FEAR, Fibers and Fun Colors Matter

 FEAR!  Fear is real and powerful in all humans; but especially so with homeless.  Fear of the police, fear of standing out in a crowd, fear of perhaps other homeless.

 FEAR of losing your few meager positions.  Fear of being told you can't sit there, fear of being told you can't sleep there.  Fear of the weather and how you fair through the night.

FEAR is real, it's powerful and it's something all Homeless people deal with 24 x 7.  Notice how in all these pictures their faces are covered, or they look away...they don't want to stand out in a crowd.  They want to blend in, they want and often need to be invisible.  Why?  For their own protection.  In each of tabs across the top of the blog for items we knit/crochet and donate, there is information regarding size, color, and fibers needed to assure our donations meet the needs of those we serve.

It's been awhile since I've stressed this, but it's important to visit it again.  We have new helping hands here on Bridge and Beyond.  Perhaps we have new readers as well.  Fibers do matter.  In each tab I indicated it's important to stay away from non washable wool........why?  Because a homeless person, even one lucky enough to get a night here and there in a shelter doesn't have means to do "special" laundry.  

 I indicate it's important to stay away from suede, and other novelty/fun fibers.  Why?  Because they don't hold up, they require special care.  They may be fun for us to work with; but it's important donations work for those we serve over our personal desires.  You can't beat good old knitted worsted acrylic yarn for durability.  Yes...it's harder on our hands, then say a nice wool; but the fiber needs to meet the needs of the homeless.  Fun colors...oh my look at the yummy colors in the fiber pictures.  We all love to knit and crochet or loom with fun fibers both in texture and color.............BUT, fun fibers and fun colors do not meet the needs of the homeless as well as a nice dark blue, or green, or gray or brown.  Dark purple certainly meets the need over a gorgeous soft pink.

PLEASE, as the tabs say avoid white, avoid pastels, avoid open Lacey stitches in your donations.  If you can put your finger through the stitches in the hat/scarf (like the granny square type stitches), they aren't a good choice for keeping warm for homeless living out in the elements.  

Muted colors, solid colors, minimal stripes work best for our homeless friends.  

Fun colors, bright colors, cheery colors work fine for the afghans that we package for The Welcome Home Pouches given to families as they transition from shelter living to their permanent housing situation. 

Please Think about the fibers you choice to make your donations with.  Fibers do Matter, and the fiber colors you choice can reduce FEAR our homeless friends endure.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Blogging in Alphabetical Order, D=Dog and Homeless

 This man has no name, none that was listed in the article anyway.  And that was on purpose according to Austin Brown who wrote the article a year ago.  This man lived in woods for 16 years in Tennessee, near Natchez Trace.  He was apparently caring for 31 dogs.  All with internal and external parasites and 3 with leg injuries.

 The article doesn't say how he came to have so many dogs, or how he fed them, since he has been homeless for so very long.  But, apparently he knew he was ill, and knew he would be unable to continue to care for the dogs, and so accepting help from Animal Rescue Corp (the source of the pictures)

The article was posted on goodfullness.net by Austin Brown.  The man's name was withheld for safety reasons the article says.  The homeless man indicated he wouldn't leave until all the dogs were cared for.  So Animal Rescue rounded up the dogs and got them into kennels and off to vets to be taken care of.  He was also set up for care for himself, but the article is very vague and doesn't indicate when or how he was cared for.  

Just thought I would share this with you today as, D=Dog, and many homeless people have a dog with them when they live out in the elements.  Some say for protection, others say for company.  Sadly, that can be a detriment to them getting the help they need, because it complicates where they can go...how much money is available etc for them or medical care, housing, food and more.

I do hope this man received the care he needed and that his multiple dogs were also cared for.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

A Cocoon of Yarn, Blogging in Alphabetical Order

 Purchased this ball winder some time back.  And did lots of winding.  You wind hanks or skeins of yarn into yarn cakes.  Cakes are slightly different than yarn balls.  Cakes generally aren't wound tightly, and usually have an inside pull.  Yarn balls can be pretty tight (cause you typically wind by hand), and unroll outside in.

