Disappointment

I am disappointed in myself. I didn't finish a single scarf for the Special Olympic Scarf Project. The last state in need (VA, which I just returned from) has a receipt deadline of Monday, March 7. I was hoping to be able to finish at least one scarf today and send it to Alaska, whose deadline is the 9th, but they have received twice the number of requested scarves already. So much for that idea.

THANKS A LOT, TENDINITIS! I really do blame it for this, since it hit right when I received my yarn, and got worse when I started the scarf. I had attempted to crochet with the splint on, but it was really a challenge (and painful without it). Since I got the cortisone shot last week, the pain has subsided (it took a few days, and I was out of town at a family wedding); however, now that I feel pain-free enough to work on it, time has run out.

Now I am left with a half-finished granny square scarf, and a few skeins of brightly colored yarns. Luckily, there is also a Scarf Project for the 2012 Special Olympics. I have a good deal of advance knowledge for next year's project, so I expect more out of myself in the future. Hopefully they will use one of this year's colors, if not both, for next year's scarves! They haven't announced the colors yet, so there's still hope. I'll find out sometime this April.

Crochet for a Cause

You may have read in my last post that I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics as a part of their Scarf Project. I mentioned how I had not been able to find any Red Heart Super Saver Blue (#886) yarn in stock at any of my local stores (I tried 4 different ones). Well, I finally broke down and ordered the yarn online through Joann last week.

Naturally, I couldn't buy one skein of $2.50 yarn and be expected to pay $7 in shipping... So, I bought 2 skeins of the blue (I have high hopes) and managed to add a few other items that I didn't really need. This included two different pink yarns, just in case I really get in the groove and decide to make some items to sell to raise money for my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that's coming up in May. (Join my team here, if you want to walk with us, run without us, or stay home and sleep but still raise money for the cause. -More on this campaign in a future post.)

Since I've been itching to begin my scarves, I was really hoping that my yarns would have arrived today. And I think they did...only the post office didn't deliver because I wasn't home. Argh! I was stuck with that little pink slip they stick in your mailbox, saying the item will be available for pickup tomorrow after 10am. Sorry, I have a job! I'm going to go to the website to see if they'll redeliver (and leave it at my door or at the apartment complex offices). Wish me luck!

I also checked the Scarf Project website to see how many scarves have been provided for the Northern CA event, and out of the 1,150 scarves they requested, they have only received 45! Please consider contributing your own creation to this worthy cause. See the project guidelines here.

The deadline to receive scarves for the your scarves in for the Northern CA event is 3/1/2011. There are different deadlines for the games in different locations, as well as a different number of scarves requested for each event. If I have leftover yarn after the Northern CA deadline (a surety), then I will just keep making more scarves and send them to another state's event. Everybody wins!

New Project

I have decided to whip up some scarves for the Special Olympics. I actually found out about their Scarf Project last year, but never got around to doing anything with it. I found the site again this year via an ad on Facebook that appeared on my sidebar (how do they know me so well?). So, this is it. Fate, right?

I will be contributing to the Northern California program. The events are floor hockey, cross-country skiing and Alpine skiing. Totally scarf-worthy! The scarves are actually gifted to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters as a symbol of unity. The deadline for shipping scarves to the Northern CA program is 2/25, so I'd better get a move on!

There are 2 official colors - blue and turquoise. Wait, that's not quite right. The official yarns are Red Heart #886 Blue and #512 Turqua. Believe it or not, I cannot find the blue color to save my life! I've been to 4 different stores, and none of them have it. I'm going to have to buy it online, which means I'll buy other things too, simply to justify spending the $ on shipping. (I know myself.)

Anyway, the Special Olympics would like to receive 1,150 scarves, but has only received 45 so far. So, please join me in my crafty little efforts to help them reach their goals! For more information, check out their Official Site. You can also make scarves for events in other locations, if you would prefer. They all have different deadlines and are requesting a different number of scarves. All scarves must incorporate both official colors, though.

As soon as I get my hands on that 2nd color, I'll see how many scarves I can produce...

Inspiration?

My good friend Kristin is having a Halloween party in a few weeks and I've been looking at ideas for things to bring along. The party is really for the kids (her 2 year old, and bunch of others), so we're not doing anything that might scare the little ones. I'm fine with that, because I'm not too into all of those foods that look like brains and severed body parts.

I have found a lot of great recipe ideas out there on the internet, including this recipe for Spooky Banana-Fudge Cupcakes. Boy do those look good! I also found this site, thanks to Kristin, which I have a feeling I'll be visiting often. The cookie pops intrigued me, because I've always wanted to be able to decorate cookies this way. So, on the same site, I found a tutorial for glazing and also for sugar cookies. Both tutorials have some great tips and now I'm eager to give both techniques a try.

With that in mind, I decided to go through my baking/candy-making drawer (yes, I have a designated drawer for this) to see what I might have on hand for Halloween projects. Mainly, I was looking for my star shaped and moon shaped cookie cutters, which I knew were somewhere in the drawer. Other than that, I really didn't think I had much in the way of Halloween-related items, so I was really surprised to find all of this:

Ignore that Christmas tin in the center...

What you are looking at is a whole slew of candy molds (those jack-o-lantern candy pop molds have a copyright date on them of 1977!) cookie cutters, treat bags and craft sticks. And no, the pumpkin was not in the drawer. That circle tin up there next to the Christmas tin (which I meant to remove before taking the photo - oops!) holds all of these:
I don't think I've ever even used any of these! So, maybe I need to whip up a batch of mini butter cookies, decorate them beautifully (I have high hopes in my limited decorating talent) and use them to top those banana-fudge cupcakes.

Of course, it's more likely that I'll whip up the cupcakes and never get to the cookies, or vice versa... But, I just might be able to do both! I have a few more weeks to plan.