NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA
The mail situation in South Africa is still very unpredictable. While the UK postal system is accepting parcels to South Africa, the South African postal system is not accepting items from the UK. We ask that you continue to hold all parcels to South Africa until we have more definitive information about the handling of post to SA.
Ronda found out on Friday, June 26, that the Bryanston Post Office is closed until further notice. This maybe for a deep clean, as an employee may have tested positive for COVID, or a larger problem within the postal system.
The volunteers in the barn are utilizing every last square that has been coming into The Barn. These two squares represent some issues they have been facing recently. Please sew in all you ends securely before sending them to SA. You will notice that these two squares do not have a butterflied tail for their gogos, too.
Please use this photo for reference on butterflying tails for the gogos to use when sewing blankets together.
Please check the size of your hand-warmers. They should not fit adult hands, as the children we reach out to are ages 3-9. Hand-warmers should not be any longer than 5 1/2" or 15cm (that is the length of a crochet hook). The children need the tops of their finger free to hold pencils and crayons. The thumb hole should start 1"/2 cm down from the top edge.
JUNE THEME 2020
This month's theme has been hosted by Patricia Underwood, and has been filled with color and ideas. Contributors have been using up their stashes, revisiting old patterns and exploring new ways to make squares for KAS.
In quiet times when I knit alone I find my mind wanders back into my past and folk I have spent time with. This got me to thinking that we all share a love of crafting with wool, and how little we really know about each other in general.
I thought it would be fun to create this space on the forum for us to share a little about ourselves, as if we were sitting around a table with a hot drink, cake and biscuits creating together and chatting.
Learn more about Karen Gordon, the host for this discussion, and other members here.
Have you been keeping up with the KAS KAL. Rebecca has been walking us through various patterns and stitches with idea of finishing one blanket for KAS at the end of the series. In June, this discussion has covered diagonals, moss stitch and basket weave.
This link will take you to the complete discussion.
June had two new Podcasts from Leanne.
On June 2, she has an interview with Amy, one of the moderators from the USA, and has an open discussion with Ronda and Estelle.
One June 16, you will hear and interview with Lindi, KAS's longest serving volunteer and another interview with Andrea, from Canada, one of the KAS moderators. Andrea will walk you through the Square Circle Forum, and tell you more about the KAS shop.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and step into the world of KAS.
Here is the link to all the podcasts.
Knit a Square, with the help of others has been able to get blankets, toys, beanies and hand-warmers to children this month.
On 18 July every year, we invite you to mark Nelson Mandela International Day by making a difference in your communities. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better! Mandela Day is an occasion for all to take action and inspire change.
This year, due to COVID, the involvement of Knit a Square has been decreased in many ways. Our volunteers are in contact with many groups to get as many blankets distributed as possible in the up coming weeks. The government requires permits to travel from one province to another, and distributions of any kind are closely monitored.
The May 2020 Squares List is available.
MONTHLY TOTALS:
In May we recorded 53 parcels containing 2,461 squares,
equal to 70 blankets.
NOTE: We are receiving quite a few bundles of squares locally at the moment, but with the post coming through slowly it is a fraction of the normal volume.
We will just carry on doing our best - and maybe only at the end of July a new Squares List will be published.
Please keep on making squares and items, parcels can be sent, the Post Office in SA is open and operational.
~~~~~~A HEARTFELT THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS~~~~~~
CLICK HERE FOR DISCUSSION
Financial Update
Due to a 50% reduction in rent due to COVID-19 and a decrease in expenses, we gained on that blue income line last month. These funds will really help when Ronda and her team are able to get back into the KasBarn on a permanent basis and distributions can resume.
Here is the expenses breakdown for May:
Our volunteers were able to go to The Barn twice in June. When Level 3 lock-down was implemented the ladies jumped on the opportunity to open a few packages and stock up on squares. They all wore their PPE.
See all the fun photos and read all the news HERE.
PATTERN OF THE MONTH
The July Theme was set as Go For The Gold...
so this pattern works well for Olympic medals.
The July theme will focus on Country Flags and summertime sports.
Our square tally so far the for year is 6414. Have you posted the number of squares you have made for KAS in 2020 in this discussion?
We are trying to reach over 100,00 squares this year.
This blanket of 25 squares is the latest addition from Sandra, she lives in Australia.
This incredible photo comes from our Corona Corner discussion. Here you will find uplifting bits to help you get through this lock-down time due to the Corona Virus.
Check it out here.
Replies
Amy, you've done a fabulous job with our newsletter. I miss so much over the summer months, but finding KAS Snippets in my inbox when I can get online is a real treat. It brings me right up to date. Thank you! xo
Thanks Amy you certainly are kept busy on the Forum. Just love the butterfly blanket and all the info on one page.
A super-informative Snips, Amy. Thank you for all your hard to bring us the information we need to make KAS efficient and friendly.
Thank you Amy for this informative edition of Snips, you are a gem relieving Gloria of Snips in the summer months when she doesn’t have internet access. It’s great that during our troubled times there is some normality, thank you! x