This weeks edition of the Memphis Flyer features a story on homelessness in Memphis.  The news is not good- on any given day there are 1,800 homeless people  in Memphis, and area shelters are reporting an increase in the number they serve.  

It was the title of the story, “No Place to Call Home”, that caught my eye.  But  a split second later I noticed the yellow LOVE CAP on the man’s head. Our crocheters will easily recognize the basic Love Cap crochet pattern.

There is no information on this man in the story.  We will never know his circumstances or exactly how he came to have this cap.  But this photo shows that someone helped him get a coat, some coffee and a sandwich, and that he has a warm cap in this cold weather because of the work that you do.

If you have ever doubted that your caps make a difference, maybe this magazine cover will change your mind.

I picked up a bag of ornaments made by members of the Memphis Knitting Guild.  There were tiny mittens and hats 

and a variety of other ornaments including a little sock and beaded tree.

A box of 50 ornaments arrived at the last minute from my sister in Florida! There was no time for a photograph before they went on the tree, but here are a few already in place.

This is at the base of the tree

And here is the tree topper!

To see the tree in all its glory, visit the Festival of Trees from November 22 through December 31, 2008. More information will be available soon at the Pink Palace website.   Thank you all for coming through at the last minute.  You can be proud of the way you are representing MIFA, the Love Cap program, and most of all, your talented selves!

YARN SALES THIS WEEK

Hobby Lobby has several of it’s novelty yarns on sale.  

Hancock Fabrics continues to offer 20% off all Lion Brand Yarn through the 22nd, followed by 20% off all yarn and accessories from November 23rd – December 6.

Still no word about the new Joann’s.

April rounded up some Christmas balls (har har)

Keenon made these adorable caps

Susie ventured to Midtown from waaay out east to deliver pretty sock yarn balls

I picked some felted pears

And Christiana whipped out a two strings of Christmas lights! April made the i-cord and I helped her stitch the lights on.

This tree is going to rock the festival! I’m off in a few to get started on it. We are expecting more ornaments today or tomorrow so stay tuned for new pics.

Tomorrow (Monday) is the last day to turn in ornaments at MIFA.  You can also catch me at the Memphis Knit Mafia on Tuesday night at Cafe Eclectic* and the Memphis SnB on Thursday evening at Davis-Kidd Booksellers**. If none of this works for you, e-mail me asap and we’ll work something out.

Take a look at what we have so far.  This group was turned in at the Love Cap Party.  Aren’t those tiny yarn baskets amazing?

Christiana made these festive balls out of her extensive scrap yarn collection.  I really like the one with the ends on the outside.

We also have gorgeous thread crochet snowflakes from Lynda, sparkly snowflakes from Gwen and an impeccably embroidered stocking by Susan.

And finally some yarn balls and knitting needles for a little added color.

I’ll post more pictures as the ornaments come in.

YARN SALES THIS WEEK

The Michael’s ad did not make it into my paper this week, but they have a major yarn sale going on! Check it out here

Hobby Lobby has a new line of yarn called “I Love This Yarn”. It is acrylic and comes in very nice colors. The worsted is at everyday low price and sport weight is on sale this week along with “I Love This Cotton” and “I Love This Wool”. I have not used this yarn, but have handled it and found that the acrylic is softer on the skein than Red Heart. Another shopper in the yarn aisle was loading a cart full of worsted acrylic and said it was her favorite.

Hancock Fabrics has all Lion Brand Yarn marked down 20% through November 22.

There is still no word about the date for the opening of the new Joann’s Fabric and Craft Superstore on Winchester at Bill Morris Parkway. If anyone knows anything, please report!

*Cafe Eclectic is at 603 N McLean Blvd, one block north of North Parkway and Snowden School. Knitting usually starts about 6:30 but I will be rolling in from a PTA meeting a little later. The knitters will be on the sofas in the second room and you may leave ornaments with them if I have not yet arrived.

*Davis-Kidd Booksellers is at 387 Perkins Extended in the Laurelwood Shopping Center. Group meets on the sofa in the Vera Bradley area at 6:30.

