EA Cares

A great start for the New Year

2007-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

All the wonderful folks at EA are getting a great start with our EACares projects for 2007. The circle squares project that we are working on will become two blankets for a set a preemie twin girls. These tiny little ones were born very early and are putting up a heck of a fight to grow big and strong.

We'll be sending them each blankets, hats and some additional goodies.

The group is also starting to think about future projects that we can work on together.

Deb has already made several beautiful baby caps (photo above).

It's really wonderful when we can all work together to make something and send a smile to someone else!

Squares for the Baby Afghan

2006-12-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of the square for the baby afghan.

We should all use white backgrounds and any color we like for the circles (Baby Soft or Softee Baby Yarns). Then, when it's joined it will be a white blanket with different color circles. I think it will be very cheery.

The Marine Afghan Project

2006-12-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

With much thanks to my dear friend Deb we now have a beautiful remembrance book to ship out with the afghan. I hope everyone who was involved with this project feels as touched by this family and their story as I. Thanks to Cindy and the Horsemen for bringing this family and their story to our attention.

The afghan and the book will be in the mail tomorrow.

Baby Afghan pattern

2006-12-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

To everyone who plans to participate in the baby blanket project.....

Here is the pattern that we will be using for this blanket. I don't know Norma, but I have used her pattern before and I just love it! It makes a very pretty square and it will be lovely for a baby blanket!

Remember, this is a copyrighted pattern.

Please be advised that this pattern is copyrighted to
NORMA R WAMPLER and 2006-All Rights Reserved].
You may [PRINT OUT A COPY] for personal and charitable
use only.

We can use the pattern for this and other charity projects and you can use it for yourself and for gifts but we are not allowed to sell the pattern or anything that we make from the pattern.

You can print out the pattern to use it, but we can not post the pattern here or elsewhere - we can just share the link.

For this project we will use only 2 colors for each square. We will use Lion Baby Soft and/or Bernat Softee Baby Yarn. These two yarns are basically the same weight and will work well together. Use any color that you like for the circles in the center of the square and use white for the background. So - use whatever color you like for rounds 1-4 (the circle). Then finish off that color and switch to white. Use white for the rest of the pattern (do not switch back to the center color).

I think that it would be best if we all use a size "H" hook. That way the blanket will be not too heavy and not too loose. The squares should be about 8" square. If you crochet very tightly it might be smaller - if necessary - do one extra row around the edge to be as close to 8" as possible.

When you end off the white yarn, please leave a long tail attached to the square - about 40" long. I will use this "tail" to join the squares together. By leaving the tails the blanket will have less loose edges (and you won't have so much to weave in!)

To make these squares you will need to know how to make a basic chain, double crochet, half-double crochet and triple crochet stitches. If you need help with any of these stitches - let me know - I promise I can get you simple help and you'll see how quickly you feel like a pro.

Any questions - ask The Worm!
Remember - this isn't about perfection. Everyone has to start sometime - if this is your first time crocheting, and your work isn't perfect - don't worry - the effort is perfect! :)

Anyone who doesn't craft and who wants to participate is welcome to do so. Lots of ways to help! :)

Group Effort #2!

2006-12-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

The folks at EA are gearing up for our second group project! This time we'll be putting together a care package for a baby. It might go to a hospital NICU or to a specific family in need. We'll be making a baby afghan to send and then some items to go with it. Maybe a hat, booties, a bib, a stuffed toy or comfort item for baby or for baby's family.

All EA members are welcomed to participate in this and any other EA Cares Project. Whether you crochet, knit, sew, do some other craft or just want to include a small note or small gift. It's all about the giving!

remember others during the holidays

2006-12-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else, I find myself very busy this time of year - work, life, crocheting gifts for the holidays. My crafting for charity hasn't been as fruitful as during other times of the year. I deal with this by doing a bit of extra shopping. I ordered some small toys to send to the Cancer Institute for the kids who can't be home for the holidays. Nothing religious - good for all the kids, but a little something for them to have when they know other kids are home with their families.

If you are able to donate a gift to a toy drive or local organization, it's a nice thing to do. If you can't, perhaps there is a way that you can volunteer and hour to visit with sick kids or with folks in a nursing home. It's so easy to help make someones holidays brighter. :)

Other Efforts

2006-11-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Now that the EACares Afghan is done, I'm thinking about more projects. I have my charity of choice, and I send chemo caps there as often as possible. I'm sure that as a group we'll do more projects in the future, but right now with holidays looming many people can't make the time commitment, and that's fine.

One thing that I would ask people to think about is to remember someone during the holiday season, and do a random act of kindness. Whether its sending a card or a care package to one of our service men/women overseas, donating a few hours at a local soup kitchen or shelter, sending a personal card or note to someone in the hospital or in a group home. It doesn't take a lot of time or money to show someone that you care.

