KasSnippets - September 2014
REPORTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA
KNIT-A-SQUARE VISITS NEO DAY CARE
Well, it may be the first week of Spring here in South Africa but last week we experienced bitterly cold temperatures, dropping below freezing at night and as a result, we have continued to distribute blankets.
I am thrilled to report that our stocks are very low which means that we have done a great job of getting your lovely warm items out to the children who need them! There is a lot to be said for having much smaller premises too – we just do not have the space to store anything anymore and we have really had to up the number of distributions we are doing. We will slow down a little now as the temperatures creep up, but we will carry on with a few distributions during summer in preparation for next winter and in order to fulfill our promises to at least 10 more day care centres for this year!!!.
Now, it’s time to share our story and the delightful photos we took at the Neo Day Care in Finetown!
[ See further down the page the report on the work done by JAM Switzerland a couple of weeks following the Knit-a-Square distribution. Here is a taster of the transformation - look at the new wonderful sign being prepared ! ]
Don’t be misled by the blue skies and sunshine – temps are low and the wind is like ice!
Other recent reports : A KAS ROAD TRIP - DAY ONE !
KNIT-A-SQUARE SHOP
Our lovely Shop logo was created by Amelia Murray,
a member of the Canadian team of Wendy Lewis, Maddie Murray and Anne Powell!
ALSO NEW - an awesome little item in the Kas Shop - DONATION CARDS. These have just been updated and are better than ever.
Find them at
For only $4.95 USD, you can download the pdf.file, and get the cards printed at your local shop for about 50 cents each, or print them yourself. You only need to purchase the pdf.file once and you can use it as many times as you wish!
We all have people in our lives who are ‘hard to buy for’ when a gift is required...... or sometimes we just want to say a little “Thank you”. Christmas is just around the corner – these cards are perfect for giving ”little gifts” of appreciation to loved ones, family and friends.
The cards can be used as ordinary notecards or you can use the included insert to tell the recipients that you are purchasing an item (or more) from the KasShop, or making a cash donation, in their name, to improve the lives of our children in South Africa. The insert explains what Knit-a-Square is all about.
AND ALSO NEW - THE GREAT KAS-KARD KONTEST
101 (or more) uses for Knit-a-Square Donation Cards
Please enter our contest before October 31, 2014 with your ideas on how you would use these cards. Winner will be by random draw and will be awarded a free download for a set of cards. Click here to enter :
Please visit the KasShop, more items will be added very soon!
KAS REACHES GREAT HEIGHTS FOR CHILDREN
A JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD !
This challenge is going to take us around the planet whilst reaching great heights & piles of squares - 178,000 to be precise, in order to reach the top of Table Mountain, Cape Town in South Africa!
We are going to need 50 squares for every foot climbed!
WE ARE HALFWAY THERE !
We have been 'pinging' back and forth between the East and West, and in the middle we had a lovely trip to County Sligo, Ireland, followed by Russia, New York and a mesmerising visit to the CN Tower in Toronto and finally India.
Here is our 147th target - Vaduz Castle
Liechtenstein
Here is the link to KAS Reaches Great Heights for Children
WHAT'S GOING ON IN
SOUTH AFRICA?
SORTED IN SOUTH AFRICA
- THE OFFICE
Ronda, Wandi, Cathy, Annette, Donna, Molly, Estelle, Kim
with Wendy and Lindi at the table!
Empty, empty empty !
To view more office photos and arrivals of goodies please go to
67 BLANKETS FOR NELSON MANDELA
lead by Carolyn Steyn
The group won CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR!
Beating corporate giants Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, KFC and Knorr.
The group trade in the "good wool" of people!
Stitch by stitch they made a difference and will continue to do so in keeping people less fortunate than themselves warm in the cold winter months in South Africa and around the world in the name of our beloved Tata Nelson Mandela.
REPORT FROM MAMA N'TOMBI COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Disaster Management has put up tents and provided each family with a few blankets and a sponge mattress. There were still some folk who spent the night out in the cold around an open fire. Our hearts go out especially to the little children and mothers with babies.
To read more on this and other associate groups please go to
KAS FACEBOOK PAGE ON THE FORUM
The JBay Recycling Project for Children
& Stitch Witch News
To see more of the photos from the various Monday sessions please click on
JBay Recycling Project for Children
JAM - Joint Aid Management South Africa
With the help of JAM Switzerland the South African arm of JAM recently transformed two day care centres !
The most recent was the Neo Day Care Centre where Knit-a-Square recently distributed blankets, garments etc!
To read the developments in full, please click on the links under each photograph
JAM - Neo Day Care Centre Report
JAM - Refuwe Day Care Centre Report
SPREADING THE WORD,
MEMBERS & GROUP NEWS!
We ordered some business cards and the printer, Stephen van Rensburg of Orange, generously made us 2 large banners and 8 small ones at no charge!
We strung one up with some wool at our
distribution this week just for fun! We now have proper rope!
