BSU Knitting and Crocheting Club

2012-01-29T02:44:00.006-05:00

Tonight we ran knitting lessons at Late Nite. We got a lot of friendly, talented people, many of whom were so proud of what they made that they took it home with them. I for one was proud of them, too. And when all was said and done, we got to keep the leftover yarn, so I'd say the evening was a success.

Included are some pictures I took of the event.

A job well done by Harrison, Kellie, David, Jaci, Hannah, Kat, Provost, and Miranda. :)

2012-01-23T19:40:00.004-05:00

Well, I know she's no longer new, but I was just looking through some old pictures on my phone, and I found these. This is Hannah Hlebasko, who was one of our new members this fall. She had just finished her first project knitted in the round, a hat the pattern for which we adapted from the flat hat pattern given to me by the officers when I was new. I was so proud of her, I insisted on taking these pictures to share with all of you! =)

Etsy Showcase: thejumbledbag

2010-04-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

Here's one more this week, an extra shot of etsy showcasing:

thejumbledbag, another fellow BSU knit and crochet group also has a plethora of items to sell and offer at her etsy shop. (You may also click on the banner above to be taken to her etsy shop page)

A very cool and vibrant looking coasters that are great for any occasion. Made from acrylic fiber, thus easy to clean and take care of.

A lovely owl postcard made from muslin made into a postcard format:

Etsy Showcase: SyrupThreads

2010-04-26T20:01:00.007-04:00

Here are some exampled that she has on her shop:

This week's featured is SyrupThreads, a fellow crafter of Ball State's Knitting and Crocheting member who has an etsy shop.

Click on the banner above of SyrupThreads to take you to her etsy shop. As well as her blog: http://syrupthreads.blogspot.com/

Environmental Knitting Scene.

2010-04-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

seems like more and more knitting is becoming prevalent in scenery impact instead of for wear or functional apparel.

Cute Bunny Vid

2010-03-29T16:17:00.002-04:00

you must see!!

From mochimochiland, has amazing knitting mini patterns, check that site out!

Cool VIdeo and stuff~

2010-03-23T17:29:00.003-04:00

a very nice stop motion video, im sure everyone will enjoy watching it.
Source: Craftzine

Also a new blog post with this wonderful pattern, very lacy yet very open, great for the coming summer!

Important notice for Wednesday!

2010-03-23T17:06:00.000-04:00

From Katie:
"Hey gang,

I had soooo much fun dying yarn last night! It is defiantly worth the endeavor if you've ever thought about trying to do it yourself. Knitty has a great step by step on how we did it. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html Thanks to everyone who came and made it so fun (and clean!).

We would like everyone to know that Katie will not be at knitting club this Wednesday 3/24 (unfortunately), BUT Heather (and maaaaybe Harrison?) will be there for sure and we hope to keep going on our knit-along project. They are looking great, I still have hope that we can get a PAIR by the end of the semester!

Reba Reader, long time club member, is putting together a pattern book for us for the end of the year. You may have heard about this book before, but now it's really time to send in your patterns. If you can type them up and send them in a file to the club, OR Katie.timm@gmail.com, that would be great!

We would love for any of your original project patterns to be submitted. Any awesome possum project you've worked on all semester or that everyone said ooOOOOoooo to would be really great too! If it is not an original pattern, just be sure to put the designer's name or where you found the pattern to give them credit. Make sure you include any changes you made to the pattern, and what needles, yarn, color, etc YOU used. We want to know about those. AND, if you can submit a picture too, that would be even better! We need all types of patterns and skill levels- knit OR crochet. :)"

IMPORTANT NOTICE ON MEETING MONDAY

2010-03-20T15:29:00.000-04:00

From Katie:
"Dear Knitting Club,

We will NOT be holding a regularly scheduled meeting this Monday, March 22nd. We are having a special yarn dying event off campus. If this is something you were wanting to participate in, but we just missed you at the meetings, email us. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Though we are NOT meeting this Monday at 7:15, WE ARE MEETING on WEDNESDAY 3/24 at 7:15 pm at the normal place on the couches. We will continue one with out knit-along and hope that those who wanted to get started on it have. If you are a fast knitting, it's not too late to start! We can help you along at any step you're on. We wish you luck!"

Update for Wednesday

2010-03-15T20:57:00.002-04:00

Hello all!
Tis Harrison, ze Secretary of BSU Knitting and Crocheting Club to give you an important announcement/update!

