Themes for 2018

Hi Everyone.

My apologies for posting this discussion a little late this year. There has not been enough hours in the day, of late.

Thankfully, a few weeks back, our dear friend, Chris Chiplen contacted me regarding an idea for our 'umbrella'. Our umbrella is the theme/thought that connects our monthly themes together and inspires us to create squares, hats, toys and handwarmers for 'our' children in South Africa.

You may recall that Chris provided our 'umbrella'  for this year....."Think Like A Kid', which has had us creating squares, toys, handwarmers and hats that a child would love and enjoy. Personally, I think Chris has outdone herself for the coming year......and here it is...our KAS Umbrella for 2018........

 LOVE

 
Lots of squares, blankets, hand warmers hat and toys.
Our love and care in every stitch.
Volume...... so there are always enough items for every needy child.
Every child receiving our knitted and crocheted items will know that they are valued and loved.
Well, being so impressed and more than a little cheeky, I asked Chris if she would like to suggest some monthly themes....what a gal....she provided heaps!  Along with some very good suggestions from our Mods, I have compiled a list for you all consider. I would also LOVE it if you would provide feedback on the list.....AND provide some suggestions of your own, where possible. (I know I've lost my 'thinking cap' at the moment!)
Bearing in mind that I am rather late getting this 'out there' and that some folk like to organize themselves for a few months or a year ahead when planning their crafting, or yarn purchases, I will look to finalizing a list of themes on November 20th.
 
Mother Nature's Marvels - the seasons, oceans, gardens, flowers, birds, 
     animals etc.
 
All things African - Nelson Mandela, African colours, Flag, African animals, 
      Football team, etc
     (Theme early in the year to reach SA in plenty of time for squares to be sewn    
     into blankets for Mandela Day in July)
 
 Celebrating Yarn - textures, weights, plain colours, variegated, neon etc
 
 Love at Christmas - All things Christmas (Made in time to reach SA and be
      included in blankets before December).
 
Sharing Our Favourites - whether it be a pattern, stitch, technique, colour, 
      or embellishment (can include all favourites...grannies, CtoC, Tunisian etc).
 
Think Girls! Colours and 'girly' embellishments 
Think Boys! -  Colours, cars, trains, planes etc
 The Nations of the World - flags and national emblems, perhaps other  
      things that we associate with a particular country e.g. Africa / lion;  India / 
      snake; Canada / bear etc.
The Wonder of Learning -  counting, ABC, colours etc. 
Jewels - precious or semi precious stones (I'm thinking of the variety of 
      colours of the stones and using them to make jewelled blankets, hand 
      warmers etc). Ruby reds, emerald green, sapphire blues, violet amethyst
 
Plain Jane Boost! - Let us boost the numbers of PJ's, the backbone of KAS.
     
Happy Scrappies - using up scraps from our yarn stash to make room for new stash 
       for the New year!
Bold and Bright - Bring out all your neons and super bright colours to make those blankets really POP! 
 Autumn Glory -  reds, oranges, yellows and browns.....and/or pic sqs that reflect Autumn.
Teddy Bears Picnic - Toys, teddy squares...
Warm Hands, Warm Hearts - Handwarmers, 'heart' squares, pjs in pink and red.
Dazzling Diagonals and Stunning Stripes - Diagonals and striped squares add pizzazz to any blanket
Thanking you in advance for your support and participation.
Bev xo

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Replies

  • This has been a LOT of work....thank you soooo much Bev for these inspiring ideas! xo

  •  Bev, I tried to combine some of these ideas (they're all great!) to give us just 12.  These are just suggestions that perhaps others will fine-tune even more :)
    1. Mother Nature's Marvels (combine with Autumn Glory, Summer Sunshine, Winter Warmth, Spring ??) - the seasons, oceans, gardens, flowers, birds, 
         animals etc.
     
