Superwash wool and 25% nylon. 425 yards. $15

A Piece of Vermont Sock Yarn in colorway "Dude". Handpainted Superwash wool and 25% nylon. 425 yards. $15

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $18

Celia's Basket Sock yarn in colorway "Neptune". Handpainted Superwash wool. 350 meters. $15

Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $18

Spindle Cat Studio Sock Yarn in colorway "Tabbioca". Handpainted Superwash wool. 450 yards. $15

Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades of blues and pale greens and yellows. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20

Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades blues, greens, yellows, and peach. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20

Yarn Sale Update

2008-11-17T15:43:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that if you have purchased and paid for yarn from me it has been shipped.

Also - I found another stash I had forgotten about (ahem) and will be listing a whole bunch more yarn tonight - mainly sock and lace weight - so tune in!

Thank you so so much to everyone who has bought something so far. And to Chris and Dianne for mentioning the sale on their blogs. It's really helping!! I can't wait to get that next IGP going!

Thanks again!

One Finished Blanket

2008-11-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

I've got some photos of a baby blanket I finished crocheting a few months ago and never got round to posting...mainly because Hubby took half of the photos of the wrong side of the blanket. Ooops!

Oh well...here it is anyway.

Edging, right side.

The border, wrong side.

The border, right side.

All folded up, wrong side.

The only shot I have of the whole thing. Unfortunately it shows the wrong side. :(

Oh well. At least I've illustrated that crochet does indeed have a wrong and a right side. Crochet's wrong side is a little less "wrong" than knitting's wrong side. But still, wrong is wrong. Right? :)

I've packed this up and sent it off to little Alison Nicol that I introduced on the blog a few days ago. It's just the right size to make a snuggly blankie for a two year old. I hope she likes it.

Pretend You Never Saw This Post

2008-11-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Whatever you do, please do not go over to this blog:

Old Red Barn Co.

and please do not enter the contest to win any of these stunningly beautiful quilts.

Because the less you enter the more chance there is for me to win! And I am one greedy-free-quilt-wanting-blogger. :)

Just wanted to make sure we all had that straight. :)