Needle Arts Mentoring Program

[Grammie Essa]

Hey!!

How is everyone this wonderful Saturday morning?? I am great because I just received my package from the Helping Hands Foundation/Needle Arts Mentoring Program. If you would like more information, just go to www.NeedleArtsMentoring.org.

 

I am going to start teaching a group of kids to crochet, with the help of a few friends of course, who have agreed to become mentors. This organization is such a God Send!! I have been wanting to teach kids how to crochet for a while now, and just wasn't sure how to get started. Has anyone else started a group in their community??

 

Also wondering, why are the Warm Up America blankets made up of 7" by 9" rectangles, and not "even sided" squares?? Just wondering, because part of giving back to the program for helping get the group started is for each kid to made a "square", but really this is a rectangle. (Oh well, at least it isn't a triangle!!)

 

After there are are 49 squares, a blanket can be made and given to a needy family in the community, how cool is that?

 

Thanks Helping Hands Foundation and Needle Arts Mentoring Program!!

[hookdonU]

This is incredible!!!! this is what I needed a few weeks ago when I taught a group of girls to crochet!!!!! I signed up!!!

[misssmaggie]

Thanks for sharing !!!

[MissColee]

theres not one in Utah.

[Grammie Essa]

You can start your own program where you live. It is really easy, just ask a couple of adult friends who would join you in teaching some kids to crochet, then ask around. The Needle Arts Mentoring Program has a booklet you can look at and get lots of ideas on how to start a group. They ask for a donation when you turn in a supply order just to cover postage and handling, it's easy and tons of fun, that is if you are interested in teaching crochet to kids. Try it, you might like it!! I think ours is the first one started in Oklahoma, it's exciting!!!!

 

Oh, I have to add, we had our first meeting for our group last nite. It was soooo much fun!!! There are about 6 kids who we are teaching, and I have three friends who are helping by being mentors and helping teach the kids to crochet. We are meeting once a week for 6 weeks. They learned how to make a slip knot and a chain last nite. They really seemed to like learning it, and I really had fun too!

[Grammie Essa]

Hey,

 

Just an update on our group. We met tonite for the second week. Everyone knows how to make a slip knot and chain. We taught how to work into the chain to make single crochet stitches across, and turning...hopefully next week they can start making something, a book mark, a wristlet, or a scarf. From there maybe I will show them how to make a hat. There is already another person interested in beginning another group on her own!! Cool. The more people who want to start a mentoring program, the more kids will learn to crochet!! And when they make rectangles to make into afghans to help others, (which is part of their way of giving back to the community) well, that is just the cherry on top!!!!

 

thanks for reading!!:hook:hook:hook:hook:hook

[Grammie Essa]

Hi again,

 

It's me checking in to let everyone know how very, very fun this is!!! We met tonite for the 4th time. I am having about 4 friends (mentors) to help me to teach a group of kids (about 5) to crochet. It is sooooo much fun! And they all want to learn and keep coming back to learn more! Tonite, my friend taught a 6 year old how to single crochet (he is a younger brother to a girl who is also learning to crochet). He was soooo pleased with himself! He is usually too "busy" to sit still for longer than a minute, but tonite he sat down and crocheted for the whole hour! My friend taught him by using a large sized hook (P) and chunky cotton yarn. He crocheted a whole row across of about 50 stitches!

 

Just wanted to share!!

[theluckielizard]

This is really cool...I wish I would of had a group like this when I was younger, I would of learned how to crochet so much sooner!

 

You are just wonderful for doing this in your community

[Grammie Essa]

Update on our crochet group...

 

We have taught 6 people(kids and adults included) to crochet!!! The youngest one is 6 years old. His mother is thinking about entering his first project into a county fair event!! We have about 20 rectangles to go toward the blanket we are planning to make and give to a charity. It is soooo fun and cool to see people crocheting, who didn't even know anything about it just a few short weeks ago!! I have been making these cute "Helping Hand Warmers" to give to each person in our group as a gift for participating, and have big hopes to teach the other kids how to make them and either give them to the needy or sale them and use the money toward more crochet supplies to help more kids learn how to crochet. I also work with high risk kids, so it would be nice to have some money set aside to help some of them with small purchases, like haircuts, books, birthday or Christmas gifts, or cards when they are having to be away from their family (I work with kids who sometimes get into trouble and have to be placed in a group home for rehabilitation).

