Making a Stement With Yarn

Lately, it has been obvious, that yarn can be used to make a statement .... we have seen the political statement pussyhats against Donald Trumph's politics - I never forget the expression of a Danish new reporter when he saw and commented the pink hats in Washington DC at the Women's March - his expression: priceless.

 

But what about other statements: puppies to remember war veterans - pink ribbons and pink bras honoring the breast cancer awareness cause - hats for chemo patients - blankets for shelter animals, blankets, scarfs, hats etc. for the homeless - hats for preemies..... the list of causes and statements are endless - but this caught our attention due the vast number of hats around the globe on the heads of protesters worn on the same day in January. You might see more of them today as it is International Women's Day.

 

My mum - a lady of 70+ years - used to be a crafter - on the internet for 17+ years - only speaks Danish. She was curious: Had I heard about it? How did people know how to make the hat? Who organized it? So I told her and made her realize what a powerful tool the internet can be.

I heard about it via creative/knitting friends just a week after they launched the idea in the US. A friend of mine knitted a couple of hats for Americans unable to knit.... I found a skein of leftover yarn and knitted a hat as was curious about the shape etc. Never worn as I finished it while I was on sick leave. Have later played a little with the pattern making other kinds of hats with som details on it.....

Have read some cool statements from independent yarn shops across the US, that truly warmed my knitting heart.... They might not all agree with the political statement of the hat, but some of them experienced mid December, that their sales have gone up so much, that they were secured until at least March. Normally, they were worried each months about breaking even due to competition from big hobby stores and supermarket chains also selling yarn. They even experienced a larger interest from people wanting to learn how to knit and in the process realising how calm they felt while being creative. It was crazy reading about pink yarn being sold out everywhere.... "All because of a knitted hat?!" Knitters not politically involved started following news about yarn shortage.... even non-knitters could not believe it and started following the news.

The New Yorker updated a known iconic image

Even "old fashioned" news sources - printed magazines - had knitted hats on their covers.

Time Magazine

So am I making a statement? Yes - several!! Pink ribbons and pink bras honoring the breast cancer awareness cause - hats for chemo patients - blankets for shelter animals - hats for preemies - mini hats to support Red Cross work with elderly......

 

Are you a knitter?

The Color Purple

It sounds like the title of a book or a movie, but it is the color of a skein of yarn I recently used when knitting.

Pattern for the baby hats can be found here

Somehow various charity requests for knitted hats catches my attentin so when a colleague had a Facebook post for knitted purple baby hats I wondered if my yarn stash had something purple at all - I am trying not to buy more yarn until I have used a lot of my stash so my contribution depended on past purchases. I had one skein and no idea why it was purchased in the first place.

 

The London Health Science Centre in Canada are asking for newborn baby hats (since 2011), and my colleague wanted to bring some with her to Canada when she went home for a visit - she is a knitter too but did not know if she herself could make some hats before the departure. "The period of PURPLE is something that many babies experience and is characterized often by periods of inconsolable crying".

 

I use knitting as exercise for my MS that is impacting the use of my right hand and it feels good that my personal training can contribute to charity projects, where knitting is needed. It takes to the level beyond exercise into something that others can benefit from too.

If you live in Canada, you will know that a lot of people might be needing warm hats etc. as they can not afford to buy some. I therefore encourage you to go over to Karen's blog, where she launches the TAKE IT IF YOU NEED IT to get people to knit and leave knitted items such as hats, mittens  scarves in public for a needing person to pick it up - and if you can not knit perhaps get some from the Dollar Store etc. and leave it in public.

 

 

Yes, it is the same magnet and ..... No, I did not shrink the baby hats. I had some leftover yarn, not quite enough for a fourth baby hat but enough for two mini-hats. They are knitted for a Danish charity collection - but that is a completely different blogpost.... next year,

 

Small Country, Big Heart

Source

Usually I post my own photos of pins I buy when supporting various causes, but decided this time to show two of NETTOs photos with the pins (they are selling the pins in their stores here in Denmark). I have already bought  pin to show my support.

