Forum

What a fabulous month it has been so far

for KAS in South Africa!

Ronda, with Wendy's support has created a report on the Forum which will help all our wonderfully supportive members around the globe to grow even closer to the South African team and get a taste of what it is like to be a KAS volunteer.  For the most part these reports will be weekly and cover distributions, events and developments!

On 15th June the team took piles of squares, as well a ready-made blankets, and hats. Below is a fabulous photograph of the ladies helping sew the squares together to provide blankets for the children in their own community.

On 18th June there is also news of another distribution in an area called Diepsloot which was combined with a G4S donation of sporting equipment to the Vuseleia Drop-in Centre.

KASVAN CHALLENGE  between now and 16th September we would like everyone sending squares to South Africa to record them on this discussion.  To fill the KasVan we need 9,250 squares - let's help Ronda fill it!

Winston one of the G4S helpful drivers poses with Ronda for the camera!

As of  23rd June the total was 5,537 - we may need a roof rack!

Father's Day Sunday 16th June - was chosen for the

Celebration of the Men

who support KAS and its Members

It was felt that the wonderful men who support KAS in many and varied ways were long overdue some compliments. Thanks! Mili K (Croatia) mentioned "It's nice to read how many husbands are involved especially in the packing and posting of parcels", result, a Celebration of the Men who Support KAS discussion on the Forum.  It makes interesting reading and a testament to these considerate men, who so often, are very much in the background of KAS, but make a substantial difference to the organisation and its members!  We will keep the discussion open until the end of the year so members who haven't had a chance to add their own thanks, can do so.

Here is Dave Maltby (Canada) accompanied by Pixel, in action!

THE KNIT-A-SQUARE SHOP

Please visit the Knit-A-Square Shop today and purchase something special to support the day-to-day operations directly in South Africa.  We will be adding one or two short-term items for which KAS will need support shortly. [Watch this space!]

You can also help with : Fuel for a Blanket Distribution

WHAT'S GOING ON IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Ronda wanted to pay a tribute to the wonderful support Knit-a-Square has enjoyed since August 2010 from the wives of Black & Veitch contractors, mostly from Kansas, USA, who have been out here working on the huge Eskom upgrade project in South Africa.  

Click here to read and see the Tribute to the USA Volunteers by Ronda on the Forum - not only do we discover the details of the wonderful support these ladies have been giving Ronda and KAS, but a super array of photographs! Below is a beautiful picture of Joyce with a clutch of children at Nothando.

Liesl-Anne Pienaar's team in Paarl, Western Cape South Africa continue to produce blankets at an astonishing rate!  The total has crept up to 142 with the aim of 150.

SO EXCITING! Handover of 20 blankets and all the Knit-a-Square beanies and snuggles outfits to Jenny, Abby and Glenda of The Rock Community Centre. This is where we reach people. WHERE SMALL BLOCKS make a HUGE difference because we did it together!

The history of this project lead by Liesl-Anne was started and launched at Paarl Girls' High School (Western Cape) with the aim of knitting 5250 blocks in 6 months from 16th January to 16th June for Knit-a-Square.  When Liesl-Anne told Ronda about the challenge, Ronda asked her to put the blankets together and distribute them in the Western Cape area.  So far 141 blankets have been completed and distributed to 3 organization ; 50 to the regional magistrates' court for kiddie rape victims, 50 to the new shelter being started by The A21 Campaign for girls freed from human trafficking in Cape Town, and the last ones are for The Rock Community Centre in Paarl.  Although the Girls High School project ends now, there are a few of the team who will continue with the blocks and still be part of KAS!

Jeffrey's Bay Recycling Project- see their first  Video

The Stitch Witch team paid one of their monthly visits to the “Ons Tuiste” residential home in Humansdorp to deliver wool and to collect finished squares. 20 knitters joined the Stitch Witches in March this year and again they didn’t disappoint and managed to knit and crochet over 300 squares for the children of the JBay Recycling Project. Almost 10 blankets  It is also amazing to see the change in the ladies since March. They have received a new lease on life, because they are now able to do something to help others.

The Ladies of Jeffrey's Bay Sunshine Club have stepped in to help the Stitch Witches deal with the 300 squares received from Ons Tuiste. Fortunately the Sunshine Club operates from the Community Centre where the Recycling sessions take place!

Bicycles : We still do not know if Jonathan got his new bicycle, but one youngster -  Andy - finally got his long dreamed of bike after saving for 18 months! He must have spent all his spare time collecting recyclable material! Here he is getting some helping riding his new bicycle, and, doesn't he look happy!

DISTRIBUTIONS & BLANKETS

A few weeks ago KAS was called upon to provide an orphanage that had burned down, emergency help.  We sent 20+ blankets, beanies and other items.  This was a very sensitive distribution and we cannot provide photographs or name the destination.  However, Ronda was touched to receive a message that the children take their blankets to church every Sunday! 

This was a wall hanging from the yarn-bombed house at Homemakers Fair last year, cleverly made into a blanket by Leigh-Ann, a dear friend of Ronda's.

