One more blanket

14 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

Tags

I have one more blanket to show you for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4. A beautiful giant granny square blanket made by Jennifer. I love the muted shades she used, and what a clever idea to start off with two 4-round granny squares?

Jennifer hand delivered the blanket to my home – I’m so sorry I was at work when she came over.

Jennifer

Jennifer’s blanket came with this really cool card. Life is definitely much better when you’re laughing!

With Jennifer’s blanket, our total is now at a record 27 blankets for dialysis patients!

That reminds me: have you guys seen the graph I made to show how the blanket count has gone up over the four CFK’s? I posted it on the Crochet For Kidneys Facebook group a few weeks ago, but here it is again.

blanket v people graph

Blanket count up, participants down. Who would have thought?!

Now that all the blankets are in, I’ll be spending today and tomorrow hand writing the tags to go with each blanket.

We’ve also been thinking about the logistics of carrying 27 blankets to the hospital. Last year we had three huge bags for the 17 blankets of CFK3, so 27 is going to be even more challenging. Fortunately John had the great idea that we should vacuum pack the blankets which will reduce the size considerably. Clever man!

The next time I blog about Crochet For Kidneys it will be to tell you about delivering the blankets to the hospital on the 24th. 🙂

The last four blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4

31 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

charity blankets, crochet, crochet blanket

And so on this Halloween we reach the deadline for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4. It’s been a heart warming and humbling four months since my fourth appeal for crocheted blankets. My amazing blog readers and crochet friends delivered the goods – in spades! With the four blankets I received this week, we have reached a grand total of 26 blankets for the dialysis patients at the Royal London Hospital! That’s our highest blanket count since I started Crochet For Kidneys in November 2013!

This week Dorota’s blue and brown ripple blanket arrived all the way from Poland, Barbara’s second colourful traditional granny square blanket arrived from Portugal, Pauline Thomson’s granny square blanket in a comfy chunky yarn arrived from Scotland and Cecilia sent her very striking granny ripple.

Dorota Dobrowska

Barbara Boothman

Pauline Thomson

Cecilia Ockleford

Cecilia is an old-timer CFK member – you can see a photo of her in this blog post from the Crochet For Kidneys charity day back in November 2013.

Cecilia crocheted her first ever blanket for CFK3 last year, and this ripple is her second blanket. It takes Cecilia longer than the average to crochet a blanket because she suffers from muscle dystrophy. Just like last year, I feel very privileged that she would spend so much time on a blanket only to donate it to CFK. Thank you so much Cecilia, your selflessness is a true inspiration.

Everyone put so much care and love into their blankets I’m positive it will bring years of comfort and hope to the dialysis patients.

Whenever I look at my two cupboards filled to the brim with handmade blankets I am reminded of just how special you all are.

Thank you and blessings to each of you.

Nine more blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4

11 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

charity blankets, crochet, crochet blanket

This week has been a bumper week for CFK4 – seven blankets arrived in the post, I received one blanket in person and I finished the pink blanket! That’s nine blankets for dialysis patients in one week! Isn’t that fantastic?!

Our grand total is now 22!!! This week we exceeded all previous Crochet For Kidneys, and the best part is, I know there are more blankets coming! You guys totally rock!

The first blanket I’m going to show you comes from Mary Gordon. Mary lives in Thames Ditton (where John and I lived when we started Crochet For Kidneys) so she is one of the very first contributors to CFK. I met up with Mary at Carluccio’s in Waterloo station on Saturday to pick up the blanket (and to catch up on all the Thames Ditton news.) I just had to open up the blanket and admire it right there in Carluccio’s because I know the kind of quality crochet Mary produces. Have a look at this blog post from CFK2 to see The Mary Border and her purple and white blanket. This year her blanket was inspired by the Rainbow. She wrote on the tag attached to the blanket: “This blanket is inspired by the colours of the rainbow – the promise of sunshine to come.” I just love that!!!

Mary Gordon

Trish Harris of France made two blankets, despite suffering from Carparel Tunnel Syndrome. Thank you so much Trish for contributing – your blankets are beautiful and I really appreciate the effort you put it. I hope the CTS clears up soon so you will be hook-in-hand again.

Trish Harris

Jude Garrett crocheted this super colourful blanket. She also attended the CFK2 event along with Mary. You can see Jude hard at work in this blogpost. Jude wrote that her 7-year old has now also started to crochet so next year we can expect a joint mother-and-daughter blanket! Wouldn’t that be just the sweetest thing!?

