Olympic spirit

Time to fire up your needles (or hooks) for another great cause!

The Special Olympics 2009 World Winter Games will be held in Idaho, and the organizers are hoping to gift a hand-crafted scarf as a gesture of goodwill to each participant. That's about 5,000 scarves. Read here on the World Games website for specific information on volunteering your talent, and here on Coats & Clark's site.

In their effort to create a unified look and easy-care result, they are quite specific about what yarn may be used. And yes, the fiber snobs among us might recoil a bit (me included, as I am the queen).

White and Delft Blue are the colors to match the logo.

Red Heart Super Saver Yarn is their weapon of choice.

I know, I know, my fingers can't breathe either. It's squeaky, 100% aaaack-crylic. But we can rise to the challenge - the athletes have risen to theirs.

ADDENDUM: There is a group formed on Ravelry if you're looking for that sort of community. And if you'd like to send your scarves in together, let me know; I'll gladly ship more than Mom's and mine.

One week left

... to submit a square for The Promise Blanket project at The Yarnery. Donations are due next Tuesday, so get them to the LYS soon!

yarns: Boo Fly Socks by FLY Designs in Seattle (left), and Claudia Handpaint Fingering in Chocolate Cherry (right)

Rising on the Fifth

My friends J & L once again hosted a wonderful Independence Day party in their Minneapolis backyard yesterday, complete with a barbecue, corncob toss, and patriotic sing-along. We get so engaged in song that we've not made it to an actual fireworks display for many a year.

I look forward to this gathering very much - it's always a great mix of people, food, and fun. Where else can I anticipate talking about everything from my Promise Blanket knitting (with genuinely interested non-knitters, no less!) to a Master's thesis on the use of tarot? Precious few places, lemme tell ya. (And yes, K's watermelon bombe was scrumptious...)

To sum up

The parade was great. Kidlet had fun with strangers. Nails, nails, nails. Finished two squares for The Promise Blanket.
I'm going to turn my air conditioner on now. May the planet forgive me.

Manicure mania

Today was the first day of the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Festival. My church has a booth on the festival grounds this year (yay!).To encourage people to stop and check us out, we offered free "Pride Manicures" - varying applications of rainbow-y colors. I sat in front of the tent painting nails from 10am to 6pm, with about 30 minutes total of no one in the chair.Kicking myself now for not keeping a running tally...

And, silly Meema that I am, I thought I'd have some down time to knit. HA! I had a festive square for The Promise Blanket in my bag, but it never saw the light of day. Maybe tomorrow.

Free your mind!

You've got to give a little...

As summer rears its sweltery head, knitting often goes by the wayside. True, who wants a 6-skein pile of wool-afghan-in-progress on their lap when the mercury is rising? There are little things one can work on, however - hats, mittens, gloves, and socks are time-tested small projects that are compact, portable, and aid in avoiding the aforementioned heat rash on your lap (not to mention getting a jump on the holiday knitting).

Not sure where to start? Go check out The Yarnery Blog for a great charity knitting opportunity using superwash fingering/sock yarn. Knit up a square (or two or three) for The Promise Blanket and drop off or mail by July 15th. Full details can be found here. Get your generous on!

(photo by Sheep In the City)