March 11, 2005
Update from F.I.R.E.!
(Only in Seattle would you need to drive to work with both your sunglasses and your fog lights on... Freaky, man!)
Drum roll, please!! F.I.R.E reports that the number of items contributed so far by the Dulaan Brigade is...wait for it...249!!! 251 items to go to reach our “Dave the Doubter’s” goal of 500; 1,751 to go to reach “MaryB the Inspirer’s” goal of 2,000, with approximately three months to go until the middle of June, when all contributions should be on their way to F.I.R.E. to meet the July 1 deadline. I know that my onesy-twosy box, which I will ship soon, contains at least 30 items, and that a lot of other knitters are waiting to fill up their boxes before they ship, so there are a lot of things waiting in the wings. But, while the numbers are helpful (ah, who’m I kidding; I live for the numbers), more importantly, they’re only tangible expressions of the wonderful commitment and enthusiasm I have seen expressed all over the Web toward this project. Why, heck, even Sheila—who is not knitting for charity, remember—is almost finished with her Baby Surprise Sweater. (The question is, since this sweater officially doesn’t exist, can we count it toward the goal?)
(Sidenote: For some reason, I imagine all the boxes winging their way to the Dulaan headquarters just the way the owls arrive at Hogwart's. You?)
Work is stilling taking up 7 hours and 59 minutes of my 8-hour work day, as it should, I suppose, so today I will just leave you with this picture of my niece (who, remember, also had the hot chocolate stand for the tsunami victims!) and some fleece blankets and a scarf made by her and Big Sister for Der Project. (Important Update! Big Sister informs me that, in fact, Little Nephew (!!) did a lot of the work on the red blanket. Hugs to you, Little Nephew!)
yippee!!
ahem. your niece so looks like you (and most likely, your sis)
Posted by: anj on March 11, 2005 10:12 AMSo, now it's Mary B the Inspirer, is it! I sure like that better. I am happy to report that I have enlisted 4 new knitters for the Brigate and I have knit 1 child's sweater, 2 pairs of mittens, 10 hats (with one more in progress). I have another sweater started as well. So, ha! 1,751 items is NUTHIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm doing most of my Dulaan knitting on the bus, which I have found is a perfect time to knit small projects that I can start and stop without getting confused as to where I am. It's basically "wasted" time anyway--and I know the route so well, what's the point of staring out the window?
Mary B
Posted by: Mary B on March 11, 2005 10:31 AMI love to see kids helping other kids. It's such a valuable lesson. I'll have to get me to Joanne's so my girls can help make some Dulaan blankets too.
Posted by: Nathania on March 11, 2005 11:28 AMLove the bright colors we all seem to be sending over for Dulaan. It's almost as if we're trying to ship them some cheer mixed in with warmth.
Wow...Just 3 more months to make stuff to ship. Let's see...Dulaan was officially announced on January 31st, so in just over a month we have already shipped 249 items. So at this rate we're looking at 1,000 items by the middle of June. Hmmmm....We're gonna make it to 2,000. I can feel it. Cuz everyone is holding out so they can ship in bulk. And I bet those that have shipped are still knitting. Blog Mistress, this is just. Too. Cool.
And on that note, I have 4 fleece blankets, a neck warmer, 2 hats and a 3rd on the needles that will be done tonight. Yay!
Hope everyone has a great day!
Posted by: Stalker Angie on March 11, 2005 11:47 AMWOW, ya'll! Two fitty! What do you say we should make Doubting Dave give Meredith a bottle of wine for *each* 500?
MaryB the Inspirer sounds a little like Vlad the Impaler, doncha think?
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on March 11, 2005 01:47 PMOh, fine, Cuzz. Just when I'm trying to wean MaryB away from the well-intended "monster" epithet I gave her first, now you're calling her Vlad the Impaler.
Posted by: Ryan on March 11, 2005 02:14 PMBetter not ever be Mary B the Marmot! Mary B
Posted by: Mary B on March 11, 2005 02:30 PMWhich my brain instantly translated into "Merry Be the Marmots!"
