Boxing Day 2019 (any charity items)

[Bailey4]

Finally back to posting more donations.  It's been crazy working up to this deadline of presents and donations.  I do so love the princess gowns. 

 

American Girl Cinderella

[Avon Lady]

On 9/30/2019 at 10:55 PM, babypoohsmom said:

It's been pretty quiet around here so I thought I would catch up on what I have done.  I made this hat and cat mat a few weeks ago. The blue chunky yarn was a Goodwill find. I actually played a serious game of yarn chicken with it and ended the final sc row with about 5" of yarn. 

I've been pretty lucky at Goodwill lately and have found quite a few skeins of homespun. They make the mats so much softer. I'm going to get spoiled. There are about 6 different Goodwill stores in my home/work/rescue driving routes and I have found that the prices on yarn vary a lot. Are any of you thrift shoppers? 

My crochet club members and I are all retired, so by necessity, we are ALL thrift buyers!  But our club has been VERY fortunate ever since our start, back in 2010, with donations!  We still "have" to buy pretty yarn that we can't live without every now and then, but for the most part, we have so much yarn, we "could" live without buying any!!!

[Bailey4]

I've gotten a little more picky as I'm determined to use what I have or acquire. I saw yarn at a church sale last weekend but walked away with only ribbon to trim doll stuff. None of it was yarn I'd use now I'd have to really search for an appropriate project.

That being said at other sales I tended to buy more because it was at least in the ball park of yarn I use for the projects I make.

[babypoohsmom]

I don't know why I enjoy the hunt of thrift yarn. For some reason, people pass on black and red yarn a lot. I mostly find the cheaper acrylics, which work fine for my projects.  I did get 6 bags of some knit picks yarn about two years ago for a friend whe was wanting to start a summer top project. I reduce the cost of that project from $200, to about $30 for her. It's odd what you find and when. I do notice that if they have 4 full skeins of some kind of beautiful yarn, they will bag them separately and throw some partial skeins and random balls in with them. Instead of being able to just buy the lovely stuff, you get stuck with the ugly stepsister yarn! But like I said, those bits end up in cat mats. I collected all summer apparently and recently had to clean out my car, I had 54, yes FIFTY FOUR skeins of yarn in my car. I'm pretty close to needing a 12 step program!! I'd love to be brave and bring them all in the house for a class photo, but I am sure that would be admissable in court while my husband petitions the judge!!!

[Bailey4]

I use mostly acrylic and red and black are 2 colors I'm constantly in need of so that would be cool. I used to find nice finds of the big Car on pounders occasionally.

White seems to be a big color around here I buy it when I find it cheap because I use quite a bit of it and I'm always amused at some of the store sale labels as some have been closed since I was in high school. Yet the yarn lives on.

[Bailey4]

I'm actually done making 18 inch clothes for the year but catching up on posting them.  I'm scrambling to add more baby doll clothes before dropping off the first Friday in December.

American Girl Let the Sun Shine In

[Bailey4]

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I did actually get some work done on some Christmas gifts while spending time with family yesterday.  The deadlines are creeping up fast.  I'm still hoping I can get a couple more baby doll outfits finished before the donation needs to be dropped off, too.  If not they will get rolled into next year's donation.

American Girl Bathrobe

[Bailey4]

If the weather cooperates drop off is supposed to be this Friday.  Still working on baby doll stuff but done with the 18 inch for this year.  Still posting items I finished.

Ariel's Dinner with Eric

[Bailey4]

I just wanted to thank all of you who have sent stuff for the Aztec Wishes doll donation.  DH and I delivered the items to the High School this morning and it was well received.  I was told someone who dropped off a doll without any "extras" was told not to worry because stuff was on the way.  You ladies always come through.  With all your amazing talents no doll with leave without a blankie and we have dressed quite a few others.  Thank you again so much for all your hard work.  You've made the high school kids feel their efforts are a success and the more little ones will have well dressed dolls to play with this Christmas morning.

[Bailey4]

Still catching up on posting items from the donation

American Girl Rain Coat

[Bailey4]

This is one of my favorites of Darski's patterns to make.  She has many beautiful ones that are well beyond my talents but this one always seems to make it into the donation.