During the holiday season, as we share good times and gifts with the ones that we love, lets try to send a little bit of love to a stranger in need. It goes a long way.

It's done!

2006-11-14T18:34:00.001-08:00

The afghan is finally done! I think it turned out well, and that everyone involved in every aspect of this project should be proud!!!

Special thanks to Cindy for bringing this strong family into our awareness, and to Deb for helping us make this project a reality and for putting together our message book for the family.

Everyone at EA is invited to send a message to the family. If you would like to be included, please send a message to Deb - her e-mail account is in her profile.

It was difficult to take photos of this afghan because it's so big, but I think these give an idea of how it looks.

Come Together!

2006-11-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

A group of us came together to make this afghan, and now the squares are put together! It's great to see this thing taking shape. Lots of ends to weave in, and the entire afghan needs to be edged, but it's getting there. It will be edged in red, white and blue, and should be finished in a few days!

(image is clickable)

The joining has begun

2006-11-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

images are clickable

The joining is going a bit better than I expected. It's a bit awkward working on something this large, but this method seems to be handling the variations in size and texture pretty well.

It took a while,

2006-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

but I finally managed to lay out ALL the squares for the EA Cares Afghan!

I tried to balance colors and textures. It's going to be a very large afghan, and I think it will be beautiful!

I'm going to edge the squares in a light brown and blue - which I think will blend well with the squares. I am a bit nervous - I don't want to screw this up. We have beautiful squares, but they're not all exactly the same size and thickness, so it may be a bit of a challenge. It surely will be a labor of love.

This photo shows all the squares layed out in order:

This is a close up (sort of) of the top 4 rows:

These are the bottom 4 rows:

More Squares

2006-11-02T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I have all (or most of the squares for the afghan). I think the colors are going to blend really well, and we'll have some nice colorful squares - reds, blues, green and browns (and a few other accent colors thrown in).

There are more squares than shown here - some of these are duplicated, so we have enough for one really large afghan, or two smaller comfortghans. I'll have to lay everything out for placement, and I'll post another photo.

There is still time if anyone wants to send a square!

Squares for the Afghan project

2006-10-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to receive squares for the afghan project.
We're going to have a very cheerful, colorful afghan. Lots of colors, lots of patterns. I will be receiving more squares later this week, and once I have them all I'll lay them all out, try to find the right colors to use for joining, and get it together. I'm really excited about this group project!

Caps to the Capital - help reduce infant mortality rates

2006-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Many of our members are involved in a crochet project now. If you knit or crochet, or just want to help newborns in developing countries survive, you may be interested in getting involved in the Caps To The Capital project.

Use the link above to read about this program.

Make s cap for a newborn. The caps and our letters will be sent to President Bush to demonstrate the need for the United States to do more to help newborn babies around the world. Each year, 2 million babies dies in the first 24 hours after birth because they don't have some of the simple things that they need to survive. We can help!

The deadline for this project is January 2, 2007. Download the project packet from the site above. It will provide you with addresses, patterns (for this project you must use the knit or crochet patterns that they suggest), and lots of information about the program.

If you would like to help but don't knit or crochet, this would be a great time to learn! I can't help you with knitting, but I'll be glad to help any of you with crochet tutorials.

And if you can't participate, you can certainly help spread the word.

Afghan project

2006-10-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

seems like several of our members are getting very active with making squares for our afghan. I can't wait to see everyone's work and what our finished blanket looks like.

The group decided that we want to send this blanket to a family who recently lost a marine in Iraq.

Since it looks like we're all enjoying the crafting and the giving - I think this will be the first of many "EA Cares" projects.

Breast Cancer

2006-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wormie invited me to join the blog and talk about the charity work I do with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It is something that numerous members of EA have been involved with. In 2002 (I think) a group of board members signed up to walk 60 miles, and to raise an amazing amout of money. I wanted to sign up at the time but didn't have the courage. I took the plunge a year later, and I haven't looked back since!

The walk has been restructured over time. The 60 miles has been cut to 26, the walk is 2 days long now instead of 3, and the amount of money you need to raise is different too. What hasn't changed, however, is the committment to the cause. The Avon Foundation raises money for breast cancer awareness, education, research, and funding mammograms and treatment for women who are underserved in society.

I have participated in two walks so far as a walker. I'm about to do my first walk as a crew member this week. The walk begins on Friday for me, when I'll arrive in New York City and register. Then around three or four am I'll wake up on Saturday to go to opening ceremonies on South Street Seaport in NYC to start preparing for the walkers. Saturday evening I'll go to the "Wellness Village" on Randall's Island where I'll shower, and tent for the night. Sunday morning I'll be up before dawn again to set up for day two.

My job as a crew member is to keep the walkers happy and healthy. This is by providing safety accomodations, medical accomodations, supplies, etc. My crew will be providing them with food and drink, and also motivation. As a two time walker, I can tell you how much having people cheering you on during your walk really helps.

