NEW YEAR NEW PROJECTS

Happy New Year! Our first season was an incredible success with our enthusiastic group knitting and crocheting over 100 premie caps for Project Sunshine and 15 knitted "helmets" for Christmas-at-Sea.

In the Winter '08 season we are focusing on a variety of projects for one charity, afghans for Afghans, who have urgently called for blankets, hats and socks for Afghan newborns at The Cure Hospital in Kabul, one of the few hospitals to treat very sick babies in their neonatal unit. We have also added a child's vest for older Afghan children. All Afghans face a brutally cold winter this year.

ABOUT 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.

AFA works with reputable, experienced relief agencies to securely transport and distribute our hand-knit and crocheted blankets and garments to suffering Afghans. Their partners have included World Concern, Afghans 4 Tomorrow, Airline Ambassadors, International Orphan Care, Afghan Relief Organization, CURE Hospital, Church World Sevice, and Mobile Mini Circus for Children. This project is a partnership with the American Friends Service Committee, which has organized humanitarian missions for more than 80 years.

Visit afghans for Afghans for more information.

DEADLINES
Items for newborns will be sent to Afghanistan in February (exact date to be announced soon). In the Loop will send items for the group when the deadline is announced. We will send the remainder of items in March at the end of our season.

PROJECT PATTERNS & YARN
Patterns for vests, hats, and blankets have been posted on this blog (see left bar for links). We encourage you to use yarn from our stash, we have beautiful wool yarn in a variety of colors for these projects.

If anyone would like to start a project now, and would like yarn from the In the Loop stash, please email us and we'll make arrangements for you to pick up yarn from our offices.

RULES
afghans for Afghans has very strict rules. Visit their website for details, but here is a synopsis:

BLANKETS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. THEY MUST BE A MINIMUM OF 40" X 30" (NOT SMALLER).
AFA HAS ASKED CROCHETERS TO FOCUS ON BLANKETS, AS THE FABRIC IS DENSER AND THE CROCHETING FASTER!
AVOID LACY OR AIRY PATTERNS.
FOR HATS, HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE IS 10" T0 15". CAPS NEED TO COVER EARS. EAR FLAPS AND UNDER-CHIN TIES ARE ACCEPTABLE. HATS NEED SOME STRETCH FOR COMFORT OVER FOREHEAD.
AFA DOES NOT NEED ITEMS FOR PREMIE BABIES.
USE WOOL (OR OTHER ANIMAL FIBER) TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM WARMTH IN HARSH WEATHER. SEE AFA'S WEBSITE FOR MEMO ON WOOL AND FIBER CONTENT.
AVOID WHITE AND VERY LIGHT COLORS THAT SOIL EASILY.
DO NOT INCORPORATE REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGES SUCH AS FACES AND ANIMALS IN YOUR DESIGN. ISLAM PROHIBITS DEPICTING SUCH LIKENESSES.
DO NOT INCORPORATE RELIGIOUS OR NATIONAL SYMBOLS.

FIRST AFTER WORK SOCIAL
Join us on Thursday, January 17 from 6-8 pm for our first After Work Social of the season. Remember, we'll bring the patterns and yarn, you bring the tools! Meet at the Winter Garden's marble tables near the glass wall.

FINAL WINTER SEASON BROWN BAG SOCIAL

This Friday, Dec. 7, 12-2p, will be our 3rd and final official Brown Bag Social for the Winter Season. Ina Braun will be on hand once again to answer knitting and crochet questions on the charity projects. We’ll have the full collection of preemie and mariners caps that have been produced over the last two months.

Please bring in any completed or in progress caps to this meeting. We still have more yarn, so you can sit and work a bit, or take some home to complete one of two more caps. We haven’t set a final date for all pieces to be submitted, but will announce one soon. If you aren't able to drop off finished all your pieces this Friday, email us and we’ll arrange something.

Thank you all, and we hope you'll also enjoy some of our Holiday Events in the Winter Garden.
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