You're Knittin'!

Big thanks to Cheryl in Texas for sending in 2 shawls, 1 cowl, 1 pair of socks, 1 hat, 2 scarves, and a monetary donation! You were quite varied in your knitting preferences... we appreciate that :)

Thanks also to Linda in CT for donating 7 scarves and 7 hats, as well as a monetary donation.

And thank you to Lori in SC who sent in 5 hats to our donation site for the homeless veterans project (read more about that in our group on Ravelry.com).

We appreciate all of you so much!

More to come about an upcoming contest... any ideas about the contest? Can you donate a prize or two? Email me! knitsforneeds@gmail.com

22 Hats for Cold Kids

I just sent out 22 hand-knit and crocheted hats to Cleveland yesterday. A lady who works at a pre-school up there sent me a message on Facebook asking who could help get some warm items to several kids in her school who didn't have warm things. I was very glad to help out.. this is what Knits For Needs loves to do!

More Thanks for More Donations

Thank you to Bonnie in New Jersey for sending in 9 beautiful hats! Three of them are going out next week to some kids at a pre-school in Chicago who do not have warm things to wear.

Thanks also to Rhonda in Georgia for donating 2 sweet baby blankets and 6 adorable baby sweaters. These will all go to babies in need at a hospital very soon... stay tuned. Also, thank you, Rhonda, for sending a monetary donation to help with shipping costs!

Our current count of things donated to KFN in 2010 is: 1,035! How exciting to know we are helping so many people!

11 Hats for Cold Kids

My kids' school has a mitten and hat tree where they hang items for kids in need this winter. I'm sending in 11 of our hats today for them to hang on it! It is currently 16 degrees here in Atlanta.. I hope they get the items quick!

Exciting Times For Knits For Needs!

Holy cow, I just got back from the PO Box and we've received sizable monetary donations!! We have enough to cover this season's shipments, plus a bunch for next year!! Thank you so much to Cathy in GA, Stephanie in NJ, and Michele in VA!! You guys have made a very special contribution to a great organization of people who knit and crochet items to keep those in need warm. I almost cried when I saw the size of a couple of those checks. I love your generosity and your dedication to this charity. Because of you and because of the people who knit and crochet for us, we are making a world of difference here in the US. You guys rock!

Thanks also to Cathy in GA for sending 7 hats and 1 beautiful scarf! Our count is now 779! I feel confident that we will get to our goal of 900 this year. We've already beat our total from last year by over 100. Keep up the wonderful work!

125 Hats For Halos Of Hope

A few days ago, I sent out 125 hats to Halos Of Hope, an organization that provides hand-knit/crocheted hats to chemo patients. I saw that they had a need for hats on Twitter, so I decided this would be a good opportunity for us to help some chemo patients with our items. Here are a couple pictures of my daughter and me with the hats I sent. Sierra helps me a bit with the charity so I thought I'd include her in the picture. Halos of Hope mentioned something about a press release, so I'm sending these pics to them as well. Many thanks and kudos to those who helped by sending in items!!

Hats For Heads

Many thanks to Lorraine in South Carolina and to Robin for sending in a total of 14 hats and 9 skeins of yarn for Knits For Needs! Aren't the hats gorgeous? And Lorraine actually took the time to tag each one beautifully. I love these hats! And the skeins of yarn are up for grabs for people who need more yarn for their charity projects. I just ask that you pay $10 for shipping (it usually costs more than that but I just pay the rest) and I'll send you a box full of yarn.

With the 1 hat that my daughter knit for KFN and the 7 that I just donated, that means our count for this year is up to 439!

A Special Hat For KFN

My daughter (12) has just finished knitting a hat for Knits For Needs! It is the first hat she has ever knit. She decided to knit it for KFN for a service project for Beta Club at school. I'm so proud of her :)

Knits For Needs would like to thank everyone for all the donations we've been receiving so far this year. I love going to the PO Box... it's like Christmas :) Christmas for people in need. Thank you for the donations and support!

Melinda in Pennsylvania has sent 17 prayer squares to us here in Atlanta and has delivered 14 blankets to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. Thank you Melinda!