 A cocoon of yarn also seems quite appropriate.  If you click to enlarge you'll see a bit of an indent in the center of these cakes...Something could nestle right down in there......be protected, just like insects are when in a Cocoon

It so happens much of yarn cakes you see above are being used in the afghan Learning Logs I'm currently working on.

Here's a poem, my darling SIL Jan, and her friend Kathy wrote for Bridge and Beyond a few years back.  It's such a sweet poem, thought it worth a share again.

A cocoon of yarn

Awaits the magic of

Hand and Hook

What will I be?

Scarf,

hat,

afghan,

love

*copyrighted

**The counts on our progress bars are current.  All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Barnacle Bill and Blogging in Alphabetical Order.

Today is letter B. In the last round of blogging in alphabetical order, B=Begging and Homelessness.  Prior to that when blogging for the letter B for the official A-Z challenge, it was Bridge and Beyond, Behind the Scenes

Doing a google search for a B word connected in some capacity to homelessness I came up with this list:

• Basement
• Bearable
• Befriend
• Begging
• Bench
• Blanket
• Booze
• Bridge
• Broke
• Broken

Not sure I see reflances to the word basement.   Bearable.  How is it bearable for so many people not to know where they're going to sleep, or where the next meal is coming from?  A huge question to me, one I don't have an answer to.  Do you?


Befriend, that's a tough one.  I've not befriended a homeless person.  I try to be kind and hope we all do.  Not just with our donations here on Bridge and Beyond, but with our smiles or words when we come across a homeless person in our day to day.

Begging....well that was my previous B post.

Bench, makes me think of people sleeping in a park on a bench, or a bench in a town square.  Certainly something to explore in more detail.

Blanket, that goes along with Afghan I think for us here on Bridge and Beyond.

Booze.  We've talked about that.  Believe in part on the begging post.  Some folks indicate they won't give money because they don't want the homeless to buy booze with it.  I can't say I share that opinion.  If I were sleeping out in the elements, and drinking booze made me feel better..........even though temporarily ....it's hard to say I might not choose that if I had the opportunity.

Bridge..........well that word certainly seems appropriate to us here on Bridge and Beyond.

Broke........financial so perhaps, but also physically and mentally could come into play and something worth a follow up post.

Broken........lots to say here.  But, will explore it in it's own post.  The short version is....The System is Broken, in my opinion.

AND what of the picture?  Me playing mini golf on a week with my lady friends about 6 weeks ago.  We were playing at Pirates Cove...perhaps the gentleman I'm sharing the shade with was Barnacle Bill?  How's that for a stretch to get a B?


**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Resurrecting Learning Logs Afghan

 These aren't good pictures, as I can't properly lay out the afghan for you to see.  I tossed it down by my foot, and as you can see my broken foot is there as well.

Tried a 2nd time and managed to get my boot a bit further away, and tried to hold down the mint green which is curling in above picture, since it's stockinette stitch.  Quite a few colors here.  Some of you might remember when I started this project last summer.  I named it Learning Logs, as it was a project done through a class (on Crafty's) to learn how to do color work.  Some sections/logs are 2 colors, some are 3.  The pattern for the afghan was to be 6 squares like this (though smaller) and then stitched together.  I thought hooking 6 of these together would be far too busy with all the color and textures together, so decided to use this as a center square and continue with the colors, but in solid sections.

Though I am considering doing some striping as I go.  I've been working on this as I try to elevate my foot as much as possible.  Mentioned in a post a few days ago that I had broken a bone in my right foot.  It's the 5th Metarsal bone.

Have been watching Downton Abbey as I knit.  I never got the opportunity to watch it when it was airing before.  A friend brought over all 6 sessions on CD's to help occupy my time.  I'm really enjoying it, but am in season 5 and already not wanting it to end.  Did you all watch it?  Did you enjoy it?  The period clothes are fun to see.

What's everyone currently working on?

**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current.  All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Zneesy, and The Homeless

When I last blogged in alphabetical order and hit the letter Z, I blogged about the word Zen, Finding Zen. Please take a minute and follow to the link to that post.  These last couple of letters  X-Y and Z are quite a challenge to find words that start with those letters that can be connected appropriately to the topic of Homelessness.

