Recurring Theme . . .

My last post I was ruminating about where October had gone, and now I've allowed November to slip past as well as several days of December. Old habits die hard, obviously. I've never been one who found it easy to build habits, especially good ones. Oh, well, enough of that blither.

Thank you, Rena, for reminding me that I hadn't been here lately! What are you all knitting as Christmas gifts? I'm not knitting for Christmas, I'm struggling through a pair of fingerless gloves for myself. I started one pattern for a pair of long (nearly elbow length) ones, got to the thumb part and realized I couldn't make heads or tails of the directions so I tried to use the thumb portion of another pattern, but just managed to confuse myself further. In frustration I frogged them completely and started another pattern, but lengthened them some, so that my sleeve will come down over the cuff even when I'm knitting. I've just started the increases for the thumb.

Scarves . . . December scarves are due soon! I know that many of you are doing Christmas gifts and so if you've opted not to do December scarves there will be no repercussions . . . we don't kick you out!

I'm still working on a couple of scarves, but just feel like I'm knitting slower than ever these days. I'm not sure why . . . maybe fibro fog, but my mind just seems to wander more than usual and I'm finding it harder to concentrate.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrated, and that you're about ready for the upcoming holidays however you celebrate.

Shelly

October is gone?

The month of October just flew by me. At the end of September Jeanne, my sil Dawn, and I attended the 'Customer Appreciation Day' for Stockton Hematology Oncology and gave out about 40 scarves, then we left another 30 or more in the treatment area for patients to take. This event was much different than the "Gathering of Friends" event, in that other vendors were there too. Several of the vendors reps came over to find out what we are about, and I wish now we'd had some brochures or at least written info available to give out. All I had were business cards, so I hope they went to our web site to learn more about what we do.

While the gals handled the chores at S.H.O., hubby was nice enough to take a batch of scarves to St. Joseph's Regional Cancer Center for their annual We Can camping weekend. Jim told me afterward that the chaplain used our scarves as part of a message to address the concerns of many of the campers that people just don't seem to care about their plight. He gave them warm fuzzy proof that many people care about them, people who they've never even met. I'm awaiting pictures from Jim of the event so I can get them posted.

We received many more scarves than expected for the August deadline, and it looks like we will have enough to make a one time donation to the homeless shelter or the local mission which serves the local street people. We're still getting very temperate weather here though we've had rain off and on for the past four days.

Hope you all get out and Vote tomorrow - let your voice be heard.

Lots happening!

Tomorrow evening is the "Gathering of Friends" event where Scarves From The Heart will pass out scarves. I'm guessing we'll go through 100 to 150 scarves! I'm hoping we'll get some good pictures to post.

On 9/30 we will be at Stockton Hematology-Oncology's "Customer Appreciation Day" where I expect we will pass out another 100 to 150 scarves.

Just a reminder, our fall scarves are due Sept. 22nd, so if you haven't finished yours the due date is right around the corner!

Our Winter theme will be "No Winter Doldrums"! That means you can make any scarf you choose that makes you happy! Preferrably in bright colors!

I hope you are all safe from the storms that have been talked about in the weather reports.

Shelly

362! We have 362 Scarves!

If these old legs would let me climb a mountain I'd shout it from the highest peaks! You gals, and all those you've told about Stitching For The Seasons and Scarves From The Heart have been absolutely wonderful! You've done a wonderful job exceeding the goal we had set! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I wish each of you could come to the "Gathering of Friends" event to see the faces of the folks who receive your handiwork. Each is so thankful, and so appreciative! This year I'm asking a friend to come along just to man a camera so that you can see some of these folks with their scarves. Last year we were short handed for help just to give them out, and then ran out of scarves. This year I'm hoping we'll have plenty of help, and I know for sure we have plenty of scarves.

Again, thank you all so very much!
Hugs,
Shelly

Men's Scarves!

The gray/green/gold/brown/blue striped scarf is the felted scarf, which I made remembering my father's hats! That one and the gray/white/blue striped scarf were both knitted the long way - and they were more uncomfortable for my hands and wrists than knitting across. Go figure. The third scarf is a simple garter stitch made with Lion Homespun (it still has some ends to be hidden.)

Keep an eye open for a large package

Here are Barbara, Elaine, and Liz holding just a small sample of the scarves and shawls that are making their way to Scarves from the Heart.

