Just a shout out to let you know that this place is still on my radar....No real pattern news right now, as this is the time of year that I do most of my knitting for love. Some call it charity knitting, but I feel I do it from love of knitting and helping others. From around Thanksgiving until around Valentine's Day, I try to work on items that I will give to someone else.
The main recipient is a Ravelry group called For The Children of Pine Ridge. Pine Ridge is one of the reservations in South Dakota, where the Oglala and Lakota Sioux tribes reside. It is a very cold place and is always in need of most things. They don't have access to shopping, like most of the US. There are no Walmarts, Targets, or other places that offer a wealth of retail goods. That and the fact that this is one of the most under served and under funded reservations in the US. They don't have casinos or other money making ventures to help support the residents, so they are in need of most things almost all of the time.
This year one of the projects is for a new women's shelter on the reservation. I am knitting hats and other items to send to the residents. I am also trying to set up a few little kits with essentials, such as a hand knit cotton washcloth, soap, toothbrush, etc. for the comfort of some of the ladies.
Knitting for any group is good for the soul, but I like this group. Their motto is "Make whatever makes your heart sing". I can make hats and baby sweaters, or cotton washcloths galore.
Sometimes they have drives for other items as well. Before school started, they adopted a school on the reservation. We sent school supplies for the children. I also put together a teacher goody box, filled with packages of motivational stickers, chalk, and some small office supplies. I had fun doing it, so now every time I go into a dollar store I look for teacher stuff and buy a couple of dollars worth at a time. You would be surprised how it adds up over time. When the time comes next year, and they have picked another school I will already have a nice little stash of stuff to send.
This time of year I also get a chance to try out new patterns. I will try to post a few pictures of some of the ones that I am trying out this year.
Have a blessed and prosperous new year. And above all, thanks for reading this little corner of the Internet. I will try to be more diligent about keeping this spot updated.