During the walk there is a rest stop or a quick stop every 2.5 miles or so. It breaks the walk up into more manageable pieces. Each stop has cheerleaders, potties, food/drink, and people looking out for walker's safety. My team is assigned to the first and last rest stops on day 1, and the first rest stop on day two. We have themes too... We'll be doing disco (complete with pink afros!) and New Year's Eve themes this year. I don't know what other teams are doing for other stops but it should be a blast!

The weekend is a great time, and I sincerely suggest anyone who has even the slightest interest in this signs up for 2007. You will have to push yourself to do it, it's not easy at all. But, it is an amazing and life altering experience!

I also ask that anyone who can, please donate to the cause. It's because of people like you that many women, right here at home, are getting the health care that all humans deserve (not just those of us with good benefits from work!) I always knew why I walked... to help spread awareness and to help others, but one story really brought it home for me.

At one of the walks I went to an Asian woman spoke to us through a translator. She came to America and had no resources. She was living in a community with people who only spoke her language. She worked, but, did not have access to health care. One day, she saw signs in her neighborhood, written in her language, offering her a free mammogram. They were being funded by the donations to the Avon Foundation. She had her free mammogram, and the doctors asked her to go for further testing. Her biopsy was also paid for by the Avon Foundation. It was positive.

Every step of the way through treatment, and even recovery, the Avon Foundation, and its network of related programs helped her. They provided an interpreter to help her understand her scary diagnosis. A charity involved with the Foundation, named God's Love We Deliver, brought food to her home to feed her and her children. Every step of the way she was being looked out for. She didn't have the money or the insurance to have done this on her own. She thanked us all for helping someone like her who would have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

This is why I whole-heartedly believe in the cause. This is why I ask again and again for people to take a moment of their time to donate to this very worth-while cause.

Please consider making a tax-deductable donation to the Avon Foundation via the secure website:

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?px=1559959&pg=personal&fr_id=1230

Thanks again to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and who continues to do so now.

Love,

Margaret

The Amish families

2006-10-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I'm not the creative one here, but I want to try and organize something in response to the murders of the Amish children in Pennsylvania. I'm heartbroken about this, and I really need to do something positive to add more good back into the world.

I would love to help create something, a garden, a quilt, a wall hanging - something that might be part of a quiet place, a memorial, something for the families and surviving children to be comforted by.

Can we come up with an idea, perhaps contacting a local charity or social service org in Pennsylvania, to see if there are any good projects? I'm not really so interested in raising money, at least not for this. For me, this has to be something I can do, work on with my hands as well as my heart.

Ideas?

Speaking of Pets...

2006-10-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Have you walked a dog or played with a cat lately? If you are like me, and have SUCKER written in big letters on your forehead, you already have pets. Probably lots of pets. Not everyone can have pets, though. Whether a loved one has allergies, you don't have the finances for a pet, or you just don't live in a pet-friendly apartment or home, not being able to have pets with you doesn't mean you can't have them at all.

Sign up as a volunteer at your local animal shelter or humane society. A couple hours of your time every week will help them immensely with their overloaded staff issues, and you'll get to play with animals to your heart's content. It's the next best thing to having your own pet.

Use these national shelter and humane society links to help you find a local way to volunteer.

Pet Causes

2006-10-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

We all have our charities of choice and social concerns that touch our hearts. Sometimes people want to help, but don't know how.

I can become overwhelmed with my inability to make a large-scale difference. That's why I made a conscious decision to try to make small-scale changes. I can't cure cancer, but every chemo cap that I can make and donate might make a difference in one person's struggle with the disease. I can't donate $1 million dollars, and I feel like $5 here and there doesn't make a difference, but it does! If everyone does just a little bit, great things can be accomplished.

I don't want this blog to be a place where we ask for money or stand on a soapbox for our causes, but it can be a place where we share ideas and concerns. I'm hoping that blog members will feel free to post about issues that concern them, and provide ideas or links so that others who may choose to get involved will know how to begin.

Whether you're knitting a blanket for charity, writing to government officials, donating school supplies, sending cards to the troops - feel free to talk about it here. Maybe others will want to get involved, maybe not, but we can all make a difference simply by bringing issues to the forefront.

EA Cares

2006-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

EA is a fabulous internet group. A great place where people hang out and have fun. We also try to do some good things - support each other, support the troops, support worthwhile causes.

Right now several of our members are working together to create a charity afghan that we will donate around Thanksgiving. Experienced and new crafters are working together to make this happen.

I'm thrilled that we are doing this and think it is so heart warming that people want to be involved and do for others.

This blog is a place for everyone involved to share their ideas and thoughts, to post comments and photos of the things that they create, and to suggest ideas for future projects.

It feels so good to do something for others. It's nice to know that people care.