Anne Powell (Canada) is taking Knit-a-Square into the
Pinterest arena!
As you all probably know, we have two Pinterest pages.
One of them, Knit-a-Square South Africa is charity page directed at the general public and is an overview of how KAS works. This page is still being developed and expanded and I will have a lot more to say about it in a future issue of KasSnippets. You can find it at http://www.pinterest.com/warmkids/
The Pinterest page you are all probably most familiar with is the other one - Knit-a-Square Anne Powell. You can find it at http://www.pinterest.com/anne1464/
This is the page that has our monthly challenges and where I post all of your beautiful work. It contains a "Board" for each challenge. So far we have 11 Boards. If you click on the Board title, you will see everything I have Pinned there.
You can find the current board easily by using the link that we put into the introduction to the challenge each month. If you want to see all the boards, click on the URL above.
The page is getting a lot of attention. I thought you would like to know that we now have 71 "followers". Some are KASfolk, but many are not.
When someone "follows" a page, they often see something they like and "Re-Pin" the photo to their own page. This spreads KAS and our website address in ever-widening circles.
The people who "follow" us, also have "followers" who Re-Pin some of the KAS photos.
One of our followers has 12,599 followers of her own! Every time she Re-Pins one of our photos to her page, 12,599 more people see our website address. On and on it goes....
The UK Hand Knitting Association
have kindly updated our entry in their list of
Knitting Charities
http://www.ukhandknitting.com/knitting_for_charity.php
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Knit A Square has grown into a volunteer-lead, world-wide community numbering an estimated 12,000 people in more than 60 countries round the world.
Together we help to warm and comfort the orphaned and vulnerable children of Southern Africa and we'd greatly value your contribution to this knitting project. We ask the world's knitters and crocheters to send 8x8inch (20cm) squares to South Africa, where groups of volunteers and members of the various local communities help sew them into blankets for children. The blankets have a dual purpose of being used whilst sleeping, and, doubled as coats during the cold South African winter. Our next step is teaching women and the elderly how to knit & crochet - coaching and guidance have been requested by the communities to help them become more self-sufficient in the future.
Click here to find out more and learn how you can help
SPREADING THE WORD - BY MOUTH !
Arlene (Canada) knitted this lovely zebra which has so delighted this little boy. He can be seen in several of the distribution photographs holding the zebra tightly as it was so precious!
Whilst showing the photo to family and friends, Arlene mentioned that she had made the zebra. The effect was immediate and everyone really connected and engaged with the photograph!
One neighbour said she was going to tell her Mom (who knits) about KAS!
People enjoy looking at the photographs, but the value of sharing one that contains a personal creation, be it square, garment or cuddly toy, obviously has much more impact, and, is an excellent method of spreading-the-word!
RIVER JOHN SQUARE KNITTERS
NOVA SCOTIA - CANADA
Gloria tells us how the group developed!
This summer I offered free knitting and crochet lessons on Friday mornings at the library here in River John, Nova Scotia, Canada. I explained that I knit with a purpose ... my purpose being KAS! I had the good fortune to meet and become friends with some terrific people.
We were a bit slow getting started … just two the first Friday. Ann knew how to knit, but wanted to learn crochet. Jean (who is 91 years young) already knew how to do both. She is known for the beautiful crocheted table cloths she has made over the years.
The second Friday, Maureen and June joined us.
To read the development & progress go to River John Square Knitters
and since Gloria shared this report
Doris has created a KAS group who have just sent their first package of 60 squares with another one ready to go!
The group have called themselves
GROUP FOCUS
by Anne Powell
MAITLAND WALKING FOR PEACE GROUP
NEW SOUTH WALES - AUSTRALIA
Anyone who reads the squares lists will have noticed that we receive squares from an interesting-sounding group in Australia.
This group is a wonderful example of how we just never know who will turn out to be KAS supporters and how we should never hesitate to present the KAS dream to any group we belong to even if their apparent interest is not knitting. It sure worked for Carmel! Hats off this month to Carmel and her wallking friends.
Maitland Walking For Pleasure was formed almost 30 years ago by a group of people who decided to get together fortnightly and walk for pleasure. It is amazing how far you can walk when you are part of a group walking with different people chatting. From the initial handful of people who started the club the group has grown to about 60 members.
The walks can be anywhere up to 2 hours from Maitland with a picnic stop for lunch. This is where the knitting happens.
Carmel McDougall, Maitland "walker" and KAS member, has always been an avid knitter. When she saw an article on KAS she thought this would be a very worthwhile project to get involved in. So the call went out to all her walking knitter friends and the response has been wonderful.
Carmel says Postage is the biggest problem.The first lot of squares they sent were paid for by the club, then last November some of the members chipped in for postage. Last spring three friends from Maitland were attending a wedding in South Africa so they sent 3 parcels with them each containing about 20 squares, wrapped ready to post once they arrived in South Africa. That postage only cost about $5 Aus. From now on, Carmel says, she will be looking for couriers to take them over for her wherever possible.