I believe that we Danes need this cause to show the world that we do have a big heart. Lately we have been hammered in the international press about some laws relating to the migrants coming to Denmark: the right to seize valuables above a certain amount including jewellery, temporary border control between Denmark and Germany (started after Sweden imposed border control between Denmark and Sweden). To be honest I do not like those two measures to limit migrants - both of them costs a lot of money, money that could have been spent helping locally.

Locally - a lot of the migrants actually do not want to leave their countries, but when the support to relief organizations gets cut so there is not sufficient funds to provide food in local refugee camps, that is when migration takes over as the only hope.

Danmarks Indsamling has their 10th annual TV show tonight - This year's theme: Lille land stort hjerte (small country big heart) - collecting money to support 10 different relief organizations like Red Cross, Unicef, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders etc. to help fight extreme poverty. I just hope that the Danes have not been discouraged by the negative press but still wants to contribute like the previous years.

Source

Always Looking Up

Michael J Fox - What can I Say: loved the Back to the Future movies when I was a teenager - actually still love them - but also the Family Ties and Spin City TV series and movies that he has been a part of.

It took me two years to read his book "Always Looking Up" - not because I found it difficult to read or boring, but it touched some topics while I have pursued new horizons with my MS. I started reading it just days after I expressed my initial interest in what became the Sailing Sclerosis Project and finished the book while I was becoming comfortable (and accepting) the two hidden handicaps, that I now suffer from caused by the MS.

"Well you think about it. I just want to tell you, you'd be doing us a big favor."

Ooh, he used the f-word. To a politician, favors are mother's milk. I thanked him for the call and told him I'd consider it and call him back soon.

Michael J Fox has Parkinson's - and he has started a foundation to spread awareness, challenges etc. about the life with Parkinson's .... you name it.... putting his face out there as FACE and advocate for research.

It has not been an easy task because there are some that does not believe that he is honest about his Parkinson's and others have had harsh arguments about celebrities being spokes persons for diseases at hearings etc. But I believe that people known from the media should be spoke persons if they chose to do so as they will reach a bigger audience thus helping people with less strength/means creating awareness.

To people like Michael J Fox being spokes person for diseasses etc. THANK YOU

Beat Cancer - Knæk Kræften 2015

Tonight (now) is the annual TV Show Knæk Kræften (Beat Cancer) collecting money for a cause that affects a lot of families every day. 2 becomes 3: This year the campaign launched a third pin, so I had to add it to my collection of pins. Like last year I also supported via SMS donation.

3..... that is actually a scary number, as it is the same number of people in my network that have been diagnosed with cancer since last years Knæk Cancer campaign :o(

This months is also breast cancer awareness month, so bought one of the four bracelets that were on sale - could not have the other three bracelets in any shop, otherwise they would have been purchased too.

October is...... Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - both my mum and her sister has suffered from breast cancer so I can not turn my back to this cause. The doctors claim that I might get it too given the family history so I have signed up earlier than usual for the mammograms just in case - to be honest I do not give it much thought. Not reacting to the symptoms can be fatal, which we have unfortunately witnessed in our family.

Nærmeste pårørende is the 4th Dicte book

Elsebeth Egholm is a Danish author that earlier this year revealed her breast cancer diagnosis to help raise awareness about breast cancer - I have read the first 4 books in the Dicte series (woman reporter that ends up in the middle of various crimes) and she released the latest (9th book) on August 1st.

I actually know a person that believes that the breast cancer cause gets too much attention. I totally disagree as I have heard about several incidences where was paid too little attention to symptoms thus ending badly - with awareness campaigns you reach more persons and you might just help them in time.

Last year I saw an ugly side of an awareness campaign for cancer - caused by people with MS: "What about us with MS?" they wrote on various medias, "They are taking away attention from us!" That made me very upset - they are forgetting something: When researchers are making new medicines/drugs, they often discover that other diseases might benefit from the new product too.

Yes I am supporting the awareness for breast cancer and I hope that I can show you tomorrow just how I am doing it this year.

Heart Problems

Well luckily, I do not suffer from that - but I have a friend who does.

The Danish Heart Association has put these 4 colors of bracelets for sale to raise money for the cause. When receiving the birthday wishlist from a young lady turning 13 years old I spotted that one of her wishes were these 4 bracelets - she has just participated in a first aid course and has decided that she should support causes that affects friends of her family.