First:
Heather's Knit-along/baby steps:
-Tonight we just started on the cuff and Katie noted that when she felted hers she would have wanted to knit it longer then the 3inch it said in the pattern so she suggests 3-6 inches for the cuff area before going to the heel. Heather would like everyone to be finished with the cuff and start on the heel during club on Wednesday or if your just starting, it's ok, we can still help you no matter what step you are on, but the group will be starting on the heel if you would like to work until then for Wednesday.

Second:
We are planning for Monday around 6:30pm-7pm ish around that time Katie will be having a carpool in order to get to her house for yarn dyeing, Kastrel and Jessie did offer their place for the Kool-aid Dyeing, but can fit about 7 people in the place, so Katie thought we should do it at her place, which could fit more, please email Katie if interested to RSVP.

For those who cannot make it, here are some links for you to read if you would like to try it yourself one day:

Dyed in the Wool

Dyeing with Kool-Aid, A howto

First Taste of Dyeing with Kool-Aid

Kool-Aid dye it baby!

Additional Reminder for TONIGHT!

2010-03-01T16:28:00.002-05:00

"We've gotten the OK to sell our hats!

THIS Monday, March 1st, we will be selling our hats for the homeless (or just someone who needs a warm head). We will sell them from approximately 5:30- 9:00 PM in the Atrium where the knitting club had our winter sale. A table will be set up and hats will be sold for just $5 each! All of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross in aid of Haiti. Any hats not sold will be given to a charity yet to be determined.

This will be in place of our Monday night club meeting, but bring your knitting and questions if you want to help us sell, and we'll just have club at the table. I hope to see you all stop by or sit with us to sell them!

These are super cute hats, so tell all your friends and buy one for yourself!"
From the email since it seems like a few didnt get it for some reason, so doing it now.
Hope people see this in time.
Katie is not feeling that great, so i will be taking place, hopefully it wont be just me..
Harrison

Updates on Sock and whatnot~

2010-02-24T21:57:00.003-05:00

From BSU Knit and Crochet Email:
"Finally, our big announcement, which many of you may or may not have heard about, is we're going to do a knit along. The pattern is "Fuzzy Feet":

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTfuzzyfeet.html

We hope that this task will help us all learn and understand the construction of a sock in an easy ginormous gauge. Then, we felt it down to a fuzzy slipper, perfectly formed for your foot. We will break the pattern into sections and hope that everyone will be able to get to the next step each meeting. We can catch you up on the progress of your "sock" either on Mondays or Wednesdays. Don't be scared! We'll help you along! We believe any beginner can do this, and it will really rocket your abilities forward.

What You'll Need:
Size 11 double pointed needles
Worsted weight wool (Pure wool or no more that 10% blend of another natural fiber.)

One of our favorite wools is the fisherman's wool sold at Hobby Lobby in a great big skein for about $8. It comes in natural colors or a white if you'd like to attempt dying your own. Hobby Lobby also sells other wool and wool blend yarns, check your label carefully! Make sure that it is not "super wash" wool- this won't felt! We WANT it to shrink.

We're really excited about this adventure and plan to start it soon. Bring your supplies to club and we'll tell you about the rest! If you need any help getting supplies, please let us know. We can order you some needles or possibly loan and get some wool to you if you need too.

We hope school is going great for you! Good luck on midterms and hope to see you soon at club!"

As for this week, not much happened, we did go on a shopping trip since only 4 went to the meeting this night and bought lots of yarn. Using a 20% off coupon i found online, which is quite amazing for me since i haven't seen a 20% ever, only a 10% off total purchase.
Next week we will be ... doing more fuzzy feet related things from Heather, Nothing on my part, except i should contact Joanns to find if there is a way we can get a discount as a club shopping there, Katie.. nothing so far is there? except a dyeing yarn and whatnot day sometime.
Seems like there is a sock craze, and so here is some interesting links, some advanced and some good to start off with. i personally prefer the short row heel but some places suggest a gusset to start for your first sock like this first link from knitty where it helps you calculate and determine the amount of stitches, you will need a set of double pointed needles though for socks or learn how to do the "magic loop"
-Beginner's Gusset Sock on Knitty
-Very nicely taken photos on various ways to do socks
-Short row heel tutorial for socks ( i used this when i was stuck, there are many other ways for short rows relating to socks though )
-Another relating to short rows
-Small explanation on gusset heel socks with pictures
-Magic loop tutorial *Warning, PDF might slow down browser on some*
-Picking up stitches for gusset heel socks or this one as well for another gusset heel pictorial
=An amazing little way for double knitting: for socks! on knitty

Now my little additive:
You should try some homemade tagalongs, they were pretty easy to make and such, just make sure it goes in a nice preheated oven with the dough already chilled slightly or else the lukewarm temps will melt and then bake it which is fine but will join together your tagalong biscuits.
Interesting recipe of honeycomb crunch

Until Next Time!

