This year one of our members has graciously donated a post office box to receive Made by Hand parcels.  The address is on our just updated contact page.

This little red knitty kitty was a project I had unfinished, so I got it all put together to begin a fleet of knitty kitties to be given to little girls and boys who will love them

Made By Hand Overall Status:

5 / 200 (2.5%)

Last summer I went to a hotel and I left my bathing suit there… wait, be patient, this IS a Made by Hand story.  Really.

So anyway, I left my bathing suit at the hotel, but I remembered in time to call them and go back and get it.  They put it in a plastic bag with a little label saying “left behind” and I grabbed that, tossed it into my van, and drove back home.  And never saw the bathing suit again.  I mean, I searched for it, everywhere.  Cleaned out my van.  Overturned the house.  But the thing was nowhere to be seen.

While at the same hotel, a friend of mine from PA had given me some Made by Hand items.  I dutifully brought them out at our next knitting meeting here, and we all oohed and ahhhed over them.  My duty discharged by handing them to kisknit, I forgot about them.

You’ve probably already figured out how these stories merge.

I was going through my stash, entering it on Ravelry, when I found a bag in the corner that wasn’t yarn.  Oh …. it was a bag of Made by Hand items!  Guilt!  Guilt!  They had somehow gotten pushed back into my stash after knitting and never donated last year.  So of course, they are being added to the things for this year (and I have apologized PROFUSELY to my friend in PA).

I opened up the bag so I could take pictures, and lo and behold, on top of all the other neat ziploc bags and labels… there was the plastic bag with my bathing suit in it.  Which was pretty much the last place I ever expected to find it!

Yes, we skipped a year.  But we are starting up now, for a new charity drive which will be finishing up in October 2009.  The FAQ and all associated pages will be updated shortly, but right now I’m just so excited to be getting going that I had to post something Right Now.

This year we will again be knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc. for the local Domestic Violence shelters.  This means we would love donations of all manner of handmade items, from socks to hats & mittens, to sweaters, to blankets, to toys (yes toys!).  We have a year to collect items, so let’s set a goal of 200 items in hand by October 31, 2009!

One new addition to the Made by Hand organizational family this year is a brand new group on Ravelry.  If you have a Ravelry account, please look us up (the group is Made by Hand, and if you have trouble finding it, find me (I’m tryslora there as well) and it’s under my list of groups) and join in the fun there too.

I’m so very excited about this year’s project, and I can’t wait to get started.  Some of us have already started working, before the project was set, so I’ll have some status updates (and a pic!) later today.

A few weeks ago, the Sister (aka Mini Monster) brought in her finished teddy bear for the charity project.

Cute, right?

The weekend before labor day, BJ brought her finished mittens for the project.

Very pretty and warm.

Then I got bored and felt that the bear was cold. Drafts from the window and all.

I bet he still wants a scarf…

We received toys! Hand-made, wood toys painted with vegetable something or other. They are so darn adorable. I love the clown

So what, a month ago I last posted? At that point I was whining about how we only had 31 items. Then my knitting girls smacked me upside the head because I had asked them not to give me everything just yet. I may regret that statement at the end of the month when I see them again.

We’ve had a few more scarves and hats come in and I’m sure something else that I just can’t remember. I thought since I am woefully neglecting this space I needed to post. So I give you the first of some of the donations. (Oh and I probably won’t get every donation up, that nearly killed me last year. Please don’t be upset if I don’t get your project up. I love it and I love you, but I only have so much time and way too many blogs, projects, and job stuff. *sigh*)

We received a beautiful quilt from a coworker’s sister. It is an amazing piece of quilting. Cotton with a fuzzy yellow felt fabric for lining on the back making it soft and snuggly for the future recipient.

Our collection has been much slower than I had hoped. So far we have pulled in 31 items. It’s a good start but I know we can do more. Below is a list of what we have so far:

• 4 pairs of slippers
• 1 hair scrunchie
• 3 blankets (2 knit, 1 quilted)
• 3 wooden toys
• 1 shawl
• 8 hats
• 10 scarves
• 1 sewn bag

We also received an unbelievable yarn donation from Wool and Word and some of the girls have started handing in finished pieces from that collection.

My goal right now is to stop neglecting Made By Hand and get some photos of the wonderful items coming in. Also, in the next couple weeks I’m going to look into getting a P.O. box so I can have the address up and visible on the site.

If you are reading this and you are a crafter, please think about sending something to us or start something in your own neighborhood. It’s a wonderful feeling to use your obession for good, instead of the usual evil. I’m off to knitting group today so maybe I’ll have more items to add to the list!