The picture above isn't a recent picture, but sadly when I look out the window as I'm typing this post, on April 2 (remember most posts are typed ahead, and scheduled to be posted at the appropriate time; it's what I'm seeing out the window.  It's 27 degrees.  Hard to believe it's spring when it's that cold, damp, and nasty.  These conditions, bother me tremendously and I'm inside drinking hot coffee with the heat on (though the house hasn't yet warmed up).  Homeless, those in the elements, and those in shelters are far less comfortable.  

The word for today is Zneesy.  It means, cold frosty weather, and was used as a slang term in the 18th century.  Some believe the word was influenced by the word sneezy.

With this Zneesy weather we're having still, I do hope everyone is busy with their looms, their knitting needles, and their crochet hooks and lots of warm sturdy yarn making something warm.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current.  All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Yarn, a Poem

Blogging in Alphabetical Order brings us to the letter Y today.  My last post with the letter Y is about Yarn.  So obvious that is with it's connections to what we do.  If you've not read the post, or would like to remember it, please do take time to click on the word Yarn above to read it.

Yarn is still the word I'm using for the letter Y, it's just so appropriate.

Some time back my SIL, Jan and a friend, Kathy wrote this poem as a writing exercise for me...for us, about what we do here on Bridge and Beyond.   I thought I'd share it with you all here as it seems to be fitting.

The rhythm of the hook

as it moves the yarn around

Calls to me in whispers

a sweet familiar sound.

My hand moves almost dreamlike

without a thought or care

As I fashion something new

for someone cold to wear.

Perhaps a scarf or cap

Maybe a blanket too

With each and every stitch

I think of more to do

So when the cold winds blow

and when the snow falls down

My yarn helps me to remember

Forgotten people all around.

I am the one who’s blessed

As my warm hands stitch away

I pray the rhythm of my hook

Will help someone in some small way.

copy righted @ sandy June 2009

**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current.  All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Xenium, and Homelessness

When I last hit the letter X, I blogged about the word, Xenophobia. Xenophobia
As you can imagine, this is not an easy letter to find words that relate to Homelessness.  So, if you've not read my last post (and or have forgotten what is was), please take a minute to click on the word, Xenophobia.

This beautiful picture above, by Luis Egidio Mele'ndez represents today's word that starts with X, for my blogging in Alphabetical order when I don't have a donation to share with you.  The word is Xenium.  My understanding of the word and it's meaning is that it is a gift/offering given to a stranger.  In ancient Greece, this primarily would have referred to a feast with bountiful fruit and food.  We do indeed offer gifts to strangers with our knitting and our crocheting and our looming.  It also referenced still life, and thus the art piece I found, showing a bountiful meal.

Please think of this as you work on your projects, giving gifts to strangers.  Gifts, make people feel special; and this is what we hope to convey.  That they are special enough to receive a gift and are not forgotten.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Wanda Witter Wins FINALLY Against the Government

Wanda Witter lives homeless for 16 LONG years in DC while trying to get the money owed her from Social Security.  No one listens, they think she's crazy.  Finally 16 long years later, her case has been proven and she has a home, and all the money owed her, $100,000.00.

Please watch Lester Holt talk about this in the video.
W= Winning, Wanda Witter as I blog in alphabetical order .



**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current, as of Feb 15th. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Ebony Arrested, Car Impounded, Jeff Glazer APD and CNN's Victor Blackwell

This story tells about a mother, Ebony and her 4 children being homeless, living out of their 20 year old car, a Buick.  How she was arrested, the car impounded by The Atlanta Police Department.  But, there's more as reported by CNN's Victor Blackwell.  This is a post for the letter V....a bit of stretch perhaps using the reporters first name to fulfill the alphabetical challenge of the needed post.

VIDEO

A Go Fund Me Page

**The counts on our progress bars are current. Percentages are current, as of Feb 15th. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Unveiling New Page on Bridge and Beyond

Unveiling a new page here on Bridge and Beyond.  U, the letter for the date in my Blogging Alphabetical Order.  Please notice a new tab on the top of the blog.  The tab happens to be the last one listed and is titled, Blogging in Alphabetical Order, and A-Z.

