Wool on Sunday; July

Once again I'm joining in with Janine over at the Rainbow Hare blog for Wool on Sunday.
Just over 3 weeks ago I was asked if I could donate a knitted throw to be used as a raffle prize at the Quilt and Craft Show that has been organised by our parish for next week, July 14-15. It had worked out perfectly, as I had felt a little guilty that I couldn't help at the show as it clashes with DsD1's wedding. ( the family will all gather at Noosa on the 14th, ready for the nuptials on the Saturday 😊)  So being asked for a raffle prize meant that a I can still help.
But it wasn't a lot of time to actually make a throw, but again, as luck would have it, I had that WIP throw that I had started in Adelaide.

I had also knitted on the train and in the evenings in Darwin, so even though that project had been put aside when we came home, the piece did measure about 40 cm.
So...I resumed knitting this throw, and by last Monday, it was finished...phew! I didn't particularly like this project at the beginning as I chose the colours hurriedly when I was packing at the last minute to head to Adelaide. But I'm happy to say that I changed my mind, the longer the piece grew. 😊

And DH suggested he hold up the throw while I took another photo. He is just over 180cm tall so it gives an idea of the size. The pattern is a slipstitch design that I use quite often and the yarns are mohair.

Check out Janine's Wool on Sunday post Here

That raffle...

Yesterday, after months of working behind the scenes, we had the drawing of the K4BN Mothers' Day Raffle, one of the two fundraising ventures that the group does each year. 

We had 33 prizes...here they are lined up in order, ready for the draw...

My co-organiser Helen, not only wrapped the large majority of the prizes, but also made these wonderful labels for each prize...very professional! :-) great job Helen!

It took quite a while to draw all 33 prizes but that was just the beginning of our next lot of work...we then had to organise how the winners would receive their prizes. In the next photo Helen and I are looking through our lists and organising where, when and who for delivery of prizes. 

Luckily most of the winners attend the various Knit and Natters so many prizes could be handed over that way. Some will be delivered personally by members and a few will go by mail. We don't have the final total of monies raised from this raffle, but we estimate it would be somewhere over $800...very pleasing and a great help in buying toiletries for the 'hygenie' packs that the group distributes to the homeless, those in women's refuges and any other needy group. 

And look who won something! 

 

And 2 of the lovely ladies from Sunday Stitchers, Marilyn and Maureen also won a prize. This group are always so supportive of K4BN, so it was great to see some of them win something. 

Tut tut...

My friend Helen and I are once again in charge of the Knitting for Brisbane's Needy 's (K4BN) Raffle. We had a very successful one last Christmas and our Mother's Day 2015 is doing pretty well too. Helen has been busy wrapping the 33 prizes and as the draw is next Monday, we have been anxious to get all the ticket butts of tickets sold so far, and get them folded and into our covered bucket. 

Last Tuesday we were given hundreds of butts from tickets sold mainly at the various Knit and Natters. Helen had asked for the used ticket books but a certain kind person wanted to help us and had removed the staples and then 'folded' the ticket butts. 

These had then been placed in a large plastic box from which we planned to transfer them to our bucket. ( our bucket for the draw is one we are recycling...it originally contained hundreds of lollies that we packed into Christmas stockings for distribution to the needy last Xmas)

Now back to that box of ticket butts... I took the lid off the box...

And what I saw made me tip out the contents...the tickets had been screwed up a bit...might make it hard/unfair to draw tickets...

So Helen and I smoothed each crumpled ticket and then folded it neatly...

We are starting to fill the box again here...

And just as well we did smooth them out as we found a lot of cases where 2 tickets had been screwed  up together! All fixed now and ready for Monday at Scarborough Knit and Natter. 

One rug's journey...

Last year I made a throw out of oddments of of 'autumn tones' yarns. Some of the yarns had been donated to K4BN and I had gathered up some of these balls of yarn with the idea of making a throw rug with the scraps I had leftover from a personal project in the middle of the year; this project had also used autumn colours.

I decided to experiment by just making the throw in plain old garter stitch, no slip stitches, yarn overs, knit togethers or cables, no counting to keep patterns correct...just knit.  It was quick to grow...but working on other projects as well, it wasn't until  December that I handed the finished throw over for it to be distributed to someone who needed it.

Then, early this year, I was asked if I would mind if it was used for a raffle that the group was having. I certainly didn't mind but I hoped that it was 'good enough' for a prize... remember it was just plain garter stitch. The raffle was drawn on the Friday May 10 and the person who won the throw rug was a fellow blogger who lives in northern NSW. This lady very generously donates items to K4BN and just before the raffle draw, Nanette had bought a number of polar fleece jumpers for the group to distribute. So I was thrilled that she had won a prize.

While I was in New Zealand I emailed Nanette and asked her if she had received her prize yet. Now this is the reply I got from this amazing lady...

I was so excited to win the first prize of your rug, I have seen the progress of them on your blog.  I do hope though that you won't be offended, I asked Karen to find someone who needed a rug more than I do....even one of your beautifully crafted ones.  She had the perfect recipient, a young woman due to have a baby in a week or two, whose husband was killed in a car accident the very night she was going to tell him she was pregnant. I don't know all the details, but she ended up losing their house and has been virtually homeless, going from friend to friend and sleeping on their sofas. A sad, sad story...one of many I know, but it sounds like she truly needs a lovely woolly hug.  I have a little quilt nearly finished for her baby, a little boy.

I admit it! I shed a tear or two when I read that... what a lovely gesture! And Nanette was also making a baby quilt too! 
What a sad story...I hope Karen is able to find out how this young woman is managing now...I hope that she is enjoying the warmth of the throw that I had made or that it is being placed on the floor for the baby to lie on/ roll around on...I like that idea!!

Now that raffle that I mentioned, had lots and lots of prizes and I won something! It's always lovely to win something! lol

Crocheted cats' patterns aplenty!