I'll be going to the post office within the next hour to send the box on its way to Shelly. I hope it helps you reach your goal for collection this year.

P.S. Stand back when you cut the tape off the box cover. It took two people to hold it down long enough to tape it closed.

A Small Sample

Hi Shelly! I'm happy to have been invited to contribute to your blog! Here is a sampling of some of the scarves "The Chicks" and I have been busy knitting for your group. I'll be packing up two large boxes very soon to send to you.

Stay well and keep those needles clicking!

Slipping cogs and frustrating yarn

You've heard the saying "my mind has slipped a cog"? Well, I posted here, and sent out the emails, and didn't mention the due date for the Fall scarves . . . September 22, the first day of fall.

Frustrating comes from working on a scarf that I was so happy with, only to find a knot in the middle of the yarn. The yarn is Encore Colorspun, and I've not had this issue in the past. Not the kind you can untangle but the kind where a new run of yarn is tied on. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but the lengths of the color runs are considerably different in this second half and because there is a lot more of the salmon and reddish it looks all wrong, plus the colors now pool.
For now I'm going to set it aside and find another yarn for the fall scarf. No doubt it will get used eventually because I bought two skeins of it and the other has the longer runs of color too. Oh! An idea just came to me, I can do two rows of 1 end and two rows from the other end and that shouldn't allow it to pool and maybe it will still be masculine enough. I'll try to keep my tears off the yarn while I frog it. As I tell my hubby when he questions why I'm taking out a good bit of work . . . it's just practice!

The Challenge of the Fall Scarf

I've been making some men's scarves since I knew that Shelly was concerned about them, but hadn't been thinking in terms of my dad (or grandfather, or big brother!) But last night I started thinking...my father wasn't big on wearing scarves, he was always warm. But, as a man in the 1950s I fondly remember my father's hats - they had to be creased just so, and the brim had to be just so, and much as I loved to touch those "felted" garments, I had to be careful. So, you've probably figured out that "felted" was the word that came to mind. And I looked on line, and found some simple instructions for felted scarves - so, using some "male" colors, I'm going to make a felted scarf for my fall scarf.

Where does the time go?

At this house, it was not spent knitting much. My mother in law was very ill for most of June, and on the 25th she lost her battle with a failing body. She had a good long life, she would have been 90 this coming September, and she had a devoted husband for nearly 62 years, until his passing last December 9. She's in a better place, still it has left all of her family saddened by our loss.

She would not want us to dwell on the sadness, and to honor her we go on with life, certainly not as before, but we do go on.

Summer has barely arrived and I need to assign the theme for fall scarves . . .
this time I'm going to ask you all to make men's scarves . . . so our theme is "Remembering our roots". You can base it on colors you remember your father wearing, or colors that remind you of your grandfather . . . it's a pretty broad theme, but let's do stay to colors the men in the family would wear, as well as the yarns and patterns.

I've just started a scarf using the 'mistake rib stitch' in autumn colors because my father loved to hunt in the fall, and this yarn has all the colors of the leaves I remember from my childhood.

Tell us, what does this theme make you think of?

It's June already!

It doesn't seem possible, but June is already here, in just days the kids will be out of school and the peace and quiet of a lot of homes will erupt into a raucous noise of happy children.

I have several scarves in the works currently. Branching Out, in Cinnamon color Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold is a bit less than half done. This one, a simple diagonal scarf is in the Pogo colorway of Red Heart "Strata". It has a long way to go yet. Then there is the scarf I started for my good friend Sue, the Lacy V scarf . . . it's llama and wool and it's just too warm to work on it. But I did finish this one . . . It is 100% bamboo, a yarn called Vivace, by

Yarn Place. It's a very silky yarn to work with. I almost hated that it was finished (though shown here in progress - I'll photograph it when blocked). Being so silky, I'm not sure it will hold the blocking, if not, I like it well enough as is, but I won't do lace with the skein of this yarn I have left. Meanwhile I'm actively looking for another pattern to make with it. Then there is a scarf I started on a whim one day . . . in a neutral beige(y) color . . . it was going to be a sampler scarf, but it hasn't gotten far and I think it will be in the frog pond before long. It's a fingering weight yarn and I think it wants to be something lacy, maybe a feather and fan scarf which is a stitch I haven't yet learned, but now that I've gained a bit of confidence with lace from this pattern (sorry, I know it doesn't look lacy) I think I can handle it.

