Tuesday, October 22, 2013

An Aside in Helping Out

I've posted before about LILY (Love in the Language of Yarn) and their mission in providing knitted/crocheted blankets to Syrian Refugees.  Their link button is on my side bar.  The coordinater Dianne Jones puts out a request for anyone with a few moments to knit or crochet three simple 9-inch squares and mail them off to her in Turkey ... the "Three Square Appeal".  I knitted some squares up in the summer, and it cost me $10 Cdn to mail ten squares to her.  I've knitted up some more squares now and they're ready to ship out.  This time I'm also including some small hats.
 
I've been wanting to knit up a small doll with dangly sort of arms.  This morning I checked out Ravelry for some doll patterns and came across "African Comfort Dolls".  Intrigued by the simple look of these dolls, and the name, I clicked on the link, which brought me to this page.  An organization, ICrossCanada collects these adorable dolls and uses them for packaging to send HIV drugs and medical equipment destined for Africa (rather than the usual bubble wrap or packing peanuts).  How ingenious!!  When the packages arrive in Africa, the dolls are handed out to local children ... many of them in the HIV clinics.  I thought this was a clever and creative way to achieve safe packaging and provide a bit of comfort for a small orphan child on the other end.  With a bit of hopping around, I believe you will find an address for another organization Drops of Grace in the United States that also collect these dolls for the same purpose. 
 
Source:  http://www.squidoo.com/african-knit-dolls#module3332911
So, not that I've dropped everything to work on this ... I do have a small rug nearing completion ... I just felt compelled to share these two charitable efforts with you today. 
 
Click on this link if you want to learn more about LILY.  There is information there about the size of squares and the mailing address.
 
Click on this link if you want to learn more about knitting African Comfort Dolls  Includes a pattern for knitting or crochet and mailing information to send to ICrossCanada (in BC).
 
I haven't made the dolls, so can't vouch for the pattern at this point.  Once I do try it out, I'll post about it again.  I noticed a couple of comments from people on the site that questioned the size of needles, etc., so an experiment may be in order first.
 
That's all for today folks!
 
Thanks for stopping by ... Wendy :)
 
PS:  I hope I have all this information correct, my apologies if I've there's anything missing, and please let me know if you have problems with any of these links!

29 comments:

  1. Two really great ideas here! Hope that you are able to make up the dolls and send them off, as I am sure that they will bring a great deal of joy to someone far away, as well as to you in the knitting of them. xx

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    1. Thanks Amy, I think I'll investigate the doll endeavor a bit further to see if they're still actually collecting the dolls before I knit up a bunch.

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  2. The idea of using the dolls as packaging is ingenious. I need to start picking up my knitting again. I am sure I could knit a square quite nicely and contribute to the cause. Than

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    1. I hit publish accindentally... thank you for sharing this with us, Wendy!

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    2. I thought it was pretty clever too! I guess they don't add that much to the weight of the package to substitute the packing peanuts. I didn't know you knit Stacy! ;)

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  3. Wonderful wonderful ideas Wendy! Especially around this time of year! I will check them out!
    Thanks for sharing this information!

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    1. I really think the LILY effort has the bigger need, but it would be fun to knit up some dolls to change things up a bit.

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  4. I love those little dolls... I'll have to go check them out... what a caring idea! :D
    Hugs,
    Beth P

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    1. I thought they were sweet too, and such a great idea.

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  5. Wendy this is awesome! I believe as a blogging community we can do so much with our creativity to give back !!! A new goal for me is to be able to participate in this when my knitting gets better! And yes that is clever to send the dolls as part protection for the packages and to most importantly comfort children!!! So awesome!!!! You rock!!!!

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  6. Great you are sending more squares and some hats to LILY Wendy, Diane and her friends are doing a great job out there. That's a brilliant idea for those little dolls and they are lovely to make and quite addictive, a great project for your little bits of stash wool. I have made quite a few in the past, here is a picture of some I made a while back. http://www.flickr.com/photos/13478529@N04/5120785785/in/set-72157625811436933

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    1. I'm amazed at the work Diane and her group accomplish ... and all as volunteers! I've had a look at your link and your dolls are so cute! Love the added scarves ;) I made one up last night (except for the stuffing & arms/legs/face stitching). I think I'll knit the rest in the round as I hate stitching up seams if I can help it. Thanks for sharing this Linda.

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  7. These are great ideas. I'm particularly glad to learn about LILY, as I am of Syrian descent and have been very concerned about the people there. I'm glad there are ways to help.

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    1. I'm so glad this post connected with you Jennifer :) I've enjoyed knitting up the squares for LILLY, and the link I've posted takes you right to the page with the instructions for knitting the squares. There's loads more information on Dianne's site about the entire effort, and what she and her volunteers accomplish. I hope you'll be able to make up some squares yourself.

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  8. What a wonderful way to help.. Your knitting is beautiful. I love rag rugs and all of those weaved ones you have shared are fabulous... hugs, Cherry

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    1. Thanks Cherry! Trying to get all the ends woven in now ... the knitting part is finished!

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  9. Great ideas Wendy - ingenious packaging - brilliant! Fab that there are some more of your Lily squares and hats being sent to Syria with your love.
    Ali x

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    1. Isn't that a great thing with the packaging? I'm packing up the Lily squares today!

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  10. That sounds like a great cause, Wendy.....good for you!

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  11. thank you for sharing, there are so many little ways we can give to others

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    1. There certainly are Kathy. I'm glad I heard about Lily (from Linda ... Linda's Crafty Corner), and the comfort dolls have quite a wide-spread following too.

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  12. Love how you are using your talent, passion and creativity to give to others in need! You know how I adore your knitting!

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  13. These are some very inspiring projects Wendy! Good for you. The dolls are so sweet and what a lovely purpose. :)

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    1. Thanks Jo! I've made up two dolls now ... needs some tweeking.

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  14. Some worthy causes using crafted items for those less fortunate.

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  15. Oh my Wendy so adorable and for such great causes too!! Well done you x Hazel x

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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