The place was a beehive of activity with folks making cookies, sandwiches, no-sew blankets and kits of all kinds for area agencies such as MIFA.  Others were off-site painting, landscaping, distributing, visiting and performing acts of human kindness all over the city. Some were even whipping up homemade dog biscuits for needy canines at the animal shelter. The whole operation is extremely well-organized and attracts people of all ages and abilities.

I enjoyed a few hours of knitting with the Temple Love Cap knitters and crocheters. (Don’t you wish you had a job that required going around town and knitting with people?) These ladies are an emerging force to be reckoned with in the Love Cap program, taking third place in the cap division this year.

Here are the awesome Temple knitters enjoying a productive morning

Hmmm I wonder what fascinating thing Anita has spotted off the side?

In addition to Love Caps, these ladies also make the most adorable teddy bears for the Mother Bear Project. Take a look at some of their creations

In another part of the building, a team was assembling and decorating birthday goodie bags for recipients of Home-Delivered meals.  

All those who receive MIFA meals get an extra treat on their birthdays. For some recipients, this is the the only gift or acknowledgement of their special day. People of all ages enjoy making birthday goodie bags and it has even been an activity at kids’ birthday parties. For instructions about how to assemble bags, contact MIFA’s Volunteer Coordinator Charlie Nelson at 529-4514 or cnelson@mifa.org.

Thanks to the members of Temple Israel for your service to MIFA and to our community!

We worked on projects

We celebrated MIFA’s 40th anniversary

We had a trivia quiz show with Team Crochet emerging victorious over Team Knit

We gave away a lot of door prizes and yarn….

And collected just under 2600 caps, lap robes and other handmade items!

Everyone had a great time

Groups from Luther Towers, Woodland Presbyterian Church and Temple Israel were our top cap producers while Plough Towers turned in the most lap robes.  More caps have been delivered to MIFA since this event, so stay tuned for updated totals and a complete list of our top producers.

Thanks to Ann Fain, BJ Massengill and Gwenice McLaughlin for providing refreshments, to William and Max for carrying heavy bags full of caps, to the Church of the Holy Communion for sharing their lovely fellowship hall with us, to Christiana, Lynsey and April for hosting the trivia quiz show, to Leah for help setting up tables, to MIFA employees Sally and Linda for their greeting and photography skills, and to all who helped pack up and clean up afterwards.  We also thank those who donated yarn and door prizes.

Once again, we had a great time at the Love Cap Party and have collected about 2600 items.  Next week will bring a big post with pics and commentary about the goings on, but today I’m issuing an ornament SOS.

In three weeks, I will be at the Pink Palace Museum decorating the Love Cap tree for the festival of trees and we do not have nearly enough knitted or crocheted ornaments!  How embarrassing would it be for half the Mid-South to see a pitiful Love Cap Tree?   We just can’t let that happen.

Since the scarcity of ornaments became apparent after last Sunday, I have made four Santa Hats and will be cranking out more this weekend.  Can you help me out?  

Last week’s post  had links to lots of ornament patterns and ideas.  Since then I have found a few more.

mini mittens

mini bears and bunnies

Christmas ball ornaments

crocheted gingerbread ornament

snowman

crochet heart ornament

The Festival of Trees is always well-attended so let’s make sure our tree is up to par this year! Ornaments should be at MIFA or in my hands by Monday, November 10.   Love Cap knitters and crocheters are the best so I know I can count on you!

Love Cap Party and Ingathering - October 19

The 18th annual gathering is set for 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm at the Church of the Holy Communion, 4645 Walnut Grove Rd.  Park on the east side of the building, along Old Perkins Rd. and enter through the east or south doors of Cheney Hall.

This is the best time to turn in your finished caps, lap robes and other items.  We are also accepting ornaments for our tree in the Festival of Trees.  Everyone will be stitching and chatting, so bring your hooks needles and yarn.   Bring your friends too!

