Here's to 2020

Well, 2019 has been a busy year on the crochet front.
230 pairs of wrist warmers have been made and sent out this year, which makes 392 pairs in total since we started in Oct, 2018. 
Plus 104 scarves!!

Our last parcels went out a coule of weeks before Christmas as I didnlt want them getting caught up in the Christmas post so over the festive oeriod we have been busy making lots more scarves ready to send out in the New Year to various homeless outreach projects again.
We have decided to stop with the wrist warmers for a few months and just concentrate on the scarves as the wrist warmers are not really suitable for the really bad weather we get at this time of year.
Unfortunatley as I've said before I can't make "proper" gloves and although the wrist warmers are great for the rest of the year they are not going to keep a pair of hands nicce and warm in the really cold, wet, icy weather we have here.
So I thought it best to concentrate on the scarves for a couple of months and boy, have we been busy over Christmas!!

23 scarves made in just over 3 weeks!!

These will be parcelled up and sent out in the New Year around the UK.

We are looking for some new outreach projects to send items too and trying to find some in areas that we don't yet cover so will keep you updated on that.

For now, we are still busy crocheting.

See you in 2020.

Parcels in the post

Hello again, bet you didn't think you'd see another blog post so soon after the last one eh?

If you read the last post you'll know that I did a Christmas event here on Bute on Saturday 30th selling (well, trying too!!)  some of my crochet scarves & wrist warmers.

I had asked for donations of hats, gloves & scarves on the day and was lucky to get 2 big carrier bags full of items.

There were loads of pairs of gloves, some warm fleecy beanie hats and lots of scarves.

After sorting them all out I 

packed them up into 2 parcels

to go out to 2 seperate

homeless outreach projects

in Glasgow.

I was amazed at how many items there were and am really thankful to the lovely ladies who donated the items.

Unfortunately it was a quiet-ish day and I didn't sell much but the money I did make will be used to pay the postage on the parcels I send out in the future.

It has been very cold & icy here this weekend, I just can't imagine how people cope being out on the streets in weather like this; sadly not all of them do cope and the numbers of those dying is rising all the time.

I took a ball of yarn & my crochet hook along to the event and managed to make half a scarf - am hoping to get it finished tonight and sent out some time this week with some more scarves & wrist warmers to another outreach project.

If you've got a few mintues to spare please give this blog post a read. 

Very grateful to have been featured. 

Homeless at Christmas

As we approach December, the weather is turning colder, not to mention wetter. People are starting to get ready for Christmas but for those who are living on the streets this time of year can be harder than others.

Many of the homeless outreach projects I follow are gearing up for this tough time of the year. Organising warm clothng drives and asking for donations, both monetary and of warm clothing, shoes, socks etc.

Which means I have also been extra busy crocheting scarves & wrist warmers.

To date, I've made 363 pairs of wristwarmers and 73 scarves which have all gone out around the country to various homeless outreach projects. 

I have also made a selection of scarves & wrist warmers which I shall be taking to a Christmas fair here on Bute this coming Saturday, 30th Nov. 

24 pairs of wristwarmers and 12 scarves; any unsold ones will also be posted out during the following week.

This year I have also sent some items to a couple of women's refuges and I am also putting a parcel together to go over to Glasgow to a refugee centre.

Still got lots of yarn left and have rece tly had some more donations which is great. Every donation of yarn, however small is much appreciated.

I know that my wrist warmers are not as good as proper gloves but I can't make them. So I had a thought. I am asking local people who may be coming to the event on Saturday to bring along any unwanted pairs of gloves, aswell as hats or scarves and I will post them off along with items to outreach projects. 

Already had a lovely donation of 3 pairs of brand new gloves from a lady at the local arts club that hubby goes to on a Monday. Fingers crossed that some more items will be donated.

There is still a month to go until Christmas and I am hoping to get several parcels sent out in the net couple of weeks. 

There are lots of fantastic people working very hard to help vulnerable people all over the country. Please support them if you can.

This is where I will be on Saturday 30th Nov. 

If you are on Bute then please come along and say hello - and bring a pair of old gloves if you've got some.

Cheers.

World Homelessness Day

Today, October 10th,  is World Homelessness Day. Homelessness is an issue around the world. Since it began in 2010, WHD  has been marked in every continent (except Antartica) with many countries taking part.

The purpose of the day is to highlight the issue and draw attention to homeless people’s needs locally, nationally and internationally and also to provide opportunities for the communities there to get involved in responding to homelessness and to able to be find a way to help.

If you live or work in any town or big city in UK, you can’t fail to have noticed the ever increasing numbers of homeless people; men and women of all ages, In shop doorways, in tents, sleeping in rubbish bins or under cardboard. You probably walk past them, casting your eyes sideways to avoid having to look at them. Hopefully you don’t do what some people do and spit at them, or verbally abuse them or worse, physically abuse them or set their tent on fire.

Living on the streets is not a choice for these people. People become homeless for a wide variety of reasons. Some are simply unable to afford to pay their rent perhaps because of losing their job or benefit changes; some have left care or been released from prison. Some are ex forces veterans with nowhere else to go. Women may have left abusive relationships.