When you click on the link above, and or go to the tab across the top of the blog you'll see 2 lists.  The first list is the most current list of my blogging in alphabetical order on days when there weren't donations to share with you, and or I was out of town, and or where I am filling gaps.  The 2nd list is from several years ago from a blog contest that was titled A-Z.  More explained about that when you follow the link or use the tab.

If you have suggestions for words that begin with a specific letter that are connected to our mission, helping the homeless, and or the crafts we use....please sing out.  I can use some help.  I would also entertain the idea of a guest blogger, should any of you want to write a blog post.  Perhaps you know a story you could share about someone you know that was homeless or a homeless situation in your hometown?  If you have ideas, or are interested in writing a post, please contact me via the contact form in the right side bar, and or leaving me a comment below this blog post.  You can also email me.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting Eclectic Afghan Goes Traveling

You might remember this start, as it was posted on Jan 19th, after raiding my stash and stopping at the local yarn shop to buy a few more skeins of fun colors.  I called this Eclectic, but having recently finished a crocheted Eclectic, guess I need to rename this Knitted Eclectic Afghan.  I say Eclectic, because there is no pattern, blocks and stripes of colors are not even, on purpose........it's just free flowing as I grab colors.  It's sorta like a log cabin style in that you go one direction, bind off and then pick up stitches to go another direct......but it's not traditional enough to really be called that.  So, perhaps it could be called contemporary log cabin?  But, whatever...I'm calling it Knitted Eclectic.

It was pretty small here and so I packed it to go with me in my recent travels for something to work on that didn't need to be layed out and pieced together like the squares and stripes that were to be crocheted together.

It's growing in size and has more color (though this picture is a bit dull and not quite true to color). 5 Additional sections thus far.  

Further progress as I knitted in the car on the way home from Hilton Head, a 2 day car ride.  Making progress, but now need to find different set of needles, as I need more cord.  You can see it's pretty bunched up on the current size.  Need to see if I have the same size needle with a longer cord in order to continue to pick up stitches, because as you go the number of stitches on the needles increases.

Today's letter is T, this is perhaps a bit of a cheat.........this afghan traveled with me.  In the first leg I was knitting on board the plane from Columbus to Charlotte and then to Hilton Head, and the 2nd leg was the 2 day car trip back.  Now, it's officially to big to tote in the car and it's traveling days are over..........except of course when it's finished and travels with me to Homeless Families Foundation.  I'm enjoying the color combination and will see if I have enough yarn, or need to add additional colors..........after all, it's truly free form...grab and knit.  Perhaps I swing by the yarn shop and see if anything is on sale.  Not because I need more yarn with my huge stash, but because I don't have this style yarn in my stash ...beyond what I'm already working with.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Socks, Scarves, and Stuff make good Donations

 So many words that start with the letter S and make good donations for our homeless friends.  SOCKS!  Socks, white, gray, black.......colors matter not, but socks are an item needed all year long.  Store bought vs hand made socks can make a huge difference is someone's comfort, and their health.  Remember anyone living out in the elements has to content with limited if any ability to do laundry and therefore a clean dry pair of socks is like heaven to them.  Also think how miserable we all are if our feet are wet and cold.  This is a problem spring, summer, winter or fall.  Men and women who live out in the elements need socks, as do those with nights here and there in shelters.  Socks are also something people who don't knit or crochet can donate.

Scarves.......men, women, and children need scarves.  Not babies or toddlers, but school age........teens etc are in need of scarves.  Scarves can be knitted or crocheted.  They need to be long enough to wrap around as in the pictures below.  Please review the guidelines int he scarf tab for information about size, colors, and fibers.  It's important our scarves meet the needs of those we serve.  No white, no lacy open stitches, and no novelty yarn please.  They aren't practical for those trying to stay warm, those without ability to do laundry.  

If you have questions, please sing out by sending me an email or by using the contact option in the right sidebar of this blog.

Shampoo is another S word that makes for a good donation.  Again, an item that non crafters can donate.  You can purchase shampoo, and or save shampoo from your travels to donate.