Jude Garrett

It looks like Sue de Vos was also inspired by the rainbow just like Mary, but Sue did rows of trebles for her rainbow blanket. So many colours!

Sue Ribbens de Vos

Sue’s second blanket is a gorgeous traditional granny square blanket in more muted shades than her striped rainbow blanket. I love the border and the way she joined her granny squares.

Sue Ribbens de Vos

Next up I want to show you Tamika’s two fantastic blankets – a blue, green, beige ripple and a stunning turquoise, green, white and brown granny square blanket. I love the unusual colours!

Tamika Joyeux

And finally my second blanket for CFK4, the pink mitred squares.

Natasja King

Thank you again to everyone who crocheted a blanket and posted it to me. I know it takes a lot of time to crochet a blanket and postage is not cheap. You produced beautiful blankets which I will be proud to hand over to the Renal Unit of the Royal London Hospital. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Two more blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4

04 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, My ramblings, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

charity blankets, crochet, crochet blanket, crochet4kidneys

The blankets for the dialysis patients are coming in weekly now and our total blanket count is up to 13. Thank you everyone!!

This week I received Wendy “Eddy” Gould’s very non-square purple and white blanket. This is our second striped blanket in Crochet For Kidneys Part 4. Wendy also contributed a blanket for CFK3 last year. She really embraced this year’s brief of “any design” 🙂

Wendy “Eddy” Gould

This extremely sunny blanket was made in Faro, Portugal. It’s the crochet work of Linda Baker, a friend of Barbara Booth whose blanket I showed you last week. Even if I hadn’t known Linda lives in Portugal I would have thought that this blanket has a distinct sunny Portuguese or Spanish feel to it. Don’t you agree? These two ladies are bringing the sunshine of Portugal to our blanket collection and they are making two blankets each. Fantastic!

Linda Baker

Not so much sunny as girly, my pink blanket is almost finished – I’m crocheting the edging at the moment and then have to work away the ends.

Thank you again to everyone who has crocheted blankets for the dialysis patients. Most of you are repeat contributors to Crochet For Kidneys which makes me appreciate your efforts even more. Blessings to you all!

Two more blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

charity blankets, crochet, crochet4kidneys

I received two more beautiful traditional granny square blankets over the past two weeks.

Caroline Bennett says her fiancé had a kidney transplant 2 and a half years ago after being on dialysis. They think Crochet For Kidneys is a great idea and it inspired Caroline to make these beautiful two-tone granny squares.

Caroline Bennett

Barbara Boothman’s striking traditional granny square blanket with the black joining rounds, comes all the way from Faro, Portugal. She has another blanket to send me.

Barbara Boothman

Thank you very much for your contributions ladies. The blankets are beautiful!

Hop on over to the Crochet For Kidneys Facebook group where you will see more photos, posts and comments about these blankets.

Our blanket total is now up to 11. We’re in the double digits people!! Keep them coming!

Four more blankets for Crochet For Kidneys

13 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

200 crochet blocks, crochet, crochet blanket

I received these four blankets from a mother and daughter team, Emma and Sandra Ashman. Thank you so much ladies, the blankets are beautiful!

Sandra Ashman

Emma Ashman

Sandra Ashman

Emma Ashman

How many hours of work went into these four blankets?! There are so many different square motifs in these four blankets! Ladies, am I right in saying that you have been using the 200 Crochet Blocks book by Jan Eaton…? 😉

Thanks to this mother and daughter team, the CFK4 blanket count is now up to nine. Thank you ladies, you are stars!

Your blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4

07 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 4

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

charity blankets, crochet, crochet blanket, crochet4kidneys

Dear readers and Crochet For Kidneys blanket makers, please forgive me for not having updated you on the progress of CFK4 since June, when I showed you my Shades Of Blue Granny Square Blanket.

Things have been a bit hectic the past two months. It’s all very, very good though. My weekends were spent preparing for interviews, watching Lynda.com videos to improve my skills, celebrating Big Events with new and old friends, doing a bit of travelling with iVan the campervan and in general just enjoying life.

During July I went for job interviews and in August I heard that I got the job as legal PA at a very big Media & Entertainment company just 20 minute walk from our new home. I am super, super, excited and feel very blessed to have landed that job. I just know it’s going to be the start of Something Great.

My last day at the old job was Friday and I start the new one next Monday so this week is my time to reflect, recoup and recharge – and with recharge I mean catch up on my blog and crochet.

