A big thank you and My first hat this year

Hi there Dear Ones ...

You are all such a great, wonderful bunch !!!
I feel so blessed and overjoyed ... I have gotten such a great response from all of you about my little endeavor ... My great hat adventure. I feel blessed to know that I'm part of such a caring and supportive community. To know that all over the world there are people like YOU ... People that care and people that want to help one another and the ones that have less than we do. In a way I don't feel like they have less than we do ... They have less material possessions, but they have so much to offer and they have giving me this great gift ... To know and to get to know each one of you a little better and to feel so connected by this effort.

Thank you for such a great gift and for creating this strong link that now keeps us all together.

I have made my first hat for this year and I know many of you are already fast at work making yours ... Go check Teresa's ( www.teresakasner.blogspot.com ) she made 4 adorable hats already ...
I was also so surprised last week with such a sweet delightful gift that my sweet friend Betsy (from www.thesimplelifeofaqueen.blogspot.com) sent to me... This cute, sweet, pink heart. Thank you my sweet friend. You are so great and thoughtful ... When I count my blessings you are always included my dear friend ... You made me smile and made my day.

Before I go today I wanted to say my most heartfelt, humble THANK YOU again to all of you who have volunteered and are donating your time, your talent, your gift and your heart to help with this project ... It would really not be possible without you.

Hope you have a wonderful week ... Thanks for stopping by and I hope to "See"you soon my dear friends.

Hats for Brazil 2015

Hi There Friends

 

As a new Year starts I always have renewed energy and hope.

I make plans for the New Year and I always feel so happy for the new perspectives it brings to me...

It is like the sun rising in the morning, no matter how hard the previous day was seeing a new sunrise always brings me hope.

 

This year we have a lot going on and lots of planning for the new things happening.

 

My husband is turning a big 50 ... my daughter is graduating ... and after her graduation we are hoping to go to Brazil to see my family ... oh how much I miss them...  and how happy I feel just thinking about being there.

 

Every time we go to Brazil I want to bring gifts with me. We go to a village in North Recife, Brazil and we spend a few days there getting to know the families and their needs. One of their greater needs is for clothes and hats for newborn babies. My mom makes bags with complete layettes for underprivileged pregnant ladies and she includes a hat, mittens, sweaters and everything else a new baby would need as these ladies don't ever have a baby shower ... for them these simple, humble bags are their baby shower. 

 

This year my daughter and I have made a goal and we want to try to bring 200 hats ( a rough estimate of the numbers of days before we leave) with us when we go in the beginning of July.

 

I know ... I'm a bit ambitious as I work full time and my daughter is graduating ... I know I won't be able to make 200 hats by myself ... unless ... if I get your help ...

 

So, if you love to make baby hats ... and you

would like to gift a baby hat ... I can take them with me ... 

 

My daughter is going to make tags (I will be showing them here very soon)... each hat will have a tag that will say: "this hat was made especially for you ... with love by .... and we will write your name in the space.

If you would prefer you can write your name and a little message also on your hats.

 

Through out the years my friends and I have made hats and we have sent them to Africa and to Brazil.

 

This time I wish to take them with me as I'm going there and I cannot deny they are close to my heart.

 

 

This is a work in progress as I have already mentioned to some of my friends and I have sent a few to be given away this past Christmas ... but the new ones will be going with me and I will be updating you as to where to send them if you would like to be part of this effort.

 

 

 

I feel so privileged and so touched to have all of you as part of my life ...   

 

Here are some more pictures of what we have as a group made in the past ... I have so many friends to thank and have seen so many happy faces receiving these hats ... it is encouraging ...

   

 

You can Knit this basic baby hat or crochet or use any pattern you desire ... and you can make them in any size or color you wish ... Please, email me if you are interested and I will give you the address to send it to ...

 

As always, I'm so touched by the generosity and love all of you have shown me which I see every day here in blogland ... so weather you want to send a hat, well wishes or just a positive thought or prayer for one of these babies all of them will be accepted and appreciated with a smile and a humble heart ...

 

Here is a picture of my last visit there ...

 

 

Hope you are having a fabulous week and that the sun is shining for you today.

 

Thanks for your visit and for brightening my day !

 

 



A Year in Review

Here we go my dear friends

Another year has come and gone and we are already at the start of a New Year with great resolutions and renewed hope.

 

I know that its not really the first day of the year, but I have always wanted to do a review in the beginning of the year and thought this year I'm going to start making time to do the things I have always wanted to do and haven't yet ...

I have had a few hiccups during the holiday season which prevented me from being here more often. My dearest MIL fell and got really hurt (she is doing much better now thank God) and I got sick and had no energy,  but you all know how much I enjoy being here and visiting with you so the first chance I had ... here I am.

 

I was dreaming of making a collage of my projects for each month ... well, first I need to find the right program, learn how to use it and then put it here for you to see... I am hoping that will happen in 2015, but I have not yet mastered that ... see I'm not a huge fan of computers and I get very impatient to learn new things on it ... but as I said when I first started ... this is the year to adventure and do new things ... so who knows ? maybe one of these months you will see a collage of my projects.