As always we will have refreshments, entertainment, free yarn, a display of winners in the Mid-South Fair Love Cap contest and lots of door prizes.   To RSVP,comment here or contact Sarah Terry at sterry@mifa.org or 529-4543 by October 15.

Love Cap Sorting Party - October 21 

MIFA needs volunteers to help sort and bag caps distribution.  This is a big job because usually get over 3,000 items and this year our goal is 4,000.  With enough help, we can have everything done in 2.5 – 3 hours.  Sorting will take place at MIFA Headquarters, 910 Vance Ave from 9 am – 12 pm.   To volunteer,comment here or contact Sarah Terry at sterry@mifa.org or 529-4543 by October 15.

Festival of Trees  -   November 21 – December 31

The Festival of Trees will be even more enjoyable this year because MIFA Love Cap Knitter and Crocheters are decorating our very own tree!  In addition to spreading the word about Love Caps, we will be helping raise money for LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center.   To participate in this project, knit or crochet holiday ornaments and bring them to the party on October 19.  Ornaments may be secular or representative of your religious tradition.  Visit the Festival of Trees at the Pink Palace Museum at 3050 Central Avenue.

Here are some links to ornament patterns:

Knitting Pattern Central                       Crochet Pattern Central

Crocheted Dreidel                               Mini Hats

Mini Stockings                                     Mini Sweaters

Ornament patterns   (scroll sown- second to last category)

I could not find any yarny ornaments representing Kwanzaa or Islam.  If you know of any, please comment and I will pass them along.

Fundraising Update

Fundraising is going well so far with a total of $751.   We have raised our goal to $3000 this year so that MIFA can spend more of its budget on direct assistance to those in need.  You may make your secure financial contribution electronically at mifa.org (be sure to designate your gift for Love Caps) or send a check to MIFA Love Caps/ P.O. Box 3130/ Memphis, TN 38173.

Turn in Schedule

If you can’t make the party, you may bring or mail items to MIFA Love Caps/ 910 Vance Avenue/ Memphis, TN  38126.  Please deliver your caps to the front desk, NOT the back dock and make sure they are labeled so we will know who gave them.  Tree ornaments may be turned in through November 7.  Caps and lap robes are needed before December 5th.

Yarn Sales This Week

Good yarn sales were few and far between over the summer.  Do they really think we amass 3000+ caps by putting down our needles and hooks in warmer weather?  But sales are popping up all over lately and here are a few:

Hancock Fabrics has 25% off Of Lion Brand Boucle, Microspun, Homespun and all sizes of Wool Ease through October 15.

Michael’s offers Bernat Alpaca, Bamboo, Cashmere, Soft Boucle, Glow in the Dark Worsted for $2.99/skein. Lion Brand Wool, and Patons Classic Merino Wool are 2.99.  Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair and Wool Ease Thick and Quick are 4.99.

Word is JoAnn’s Fabrics and Crafts will open in Memphis some time this month.  The new store will be located near Winchester and Bill Morris Parkway.  (Not convenient for many of us, but I plan to carpool down there with some friends.)   So far I have not been able to find out the opening date or whether this store is a small store or super store.  JoAnn carries their own line of yarn called Sensations.

The Memphis version of World Wide Knit in Public Day was a smashing success!  MIFA’s Love Cap Knitting and Crocheting Program hosted about 30 artists and crafters at the Central Library on June 14th to stitch, spin and enjoy each other’s company.

A non-stitcher learned to knit, a crocheter learned to knit, several folks tried spinning for the first time and everyone taught everyone else new techniques.

There were so many door prizes that everyone won something and some folks won twice!  We had a table full of knitting needles, crochet hooks, stitch holders, cable needles and other tools to give away.  Susie, Marjorie and Sarah all brought spinning wheels.

Many thanks to Beth Crockett at Yarn to Go for her donation of three gift certificates for the door prize table. And we are grateful to Nobuko Igarashi of the Benjamin Hooks Central Library for letting us take over their magazine section for the day. The library also supplied an eye-catching flyer design.

Finally, thanks to all who came out to knit in public. Y’all come back next year!