She has also been curious about MS and is not afraid to ask me questions - she is very aware that handicaps or conditions are often invisible to others, as she for a very long time refused to believe that I even had a chronic disease. She has also announced that when she gets older she would like to do volunteer work for Red Cross.

So heart problems has become "heart warmth" - a young girl that wants to make a difference.

No Hungry Kid

When in New York last month, I encountered Shake Shack. Had seen good reviews of the chain but was still a little curious about them living up to big expectations based on other people's reviews. It was good!! :o)

There burgers are not king size - just a regular size that a European like me can actually eat up (the normal American portions are way too big for me), tasty, no fancy ingredients and served with yummy fries on the side - and affordable on almost any budget.

Almost any budget?

There are hungry kids even in America, and Shake Shack had their 4th annual shake sale, where you could support NoHungryKid with 2$ - you received a voucher in return so you could get a free shake at your next visit at Shake Shack (an offer I will not be using :o) ) - I had to support. Have never gone to bed hungry and out of a travel budget 2$ was affordable, kind of a way giving back to a country that has given me many good memories. Maybe I could have given more, but prefer to spread out support/donations to several cause showing that I care.

You Gotta Pin It

You might think that I am writing about pinterest, but the answer to that is "No" :)

It is an actual pin, that supports Hjerteforeningen - a society, that supports research etc. concerning cardiovascular disease as 1 out of 4 dies from that. They had a television show the other day raising funds to the society so the odds of not dying from a cardiovascular disease can be improved to better and more favorable numbers. It might be a tiny gesture when it comes to supporting the cause, but every amount counts and contributing just a little at the time leaves money for contribution to other causes as well.

More things can be pinned to my note board at home as I am using the pins there.

Because I Can.....

... bring a little joy to someone.

About a week ago, a friend shared a request for Christmas cards on Facebook: Christmas cards for a a six year old girl, Addie, who is suffering from a strange sickness causing her brain to shrink, so this is most likely her last Christmas.The news even reached us, and last week the Danish edition of MetroXpress had an article about Addie and her situation.

So in the true spirit of Christmas, this card is now en route from little old Copenhagen to Addie.

Beat Cancer - Knæk Kræften

There is a big Danish beat cancer campaign, Knæk Cancer, going on at the moment - and the intense coverage culminating in a big galla TV-show tomorrow has made some MSers angry in a Facebook Forum. Especially one lade was really agressive and would not tolerate that other MSers thinks it is OK for the campaign to take so much space on TV, social media etc.

If people commented on her post and did not agree with her she commented like a little stubborn child "For the 4th time.......!" really talking down to people. It an open forum, not even her personal profile page, so you should be prepared to face opinions not matching yours. But her tone and language really made me upset - luckily there is a function where you can blog post by a specific person so for the second time I used it (first time was to block a spammer)...... and she kept on saying "What about my MS?!"

Fact is that more people here have suffered from some kind of cancer and the cancer causes more deaths than MS ... sure MS could use more attention, but I am not offended by the massive Knæk Cancer campaign and realized just this morning that a lot of the coverage was just noise in the background on my TV. Others need repetition if their attention is to be caught.

Background noise or not - I believe that cancer research is very important as cancer has shown it's ugly face in my family on several occasions and amongst friends and I do not consider it to be less important than MS, just because I suffer from MS myself and not cancer.

So did the Knæk Cancer have no effect on me? Sure it did - I have supported it both via SMS donations and buying the two pins with the campaigns logo - wanted them last year but the 125.000 pins were sold out in a hurry, but this year I managed to by them. The flower symbolizes life and optimism and the exclamation mark that it is time to act.

Pins supporting various causes that relates to disease etc

P.S. Pins at my place are not placed on clothes, but used all year long as pins on my note board as a reminder that the causes always needs attention.

