Calling All Knitters & Crocheters & Weavers

Image created by Gale of She Shoots Sheep Shots. Used with her permission.

Norma of Now Norma Knits fame has posted in several places over the last couple of days about the shortage of scarves that have (or really haven't) been received by the Red Scarf Project. (Yeah, they haven't received mine yet either. Their deadline is after the Warm Woolies one, and I promise I'll crank out that scarf as soon as I can. Maybe 2 scarves, if I can find another scarf's worth of yarn.)

If you've never heard of the Red Scarf Project, well, follow either of the above links for a bit of information, or click on the Red Scarf Project button to the left of this entry. Or check out the Red Scarf Project Blog. The scarves made for/by the Red Scarf Project are distributed by the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) in Valentine's Day care packages. These care packages are sent to college students who have aged out of foster care and have no family or other support networks. Often the OFA care packages are the only mail that these students receive that's not junk mail or bills.

The Red Scarf Project needs good quality, handmade, unisex scarves that are 5 to 8 inches wide and at least 60 inches long. They must be made of sport, DK, or worsted weight yarn. (Lighter weight yarns aren't likely to produce a unisex scarf, and scarves made from heavier yarns won't fit in the boxes that are donated for shipping.) The good quality is important, and the scarves must be new.

The deadline for the project is December 15, although since they need another 2000 or so scarves, if it's a week late, they'll probably still be grateful to get it. If you can help out with this, or if you know someone who can, please pass the message along.

If you don't knit or crochet or weave, or you don't have time to make a scarf, you can still get in on the act by donating to the Red Scarf Fund. (Paypal link here, or you can mail a check to the address on the Red Scarf Project Blog.) If you send an e-mail to RedScarfFund [at] gmail [dot] com with the amount of your donation, you will get one entry for every $5 into the drawings that Norma is organizing on her blog. Most, if not all, of the prizes are full of wonderful, fibery goodness. (If you're not into fiber, please remember that I am, and my birthday is very soon after Christmas. *wink*) The Red Scarf Fund provides "emergency aid because life happens and foster youth don’t have the safety net most people call ‘family.’ Red Scarf aid has paid for: medical bills, eyeglasses, musical instrument repairs, new tires to pass inspection, and sadly, funeral expenses."

So, who wants to help?