It is hard to get accurate figures on the number of people who are homeless – official figures are often much lower than the actual number and many people do not get counted either. A walk around the town/city to count the numbers sleeping rough will not pick up those who are sleeping in alleyways or behind shop premises or in car park.

Whilst councils have a duty of care to help homeless people, many simply do not have the facilities or the money to help everyone in need.

Thankfully there are lots of individuals around the country who are willing to step up and help. From individuals who go out around their local area with flasks of hot drinks and warm clothing to the charities, both small & large, who raise funds to provide temporary accommodation, benefits advice, hot meals, showers, sleeping bags, warm clothing, clean underwear etc.

I live on Isle of Bute, off west coast of Scotland and we don’t have homeless people here, well, as far as I know there are no people sleeping out on the streets but there may well be some people who are sofa surfing or living in unsuitable accommodation. I rarely go to the mainland so don’t see what is happening there but you can’t fail to know what is happening with all the talk of homelessness (most of it negative unfortunately) in the press & on the tv.

So, back in Oct. 2018 I started to crochet wrist warmers & scarves and decided to donate them to homeless projects. Not knowing where to send them I put the call out on Twitter & came across a lovely bunch of people called @BeaniesMasato who are volunteers who run the homeless support CSR (corporate social responsibility) of Masato Jones, who is an independent designer. They put me in touch with some projects around the UK, and since then I have sent out nearly 50 parcels to various homeless outreach projects up and down the UK.

I know a pair of my wrist warmers or a scarf isn’t going to solve the homeless issue, but it will help keep someone a little bit warmer. Through what I do, I also help to raise awareness, not only of the homeless issue itself but of all the great work that is being done by countless individuals around the UK.

I can’t afford to donate money or sleeping bags to every project I follow on social media  but I can do something – we can all do something to help.

So next time you see someone sitting in a shop doorway, huddled in a sleeping bag, trying to stay warm and dry, stop and talk to them. Say hello, ask them if they would like a cuppa. They are still human beings, they are all someone’s Son, Brother, Sister, Dad. They still deserve some respect.

You can follow me over on FaceBook and see what we are doing.

Still crocheting

Hello again. 

Well it's nearly the end of May and yet another Bank Holiday is looming although I'm not actually sure if it is a bank Holiday here in Scotland or not. I've lived up here nearly 17 years and still can't remember exacty when they have them here as they do things differently up here apparently!!!

Anyway, the weather is turning milder and we have actually had a few nice sunny days here on the west coast.

So I assumed that there wouldn't be much of a call out for the crocheted wrist warmers and scarves that I have been making and donating to homeless outreach centres around the UK since the end of October 2018.

Turns out I was wrong. I put a tweet out a week or so ago asking some of the organisations I have sent parcels to in the past if they still needed any during the summer. YES PLEASE, came the reply.

They all said that even though the weather is warmer during the day it can still drop at night, even in the height of summer so they would welcome continued donations.

So, I'm still crocheting like mad and using up my ever growing stash of yarn. I have been very lucky to have had some great donations of yarn from people across the country and have also swapped some of my unwanted craft supplies for yarn so have plently to keep me going.

I have been making a lot of fab and funky scarves lately as well as the wrist warmers and will be sending out a couple of parcels in the next few weeks.

So I shall be continuing to crochet as long as there is a need for these items. 

Come and check out my FB page and you can follow my progress - I post updates everytime I've finished a scarf and do an update a Sunday of the makes from the previous week.

I had also joined Instagram via my FB page as I don't have a mobile with a camera and this was a viable option for me to be able to share what I am doing but FB seemingly decided to remove that option so I can no longer share my posts onto my Instagram feed which is a shame. I have contacted FB several times requesting that they put the option back but so far - nothing!! 

Until next time. 
😊😊😊

What happened to January, February & March???

Hello everyone.

Well, it's been a while since I last posted - hadn't realised it had been over 3 months though so i apologise for that.

I've been busy though so I have a good excuse!!

I am still making the wrist warmers and scarves for the homeless.

We finished 2018 having made and donated 162 pairs of wrist warmers and have already made and donated 91 pairs so far this year. 

We are also making crochet scarves and sending those out as well. It may well be April now but the weather is still cold and wet in many parts of the UK so the need is still there.

We have donated items to over 20 different organisations around the UK who help and support vulnerable & homeless people and we will continue to support as many as we can.

Homelessness is not just something that happens at Christmas. Many people offer to help out at soup kitchens or collect and donate clothes etc in the run up to the festive season but the need is there every day of the year which is why I shall be crocheting throughout the year.

I have been lucky to have some donations of yarn from some lovely people which helps keep the costs down for me. 
Nearly had a heart attack when Hubby asked me how much I had spent on posting out the parcels. 30 parcels at £2.95 a time - and its now gone up to £3.00!! 
Never mind, it is all for a good cause - and I can get a lot of wrist warmers & scarves in a parcel!!!

You can follow the updates on the Facebook page and see where all the parcels are going and also on the website

If you've got any oddments of yarn that you don't want then I can give them a good home and turn them into some funky wrist warmers. 
You can contact me via the FB page or the website.

Until next time.

😏