Nick Earned the Bronze Congressional Award

On January 20, 2008, my son Nick received the Bronze Congressional Award. This is the highest award given to youth by Congress. In MS the Congressional program is done by the 4-H office. Nick has been in 4-H for two years. We are very proud of him.

Picture: L-R, Dr. Robert H. (Doc) Foglesong(president of MS State University, Nick, the others are MS political people.

Update: Nick got a letter today from MSU saying that if he reaches the Gold level(hopefully next year) he will receive a $1000 scholarship! Woooooohoooooooo!

My New Great Nephew

Michael Kaiden Gardner

Born 1/15/08

5 lbs 15 oz

17 3/4" long

Mom and Kaiden are doing great!

Beautiful Yarn from Ebay

I ordered these 7 lbs of yarn from Brian on eBay. They are yarn mill ends so they don't have the labels on them. I am so pleased with them. I got a great deal.

I Need A 12 Step Program

I have something to confess to you. I just discovered I am a YARNAHOLIC! Yep, you heard me right. I can't believe it myself. It all happened so fast. Right before Christmas I discovered loom knitting which was the start of all of this! Now I sleep, eat, and dream about yarn and what I might can do with it. You really know you are a YA when you are looking at your cats trying to figure out how to gather up their hair and make it into yarn. (We have 5 house cats so we have plenty of cat hair just going to waste.)

I can't wait to see the Hobby Lobby ad each week to see which kind of yarn is on sale this week. As soon as I walk into Hobby Lobby I head for the clearance yarn to see if they have added anything new. I love to touch all the yarn and oooo and ah over all of it.

When I am at home I am constantly checking eBay to see if I can find some great yarn at a great deal. I have bought 4 lbs in the last two days and I am waiting on a couple more auctions from the same person to end. He offers parcel post shipping on 5 lbs or more. I have no clue what I am going to do with this yarn, but it sure is pretty.

Since we are broker than convicts right now I have to search high and low for change laying around so I can get my next yarn fix.

Oh, and normal people just don't understand YARNAHOLIC'S. They think we are nuts. YA syndrome is very contagious. My girls have caught it too.

I know there are other YARNAHOLICS like me out there. Does anyone know of a 12 step program for us? Why don't you share your YA story with me? You know the first step is admitting you have a problem.

O Ambassadors

Just wanted to share this. Sounds like a good program.

O Ambassadors™ is an exciting new joint project of Oprah’s Angel Network and Free The Children that will inspire young people to become active, compassionate and knowledgeable global citizens.
The program connects young people in North America with people around the world to create lasting change by working toward the UN Millennium Development Goals. Participants address problems such as hunger, poverty and limited access to education.

O Ambassadors Clubs

O Ambassadors is a school-based program. Educators are invited to apply to form an O Ambassadors Club at their school, either as a part of their classroom programming or as a school-based extracurricular opportunity for students.
Selected educators receive curriculum resources, activities and worksheets, as well as one-on-one support from our team of youth coordinators. Educators will lead their student club in activities that raise funds for development projects overseas and increase awareness of global issues at their school.

Clubs will run for the duration of the 2007/2008 school year

Clubs will explore four Millennium Development Goal themes: poverty, education, health and sustainable development

Specific fundraising and awareness activities will be assigned to clubs to adapt for their school audience. Clubs will receive instructional resources and programming support for each of these activities.

Take a look at how many clubs are part of O Ambassadors! Club members, you can log in to check out each club’s site and see what activities and goals other clubs are working on.
World Regions

O Ambassadors will work to support development initiatives in one of the five featured world regions. Each club chooses one region upon which to focus their research and fundraising:

West Africa
East Africa
South Asia
East Asia
Latin America

Hats, Hats, & More Hats

I started loom knitting on 12/23/07 and I have knitted every day except yesterday and today. I have knitted 39 hats so far. Only 38 are show in the picture. I left one out. Hopefully when things settle down today I will get to do a couple.

We are having Disciple Now at our church this weekend and the 11th grade boys(my sons age) will be staying at my house this weekend when they are not at church. I have been cleaning all week.

I hope to start on some dishclothes, afghan and other things soon. I am just scared to take the next step. LOL I also want to make one of those CUTE turtles.

Knitting for Charity

Have you ever thought about donating items you knit to charity? This is a great way to help those in need and it makes you feel so good. You can start your own charity knitting club. Start calling the charities in your local area like homeless shelters, boys or girls homes, hospitals, etc. You can also find many places online that will take your donations.

