charlotte - my first non-usa donation

i am knitting the charlotte sweater from the gorgeous dauphine (#14) book. first of all: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

one evening, several times, i read the decrease directions for the tops of the sleeves and i couldn’t figure it out. it just made no sense. i had to sleep on it and look at it again the next morning. no sense. and then again when i got home from work. nothing! in fact, i thought it was an error and googled “louisa harding pattern corrections”. the links i saw didn’t result in any corrections for the charlotte pattern. so i googled “louisa harding charlotte pattern corrections” and one of the first few links i saw took me to this purse pattern:



the funny thing is: i’m actually looking for an easy-to-make purse pattern.

i just got back a couple of weeks ago from africa where i taught orphans, their house moms, and even some of the cooks at the village of hope how to knit. my goal is to provide them with a trade for their futures, and in the meantime i’m going to show them how to make some simple items that can be sold and the money can be put back into the village of hope, so the village can become self-sustaining.

so when i happened upon this purse pattern, i thought, now wouldn’t that be funny if i looked at the charlotte sweater pattern again and it made perfect sense, and the only reason why it didn’t make sense before is because God wanted me to search for a correction and find this purse pattern??

and i swear to you i looked at the pattern again and i actually read it correctly and went, “OH! THAT’S what it’s saying, i've been reading it wrong.”

so.. as you may imagine, i couldn’t just let that go. there had to be a reason for it. i couldn't not do anything.

so i messaged the designer of the pattern (through ravelry, a site for knitters and crocheters. love it. if you're not on it, get on it. if you are - find me. i'm orangesque). i laid out this very story and asked her if she would be willing to donate the pattern for the kids to use and make product to sell for a profit for the village.

after several days of not hearing from her, i thought - ok. maybe i was just putting that in front of her for God to move her in another way (for i had no doubt God's hand was in this). i just prayed about it and if i heard from her - great! - and if i didn't, well that was great, too.

then i finally got an answer: "i would be honored."

she emailed me the pattern and even gave me permission to customize or embellish. and of course, she would love to see some of the finished pieces.

she's from england and so this is my first non-usa donation for this incredible knitting project.

OH! i cannot WAIT to teach the kids how to make this and then send photos back to louisa and i pray that she is blessed by her generosity.

and i am once again marinating in God's goodness and the truly amazing ways He works. that i even get to participate in this thrills me.

as an aside - here is another pattern i am going to teach the kids to make. heck - i'd wear it!!

the knitting debrief

  


robyn, aka the minimalist knitter, asked me how the knitting project went in uganda. my response came from the first time i've sat down to write anything out. so i'm including it here as an update:


robyn,

wow!

where do i begin? it was really awesome! here are a few photos




when the house moms saw me teaching the kids, they wanted to learn too. and when the kitchen workers saw me teaching the house moms, they wanted to learn too. even the ugandan director picked up some sticks and gave it a try. and so did the full time missionary woman who is living out there with her husband. everyone wanted in on it.

they were very good at learning the process and i laid out some foundational knitting for them. by the time we left, one of the house moms nearly had a scarf made!

each session would last several hours because the girls wouldn't stop knitting until the house moms told them to - either it was time for dinner or time for chores. and the time would go by so quickly (and quietly... it absorbed them).



on a seemingly unrelated note, we took some time to sit with the head mistress (principal) of their school to discuss how we can support them in the future with lessons, etc. we wanted what we teach them to supplement what the teachers were teaching, and that hopefully we could bring more ESL into it and maybe bring things from america that weren't readily available in uganda (like weather implements such as wind socks). when she presented us with the upcoming curriculum, it turned out that some of the art elements for the next two terms are knitting and crocheting. hmm... i can help with that.

then we were looking at some of the items that the village has been able to sell to help support themselves, like the bead project, and they were asking if i could teach the kids how to make things that would be marketable to sell. hmm... i can help with that, too!

so it seems that this knitting project (that has by far outgrown me) can be helpful in ways i hadn't considered.

i received several boxes from people saying they heard about me through your blog and it blessed me beyond measure that they would simply give! they don't know me. and they may not even know you. but they just... gave. their generosity and willingness to partner with me was touching and i found myself several times just tearing up for lack of a better response.



we took over 75 sets of needles and over 100 pounds of yarn to africa and i still have some stuff left over in my spare room (i saved the boucle and fuzzy yarns for later as it didn't lend itself well to beginner's efforts).

upon my return i found another box had been delivered in my absence and another box landed on my doorstep the next day. the generosity continues.

my next step, as i continue to collect donated materials, is to gather some patterns for products that will sell (mostly to americans that visit the village or to be sold here in the states), and hopefully items that can incorporate some of the beads. one idea i had is to have the kids make a basic pouch purse with a drawstring at the top and use beads at the ends of the drawstrings. maybe finish it with fringe at the bottom with beads, too.

if you or any of your readers have pattern ideas or submissions they would be greatly appreciated. :)

one last note: my husband and i sponsor four of the kids there. two girls and two boys. the two girls are both named vicky and one of them had been very closed off when we were there last. that may have even contributed to me being so drawn to her. i tend to be a little standoffish (shy) myself. since our last visit i've sent her some letters and prayed for her regularly.

a few days into our visit this time, she gave me a note that said she wanted to share her story with me. she led me around to the side of her home, sat me down, and began to tell me. it was... heartbreaking. no child in that village has a pretty story. it was all i could do not to cry (for fear of it being translated to her that i pity her).

the fact that she shared with me speaks of incredible trust. when we returned, it spoke volumes to those kids. it said we will be back for them. they can trust that. they can trust US. and they did... she wasn't the only one who opened up to me.