Michelle, also in Pennsylvania, knit 51 blanket squares and 2 scarves for Knits For Needs with yarn that her grandmother left when she passed. She thought that would be a great way to honor her grandmother, and we agree that her grandmother would approve and be very, very proud.

Elizabeth in Alabama and Whitney in Indiana together sent 3 scarves. Thanks guys!

Lynne in Marietta, GA knit and donated 35 hats and 3 scarves! Wow! I also had the chance to meet Lynne last weekend as I was bringing her more yarn. I wish I could meet all of you. Lynne and I are going to a meeting of Twitter knitters (and non-Twitter knitters) this Sunday, March 21, at 12:30 at Rare Purls in Duluth. If you're an Atlanta knitter, think about coming out to join us!

If I have forgotten to mention someone, PLEASE let me know. I do forget things now and again. Our email address: knitsforneeds@gmail.com. I think some of our Ravelry members have donated many items and I counted them on our total count, but forgot to write down the individual donations...sorry! Let me just send out a big thanks to Sweezer and GennyLynn on Ravelry for all you do. GennyLynn has been receiving many blanket squares. Thank you all for sending them and allowing her to make blankets for people in need. Our Ravelry group is really active so if you don't belong, join us today!

Our total count of things donated to Knits For Needs so far just in 2010 is: 289!! As you know, 100% of items donated to KFN go directly to people in need through homeless shelters, food banks, hospitals, etc. Keep the donations coming.. onward to 900!

Timothy's Cupboard

Hello everyone, and thanks for reading this latest update about Knits For Needs. If you are new, please take some time to read about all the wonderful things we've been up to in the past year, including donating 634 items to people in need in 2009! Our current count for 2010 is 48 and our lofty goal for this year is 900 items. If you are donating on your own in the name of Knits For Needs, please let me know and I'll include your items in our count.

Last week I had the honor of donating (you're going to kill me for not counting the exact number) about 25 hats, 4 crocheted amigurumi animals, and about 10 scarves to a church right around the corner from my home in Woodstock, GA, just north of Atlanta. The church is called Timothy Lutheran Church and is near and dear to my heart because all three of my children attended their preschool. What you see in the picture is not the church, but the tiny little house called Timothy's Cupboard, which is a food bank run by the church. In 2009, Timothy's Cupboard fed a total of 2,903 children, 8,277 people, and 2,433 families in the Cherokee County area in which I live. I called them a couple weeks ago to see if they might be in need of knit/crocheted warm things, and they said a resounding, "YES!". When I took the items (pictured) to them last week, I can't tell you the looks of amazement and appreciation I saw on their faces. They were amazed at our wonderful group of people and asked for more information about us and also mentioned they would not only get the items out immediately, but they'd need more. Needless to say, I will be bringing them more items soon as well as all of our contact info, including this blog.


Here is a not-so-great picture of me resembling Santa on my way to drop off the items at the church. Also pictured are some of the items that were donated. After this picture was taken, I found a bunch of adult hats that I wanted to include but then forgot to take of pic of everything altogether. I must get better at documenting all of this!

Below is a random picture of a hat I just finished for Knits For Needs. It was finished after the Timothy delivery, but I wanted to show it anyway because I think it is so cute! I can't wait to donate it.. actually, I guess that makes our count 49 now, doesn't it? :)

Have a great week, and please spread the word about our awesome organization, Knits For Needs!

Giving, Giving, & Giving Some More

**Remember, clicking on our ads raises much needed funds for our wonderful cause, Knits For Needs... a super easy way for you to help! Thanks!!**

Thanks for coming to see a sneak-peek into the inner workings of Knits For Needs.. aka... me sitting in my hallway sifting through all of our donated items! :) A couple weeks ago I started going through everything and sorting it all into piles. What we have most of is women's and girls' hats, but we also had some blankets, a teddy bear, a bib, several pairs of booties, a shawl, several scarves, about 20 prayer squares, and two baby sweaters. Here are some pictures of the sorting process.

As you can see, it looks like a total mess, but there was a method to my madness, I assure you. In the picture to the right, you are looking at a huge pile of children's hats, some booties, and a couple blankets and two sweaters. In the other picture you can see the pile of adult hats, most of which are women's.

Look at this super-cute preemie hat, this tiny bear, and cute little bootie along with the other booties in the background! Adorable tiny baby items that will make some babies out there very happy.

So after sorting everything, I determine what is going to hospitals. I had been in touch with a lady at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and she told me they were in need of about 30 baby hats in different sizes. If the items are going to hospitals, they need to be washed because hospital patients are often very sensitive to allergens, plus you certainly would not want any germs on the items. So I very gently wash the items in the washer and dry them in the dryer on the lowest setting. All the items came out great. When I'm sure they are completely dry, I individually bag each item and tag them with a special note from Knits For Needs, which I have included a picture of, although it is a bit difficult to see. I had to take it without the flash because the flash kept reflecting off the bag :)
The box below is currently bound for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and should arrive by Monday. Included in this box are 2 baby blankets, about 30 hats, about 10 pair of booties, and 1 bib. I'm sure the recipients will love the items we've made for them and I can't wait to hear back from some of them!!

If the items are not going to a hospital or to chemo patients, I do not wash them since they really are clean anyway. (I just take extra special care with the hospital ones) These seen below should have arrived at The Covenant House in Atlanta by now, although I have not heard back from them yet. Included in this box were about 20 hats, 1 shawl, and about 8 scarves. The few men's hats I had went out in this box since most of the homeless youth they provide shelter for are
male.

Currently I am looking for women's and children's homeless shelters somewhere in the US where we can donate more hats. I have contacted several places, including shelters in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York, but have not heard back from anyone yet. I do not send out our items anywhere unless I have spoken to someone there who can assure me the items will make it into the hands of the intended recipients. We put much time, effort, and love into making these items so I make sure they get into the right hands!

Thanks for reading about the wonderful things Knits For Needs is doing! And, as always, thank you to all contributors and supporters. We would not exist without you, or if we did, it would just be me and I surely wouldn't have come up with 380 items by myself! Together, we ROCK!

348!

First of all, I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to Shanda in North Carolina for donating three baby blankets and two baby hats (the blankets are pictures to the right) and also to Jenny in Scotland for donating 10 prayer squares!! This makes our total items donated this year a whopping 348! The blankets to the right are being shipped to Melinda in Pennsylvania who is collecting blankets for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD.

On Saturday I will be delivering about 15-20 items, mostly warm hats, to The Covenant House here in Atlanta, which provides temporary housing for homeless youth.

Thank you all for your support and your time that you put into this wonderful cause. Many people wish they could make a difference in the world. Well, we ARE making a difference!

120 Hats!

I am so proud to announce that The Crochet Guild of America has donated 120 hats to Knits For Needs! The Crochet Guild of America is a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of crochet. Within it's membership is a group of professional crocheters who work in many aspects of the crochet industry. Among the professional members are designers, teachers, editors, manufacturers, publishers, and contract crocheters. One of our lovely supporters, named Jocelyn, told the group about Knits For Needs and they decided to donate their hats that they made at their Professional Development Day in Buffalo to our organization. All of the yarn for the hats was donated by Lion Brand Yarn, who also sponsored the event!

When I received the boxes of hats I was so excited that I couldn't wait to count them and also add them to what we have already collected. So as I sat amongst a huge pile of items, I learned that we have collected 207 items!! Now, we have already donated 117 items this year, so add these two figures together and we have a whopping total of 324 items (already donated or will be donated by end of year)!! So what does that leave us? 76? 76 more items need to be received for us to reach our lofty goal of 400 items donated in 2009. I think we're going to do it!

These 20 hats will be mailed out to St. Jude today! Thank you all who contributed. They are now back in their individual bags (they have to be very clean and individually bagged) and I put tags in the bags that say "Hand-knit for you with love by Knits for Needs " and included our blog address and email address. I also included "gently hand-wash in cold water and lay flat to dry". I will include these tags in everything we send now.

These hats went to The Covenant House Atlanta on March 4, 2009. The director sent me pictures of the homeless youth with the hats on!!! I cried :) Thank you all who donated for this project and others!

Hats, etc for homeless

Yes, this is me, Meridith :) This was our very first delivery of donated items. It was February 1 of this year, 2009. I took my daughter with me to put these in the hands of the homeless at Rescue Atlanta.