    2. All things African - Nelson Mandela, African colours, Flag, African animals, 
          Football team, etc
         (Theme early in the year to reach SA in plenty of time for squares to be sewn    
         into blankets for Mandela Day in July)
     
    3. Celebrating Yarn - (Combine with Happy Scrappies & Dazzling Diagonals and Stunning Stripes) textures, weights, plain colours, variegated, neon etc
     
     4. Love at Christmas - All things Christmas (Made in time to reach SA and be
          included in blankets before December).
     
    5. Sharing Our Favourites - whether it be a pattern, stitch, technique, colour, 
          or embellishment (can include all favourites...grannies, CtoC, Tunisian etc).
     
    6. Think Girls! Colours and 'girly' embellishments 
    7. Think Boys! -  Colours, cars, trains, planes etc
    8. The Nations of the World - flags and national emblems, perhaps other  
          things that we associate with a particular country e.g. Africa / lion;  India / 
          snake; Canada / bear etc.
    9. The Wonder of Learning -  counting, ABC, colours etc. 
    10. Plain Jane Boost (combine with Jewels and Bright and Bold)
     
    11. Teddy Bears Picnic - Toys, teddy squares...
    12. Warm Hands, Warm Hearts - Handwarmers, 'heart' squares, pjs in pink and red.  Perhaps add BLUE, green, burgundy, gold hearts for boys (sorry Bev ... tee hee hee)
    • Some great ideas to make the '12' Glo! I wonder whether the 'Dazzling Diagonals' and 'Stunning Stripes' might fit better in 'Sharing our Favourites'?
      'All Things African' would fit in very well with the 'Nations of the World', this would free up a month for 'Happy Scrappies' perhaps in December to use up all the scraps in our stash to make colourful scrappy teddies, squares etc.

      What ever you decide Bev, we will be thankful that you are sorting it out, enabling us to enjoy another productive year for the children x
      • Yes, Chris, I think that might be better.  And as Sue says, Happy Scrappies is probably a good one for year end ... could it possibly work with Love at Christmas for December? 

        Oh dear, I guess we could juggle these in a hundred different ways.  Thankfully they're all great themes so whichever way they end up, it will be a super lineup for next year :))) xo

        • Hi Everyone.

          Here are my thoughts....nothing's  'set in concrete', so feel free to disagree.  :))))))

          Teddy Bears Picnic.......this will get us off to a good start 'toy-wise' for the coming Winter.

          All things African.........so that sqs arrive in time (hopefully) to be sewn into blankets for Mandela Day distribution.

          Think Boys!

          Warm hands, warm hearts

          Love @ Christmas.....Christmas sqs made in time to be sewn into Christmas blankets

          Four Seasons....... your current season or fave season, e.g trees/leaves, flowers, birds and the colours you associate with each season.

          Think Girls!

          Sharing our Favourites

          I do like to be beside the seaside

          The Wonder of Learning

          Celebrating yarn

          Happy Scrappies

          These are not necessarily 'in order'....though it is probably necessary to have Teddy Bears Picnic, African, Warm Hands and Christmas in the first few months so that they are available in SA at the appropriate time.....and happy scrappies for a de-stash in December.   :))) 

          • As Glo has already said, thank you Bev for all that you do each year to provide interest and inspiration for us all :)) x

            • Oh Ladies...you are too kind.......a minuscule amount of input from me this year.

              Thanks so much to you, Chris and everyone on our fab forum for your great suggestions and feedback....it made things so easy for me.  :))

          • Bev, this looks like a very good lineup for 2018.  Thank you for all the time and thought you put into this each year :) xo

          • Looks like a great year coming up Bev. The order seems fine to me.

            Thanks for organizing this.  The themes will keep everyone busy with hooks and needles.

      • Thanks Glo and Bev for your hard work! I am with Christine with the happy scrappies but then celebrating yarn covers it pretty well. People seem to like it near the end of the year when the yarn pile has gone down [haha].

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