The Ships Project

” The Ships Project was founded in October of 2001, when a female sailor on board the USS Bataan responded to an “Any Sailor” letter written by the project founder, Ellen Harpin. In that letter, Ellen mentioned her love for knitting, prompting the sailor to joke that maybe Ellen could send a pair of knit slippers to keep her feet warm as she slept, since her berthing was extremely cold. Since then, the project has grown far beyond that small beginning and has earned the respect and support of the military. The USS Bataan has long since returned home but we have continued to send packages to sailors and Marines on dozens of ships deployed since then, as well as Army, Marine, and Air Force units on the ground.

The Ships Project now sends handmade hats, slippers, cool-ties and cool-heads to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed across the world in the War on Terror. More than 1,000 individuals, as well as dozens of church and civic groups have adopted this project and are making handcrafted items to be sent to our troops fighting against terrorism. With troops still being deployed by the thousands to Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for what the troops have come to call our “Hugs from Home” is increasing daily. The military has asked us to continue this effort even with the Department of Defense restriction on mail to the war region. We would love to have you join us! Just follow the link below to learn more about how you can help. “

For more information and to join the Yahoo Group, visit their website HERE.

They’ll be gearing up soon for shipments early 2008…so hurry!

 

Irish Hiking Wristwarmers

Ok, I wasn’t doing any projects yet for people to buy. But I made a commitment to one project….many weeks ago.  And I’m excited to do it! This is not yet begun, but here is the yarn I’m using:

The picture of what they will eventually look like is found here.

PS: This is the only project until near summer that I will be making to sell. No more requests will be taken at the moment.

Tool Tote!

The Caboodle by The Bag Smith:

I went to Stitching Memories today looking for a relatively inexpensive new tote for my needles. I didn’t have one and my needles were laying all over the place. Some of the nice totes I fell in love with were $50+ dollars. But this one was only $15. It’s nothing huge and fancy, but it will do the job for now. It’s very sturdy and holds my needles and accessories quite nicely.

King Charles Brocade Scarf

King Charles Brocade Scarf

Originally uploaded by BlueEyezz

Hard to see the pattern, I know…But I wanted to eventually post the picture of Jennette’s scarf (T’s sister-in-law). The yarn?? Harrisville Flax and Wool Blend….color = Thistle. GORGEOUS. But it was softspun. And easy to snap. 6 inches into the start of the scarf, I apparently was tightening too much and there it went. It was in the middle of a row and too short to try and weave in. Also, when it did snap, I had not gotten to the point yet of knowing how to fix the mess. So…I started all over again.

The other thing I did NOT care for about this yarn was that when blocking it…I used the spray method. Misting it with water and pinning it to shape it. The main pattern is stockinette…..which means curling unfortunately. So, yeah…back to blocking…And the fact that wool smells horrendous when wet. Yeah.

Regardless, it was well received for Christmas. I wish I could have made everyone a scarf this nice. Maybe next year. I just RAN OUT OF TIME!!!!

Anyway….used size 8 needles on this…of course…my favorite size (although size 10 is coming in at a close second…).

The pattern is King Charles Brocade. Just a random stitch pattern. For an example of what it looks like…go here!