Helloz

2010-02-21T16:02:00.004-05:00

Well another week has started and spring is closely approaching, good time to start a simple spring project like a tank top or something or something else since we may get more snow or cold, who knows.

If you haven't already, here are the links for our BSU groups on various places:
○Ravelry.com Ball state group
○Facebook's Ball state knitting and crocheting group
Nothing else, feel free to comment and don't forget the times of our meetings:
Mondays- 7:15pm
Wednesday- 7:15pm
location: Atrium TV lounge on the side of the bookstore.

to leave you off, here is a video that seems helpful for knitters, there are many other ways to fix problems and dropped stitches, but here is just one:
Craftzine

Changes for the better

2010-02-15T10:29:00.003-05:00

Well everyone, it seems that the fates have conspired in my favor. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have been selected to be vice president of our little pirate crew. That means that the blog is now under the care and wisdom of Harrison, our new secretary, uber-knitter, and all-around okay cat. I may pop back in on occasion, but for the most part expect Harrison to do a better job than I did (and let's not lie to ourselves; weasels on keyboards could do a better job than I did)

In other news, don't forget that tonight is our yarn swap. Bring yer crap and trade it for other people's crap!

And now, your moment of zen:

Bundle Up!

2009-12-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

Well Get-Along Gang, I don't know if you kids have pried yourselves away from your Twitter and your MTV and your 90210, but it is freezing outside, so knit club for this Wednesday is canceled due to act of God.

Second order of business, my helper monkeys have fixed the links. Never say Auntie Heather never did you anything.

Thirdly, as we all know we (and by we I mean the crocheters. Those girls is fierce!) have amassed what scientists refer to as a "crap-ton" of hats. We have yet to decide exactly how we're going to distribute the woollies, so we have a few options:
1. We can give them to A Better Way, the Muncie domestic violence shelter.
2. We can sell them and donate the money to a worthy cause
3. None of the above because somebody has a better idea but isn't sharing.

Finally, Katie will be sending out an e-mail with sale dates, etc. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a warm, cozy, event-free weekend.

And now, your moment of zen:

These Broken Links!

2009-10-21T16:02:00.001-04:00

Folks, I am aware of the broken links in the T&T section. Please bear with me while I try and find new links or fix the ones I have or ~~run away to a French villa~~ buckle down and ask for help. Cheers!

Help and Harmony

2009-10-20T11:13:00.002-04:00

Hey-ho everyone! There be changes in the water at this blog. First, if you'll glance ever-so-casually to the right, you'll notice a new panel for techniques that might throw you or tips on how to make your projects go better. For now, we have a knit and crochet glossary, but tell me what you want to see on the blog and I'll post it.

Secondly, as Katie e-mailed to us all (we love you Katie!!!!) we as a club have decided to help make hats, scarves, etc for people who are not as lucky as we. As a way of doing my part, I will print my extremely handy Universal Hat Pattern (patent pending) and pass it out on Wednesday. If I can find my Universal Mitten Pattern I'll print it too. I will also post my hat pattern here now for those of you who might be impatient or just want a copy on the blog for whatever personal reasons you might have.

Heather's Universal Hat:

You will need:
1 set of size nine (American) needles. Flat or circular, whatever floats your boat
Stitch marker (if circular)
Darning Needle
Measuring Tape

Step 1
Make a swatch. No griping! Just a tiny one.
Measure your stitches to the inch
Measure recipient's head

Now the dreaded math!!!!!!!!!
Let's say our recipient's head is 21 inches around. Let us also say you happen to get 7 stitches to the inch. Remember, this is all your gauge, so if you do not like the fabric you are getting, move up or down a needle. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG GAUGE!

