Wool on Sunday...

My Wool on Sunday post for this month is about the K4BN Knit and Natter that I went to last week at Zillmere. When I first started attending this Knit and Natter at the Zillmere Community Centre, the group would be allocated a tiny room with very inefficient aircon. Now we get a very spacious room and that aircon is working well. ( a previous state government reduced funding to a number of community groups, including some who used this Centre and these groups no longer can afford to use their allocated rooms...their loss was our charity's gain.) 

 

At Zillmere, two members sort all the donations brought in to the meeting, count them, record them and then repack the items ready to go to the storage shed. I took some photos of Jenny and Elaine repacking those blankets I'd made from donated squares.

 

The final count for last Tuesday's donations was 181 items and a lot of them were blankets.
Linking this post with Janine's Wool on Sunday over on her Rainbow Hare blog. Janine's post this moth features a lovely baby cardigan she has just finished knitting.

This and that...

Last Sunday it was the June meet up of Sunday Stitchers at Ormeau.

I took a knitting project, some crocheting and a 'hexie' project to work on during the day...but only stitched away on the hexagons. (A Christmas in July Swap project) 

Just one birthday girl in June...Cheryl from Bliss in the Burbs blog. Cheryl had listed red and white fabrics as her choice for her birthday fat quarters. 

Cheryl was very pleased with 'her loot'. :-)

 

Today, Tuesday, was the K4BN Knit and Natter at Zillmere. I had lots of donations that had been given to me by friends, to hand in. And everyone else who came along had lots of lovely items to hand in too...a total of 248 items were collected this morning. 

Not just knitted and crocheted items either...Val, had made another of her eye catching quilts. 

Plans for the rest of the week include lots more stitching on the 2 items for the Christmas in July Swap and a mini quilt for a Sunday Stitchers Swap. Sounds like a good week!

Zillmere Gathering...

The last Tuesday of the month there is a Knit and Natter at Zillmere Community Centre for K4BN members. I looked forward to this because my little car was jam packed with donations from friends and family. These items needed to be handed over so they could be distributed to the needy...and that would happen at Zillmere! 

Bags of goodies filled the back seat...

And the boot (trunk)...

And the front passenger seat was filled with items too! (No photo)

That day the staff at the Community Centre had allocated our meeting room to another group...a small group from a state government department. We had to cram into a tiny room, just marginally larger than a single garage. The ladies didn't like that so we had some help to take the tables outside...and then we followed with our knitting and our chairs!

I didn't get everyone in the photo but outside was so much nicer than being crammed inside. The weather was beautiful too...a mild autumn day!

Now it wasn't just me with donations...just about everyone had a 'heap of items' to hand in.

The next photo shows the donations which had all be sorted, noted and then re packed ready to travel to the group's warehouse in Glasshouse. (Town north of Brisbane) 

There were well over 300 items handed in that day. 

We found out also that day, that approximately 850 knitted/crocheted blankets have been handed out to the needy, by the group, so far this year. Phew! That is some achievement! 

This week thousands of warm items and toiletries have been delivered by K4BN to Warwick, Stanthorpe and Roma. ( these are rural towns) Last Sunday, and Wednesday of last week, thousands of items were handed out by the group to needy people in Ipswich and Brisbane respectively. And I keep joining squares....!

Zillmere...

Last week I caught up with knitting friends who attend the Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, Zillmere Knit and Natter at the community centre there on Handford Road...
Bubbles the Sheep is our new cash donations' money box...

The knitted/crocheted items that were handed in that day show the dedication of the members who keep working on items for the needy despite some quite hot weather....

Blankets are always in demand....

 Some of the balls of yarn that have been donated...

 And this box of yarns as well...

Adult sized garments are always in demand as well...

A bag of knitted Teddies from one member...

 Ann arrived with a large bag overflowing with items, including quilts and crocheted blankets, as well as some children's clothing she had made...

One of the dresses that Ann made for a needy child...

 Trish, another member, arrived with a bag of toys that she had made since the December K&N...

Trish also made some more of her very popular elephants.

I think the item count of donations handed in that morning was over 100...so a good start to the new year.

 I just had to take a photo of Elaine, below, as she told me that her personal tally for completed crocheted blankets in 2013, was 101! Now I believe that some of those were joining donated squares into blankets but the majority were Elaine's famous blankets made with '20 round' squares and made mostly using scraps of yarn. A great effort in any terms!

Well done, Elaine!

It's all happening around here!

The building work continues next door with a team of carpenters working long days...

the new view from our front veranda...

 After being engrossed in the stitching project that I was doing for the Mrs Martin's Celebrations swap for spring, I'm back to my 'old job' of making blankets out of donated squares. I had had them all tacked ready to crochet up but put them on hold over the last few weeks...
This is just one of 9 blankets that have been made from one person's crocheted squares. K4BN member, Christine, has made well over 200 squares for the group...absolutely phenomenal effort!

On Tuesday, in what is becoming the norm, I loaded up my car with donations from friends and family, and took them to the Zillmere Knit and Natter.

The trolley soon filled up with items from ladies at Sisters of Stitch

I gathered everything together in one spot, ready to take down to the car...

There were crocheted rugs, baby quilts, beanies, scarves, children's jumpers, toiletries and balls of yarn that I had been given...

That day, a total of 156 items were handed in by the K4BN members who came along. This is such a great effort and very timely as there are 2 events coming up in the Ipswich area where items will be handed out to those in need. Mind you, it's not just Zillmere where items are being handed over; all the other Knit and Natter centres are the same with so many people giving generously of their time as well as items.

Each month, Elaine and Jenny sort all the donations that have been handed in at Zillmere...

The sorting is a big job...

Elaine and Jenny, after sorting,collating and recording all  the donations, then pack up all the items ...
While these 2 ladies are doing all that, the rest of us sit around an natter...oh, and knit/crochet too of course!

The number of ladies on Tuesday was quite small...sometimes we have twice as many crammed in the tiny room at the Community Centre.

Just as I took the photo of the  little kitchen, Helen bent down to pick something up...

 Here's Joy (below) working on her chevron/ripple crocheted blanket...with all those donations in the background.

 And the action continues...
On Saturday DH and I are heading up to Nambour for the Sunshine Linus Open Day and Quilt Show. This has been organised to showcase what the group does, and as well, to raise much needed funds so this group can continue the marvellous work they do for the community and especially seriously ill children. To this end, I've convinced DH that we must spend up on Saturday to help such a worthy cause! lol

On Sunday, we have a Fathers' Day brunch with some of the family at the Lido Cafe Restaurant at Ascot; this has been arranged by DsD2 and it sounds rather wonderful.
And then later in the afternoon, DH will leave for the airport to catch his flight to Rockhampton. He will be working there for at least 4 weeks, helping with the federal election. When he got the phone call about this work yesterday, my first thought was, 'For a month I don't have to stop sewing/knitting each night at 5.30 to start getting dinner ready...I can stop when I want to!' lol  Is that so  terrible of me???   :-) And the TV won't be tuned into In the Hotseat, Eggheads or Deal or No Deal...woot woot! lol