-  idees is Afrikaans for ideas  -

Some recent pictures of items received on opening days :

To see more opening day photographs please go to Sorted in Africa

Over the years Ronda has received lots of wonderful letters from school children who want to help.  We'll share them gradually, many came from the 3M class, Ambleside, Tasmania Island (Australia) :

Blankets - more blankets have been added to the The Blanket Album - you may even spot your squares!

KAS MONTHLY CHALLENGES

The June Challenge Christmas in June! Is being lead by Linda Maltby (Canada). Even though Christmas is a long way off, it hasn't stopped our determined members to raid the yarn shops for red and green!

Here are some of the wonderful squares so far : 

The Challenge for July is being lead by Anne Powell (Canada) and the focus will be Nelson Mandela

July 18th, the day of his birthday, is International Nelson Mandela Day. Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, the first black South African to hold the office. Mandela had previously spent 27 years in jail for his anti-apartheid activities, finally being released in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela is held in very high regard within South Africa as the "Father of the Nation" and is often known under his Xhosa clan name of Madiba.

Madiba said, "It is an occasion when each of us takes a step, through some act of community service, to realize the power in us to change the world."

Click here to visit the Nelson Mandela Day website

Here is the list for the rest of the year for those of you who like to snap up bargain yarns in preparation!  The list can be accessed on the Forum - Challenge Themes for 2013

SQUARE LISTS - TALLY - ITEM COUNT 

The Square List for May 2013  is ready for viewing. 

Received in May : Squares 14,844 (424 blankets)

Tops 246 and Beanies 860

For further details go to the discussion page Square Lists - Tally - Item Count for previous months.

Here is the pdf.file version of the square list  A fourth column has been added been added to the list and will be marked with an "x" to signify the arrival of items other than Tops, Beanies or Squares. However, to avoid creating too much work for Ronda, slip-in such as toys, pencils, underwear will not be recorded.

Please don't forget to include your email address so that you receive an acknowledgement once the parcel has been opened!  The files that Erica created for the Package Inventory to make parcel opening day easier for the team in South Africa, and for keeping track of all the items received, are in the lower left hand corner of the discussion. These files can be downloaded.

JULY PATTERN OF THE MONTH by Linda Maltby

July Pattern of the Month: The Jigsaw Square by Andrea Palmatier

The colour, with its step pattern, crosses the square diagonally.

+ Jigsaw Square Pattern +

By choosing complementary colours, this can create a wonderful effect as shown in Andrea’s blanket -

The Soweto Gospel Choir Blanket, presented to them in the USA in 2010

Here is the link to Andrea's Photo tab for those who would like to see

more of her creative work!

This is one of the many patterns to be found in the

KAS Pattern Book

If you see a pattern you would like to try, please do!

SPREADING THE WORD & GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Ronda has been spreading the word at Benoni Rotary Club in Johannesburg on 30th May. Although developing a cold, Ronda managed with the occasional prompt from Erin.  A number of blankets were taken along for members to see and we gave them a supply of beanies as Yvonne, known as Mrs. Beanie, gives them to the Salvation Army for a homeless night shelter.

PAOLA FERRARI in BOLOGNA - ITALY

Paola, a member since early 2010 is seen here fund raising for KAS at school.

HELPFUL HINTS

The Forum menu bar now has a new tab - Helpful Hints - which contains information that will particularly prove useful for new members, or anyone who needs help. It contains FAQ's (frequently asked questions) and How do I (tips for using and posting on the forum) - both discussions are very practical guides.

SQUARE HEART OF THE MONTH AWARD

Edited by Mary Kristel Lokken        

The June Square Heart Award of the month Award

has gone to

Elaine Jones & Pam Johnson - The Knit for Life Team.

Pam and Elaine are a great team, doing an amazing job at raising funds and spreading the word about KAS in their area on the Welsh Borders and in Shropshire. Pam will often pop out to the shops for five minutes and on return finds a large bag of squares awaiting her on the doorstep!

Here Elaine & Pam can be seen fund-raising to send all the 1,015 squares handed in at Yours Live 2013 in March at Butlin's Holiday Camp, Skegness (UK) - plus another 650 brought up from Devon!

KAS FACEBOOK PAGE

We received an additional 92 Likes on the Facebook page during June so far taking our total to 5,806!  We are nearing the 6,000 milestone, let's hope we reach it by the end of July or August! We also copy the messages etc received on Facebook to the Forum for anyone who is not a member of FB.

PREVIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS

Does anyone recognise these very distinctive garments - they were distributed at Nancefield in April 2012 and recently posted on the Forum Photo tab?

A lady named Lindiwe (not our Lindiwe!) has taken over this abandoned gym to help the children in the area. Ronda says, the building is huge - ICY COLD and quite inhospitable plus it is surrounded by great poverty - one of those really heartbreaking places. But, the children were their usual sweet selves. KAS also visited in 2011. Unfortunately, it was too cold to undress the children as many of them had colds and snuffles, so the jumpers or sweaters etc had to put on over their existing clothes which makes the children look squished!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Karen Bennett (UK) a member since 2010 gave birth to Sam on 29th May - a healthy 8lb 12ozs (3.95kg)  We send the whole family our best wishes and congratulations!

This month we have received a wonderful selection of 'cuddlies' which the children will absolutely love and adore, please enjoy a browse of the beautiful creations from our talented members!