We do a wee little bit of arithmetic...21x7=147
Now, this is the only tricky part. We need to adjust the number just a little bit so that the total is divisible by ten. Since 147 is close to 150, we'll just call it 150.

This is the cool part! Cast on 150 stitches in any method you prefer. If knitting circularly, join in the round, being careful not to twist. Don't feel bad if you do, though. It's tricky and always takes me a couple of times to get it right. Place Marker. Knit until the life drains from you, or until you get about 5 to 6 inches, whichever comes first.

At the beginning of the next row (round) knit 9, then knit two together (k2tog). Repeat until you hit the end of your row (round). Knit the next row (round) straight. Repeat this pattern:
*K8, K2tog* rep
K 1 row(round)
*K7, k2tog* rep
k1 row (round)

Get it? Keep going til you have knit 1, k2tog. Now, take your darning needle. thread some yarn through the last few stitches (on my last hat it was only 13. Your mileage may very) and pull nice and tight. Weave in ends, sew up the seam if knitted flat, and viola! You may add a pom-pom if you want to. I would.

Thirdly, Harrison has one again found us a kick-ass, if not a wee bit more advanced, link. Let's give him a big hand.
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/basic-short-rows-theory-and-method.html

PS. Short rows are not as scary as this uber-knitter makes it out to be. Trust me.

And finally, your moment of zen:

Getting Started

2009-09-23T18:35:00.003-04:00

Okay, we've had a few meetings so I thought I'd post a few things to help us get through the bumps you may encounter.

First, crochet. http://www.youtube.com/user/tjw1963#play/playlists

Teresa's crochet page has a lot of good things, including left-handed crochet. Good luck.

And now, knitting.

First we have the knit stitch, in continental because that is what Katie insists on teaching.

And purl

And if you are lucky enough to get this far...casting off!

As a side note, if anybody knows a good knit/crochet glossary, send me the link so I can post in in the sidebar as a tool.

And now...your moment of zen.

Meeting times

2009-09-08T11:09:00.002-04:00

Well everyone, we finally got our collective heads out of our collective rears and decided on some times to meet.

If you are interested in learning how to knit or crochet,we have a learning night on Mondays at 8 to whenever you feel like leaving.

If you just want the social fun-ness (and why wouldn't you, really?) the Knitting Club meets on Wednesdays at 7:15.

As always, we meet in the Atrium TV lounge. Bring your works in progress, patterns, and smiles! It's gonna be a fun ride.

Welcome Back!

2009-08-27T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well everyone, it's a new year with a new blogger! Hi, I'm Heather and I'll be keeping everyone updated here on the BSU knit blog. We haven't decided on a meeting time yet, so if anyone interested would please email Katie to let her know what time would be convenient for you would be great!

Also e-mail me (hnbartram@bsu.edu) to let me hear some ideas for what you guys wanna learn and what kind of fun we're gonna do!

In the meantime, I thought everyone would enjoy this video. Look familiar???

Happy End of the Year!

2009-05-06T13:12:00.003-04:00

Well, it's the end of the year and time for me to graduate! I want to thank everyone for helping to make this year a really great one. I am handing over webmaster privileges to my good friend Heather, who I'm sure will be posting some exciting and fun things in the coming year, so stay tuned and check back often! And thanks so much for taking over, Heather!

Have a great summer; make sure you all knit and crochet a lot!
Love,
Abby

The KNIFTAs

2009-05-02T14:15:00.003-04:00

In an especially brilliant move, I Knit London decided in a fit of rage over bad knitting scenes in film and television (see their Campaign for Real Knitting) to stage and host their very own KNIFTA (Knitting in Film and Television Awards) ceremony! Pictures from the event can be found here, and the list of award winners is here.

The five categories were:
Funniest knitting/crochet scene
Best knitting/crochet scene
Best knitwear
Best advertisement
Outstanding Contribution to Knitting in Film and Television
(to see the nominees and winners in each category, see link above)

I'm hoping that this awards ceremony will be replicated in the future--very funny!!
Enjoy!

