Forum

APPEAL FOR HAND-WARMERS

AND CUDDLY TOYS

Have received a message from Ronda that they are now critically short of hand-warmers and soft toys. Also there is hardly any yarn left and absolutely no crochet hooks (size 4.00mm (US 6)), additionally plastic needles are running low.  We are expecting some money from IBM, but will need to use most of this money to purchase decent smart phones for the distribution team.

Ronda says although the weather has warmed up, there will be the odd cold snap so do keep the squares, hats and hand-warmers coming!

Thank you all very much for any extras you are able to include in the wonderful parcels we receive every week.

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DISTRIBUTION PHOTOGRAPHS

LINK TO : REPORTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

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THE BLANKET ROOM

by Christine Johnson

There is another great batch of blankets to peruse and enjoy! Here are a couple of the most recent photographs received from the office team.

Link to : The Blanket Room

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SQUARES LIST

The August 2017 Squares List is available.

Please visit the website: www.knit-a-square.com

Click on 'Received Squares'

Graph “Squares” up until and including August

251 parcels were received and opened and the total contents were:

20.916 squares (equal to 597 blankets), 1.459 hats, 445 pairs of handwarmers, 572 toys and many other goodies (marked with a "x" under column "Other" in the Squares list).

To see more graphs and details, please click [HERE]

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SEPTEMBER THEME - RESULTS SO FAR

Diagonals are Forever and Sassy Stripes

hosted by Karen Gordon

Link to Diagonals are Forever

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KAS CONNECTS

LITTLE LIBRARIES NUMBER 217

This is a little school where the male teacher (a rare occurrence in the townships) has been trained in story telling and Camille says that it showed!

There is a little clip on Little Libraries facebook page that shows what fun he had reading this new story to the children.  Before LL's arrival they had about 5 books to speak of.  The teacher said that he borrowed from the public library but because their opening hours are during school hours, he was struggling to get the books he needed.
Now he gets to read for over 4 months from his own little library without having to read the same story again.

Knit-a-Square has been developing a relationship for some time with Camille who created and organises Little Libraries. Camille has distributed blankets and hats when she has enough along with her libraries, supplied by KAS Cape Town area members. We will have some more interesting news in the future. LL are now up to Library number 220, and, you can find them on Facebook.

Link to KAS Connects

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OCTOBER  PATTERN OF THE MONTH

Grannies and Garters

This month we are showcasing two patterns, the Crochet Granny Square and the Knitted Garter Stitch Square

 Granny square - Susan Donaldson (UK)

Granny squares are popular with both novice and experienced crocheters. The KAS Granny has been adapted to minimize the spaces that are common in the traditional Granny.  Fewer spaces mean warmer squares. Warmer squares mean happier children.

Granny squares – Sharon Fennell (UK)

Blanket of granny squares by Evelyne Lake (USA)

Garter stitch squares are a variation of our Plain Jane squares, they can be knitted using variegated yarn, or with stripes or in rainbow colours such as the square below by Rebecca Price (UK)

Variegated garter stitch squares - Bev Jeffery (AUS)

Variegated garter stitch square - Rachel Rebecca Abitz (GER)

Both patterns are available in The KAS Pattern Book

  where other patterns are available, please try as many as you like.

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THAT WARM FUZZY FEELING

by

Leanne Hunt

Once again Leanne gives us a closer insight into the office and the volunteers! She has provided us with two reports, and, here are a couple of snippets :

7th September 

I asked Athele how she had first got involved with Knit-a-Square.  She shared that she had long been in the habit of doing what she could for those less fortunate than herself, but that when she moved to Johannesburg, it took her a long time to find a cause which was both appealing and suited to her schedule. Knit-a-Square came to her attention when it was featured in her local newspaper but she initially thought of it only as a charity to knit for.  It was when she finally picked up the phone and spoke to Ronda, then visited the barn on an opening day, that she saw the role she could play.  With her eye for colour and enjoyment of creating beautiful things with her hands, she focuses on combining squares in aesthetically pleasing ways.  Most weeks, she also takes home a bundle or two to sew into a blanket edged with an attractive border.

 Athele [pronounced Atherlay] has been a volunteer at Knit-a-Square for over 3 years.

21st September 

This week we celebrated another birthday at Knit-a-Square, that of Lindi, and much fun was had taking photos of everyone to mark the occasion.  There is such a lovely, friendly bond between all the volunteers that simply attending opening days is enough to lift your spirits!  So many smiles and hugs, so much admiration of blankets and appreciation for packages sent from across the sea.

For once, Ronda was not inundated by phone calls and visitors dropping in to talk about receiving blankets or sewing up squares.  I pulled up a chair in front of her desk and we shared a hot cup of tea with a poppy seed muffin on the side.  She began to tell me about various companies that had been involved with Knit-a-Square over the years, supporting us as part of their corporate social responsibility [CSR].  It was an interesting story and one worth sharing.

To read the both full reports click on That Warm Fuzzy Feeling

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NEWS EXTRA AND A LAST LAUGH

British International Preparatory School donated 200 of these squares to KAS - Wendy Hardy was there to receive them!