• Afghans for Afghans - afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan.
• Compassion Knits-Our mission is to provide hand-knit and crocheted hats, mittens,and scarves to local homeless communities. We believe that homeless men, women and children ought to have a set of winter items that are hand-stitched specifically with them in mind. We also know that most knitters have a stash of yarn in their closet or basement. This is a great opportunity to use up a few odd balls of yarn and make a significant difference to a homeless person.
• Chemo Caps-We encourage each of you to knit one or two or a few chemocaps and donate them to a cancer treatment center in the area where you live. It's neighbors helping neighbors one chemocap at a time and yes it does make a difference!
• Hats for the Homeless-We ask that you make Hats for the Homeless part of your Holiday Traditions. If you know how to crochet or knit or would like to just donate a hat, scarf or pair of gloves, then send them to the address below. Please do not send money. Wrapping your gift will be helpful. The warm gift-giving feeling that comes with giving this gift will surpass any other gift you give this Holiday season.
• Heart to Heart Angels-My dream is to see that as many neonatal units as possible are supplied with "angel dresses", so that no baby is handed to it's Mom and Dad for their final goodbyes, dressed only in an undershirt and diaper. You can make a difference. Will you please help?
• Heavenly Angels in Need-Heavenly Angels focuses on helping the community through various knitting projects. They are particularly interested in helping babies and children, in America and overseas. The site offers patterns and lots of information on ways you can help.
• Knit for Kids-Make sweaters for kids.
• Knitting for Noggins-Help make a difference in the lives of patients and families at Arkansas Children's Hospital! Knit or crochet hats for children of all ages through our Knitting for Noggins program.
• Life2Orphans-Life2Orphans is a collaborative, secular, non-profit established by a group of caring individuals primarily to directly help over 6,491 orphans, aged 0 to 18 years, in orphanages in Ukraine, as well as ship boxes cost-effectively to other orphanages in Ukraine.
• Mother Bear Project-The Mother Bear Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears.
• Newborns in Need-Newborns in Need, Inc. (NIN) is a 501(c)3 charity organized to take care of sick and needy babies and their families; and in cases of crisis, to help where help is needed.
• Project Angel Kisses-"Project Angel Kisses is a ministry, built on a foundation of faith and prayer, to help meet the very special needs of precious preemies and full-term babies whose parents are in need of help. We want each family to know, without a doubt, that there are people who love their tiny angels, are praying for them, and want to help by crocheting, knitting, quilting, and sewing hats, booties, afghans, mitts, angel layettes (burial layettes), diaper shirts, gel pillowcases, etc. We have a LOT of fun and make cherished friendships as we make angel gifts for "our babies."
• Project Linus-It is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers."
• Shawl Ministry-Whether they are called Prayer Shawls, Comfort Shawls, Peace Shawls, or Mantles, etc., the shawl maker begins with prayers and blessings for the recipient. The intentions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. Upon completion, a final blessing is offered before the shawl is sent on its way. Some recipients have continued the kindness by making a shawl and passing it onto someone in need. Thus, the blessing ripples from person-to-person, with both the giver and receiver feeling the unconditional embrace of a sheltering, mothering God!
• Snuggles Project-The Snuggles Project was founded by our president and founder, Rae French, in 1996 because of her heartfelt need to do something for the innocent victims who find themselves in animal shelters without a bit of comfort to call their own. Picturing them in their hard cold cells made her heart ache to do something to help. So she got the idea of security blankets for shelter animals. The security blankets are called "Snuggles." Each animal would get a Snuggle to cuddle up with to feel warmth and comfort. Most shelter animals are kept in areas with stainless steel braces and hard plastic flooring or even bare concrete floors. The Snuggles would allow them to have a little reprieve from the coldness of the pen they are kept in.
• The Preemie Project-The Preemie Project comforts premature and critically ill infants and their families at The University of Iowa Children’s Hospital by giving gifts of hats, booties and blankets that have been handcrafted by a devoted group of local and national volunteers. In addition, The Preemie Project offers solace to families who are grieving a loss by providing bereavement items such as handcrafted burial layettes and tokens of remembrance. The Preemie Project uses financial contributions to supply UI Children’s Hospital families in financial crisis with basic necessities such as diapers, toiletries and clothing.
• Threads of Love-Threads of Love is an outreach sewing ministry that strives to provide for some of the physical needs of tiny infants, while showing God's love to the babies' parents and families.
• Warm up America-Warm Up America! (WUA!) is an organization made up of volunteers who create handmade afghan blankets, clothing and accessories to help those in need. These items provide warmth and comfort to people who have lost their homes, fled abusive relations, or are being cared for in hospices, shelters, hospitals, and nursing home.
• Warm Woolies-Warm Woolies is a non-profit organization whose volunteers knit warm clothing for poverty-stricken children who would otherwise suffer from cold. Our mission is to provide the very neediest children with wool sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and slippers.
• Warming Families-Warming Families serves the needs of the homeless and displaced by donating blankets and other warm items to shelters

Also, join your local Freecycle group and ask if anyone has yarn they would like to give away. Many people have bought yarn throughout the years and never got around to using it.

If you have any charities you would like me to add please let me know. Leave me comments and tell me about your charity knitting projects.

Loom Knitting on Squidoo

Would you like to learn more about loom knitting? Check out Loom Knitting on Squidoo. I just published it. I hope everyone will find something useful.

Lots of Things Going On

Well I am so happy to tell you that Robin and her family came over to eat supper Saturday night. We had a great visit. I could learn a lot from her!

We are still working on getting our charity group started. I am still making 1-3 hats a day to donate to St. Jude. We are supposed to visit the women's center one day this week to see exactly what size hats they need for the preemies.

I finally got my invitation to Ravelry today! If you knit or crochet Ravelry is the place for you. Sign up asap because there is a waiting list. It took me about a week to get my invitation.

Well I gotta get back to making more hats.

What I've been up to

Phil's purple hat that looks blue. LOL

My two hats for today

I have been trying to make at least two hats a day. So far today I have finished two and I am working on the third one. Phil has finished one and is working on his second one.

Gotta Love Freecycle

I got all these wonderful yarn from Gloria on our local freecycle group. It will be put to great use in make hats and blankets for charity. If you are not a member of a freecycle group you don't know what you are missing.