American Girl Dovetailed

[Bailey4]

One of the things that was fun about the donation project this year was I got out of my comfort zone and tried some patterns that have been on my to do list for years and never actually done until now.  I've made a version of Mrs. Claus cobbled together from other patterns but I'd never completed this pattern for her.

American Girl Mrs. Claus

[Bailey4]

This was another of Darski's patterns I hadn't previously tried that made it into the donation this year

American Girl Heat Wave

[Bailey4]

Baby Doll Diaper Bag Items

Was very excited to score a sale on the actual baby dolls.  I love being able to get them ahead on sale!!!

[Bailey4]

I discovered a few Darski patterns for this year's donation that I missed before

Sunny Baby Doll Dress

[Bailey4]

Yarn Canada is teaming up with Patons and Bernat yarn to do a giveaway of yarn to charity groups and individuals in the US and Canada.  You can apply here.

[Bailey4]

Aztec Wishes the place we donate all the doll stuff to made the local newspaper here.

[pineknott]

Here are the pictures of the nests ( that I realized I hadn't posted yet ) and some scarves that I did for the homeless

[babypoohsmom]

Bailey, that is a nice article...did it just end with the mention of your mom or did I miss a second part? The article just seemed to end kind of abruptly. I kept looking for an arrow or something to take me to another page. You are a celebrity now, I'll need your autograph please!!

And Lyn, I have to give you props for those birds nests. I tried a few times this past summer and just could not get them right. I like that blue scrappy scarf. I don't know why I like matching up bits and pieces, but I just do. And those colors are great together.

Well, I opened the 2020 CAL. I had such a disappointing 2019 in just about all aspects of my life. Work, rescue, donations, fun...I always seemed to be a day late and a dollar short to everything. A new year seems like a natural time to reflect and prioritize. I think I actually need some "directions" to myself in writing this year. I won't call them goals, but maybe reminders of what is important. I avoided life too much this year because everything seemed a struggle and it was easier to just hide instead of confronting. I guess they are right when they say the first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one! Has anyone been in a "life rut"? Lol, I think I need a head-clearing vacation or something. If anyone has advice for getting out of a funk...please let me know. I need a shake up! Thank you all for sticking with the slowest moderator in the Ville this year. 

That being said. I *LOVE* looking back through the pages to see all of the amazing projects "we" have accomplished this year. It's great to look back at all of the posts and pictures. We really did manage a lot this year for being a small group! It's inspiring and I can't wait to see what we get done in 2020.

Merry Christmas my friends and I wish you all a great new year. 

[Bailey4]

Yeah it was a strange ending to the article.  That was my Mom they wrote about in the article.

When I get frustrated with my charity projects I remember that something is always better than nothing.  When we make and donate it is something that wouldn't have been donated otherwise.  We all have more productive years than other years, but each time we do something it is better than when deciding what we do is too little and doing nothing.

I'll be moving over to the new thread.  This thread inspires me all year but it is always most important when I hit points where no project will seem to work, my hands feel like crochet is torture, or I feel overwhelmed with trying to complete the number of items I'd like to complete vs the reality of what my hands can do.  This group always helps me appreciate the value of what I can do, not what I feel I should do and for that I'm always grateful.

[darski]

Hi all...

I just wanted to check in for the end of the year.

 

I never did get any crochet done this year but just before Christmas I collected together a dozen dolls that still had clothes and donated them to a local Women's Shelter to stock their toy box.  they were thrilled to get them and I was happy that I could still do something 'crochet'. 

 

I wish you all the best in the New Year and will keep you all in prayer.  

[Bailey4]

Darski it is wonderful to hear from you.  What a thoughtful way to help out.  Those girls are going to have some beautiful dolls to play with after that donation!!!

[pineknott]

nice to see you Darski,dolls or other toys for kids mean alot,when you don't have much,I was one of those kids back in the day

would have loved a Shirley Temple or a Barbie for my very own,even though they were ugly/cute,in my adult years I got a few Cabbage Patch dolls, my favorite was one with jet black hair and green eyes,they make alot of blue eyed and brown eyed dolls but very few green eyed ones

 

on the scarves,I didn't realize the navy blue looks almost black

most people say when they crochet,it sometimes makes the hands ache,I'm just the opposite,when my hands cramp up,I reach for the hook and it relieves the crampiness or tightness in my fingers or hand