Posted by: Ryan on March 11, 2005 02:49 PMYou guys are all nuts. :)
I'm slowly filling up my box of Dulaan goodies. I've got five hats and a pair of socks so far.
That 500 is already HISTORY! I've got 21 things in my mailing box already (11 hats from Nathania and 10 things from me) plus an obsessive desire to make a deep dent in the stash box.
Posted by: Whistling Marmot on March 11, 2005 03:03 PMWhistling Marmot made me snort. Outloud. Y'all rock. *giggle*
Posted by: Stalker Angie on March 11, 2005 04:20 PMLadies: Add to the list 4 hats and a neckwarmer, and one mitten so far.....(do mittens count as one item or two? hee....trying to pad the average there...) and expect more to come from this corner of Vermont. I can't stop!
Posted by: Norma on March 11, 2005 04:20 PMI am knitting for your group and have 7 hats and 4 pair of socks ready to go from rural Selma Oregon. I receive all of my yarn through donation and since I read your site each day I am concerned as some of my offerings are doubled acrylics or acrylic and wool. Is that o.k? Some is of course wool, but beggars are trying not to be choosers. HELP Love and peace, Vicki
Posted by: vicki bush on March 11, 2005 07:00 PMAdd four hats and two scarves! Fourteen more to go to fill my inventory box form (and reach my personal goal)! I have a bag of yarn in my stash closet set aside for more things to send. I also picked up yarn tonight to make a sweater for my little guy's friend's birthday, and I will have yarn leftover from that to use as well! We'll get there!
Posted by: Sheri on March 11, 2005 07:07 PMI am knitting for your group and have 7 hats and 4 pair of socks ready to go from rural Selma Oregon. I receive all of my yarn through donation and since I read your site each day I am concerned as some of my offerings are doubled acrylics or acrylic and wool. Is that o.k? Some is of course wool, but beggars are trying not to be choosers. HELP Love and peace, Vicki
Posted by: vicki bush on March 11, 2005 07:26 PMVicki I have been mostly using acylic so far - I am using up bits of my stash. I live in a small town in Nova Scotia, and our only yarn shop is in the process of closing out, so it's hard to get anything but acrylic. (This shop carries some wool but not a lot.) I think anything anyone has to use will be greatly appreciated - synthetic, blends, or natural! In the temperatures they have in Mongolia acrylic is better than nothing at all! :)
Posted by: Sheri on March 11, 2005 07:45 PMThank you Sheri I am very happy to find that the generous contributions of folks here can be used. This is a very poor area of the U.S. but people here still are willing to share. Thank you for your words as we feel a little isolated here after being in metropolitan areas. Knit on. The joy of this project has been a positive catalyst for my self, my son , and my life partner Jason. Peace .. Vicki
Posted by: vicki on March 11, 2005 09:29 PMOK Ryan you asked for comments on the form before and I had none at the time but now I've got my package ready so I do - I think PDF and filling out by hand is fine - what might be really helpful for us lazy folks is the address on the form to mail to so folks won't have to go somewhere else to find it.
Posted by: CarolineF on March 12, 2005 10:28 AMMy Dulaan was mailed today(Saturday)! I made a child's sweater and two pair of mittens.
Posted by: Debra on March 12, 2005 12:39 PMHey, check this out! Knitting makes the front page in the Flagstaff, AZ paper: http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=104920
But did they mention Dulaan? Nooooo. But that's why there's a letters to the editor page.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on March 13, 2005 05:41 AMWait! They DID mention Dulaan. In the sidebar: http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=104932
Sweet!!
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on March 13, 2005 05:56 AMWow.....Blog Mistress, you're famous! What a great way to get even more items to send over to help people stay warm. It's amazing what can happen when a few people decide to make a difference then tell a few friends about it.
Posted by: Stalker Angie on March 13, 2005 04:08 PM