Sweater Recycling

2009-04-21T21:55:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone.
For those of you who didn't get to come to the meeting tonight, we had a great time and learned a lot! If you want to learn the very very helpful technique we did tonight, here is a great tutorial you can look at:
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/9839/how-to-recycle-yarn-from-a-thrift-store-sweater

Good luck trying it out yourself. It's great!
-Abby

Knitters You Should Know--Part 1

2009-04-05T12:41:00.004-04:00

Here is part one of what may or may not become a series. The first knitter that everyone should know is the absolute most influential knitter probably ever, but at least in recent history: Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Elizabeth Zimmerman is credited with:
--bringing Continental Knitting back to America after WWII when it had gone out of style as "too German"
--encouraging knitters to knit in the round on circular needles
--bringing the Aran sweater to America
--and many more innovative techniques that we take for granted today

Read about her at the very simple wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Zimmermann
And read this great Vogue Knitting Tribute to her here: http://www.vogueknitting.com/node/485
Or do your own search for her and her wonderful books.

Happy knitting and crocheting!
-Abby

Colbert Report Satire on "Radical Crocheting and Knitting"

2009-03-29T15:14:00.002-04:00

Hope you enjoy this irreverent satire about radical crocheting and knitting. I thought it was very funny.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

comedycentral.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Great seaming technique

2009-03-27T18:14:00.003-04:00

Here's a really helpful technique on how to seam shoulders well (and it works really well on any vertical seams you have to sew, not just shoulders). Enjoy!

Knitting is good for your health!

2009-03-07T21:42:00.001-05:00

A recent BBC News article reported that knitting and other brain-stimulating activities can delay memory loss. Yay for knitting!

“ One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia ”
Alzheimer's Society

Knitting 'can delay' memory loss

Engaging in a hobby like reading a book, making a patchwork quilt or even playing computer games can delay the onset of dementia, a US study suggests.

Watching TV however does not count - and indeed spending significant periods of time in front of the box may speed up memory loss, researchers found.

Nearly 200 people aged 70 to 89 with mild memory problems were compared with a group who had no impairment.

The findings are to be presented to an American Academy of Neurology meeting.

The researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota asked the volunteers about their daily activities within the past year and how mentally active they had been between the age of 50 to 65.

Those who had during middle age been busy reading, playing games or engaging in craft hobbies like patchworking or knitting were found to have a 40% reduced risk of memory impairment.

In later life, those same activities reduced the risk by between 30 and 50%.

Those who watched TV for less than 7 hours a day were also 50% less likely to develop memory loss than those who spent longer than that staring at the screen.

"This study is exciting because it demonstrates that ageing does not need to be a passive process," said study author and neuroscientist Dr Yonas Geda.

"By simply engaging in cognitive exercise, you can protect against future memory loss. Of course, the challenge with this type of research is that we are relying on past memories of the participants, therefore we need to confirm these findings with additional research."

Sarah Day, head of public health at the Alzheimer's Society said: "One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia.

"Exercising and challenging your brain - by learning new skills, doing puzzles such as crosswords, and even learning a new language - can be fun.

"However, more research, where people are followed up over time, is needed to understand whether these sorts of activities can reduce the risk of dementia."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7896441.stm

Published: 2009/02/18 10:39:51 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Awesome Knitting Art Exhibit in Chicago

2009-02-21T10:30:00.003-05:00

Today I read this review on one of my favorite knitting blogs of an interactive knitting art exhibit in Chicago. It closes today, but hopefully you can enjoy reading about it and looking at the pictures, anyway. The way Franklin describes how he felt at the exhibit sounds like an almost spiritual experience; very interesting. I hope you all enjoy the pictures, the concept, and his review!

(More pictures and the review at the link above. Franklin's website here: http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/)

Picking Up Stitches

2009-02-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some great tutorials I found for how to pick up stitches. I have had several questions about this recently, so if you're wondering, here you go!

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/02/10/picking-up-stitches-slipped-stitch-side-row-edge.aspx
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/02/10/picking-up-stitches.aspx

Meeting change!

2009-02-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

The Meeting this Tuesday, February 17, is no longer going to be on colorwork; that meeting has been moved back, probably to next week.
This week, we will be tackling how to knit in the round! This is a very important skill that I have been getting a lot of questions about recently, so everyone bring either a set of four or five double pointed needles or a circular needle (preferable 12-20 inches long, no longer). If you do not yet have double pointed or circular needles and want me to bring extras for you to learn on, please email me as soon as possible at bsuknitcrochet AT gmail DOT com.

Also, the movie night is THIS FRIDAY!! We'll be handing out directions to Katie's house at the meeting Tuesday, so come come come! We'll work out movies and rides at the meeting, so everyone be there. If you cannot come, again, email me as soon as possible saying you want to come to the movie night but cannot come to the meeting and I'll send you directions or get you a ride.