Bookfriend and The Seventh Child

Original title: Det syvende barn

A while back, I mentioned that I might be doing some volunteer work for the Red Cross - I am actually already doing it: I have become a book friend for lonely elderly woman. Picking up and dropping off library books for her and 1-2 visit every month where we discuss a book, that we have chosen to read. Amazing that you can do volunteer work and read books in order to do it. We are challenging each other a bit regarding the books, as we do have different book taste, but it is nice to get out of the reading comfort zone and encounter new authors etc.

The first book was The Seventh Child by Erik Valeur, which have locally won a lot of prizes albeit some readers find several passages to be a little too long. Interestingly enough so did my book friend only to realize that when she read some of those passages a little too fast she missed small details that combined changed the story and made more meaning. I could not help challenge a colleague who has also read the book - she had fast-read some passages too and she had actually missed out on the same details as my book friend. This underlines this statement, that I recently found on Pinterest.

7 children have more in common that meets the eye - they are all born at the same maternity ward in Copenhagen and all of them are put up for adoption via the same orphanage Kongslund - but one of them has a dark story unbeknownst to the child. Abortion was illegal in the 60s in Denmark so this tells the story of a lot unwanted children focusing on the seven children to find out one of the big secret.

Years after an elderly woman is found at the beach with no ID but among items placed at the body is an old photo of Kongslund - the hidden story slowly emerges after anonymous letter being sent to some of the now grown up children in hope of revealing the true story. Who knows the truth about what happened? Who is that 7th child as the name does not exist anywhere?

Olympic Knitting

Well I am not sitting and watching the Sochi Winter Olympics, but a clip from a Danish news station made me laugh and smile big - see for yourself here

The Wall Street Journal gives an explanation here, why a Finish snow boarding coach were knitting.

Something Usefull and Returning to a Challenge

The past year had it's up and downs, and looking at the first 27 days of 2014 it has been a bit of a bumper ride already draining me from energy. Need to turn the clock back to mid December, where I saw a collection add from the Danish chapter of Red Cross that led to a decision, that I pursued some weeks ago.

Back in December I supported the Give-A-Heart (Giv et hjerte) campaign, with a text message (SMS) donating 50 DKK (little less than 10$) collected for a Christmas box to Danish families in need for help to afford just a little extra for Christmas. It was also supported by the pattern of a ...... weaved heart... with the Red Cross logo.

Already back then I saw the opportunity to pursue my own personal challenge of weaving 366 hearts - my goal of doing it in 366 days is much overdo, but I need to do it for me. So here you have it, the first heart of almost 50 more to come, and a few more also await publishing on my weaved heart blog that will get back into action again.

2013 was much about the Sailing Sclerosis project, but I also need to focus on other things in case I do not get a spot on the boat. The Red Cross heart has also lead to another thing: A couple of weeks ago I was at a introducion meeting for future/possible volunteers. If I get accepted to the support group, that I want to join it actually involves some crafty thing, that I am sort of already doing.... and I have previous supported various caused doing a little crafty work, so why not go further. If I get accepted I will reveal later how I am supporting the Red Cross.

The Big Knit (Den Store Strikkefest)

Den Store Strikkefest

aka

The Big Knit

aka

Mets ton bonnet

aka

Das Grosse Stricken

aka

De Goedgemuste Breicampagne

 

Knit a hat for a smoothie and 2 DKK will be donated to DaneAge Association (Ældresagen) whensold. Seriously it is about knitting funny hats for those smoothie bottles - miniature hats of course - but thought it sounded too funny to be missed. Once the deadline was reached the hats are mounted on bottles that will go into stores soon.
 

Knitting for good causes - there are actually a lot of interesting ones out there, but this kind I have never heard about before... untill reading about Innocent Drink's Danish campaign. Looking around, there is actually a lot of inspiration to be found - and not much yarn is needed to make one of the hats, the Innocent Drik campaign website even shared tome basic patterns to get people started.
 

Me, I only have one "but" with innocent drink - actually with a lot of other smoothies - most of them contains banana, which is a total no-go for me (allergies) and have a hard time finding those without banana flavour. On the other hand I applaud the use of banana as sweetener instead of artificial additives/sweeteners. The model in above photos was donated to a friend who enjoyed drinking a smoothie :o) Donated 4 mini-hats this year - but think it will be more when the party re-opens in 2014 - a great use of left-over yarn from bigger projects.