The bewitching hour is nearly here, so I'm off to try to catch a few hours of sleep.

Welcome

Hi Irma, Thanks for joining us, it's time to start thinking about getting the summer scarves mailed as our due to arrive date is June 15th. Hopefully everyone has had time to make a scarf, if not there may still be time depending on how your spring is going!

Shelly

Thanks for having me!

Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your group! I hope to help in any way I can. I would like suggestions and/or advice for making scarves using the Round Knitting looms.
Good luck to all and God bless.

Hugs, Irma

New pattern on SFTH

Today I received an email from Bev Q of Bev's Country Cottage telling me that she has listed Scarves From The Heart on her page of charities, which is quite extensive. She also gave me permission to link to her free scarf patterns page, and even gave me a special pattern to share! She also mentioned SFTH on her Yahoo group and we've already had one person ask to join this group!

Today was the "Saturday" I was looking forward to because I had plans to meet a lady, Dorrie E. and her daughter Carol who have made many scarves for SFTH and so we met for lunch at 11:am and had a wonderful visit, as well as a great lunch. The lunch was topped off by them delivering about 20 scarves for SFTH's campaign to get 125 scarves by then end of August!

Summer Scarf

During the winter, I got some Brown Sheep Cotton Fine at a closeout in a beautiful shade of pink, knowing that a summer scarf was in my future! I've startedusing it to make the Backyard Leaves pattern in Scarf Style - I've made it in merino and really enjoy the pattern (especially since I translated the chart into language so I can easily follow it!) It is interesting to see it working up so differently, but it makes a great summer scarf. Since we are on school break this week, hopefully I'll get it done quickly, because I want to make the Intarsia scarf from Knitting New Scarves for a man for a summer scarf - it intrigues me!

Happy Passover to all who are celebrating - I have to go see if my brisket has thawed yet! Marcie

Email list

If you would like to be contacted when we start each new season, or when we need scarves for a special event would you please email me and put "Email List" in the subject line. I want to start a group emailing to make it easier to let everyone know what the theme is. I promise not to overload you with emails!

Hoping to hear from you all soon!

Meanwhile, what's on your needles. Today I tied on the 4th and final ball of Teseo di've for the multi-directional scarf I've been working on. I can't wait for it to be finished so I can start something new!

~Shelly~

Generous Donation!

It is with great pleasure that I share with you all that Susan, owner of Crystal Palace Yarns has donated two patterns which are now posted on the Scarves From The Heart pattern page. These are scarf patterns that are also currently on the CPY website, but she may be removing them (I'm not sure as this happened very quickly through a designer I've met on line). Susan is also donating enough yarn to make two of each of these scarves! Go check out the patterns;

http://www.scarvesfromtheheart.com/patterns.html

Scarves From The Heart is hoping to make it's own generous donation in September. The Regional Cancer Center at St. Joseph's in Stockton invites all it's cancer survivors (including those currently in treatment) to an event held at a small park adjacent to their facility each September and they've asked us to join them again this year and to pass out free scarves to each cancer survivor. We gave away about 65 or 75 scarves last year and ran out, so I'm hoping to have 125 scarves to start with this year. I know you all signed up to make 1 each season, but if you can find the time I would really appreciate your help in meeting this goal. Here's a picture from last year's event (terrible of me, but as you can see I knitted even through the event) the board shows some of the scarves that had previously been donated, along with a short bit about who we are. Those scarves and so many more were all donated and each and every person who received one was very gracious and appreciative.

Spring has Sprung!

Here in California Spring has definitely sprung. There are flowers everywhere, the blossoming trees are nearly all green now and the weather is fit for all! Unless you suffer from allergies of course! Our back yard looks like we're farming dandelions! I wish I'd taken a picture before hubby mowed a few minutes ago . . . yep, we're already having to mow lawns here in Northern California.

The spring scarves will be delivered this week I hope. I think this delivery will go to the Stockton Hematology Oncology office as I just learned last week that my good friend and neighbor, Bernice, has been diagnosed with 3rd stage lung cancer (even though she nor her hubby have ever smoked or worked around asbestos) and that is where she will take her chemo treatments. I took her a beautiful blue lacy scarf that had been sent to me, and because she's been a knitter for Scarves From The Heart it was an especially poignant moment when she caressed it along the side of her face and said "Now I'm a cancer survivor". It breaks my heart that so many of my friends are being diagnosed with cancer these days.