 

So, just wanted to update you on the process!! It is a great outlet and seems the possibilities of expanding are endless!! I am also thinking about having the kids who have learned to crochet, start their own group in their schools....this may take some time, and effort, but it is something I am really wanting to do and have a strong desire to do something to help kids find an alternative way of dealing with life stressors (other than getting too bored, or getting too discouraged and getting into trouble by using drugs or doing other illegal things)

 

Thanks for reading!! Let me know if you are planning on starting a group, or what your experiences have been in teaching a group of kids to crochet. It is funny because the youngest one participating is a 6 year old boy, who was very, very busy in the beginning with interrupting me, and with the help of another mentor, she taught him to crochet with a big hook and big yarn, and now he can sit and crochet and is very very proud of his work!!!! So, the one person who was the biggest interrupter and who I thought really didn't want any part of this crochet business, has turned out to be the one who seems to love it the most!!!!!

[Grammie Essa]

Update to the NAMP group:

 

We have completed several rectangles. I am crocheting a border around them and plan to put them together soon to show the group. We are going to have a drawing to determine which charity receives our first blanket. We each have a different charity we would like to give to, so I thought a drawing would be the best way to decide. Since school started, we are meeting every other week. We are teaching the double crochet stitch and hope to start working on scarves soon so each person will have something they have made for themselves.

 

I am especially excited about being contacted by the local librarian to assist her in starting a group at the Library!!

 

Let me know if anyone has any other groups out there!!

[Grammie Essa]

Quick Update!!

 

It is official, the whole group is crocheting! Everyone has contributed a rectangle, so now I need to stitch them together so we can decide where/or who our first blanket goes to. The local library is starting their own group now too!! So, it will be the second one in the state of Oklahoma!

 

Everyone made their own wristlets at our last group. The next group everyone will start a scarf with double crochet stitches. We are meeting every two weeks now. We decided we would start giving out prizes for the first ones who complete their projects! Those who have completed their scarves by the second meeting after the project is started will get to put their name in a drawing for a gift, related to the art of crochet.

 

It is getting exciting!!!!

[theluckielizard]

Sounds like the group is making wonderful progress!

[cheraboo]

This sounds like a great program. I got roped into becoming a 4H leader last year which kind of reintroduced me to crochet as I hadn't even picke up a hook for more years than I care to admit. Now our group is going on it's second year and I'd really like to have a chance to expose other kids to crochet and this may be just the thing.

[Grammie Essa]

It would be great for a 4H group!! What do the 4 H's stand for?? I know they stand for something, I just can't remember!!

 

The Needle Arts Mentoring Program is very helpful!!! Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

[cheraboo]

It would be great for a 4H group!! What do the 4 H's stand for?? I know they stand for something, I just can't remember!!

 

Let's see ... it's Heart, Hands, Health and something else that's on the tip of my tongue that I can't recall

 

** the other H is for Head figures that'd be the one I'd forget

[Grammie Essa]

Thanks Cher for the 4H info!!

[Grammie Essa]

Another update on our group.

 

We each completed rectangles for a baby blanket to be donated to a local charity for Christmas. There were about 10 people in our group, so some of us crocheted more rectangles than others, but each person has at least one rectangle in the blanket. We used 25 rectangles, which was more practical for our group than making 49 rectangles, which is recommended as a blanket to be donated as a "warm up america" blanket. After everyone completed a rectangle, I crocheted a border around each one, then stitched them together by strips, then crocheted a border around each strip, then crocheted the strips together, then crocheted around the blanket and added a cute border. It was alot of work putting them all together, but well worth the outcome, and the looks on all the kids faces to see their rectangle in the blanket!!

 

We are planning on donating it to a local Christmas charity and are asking the local newspaper reporter to take a picture of the kids giving the blanket to the charity leader, with a small article about our group and the Needle Arts Mentoring Program. It has been alot of fun and I hope to get another group started soon.

 

Please send me a message if you have any questions about starting a group thru the NAMP. Happy Crocheting!!

[Grammie Essa]

Just an update on our group:

 

I am very, very excited about this...A story about our group is going to be in the June edition of Knit 'N Style magazine!! Pretty exciting for us to have an article in a National magazine, coming from a small community in Oklahoma!!

 

And, if that isn't enough, we are starting another group at the local Junior High school. We are hoping to help start groups in each school in the county! That should keep us busy for awhile!!!

 

The Needle Arts Mentoring Program is a great program and is very helpful for anyone interested in starting a group to teach young people to crochet, knit, cross-stitch, or embroidery!! We had some really great evaluations from our program! One very shy teenage girl stated she loved everything about learning how to crochet (even though it was really hard to "read" her cuz she was soooo quiet during the classes). She also said learning how to crochet helped to give her confidence!!! Who could ask for anything more!!

 

Happy Needle-Arting Everybody!!