Working together

work 1Our last work day was so much fun! 

We had a bag of scarves that had been donated since the last work day that needed packaged. Doing it as a group lets everyone see what others are making, which was pretty neat!

Seeing those made some want to learn to make tassels, so Jeri taught us! It was good to see us sharing new skills with each other.

work 2Visiting with each other as we worked was great, it truly was fun to be together.

I look forward to August 1st when we get together again!

Good help!

It’s been pretty interesting to watch the happenings at Threads of Compassion OKC over the last six months. 

morgan with yarn

Here is Morgan helping untangle a lot of yarn.

How did it get tangled?? 

It was a gift and needed washed before it was used. 

I wasn’t sure if it would work to wash it or not, but figured it was worth a try. Since it was already wound into balls, they kind of un-wound in the washing machine, turning into a big tangled jumble.

We’ve been working on it for awhile now, and it’s getting more usable and less tangled. I’m thankful for all the parts that have come together to make this whole work possible!

114 Scarves so far!

Now that Threads of Compassion OKC has been going for almost 6 months it seemed like a good moment to review and take a look at the numbers.

I think it’s pretty amazing… 24 people have made 114 scarves!  That doesn’t include countless others who have offered encouragement and supplies.

I continue to hear from different people what a good impact this project is making on women who receive the scarves.  It’s neat to be part of something that is continuing to grow and make a positive impact during a tough time.

Thanks, everyone for helping this become a reality!

A good time

Sunday, June 6th is our next work day. One great part of Threads of Compassion OKC has been the chance to get together once a month to chat and work on scarves.

100_2692

We have plenty of yarn to share, I’m hoping to get a lot of it handed out this time so that it can come back next month turned into scarves.

We’ll be meeting in the Potters Room at the Memorial Road church of Christ from 3-6, come on by for as long as you can!

Scarves in the Summer?

Yes, we still need scarves in the summer! summer

Whether you’re sitting at home in the cool air or sitting outside, now is the perfect time to knit or crochet for Threads of Compassion OKC. 

The sad reality is that the work goes on, even when it’s warm outside.  The YWCA serves an average of 30 clients a month all year long. 

So, please keep the scarves coming even though the temperature outside is warm!

A Labor of Love

A friend of mine contacted me a couple of months ago to see about learning to crochet. Though we live in the same city we hadn’t seen each other much in the past couple of years. 

She was used to running as a hobby, but had to take a break for a while and wanted to do something meaningful for others with her time.

She had heard about Threads of Compassion OKC and wanted to be a part of it. We were pretty close back when I was raped, so this is just another way she has  provided some comfort directly to me! 

We started meeting for “lunch & crochet” once a week. It was so great to have time to talk and catch up with one another!

It was an adventure for me to try to teach someone who is left-handed. She was a trooper! Since I couldn’t figure out how to explain things backwards, or how to do it myself left-handed, she watched, listened, and figured it out.

Her first scarf is pictured above, and she’s already working on her second one.

I’m so encouraged by a friend who is learning a new skill so that she can reach out to comfort others!

Yarn for you to use!

100_2746

A sweet lady donated yarn to Threads of Compassion OKC! 

As you can see, there is a lot of it… and we’re moving out of the dorm apartment in about a month.  So, I’m hoping for some volunteers to turn this yarn into beautiful scarves of comfort.

Please let me know if you can use some. It would be great to get all of it into capable hands before we move.

Work Day!

This Sunday is our next work day.  Boy am I looking forward to it!  We have been really busy at work; with graduation today everyone is checking out of the dorms, which keeps us hopping.

I’m so glad I have some scheduled time in 2 days to sit down and work on scarves for Threads of Compassion OKC.  It will be really nice to just visit with the people who come and get some work done.

If you’re in Edmond, come on over to the Memorial Road church of Christ building and join us, we’d love to have your company.

Scarves in the Mail!

100_2738

Today was a big day for Threads of Compassion OKC! 

We received 2 different packages of scarves.  A box of 6 and an envelope with 1. 

Thank you to those who donated!  Before these we had delivered 66 scarves to the YWCA this year. 

Joining New Yarn

Some practical crochet advice about joining yarn.

There are several reasons you may need to join yarn to a work in progress.  These include changing colors, adding more yarn because you ran out, or finding that your yarn has a crazy knot in it where it was tied together at the factory.  (don’t just work the knot into your project, cut it out and join it back together).

I can’t say that joining new yarn is something I just love doing.  But, I do think it is important to do it well.

There is a simple way to do it that doesn’t result in an ugly knot in your project.

Here are the step-by-step photos:

1. Get to the point in your stitch where you’re almost done and you have just 2 loops on your hook.

2.  Get the new yarn on your hook.

3.  Pull the new yarn through the 2 loops.

4.  Proceed as normal, you now have the new yarn on your hook to work with.

I hope this is helpful for some of you! 

Next week I plan to do step-by-step of what to do with the ends that are left behind.  We get ends when we join yarn and when we start and stop the project.