Starting Now

What if your new life is starting now? If you just lost your job while you thought you were on the upward career track? That you realised that you have sacrificed everything because you thought you were doing the right thing?

 

Libby Morgan is suddenly in that situation, and one of the things she reconnects with, when it happens, is knitting. Especially knitting hats to pre-mature born babies (premies). That leads to a friendship with the yarn store owner Lydia Goetz, and meeting the teenager, Ava, who needs help in a lot of ways. The knitting of bulks of baby hats, leads her to volunteering at the local hospital rocking and singing to the babies and even to a romance with Dr. Stone.

 

But what happens if old parts of your life wants you back?

 

Love the idea of Libby knitting hats for premies, as I did that myself a few years back. When I had my first MS attack after being diagnose, I remember having what-if-I-loose-my-job thoughts - came to the conclusion that crafting could reduce some of the situation's stress and perhaps spur more ideas when jobhunting or figuring out the future. It is as if the crafting is like an anchor that keeps you close to reality when everything else might seem surreal.

 

If you need a feel-good moment and like to creat novels with craft people, then I suggest you pick up Debbie Macomber's "Starting Now".

The Silence of the Llamas

 

The Silence of the Llamas by Anne Canadeo - the 5th Black Sheep Knitting Mystery.

Can you imagine driving into the country side in Massachusetts along with some of your friends during the fall, stopping by farms buying pumpkins, apple sauce, apple cider, fruits etc.? Your final destination is a fiber festival, held by a friend - and also to support one of your closets friend who has a stall at the festival, Maggie.

 

The merry festival ends abruptly due to animal cruelty, and the knitting group finds out, that there are several suspects to consider. Or are their farm friends caught in the middle of a battle regarding land protection? The animal cruelty escalates and suddenly they also have a murder at their hands - they chose to stand by their friends while figuring out whi they can actually trust.

 

While they are sleuthing, they are knitting items to sell for a charity. I love reading about charities - they knitted a blanket in "Knit, Purl, Die" - and in another book I am currently reading, they are making caps for preemies, just like I did a few years back. Feels good once in a while to support various causes with hand crafted items - and love how the authors encourage their readers to participate too. In this series, recipés, patterns, links etc are shared via the knitting store's bulletin board.

 

Because I Can

A fellow crafter from PaperCraftPlanet, Niamh, shared with us, that a girl named Ellie is going trough a rough time since she has been diagnosed with NF1 (Neurofibromatosis). As she loves getting cards, what is greater than sending her just one more smile?

Lost in Paper Scraps shared these owl digis last year, coloured them with COPICs and mounted them on earth tone papers. Those expressions on the owls' faces: Don't they make you want to crawl into the card and hug them? Owls were chosen to go on the card as I have seen so many kids passing me, while I was reading in a nearby park, with the soft owl toy in their hands. I just hope the card  fulfill it's purpose :o) If you have the time and want to make a card for Ellie, follow the link above and you will find her address.

Because I Can: Card for Emily

I saw a request for a little girl named Emily for cards to be sent to her and cheer her up while undergoing treatment for leukemia, just before I went travelling. Finally some crafting time, so I could finish a card and send to that little girl.

When spotting this wonderful digi from Limited Runs Digital Stamps I knew that this was the stamp for the get well card, I was going to make. I mean: Who does not smile when spotting this happy little frog? Coloured him up with 3 different green COPICs and mounted him on two layers of freebie paper from Crafts Beautiful and voila one card already posted for the receiver.

Because I Can: Card For Sebastian

A while ago, a friend from PaperCraftPlanet reminded me about a post, that Ginger had posted on her blog. She teached at a elementary school and in her class, there is a boy, Sebastian, who is undergoing surgery soon. He is little bit different, but despite sometimes being ridiculed by older kids, he seems to have an amazing energy towards life in him - believe most people could learn something from him.

I had not forgotten Ginger's request for cards to Sebastian to make him feel extra special, but I had severe problems figuring out what the card should look like. Last week's freebie at Bugaboo stamps fuelled the ideas - so this is the card that I mailed to Sebastian:

Entering the card in the #73 Anything Goes Challenge at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog