Charity knitting for the Women's Shelter, and a successful spinning guild program yesterday

Each year toward the end of summer I go through my inventory and select unsold items for contribution to my friend who supplies all the local women's shelters. These ladies leave home in a hurry, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, taking their children with them as they're fleeing from very bad situations. Their self-esteem is low and they have nothing, and that's not a place anyone should ever find themselves. The scarves, hats, mittens, pillows, etc are given them as soon as they walk through the door and is a sign to them that someone out there cares enough to make something especially for them. Since I no longer mentor young people, I feel this is something I can do to help others and pay back a little of the kindness that's been given to me throughout my life.

This year, my friend asked for ruffle scarves as they're very popular with the ladies. I had about 6 balls of the yarn around and threw them in a box for something to do on my vacation last week. Well, my SIL fell in love with the idea of making ruffled scarves, we made a few trips to the local Joanne Fabrics, and somehow I have 18 balls of ruffle yarn now. HAD 18 balls--there's only 2 left, one to go into this shipment and one for a gift for a relative. The other 16 became these:

Closeup of upper tier

Closeup of lower tier

Yes, there are three scarves in Steeler colors. I'm pretty sure those will go quickly!!  The purple ones are specifically for the October gifting because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and purple is the designated color. If this type of charity knitting appeals to you, look up Comfort Scarves of Western Pennsylvania on Ravelry, Barb would love to hear from you. BTW, my SIL has now taught HER SIL to make these scarves and both women are now addicted to knitting/crocheting ruffles scarves. That makes me giggle, I so enjoy enabling others.



Yesterday I presented a program to my guild, the Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild. I showed them how to spin beads and other fun things into their yarn. These folks are great friends and even better enablers. Usually I'm the one who is setting peoples brains buzzing with spinning, knitting and weaving ideas but these folks did me one better. Who woulda thunk that bells would be fun to spin into your yarn? We had felted beads, shank buttons, ribbon bows, ribbon bits, silk shreds and glass beads--all of it looked wonderful. One lady used locks of fleece to thread her objects, saving her a lot of time pulling off bits of fiber to thread. I have to try that next time I have a nice long-staple fleece (where IS that Icelandic fleece anyhow?). As always, I had a great time sharing ideas and homemade picnic food. Love y'all!