but it also told me that they are receiving such good care, such good, godly, healthy care, that they are healing from past hurts and beginning to open up. it was a beautiful testimony of how God can restore even the most broken of us. his love can 'knit' back together a heart with more fractures than we can count. yes, he knits! i am my Father's daughter. :)

thanks for all you have and are doing to push this project forward and increase awareness of the village of hope. i'm astounded by your kindness.

with gratitude,

trace

gifted to give

when jon and i returned from our first trip to uganda last august, our hearts were agitated. we wanted to do something. to be of help to the children at the village of hope.

we joked (ok, i joked. jon may have been quite serious!) about moving to uganda, building our own hut in the village and serving the children and workers of the village. but i knew that wasn't what God had in store for us (at least in this season!), for what could we offer them but to become a burden to them?

we would require food, shelter, protection and many other necessities we couldn't possibly foresee, in exchange for... what? i cannot teach these girls how to grow up to be successful women in their culture - because i don't know their culture. i can teach them how to be an american woman. but what good is that in the middle of uganda with no running water or electricity? it would be disastrous!

and i couldn't consider bringing them here to america. at the village of hope they are receiving such great care. they are learning how to become pillars of their society and uphold their country. they can very possibly grow up to turn their country around. why would i pluck them from that only to raise them far from their land? they were born ugandan for a reason. i need to be sensitive to that and respect that.

and so i quandaried over what i had to offer these precious ones, for i so wanted to be of help to them.

days later our team had lunch with cindy cunningham, founder and director of the village of hope, and i mentioned that i had almost brought my knitting on the airplane with me to keep me occupied (i backed out for fear of it being confiscated at the airport), and wondered aloud if i could have taught the kids to knit while i was there. cindy replied saying that would have been great as it would be teaching them a trade - a way to make a living and provide for their futures.

lightbulb!

this was how i could help them - this is what i could offer. out of so many things i cannot give them, this -- this!! was something i could provide. and it can have lasting value for them. and i know not all of them will keep it up, but some of them will. they will take to it as i have, loving to learn it and explore it. and some of them will even be able to knit products to sell and perhaps earn a living from it. and i get to help with that!

and so it was decided that i will teach the children to knit.

i've collected a couple of very basic patterns - one is for a dishcloth and the other is for a hat. i have knitted or received some samples from both patterns so they can see what we will be making. and began to think about how to get enough yarn and needles and accessories for 150 children. a daunting thought!

but then, when God has a plan, He also has a way of executing it. and i am excited to see how He is going to provide. perhaps... perhaps YOU are part of that plan. maybe you have stash yarn or needles you don't use anymore. maybe you have a circle of knitting pals that you could mention this project to. maybe you want to help in ways i haven't even thought to ask. [i'm smiling here, because i know God loves to provide in ways that delight us. i know He will show up and 'be big' and i get to watch it all unfold before my eyes.]

if you would like to be a part of this knitting project - here are a few resources or ways you can help:

• Knitting Project Flier (on facebook)
• looking for: yarn, knitting needles and finishing items, such as scissors and tapestry needles
• you can mail to me or i will pick up if you are in the north dallas area - email me
• we still have just over $2000 to raise for our trip. perhaps you'd like to donate to the trip
• there is another trip scheduled for july/august. perhaps you'd like to be a part of it
• pray! pray pray pray. you can join our prayer partners group on FB

i am just a small girl with a couple of needles and a big ole heart. i just wanna do some good with what i have. Lord - take what you have given me and use it to your glory and to increase your fame. let me be part of your plan to care for the orphans and the widows. and may i never mar your reputation, but that others would see you in me and desire you.

obsessed with knitting

i'm back in my knitting phase. i can hardly concentrate on anything else. my marriage, my job, the cats - they are riding backseat in my knit-mobile. i woke up thinking about knitting today, for goodness' sake.

it is my prayer that i wake up to God's praise and that i would fall asleep with the utterance of it on my lips. now it seems that has been replaced by knitting. i am so in trouble.

i started this sweater back in march and it got shelved for a [long] while as life took over.

but now i am back into it with a vengeance and i'm determined to finish it by the time it is chilly enough to wear it. the back panel and two front panels are done (except for the accent color which i'm doing at the end). and the cuffs are done and i've started working on the sleeves.

cameron did ask me if i was going to wear my hair like that, too. i had to explain that i am only making the sweater.

then last weekend i was jonesing for some new yarn so i went to the woolie ewe and bought one skein of some gorgeous yarn that matches the color of my favorite long, orange scarf just perfectly. i am going to attempt my first hat and then i shall be truly stylin'.

and i have also finally gotten the guts to attempt my first louisa harding sweater. i bought the louise harding dauphine pattern book almost a year ago and take it out every once in a while, drool over the patterns, and promptly put it away with no intention of starting anything. yet. but it's time. i am now on the hunt for the perfect yarn for this sweater.

and! i am addicted to reading knitting blogs right now, too. (i told you i was in trouble.) and the thing with blogs is that when i find one i am enthralled with i have to find the very beginning and read all the way through every single post. i did that with kissesfromkatie when i was getting ready for our first uganda trip. now i'm doing that with soulemama.

i've also been hunting for the perfect knee high sock pattern to eventually knit my first pair of socks. one would think i would start with a smaller sock for my first ones, but have you ever known me to do so? sigh. sadly... no. i have to do things the hard way. i think i will land on a drops design pattern since they are just delicious looking! although the socks i'm super in love with i have no idea where they came from. but me likey.

sooo... that's my latest (returned) obsession. knitting. if you happen to be a co-obsessor, come find me on ravelry and show me what you're working on. and if you're not on ravely, um,.. why not? it's a GREAT free site for keeping track of all of your knitting or crocheting projects or needles or stash or buddies.