  

For now I'm going to post a picture of one of my favorite (or two) projects for each month and just fill your eyes with lots and lots of pictures...

 

JANUARY 2014

I think I was a little selfish that month ... I made this lovely shawl for myself

 

this beautiful cowl ... again for myself ...

 

 

 ... ok ... and lots of this one for friends and family in December and January ...

 

 

February is HEART month and although I didn't show you I did make lots of cute hearts ... but I also made this fun mittens (again for myself)

 

 

this warm navy blue cowl

 

 

and this cute crochet hook case with a yarn I got for my birthday (which yes it is in February so maybe I can justify being selfish again >>>:)

 

 

MARCH was a nice month as we go to the Yarn Crawl every year ... we got so many adorable patterns and I set up to make this cowl as soon as I got home that day ...

 

 

and then my husband's cousin got married to a lovely gall who we really love and I made some washcloths to go with a gc we gave to her for her bridal shower ...

 

 

They say APRIL showerS bring May flowers but for me April did bring lots of flowers ...

I finished my lovely SIL's birthday blanket

 

 

Then I started a beautiful lacy scarf (which I set aside and hope to finish this year )

 

 

and made a cute little blanket and hat for a friend's granddaughter ( I made lots of these blankets last year ... I think pretty close to 20 of them ...I just forget to take pictures isn't crazy?)

 



 

Then MAY and Spring just sprout at our doors ... lots of beautiful flowers ... the sun started to shine and we started to prepare to move ... our house was almost ready ... I have no idea how I found anytime to knit and crochet, other than the fact that it is my favorite way to relax and I needed that. 

 

So, I started a blanket for my niece who was graduating in June ... I have to tell you I don't know how I did but I made a whole blanket in 1 month ...

 

 

 

 

Then it was JULY ... we were now in our house ... lots of boxes and sometimes complete chaos ... but it didn't matter ... we were finally in our house  our house ... I was so happy to start our new journey and was having so much fun decorating ... one little space at a time ...

 

So, I made some washcloths for our house ...

 

 

 

and these cute bunting for the 4th of July celebration

 

 

I also made some crochet cover rocks to use as a door weights

 

 

 

AUGUST came like a flash and I had 2 baby blankets and other projects in mind so I kept working.

 

I started this baby blanket almost a year before and had packed away, so I tried to work on it but to this day I have not finished it either (I have a few  "unfinished business" to work on this year  ... hopefully I will get them done )

 

and again another one of my "trade mark" baby blanket , I told you I made lots and lots of them.

 



 

We watched the most beautiful sunsets and really enjoyed our first summer in our home .

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER is the beginning of fall and I absolutely love Autumn and all its glorious colors ...

I still had another baby blanket to make, this time for our nephew and niece who were having the cutest baby girl ...

 

I also made them the cutest baby bib and burp rugs

 

I was so happy with them and the adorable fabrics I found.

 



 

 

Then it was OCTOBER ...time for  HALLOWEEN and pumpkin pie and we had all kinds of fun

 

 

I have been making this pumpkins for a few years now (I took a class many years ago at one of our local yarn stores) and I just absolutely love them.

 

 

 

and a pumpkin hat for the new baby in our family ... she looked so adorable wearing it ...

 

 

 

NOVEMEBER is also a fabulous month as we have thanksgiving and start preparing for Christmas, when the spices and aroma of pumpkin and apple cider fill the air and it is absolutely delicious to me ...

 

I decided to make some leafs for my table for Thanksgiving (I only accomplished to make one) but I'm certain I will finish the other two for next year as I loved making them.

 

 

I also got a request from my daughter for a cowl and it took me a very long time to finish ... but I persisted and by the end of the month ... voila ... it was done

 

 

and now to the last month and  my favorite time of the year ... DECEMBER ... CHRISTMAS time for me and my family ... I just love the whole month ...

The preparations, the makings, the cookies, the family gatherings and most especially being with our families ...

 

I did get a lot done this month , but I really couldn't show much as a big part of it was for Christmas gifts.

I made lots of hats

 

Lots of crochet collars



Had fun making cute snowflakes ... (this one is my own pattern which I plan to have written and ready for you before the next snow fall here in Oregon :)

 

and I  even had time to make a cowl for myself ...

 

 



 

But most importantly I'm grateful for the important things I got to do ... spending time with my family and friends and enjoying all the blessings this wonderful 2014 brought to me.

It was also in DECEMBER that we had our wonderful " blogging girls" Christmas lunch. It was in my house this year and I absolutely loved having my friends over ...
I fixed the table for them

We had a lovely time together...

 exchanged thoughtful, beautiful gifts

And as always ... made great memories to strength this wonderful friendship we have created and nourished this last few years.

I want to end my post with my most heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you for a wonderful year ...
for sharing the good and not so good moments ... for your friendship and support and for keeping coming back to "visit" me here ...

I'm looking forward to another great year.

May we have a wonderful 2015... CHEERS !!!

 

 I