Summer is just around the corner, and it's going to be more difficult to figure out men's scarves for summer, I'm thinking Blue Skies might be a good theme for a mans scarf. I need ideas . . . so speak up friends! What are you all thinking of for summer scarves?

Shelly

My Spring Scarf!

While I'm still holding hope for a good Spring snowstorm here in the suburbs of NY, the Spring scarf was sent out last week! I bought some wonderful pink cotton yarn in a closeout a few months ago, and I'm thinking of doing Backyard Leaves in cotton for the summer scarf!

Missing in action no more!

Hi Gals, It's good to see you all posting. I apologize for my absence here. I'm just finally, after three weeks, getting over this terrible flu bug I've had. It's only the past two days I've felt well enough that I can do what needs to be done. Even still, my energy level isn't back to normal.

Here is my March Scarf, I call it the Camellia Basket, because the color is the same color as the Camellias in our front yard and it has a stitch pattern that looks a lot like basket weave, though it's called the Lizard Lattice in the 365 stitches a year perpetual calendar where I found it. It's made with a 55% Cotton 45% Acrylic yarn called Kim and the color is not as red as it appears on my monitor.

Hope you all are well and beginning to see some signs of spring like we are enjoying here in California. It has been in the low 70's the past few days, and trees are blooming, and leaves are budding out. People are planting flowers, and bulbs are in bloom. I was late getting my potted tulips out into the sun so they've just peeked about an inch or so out of the soil! I love this time of year, with everything growing, blooming and the sun shining. I'm sorry for those of you who are still struggling through winter storms, but by time you are enjoying spring like weather here in California we'll most likely be using air conditioning.

Shelly

Here's my scarf...

Hello all -

I finished my scarf today. It's a bit on the wild side. I call it "Easter Basket". My own design - a windowpane crochet in a wonderful imported cotton yarn (absolutely awful to work with) that is fun to look at! Yellow with colorful slubs. Then I added a hot pink eyelash off-center. The pictures don't show its pretty colors very well. It looks kind of mustard yellow in the pics.

It's really very cheerful.

Rena

sending a just completed scarf

This is a fishtail lace pattern that was modified for scarf size and yarn/needle size. I wanted a soft cloud like feeling using a soft sport weight yarn and US size 10 needles. The color is sort of a periwinkle blue.

Finished last week and ready to send out.

Jan H

I'm Still Here Too!

Well, the groundhog said that we would have 6 more weeks of winter, but I'm still waiting for it to start here in the suburbs of NYC! We have had a pathetic winter - tons of rain that would have made for beautiful white landscapes (and snow days...can you tell I'm a teacher with grown children?) and only a few really cold days. I've been told that I might have to move to another part of the country if I want to experience winters like I did as a child. sigh.

At any rate, I've been plodding away on my spring scarf - it is in a pale yellow wool and I am doing the basketweave scarf from Knitting Daily. http://www.knittingdaily.com/freepatterns/scarves_belts/Basketweave_Scarf_by_Ann_Budd30-1.html
Since I'll be logging in some airplane time I'm bringing it on the plane since the other project I am bringing entails a cable needle, which I don't want to have look for in the plane (am I the only person who is forever dropping their cable needle? I've taken to poking it through my pattern so I can find it!)

If I can get this scarf done I got some pinky purply lace weight yarn in a closeout at KnitPicks and figured that would make another spring scarf...if time allows.

Happy Knitting! Marcie

I'm still here!

I'm still here. I ordered and received some new yarn - silk, bamboo, cotton, and soy silk for the spring and summer. And it's in some nice colors, too!

Now I just have to decide how I want my scarf to look for March.

The weather here in Yuma has been warm, then cold, then warm again. A weird winter so far. But we certainly won't complain compared to what the rest of the country has had to put up with...

I hope everyone is well and warm.

Rena

Where is all the action?

Hi All,

It's been far too quiet around here! I hope we haven't been deserted!

I've removed the off color from that scarf in the last picture I posted and found the correct color of yarn and I'm off knitting again.

I'm also working on one made in tapestry yarn, knit lengthwise, a different color each row! It's coming along nicely in a k2, p2 pattern.

Have you all started your spring scarves? What colors are you using?

Please pop in and say hello. If you need help with anything please feel free to email me at scarvesfromtheheart at comcast dot net.

Shelly