Will be catching up with donations that were delivered while I was out of town over the next few days folks, so please pop in often.  Then I will resume The ABC posting with the letter T.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Rolling Hills Afghan for Homess

This afghan has been designed from crocheted scarves that weren't large enough for our needs.  My daughter helped me design this afghan in the works.  I like the blend of brown and green.  The stripes aren't quite the same size, but with some edging which will be in tan, it should come together nicely.  It will need a good size border to make the afghan an appropriate size.  As always, I searched for a name for this afghan and came up with Earth and Sand, or Sandy Grass; but wasn't sold on either of those names.  A Fitbit friend saw the picture and came up with Rolling Hills.  I think that's a good name, makes me think of fields with grass and earth and things growing perhaps in a farmers field.

This afghan to be is currently resting in one of my project bags, waiting it's turn to grow.  Please stay tuned.  Hoping to get this completed in the near future.

This idea of stripes is a good way to use up yarn in your stash, it's also a bit easier or perhaps quicker than the assembly of an afghan with lots of squares or rectangles.  Also, it seems there will be less ends to work in.  If you've not made an afghan using this method, please give it a try.  We here at Bridge and Beyond would love to donate one of your afghans made this way.




**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.







** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Quilts Keep People Warm

This is a Christmas Quilt I made years ago for my Mother for a Christmas Gift.  After her passing, my Dad returned it to me.  I am not a "true" quilter, but have made several family quilts similar to above with no definitive pattern.  As I continue to work my way through the alphabet...Q was a stumbling block for me.  Then the word quilt came to mind. 

We've not really had people making and donating quilts, but...........we could.  Why couldn't they be part of our afghans that we donate to Homeless Families Foundation?  Though I know making a quilt is quite time consuming and so, I guess I'm asking...is it practical for us to suggest people make and donate quilts?  This one is warm, but realistically, I use it primarily for decorations, and obviously only once a year.  But, if it weren't a Christmas Quilt, could we do that?  Are any of you quilters?

Some of the afghans we've received and donated through the years have looked like a quilt in their design.  If this is a reasonable idea, perhaps there are ways to connect with quilters here on the net?  Perhaps it's too costly a venture.  I don't remember what I spent to buy the fabric, thread, backing, bias tape, or cotton batting...been too many years.  If anyone is a sewer and has some idea of costs, please let me know.  I like throwing out ideas of things I think might be helpful for Bridge and Beyond, but I don't want to spend lots of time trying to find quilters if this isn't a good idea due to time and costs.


**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time

.** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Puppets and Personal Care for Homeless

This little puppet was photographed some time back and previously posted here on this blog, but I thought I would revisit it with you all.  Look how cute it is.  This one is knitted, but would think crocheting one would work just as well.  Puppets, certainly aren't going to keep people warm, but wouldn't it make a cute item for small children spending a night in a shelter?  Small, soft, and perhaps comforting.  Something I presumed to be easier for families to hold onto as they move about from day to day with temporary shelter situations.  Might it be an item that would help a child through the night of uncertainty?  This is something I would suggest we strive to make tons of, but something I do think would be nice for the shelters to have on hand. 

When I spotted this on my blog from some time back, I didn't see a pattern for it, but will do some looking around.  In the meantime, looking at it might be enough for some of our experienced knitters and or crocheters to wing it and make one.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-knit-a-teddy-bear-hand-puppet/


If above link works, it's to a video and what looks to be very similar pattern for a puppet.

Here's a link to a free pattern on Ravelry.  You can create a free account there



Personal Care items is something men, women, and children need and use all year long.  There are used by folks living out in the elements, as well as those who obtain a night in a shelter.  AND they are needed when families transition from shelter living to a permanent housing situation.  Personal care items can be purchased, and collected whenever you visit hotels on business and or vacations.  Shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, mouth wash, combs, chapstick, shaving cream, razors, sunscreen, female products, soap are some of the items we donate all year long.  These are also items that non knitters and crocheters can help with.





**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Project Bags and Orange Julius Afghan

Projects Bags.  These 3  bags of full of projects.  Each bag is an afghan that's been designed and waiting in the wings to be assembled.  They've traveled with me to a recent vacation to Hilton Head with the hope of having more time than usual to assemble the afghans.

This afghan waiting in the wings is called Orange Julius.  As you can see, there's quite a variety in size and style of squares as well as rectangles.  Some are knitted, some are crocheted, so putting them together will require edging, some a row others more to make them a bit more uniform in size.  Once edged and joined a nice big border will be needed to make the afghan a good size for a family to keep warm.  I'll be using a reddish orange to edge and assemble this afghan.  Please stay tuned for it's progress.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Neglect and Homelessness

Neglect and Homelessness.  Does neglect cause homelessness?  Or are the homeless neglected?  Neglect of Veterans and problems related to them coming back broken from service of their country, surely adds to homelessness.  Then if they are ignored further, because they are homeless...a vicious circle. 

Neglect of any group of people seems to be a central part of the problem.  A family in crisis, due to job loss or health issues which causes them to lose their house, and thus makes them homeless...again neglect seems to be at the root of the problem.  How do we as a society stop neglecting groups of people with problems?  Surely if the cycle of neglect can be broken, problems could be solved before they become as insurmountable as they are.  Isn't it a bit like fixing a hole in the roof before hole becomes larger, or before water damaged ruins the whole house?  Why have we as a nation not learned this very basic idea?  And once we know it, which surely many people do...why have we not fixed the problems when they first begin?

I don't have answers, but questions.  Should we all try to get the point across about fixing problems when they're small, before groups of people are neglected and the problem becomes larger to our local and national politicians?  This seems like a very worthwhile problem to discuss, and yet...I'm not aware of it being discussed.  Are you?  Do you feel like your local area addresses the root of problems that cause neglect?

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Mountain Haze Afghan

This is another afghan designed from stripes.  These stripes are very close to the same size and will probably need less work with edging than some of the other designs.  Mountain Haze seems a good name, with green for trees and perhaps meadows, blue for sky, gray for the smoky mornings and lavender for the haze that we often see with the changing sun light.  I'll be edging and joining the stripes with blue, and then making a reasonable border of the blue which should make the afghan a good size to snuggle under.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may already know I am trying to get a really good start to the year with making afghans, as we did not make our goal last year.  Have you knitted or crocheted an afghan for Bridge and Beyond?  If not, would you consider making one...nudge nudge.  Remember nothing open or lacey works as well as warm and sturdy.  Stitches don't have to be fancy.  Color can be your interest instead of stitches.  If you have questions, please make contact.  Take time to read the afghan tab above .

Thank you for all you do to help the homeless and Bridge and Beyond and please keep up the good works folks.  YOU do make an important difference in lives of other human beings.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time.

** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Love and Loomed Hats

Love with Loomed Hats?  We get a good number of donations of hats made by various sized looms.  That certainly shows love to me.  People who give of themselves, their time, their talents be it with a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles, or a loom are indeed showing and sharing the love.  What better gift can there possible be beyond giving and sharing love with another human being.  To give love, to share love with someone you don't know is truly priceless in my opinion.

Looming is a wonderful way to contribute even when you don't consider yourself a knitter.  Looms can be used by a great number of people.  Men, women, and children.  Particularly good for children who might not yet have the skills to knit or crochet.  Maybe you know a teen that might like to contribute and learn a new skill?  Looms aren't expensive and they can be a wonderful gift to start someone on a path of crafting for others.

One word of caution, though this picture shows pastels and whites, those are colors we steer clear of for our homeless friends here on Bridge and Beyond.  When looms first came out there weren't many patterns beyond a very basic hat to make with them, that's no longer the case.  There are looms in many sizes, and shapes that serve a variety of projects.  There are also now pattern books to be had to make a variety of items with the looms, including slippers!  Have you loomed?  Have you purchased looms to teach someone how to craft?  If you're making hats from looms, please remember to check out hat tab across the top of the blog to be sure your hat meets the needs of those we serve.

As always, if you have any questions not addressed in any of the tabs across the top of the blog, please email me or use the contact form in the right side bar.  Thank you.  Our hat goal wasn't made last year, perhaps if we can encourage a new pair of helping hands with a loom, we can improve on that donation number.

**The counts on our progress bars are current, the percentages not quite. I'll not be figure the percentages with each update of numbers, but will be updating again next at least by the 20th. I have in fact made a reminder not on my cell phone for the 20th of each month to do percentages. If we're at a milestone, or I just have extra time I may do it more often...but certainly at that scheduled time

.** All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.