Hope to see you all there!
-Abby

Cool new bind-off method

2009-01-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for a great new, very easy and clean looking bind off method, here's a great one for you. You can find a simple explanation in the "cast off methods" link on the right ---->

Or watch it here:

Knitted Brain!

2009-01-19T12:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a cool article about psychiatrists who knit an accurate human brain. Really mind-blowing!

Reminder, first meeting tomorrow!

2009-01-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that the first meeting of the semester will be tomorrow, Jan 20, at 7pm.

Jan 27--"How to Knit" class for all
Feb 3--"How to Crochet" class for all
*Remember, you can still come if you don't want to learn either of those skills. Every meeting is "free knit/crochet," meaning bring whatever you're currently working on and work on it in the presence of friends.

**Don't forget that over on the right side of the page is our calendar of events. Check back often for updates and special events!** ------->

Hope to see you all soon,
Happy Stitching!

First Meeting of the Semester

2009-01-09T12:00:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a really great semester. I just wanted to let you all know that our first meeting of the semester will be on Jan 20, the second week of school, NOT the first week. This is because I want to make sure that all of you can get used to your classes and such before we start meeting. Also, when we get to the first meeting, Katie and Abby will have a bit of a schedule worked out for you as well as some knitting and crocheting lessons ready!

Hope to see you all on Tues, Jan 20 at 7pm in the Atrium right outside of Starbucks on the couches around a TV.
--
Happy Stitching!

-Abby & Katie
BSU Knitting and Crocheting Club

"Extreme Knitting"--Rachel John

2009-01-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

Watch this, be amazed, and never complain about a project again! This woman is crazy and amazing!

Click here for Rachel John's webpage (http://racheljohn.co.uk/default.aspx)

2008-12-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

Here are thank you notes that I have received from both Save the Children for our monetary and hat donation, and from the Orphan Foundation, for our donation of red scarves from our previous charity, the Red Scarf Project:

Dear Abigail,

Thank you for your donation to Save the Children. With the
support of friends like you, brighter futures await children
and families in need.

We value your support and invite you to visit our web site
to find out ways that you can get involved at
http://savethechildren.org/get-involved .

Save the Children
54 Wilton Road
Westport , CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Orphan Foundation of America Thanks YOU!

Dear friend of OFA:

Every year, we receive hundreds of messages of gratitude from young people in OFA programs. Consider this letter that came in from Jazzlynne, a senior in California:

"I am a scholarship recipient of OFA. At 14 years old, I found myself in a completely new environment with strangers - foster care. At 15, my biological parents' rights were terminated. At 17, I had to figure out how to support myself through college.

"For the last four years, OFA has readied me financially and emotionally to attend college, helped me to understand the importance of networking, aided me by providing a one-on-one mentor and a career counselor (two people dedicated to encouraging my goals!), while providing the warmth and wisdom only found in close and sincere relationships.

"I support this program wholeheartedly. I cannot imagine making it through college without the wonderful people I have met through OFA. I am graduating in the Spring with a 3.85 GPA, obtaining a BA in Psychology, my long-time goal. Without OFA, I do not know where I would be."

There is no better way to express gratitude for your support than to introduce you to students like Jazzlynne -- youth aging out of foster care who are succeeding in college and specialized training programs, and preparing to enter the workforce as young professionals. With your continued help, they are fulfilling their potential in ways that enrich their communities and make our country stronger.

To meet more students like Jazzlynne, click HERE to visit OFA's new page onYouTube.

On behalf of our staff and thousands of students, OFA sends heartfelt thanks to our generous donors, volunteers, mentors, Red Scarf contributors, and other supporters. Individually and collectively, you are making a difference. We wish you the very best for the New Year!

Sincerely,

Eileen McCaffrey
Executive Director

ORPHAN FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

21351 Gentry Drive, Suite 130 / Sterling, VA 20166 / (571) 203-0270 / www.orphan.org

Our December Sale

2008-12-29T13:12:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in and helped out with our December sale in the Atrium. It was very successful and we ended up raising over $60 for the Knit One, Save One charity. I recently mailed all of the baby hats we made, and we will be starting with a new charity in the Spring. Though we are officially done with this charity, it is a wonderful charity that I suggest you look into and help out.
Thanks again,
Abby