Carmel reports "One thing more, we have a member who had never knitted anything before in her life; she is loving the fact that she has learnt to knit and gets a real buzz from it"
THE BLANKET ROOM COLLECTION !
A fabulous collection of photographs have been taken by Wendy and posted by Christine - do have a peep and see if you can spot your own valued contributions!
KAS MONTHLY CHALLENGES
lead by Bev Jeffery (Australia)
Variegated is always popular and this month has been no exception! Here are some of the wonderful contributions this September :
Here is a selection of the recent single colour squares - which are the backbone of KAS blankets and provide a wonderful frame for the above more exotic squares:
The October Challenge will be
Here is the list for the rest of the year!
NOVEMBER - BUGS, SLUGS & HUGS - Linda Maltby
DECEMBER - UN-CHALLENGE - time to relax, have fun, and get ready for the holidays - Susan Haines
2015 is not so far away !
Members and the Moderator Team are currently brain-storming, scratching heads and blowing out facial cheeks to come up with ideas/suggestions for 2015, please do add your 10 cents worth!
TALLY or ITEM COUNT NEWS
The Squares Lists for August are now available!
Squares received in August totalled 13,579 (388 blankets) !
The graphs for beanies and tops are available at
2014 Monthly Squares List discussion page
OCTOBER PATTERN OF THE MONTH
by Linda Maltby
Mitre Square- crochet pattern and knit pattern
The mitre square offers the knitter and crocheter the opportunity to create the perfect 8” (20cm) square !
Starting at the corner and increasing means the square will always be the correct size
…as long as you remember to measure.
A mitre square can be very striking in a blanket.
The team in South Africa used 4 mitre squares to make an interesting centrepiece for this blanket.
Perhaps you would like to make a zebra square ?
The front end (crochet) or The back end (knit)
No matter how you make the mitre, know that a child in South Africa
will appreciate the love that goes into every square.
The Crochet Mitre square and the Knit Mitre square
are available in the
ALSO TWO NEW PATTERNS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE
KAS PATTERN BOOK!
These 2 new patterns in the KAS Pattern Book will delight your inner child as well as a child in South Africa.
The first is an adorable crochet finger puppet by Elaine Jones (Knit for Life). Done in rounds, it is quick and easy to make from your bits and bobs.
Imagine the possibilities if a caregiver had 5, or even 10, little puppets to use as a teaching aid.
*****
The second is a sweet knit doll. This 8 inch/20 cm doll will give lots of hugs and love plus be smartly dressed in her Jolly Jumpsuit.
The pattern was adapted by Kay Boudoukha and Craft Tea for Charity from a pattern by Wee Folk Art, who have graciously allowed us to use their pattern.
*****
To promote a positive self-concept in our children, please make the toys with dark complexions.
We would love to see photos of your version of the puppet or doll in the Forum Photo Gallery.
SQUARE HEART OF THE MONTH AWARD
Edited this month by Gloria Gandy
The Square Heart Award for September 2014 is for
WENDY AND SYLVIA - AUSTRALIA
Both Mother and Daughter have delighted us constantly with their contributions.
Our Wendy joined the Square Circle Forum in July of 2011. One year later, in July of 2012, she made her 1000th square.
Sylvia has now completed Jumper No. 50 !!
To read the rest of the award please click here
KAS FACEBOOK PAGE
FINAL THOUGHTS
So very true !
Replies
What a great read Pam, I havent been on the forum much this month due to family circumstances/health problems/workmen in the house !! so lovely to have an overview of the month (also thrilled to see my smiley teddies featured too)
The new logo for the KAS shop is great! Is there a photo of it that I can "like" ? Beautiful work.
The snippet is so full of interesting information. How lovely to see the photos and all the different things that have been happening. Thank you for all the work putting it together and all the links.
Thank you Pam for an informative and interesting Snippets. You always do an amazing job.
Wonderful to see the new start up groups but all of KAS snippets is wonderful. I love the proverb at the end it is if it was made for KAS, Thank you Pam. Thank you too to Amelia for that beautiful shop logo.
So glad you liked the proverb Sue. It is so apt in this day and age when people are juggling frantic time-tables. Most organisations work more effectively by consensus rather than having one person striding out too far in front, leading the way. In KAS we are all torch-bearers - together!
I LOVE the Kas Shop logo. So inspiring and so gentle and beautiful. How the year is flying along. It seems only last week
I was reading the August KasSnippets. Thank you Pam for collecting all the information.
Together we are going far and for a long time.
Pam, this is a wonderful report ... as always. Thank you so much for compiling everything into page where everything can be so easily accessed :) xo
Pam, I pop into the Forum almost daily, however I am always amazed at how much goes on in KAS during the month which you and the Mods synopsize so well, and every month. BRAVO LADIES!!!
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