So without further ado back to the blankets for Crochet For Kidneys.

I’ve received four beautiful blankets so far from Gerlene Kennedy, Jan Appleton, Marion Nelson and someone with a postcode of DE66. The lady didn’t add a note so I don’t know anything else about her.

Gerlene Kennedy

Someone living in Derby

Jan Appleton

Marion Nelson

I love these blankets for being so very different. The beautiful colours, the combination of those colours (shout-out to Gerlene and Jan for great use of colour!), the neat stitches and attention to detail that the ladies put into their work is really inspiring. A special mention should also go to Gerlene for using the softest silver grey yarn ever. I just couldn’t stop touching that yarn!

I was so inspired that I decided to move away from a regular granny square for my second CFK4 blanket. I’m making metered granny squares in shades of pink. I’ve never done mitred squares but I really like the effect those off-centre rows create. I’m using up all my DK acrylic pink yarns for the blanket. This is going to be one very pink blanket!

I look forward to receiving more of your blankets and I promise to post them on the blog much sooner than I did for these four blankets.

Happy hooking friends.

Natasja

Terrific Tuesday

01 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by Natasja in Etsy, Other people's crochet, Terrific Tuesdays

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

crochet art, crochet jewellery

On a Monday I can still remember the fun I had over the weekend, Wednesday is the middle of the work week, on Thursday I start getting hopeful and on a Friday I can taste the weekend. But what about a Tuesday? It’s so…. just there. Weekend memories are too far away and the upcoming weekend might as well be a year away.

What we need is a bit of colourful inspiration to get us going on a Tuesday, don’t you think? A pretty picture, beautiful scenery or colourful imagery. Yup, that’ll liven up Tuesdays and turn it into a terrific day!

From now on I will go through my photos and Pinterest likes every Tuesday and find us a pretty picture to add colour and joy to the day.

xxxxxx

http://www.etsy.com/shop/otherworlds

I adore this hedgehog swinging from a tree crocheted pendant. It’s cute, crochet and a true work of art. It’s the work of Saffron Johns who lives in Bulgaria and sells her wire art in her Other Worlds Etsy shop. You should have a look at the other amazing pieces of crochet jewelery she makes. I love the Mouse Playing Trumpet double brooch and the Parrot Bird Cage pendant is truly amazing. You definitely wont be able to blend into the crowd when you wear these pieces of crochet art! And it’s sure to make you smile. Perfect for a Tuesday.

Wishing you all a Terrific Tuesday.

Natasja

The blankets for Crochet For Kidneys Part 2

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, Other people's crochet, Part 2

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

charity, crochet blanket, crochet hexagons, kidney disease, kidney failure, world kidney day

On Sunday evening I finished the last border, wove in the last tail end and snipped off the last stray bit of yarn on the last blanket for Crochet For Kidneys Part 2. They’re all done! “They” being a fantastic 14 beautiful blankets for dialysis patients. That’s double the number of blankets we had for Part 1!

In total I joined hexagons, and made borders, for eight blankets. Jenny (of Thames Ditton Crafters) and Jane (of Jane’s Nice and Easy Crochet) each joined a blanket too. Thank you very much for your help ladies! Five ladies made complete blankets for which I am so very grateful. One of those five will be sent directly to the Royal Free Hospital so I don’t have a photo to show you, but I do have photos of the 14 John and I will be handing over on the 13th of March.

We chose 13 March because it’s World Kidney Day – a global awareness and education event. What better day to hand over lovingly handmade blankets to those with kidney failure? These blankets are sure to bring them comfort in both senses of the word. I know you all put so much love into each stitch and the bright colours you chose will surely cheer up any poorly person. Thank you again each every one of you!

Here they are – the 14 blankets made by 36 crocheters, from 7 countries:

Blanket made by Mary

Hexagons made by Pauline and Anne, joined by Natasja

Hexagons made by everyone, joined by Jane

Blanket made by Elizabeth (Liz)

Hexagons made by everyone, joined by Natasja

Blanket made by Gill

Hexagons made by everyone, joined by Jenny

Hexagons made by everyone, joined by Natasja

Blanket made by San Bee

Hexagons made by everyone, joined by Natasja

Aren’t they beautiful? You have all done such an amazing job! Everyone’s hexagons have been used in these blankets. Whether you sent me two or 63, somewhere in these 14 blankets there will be a hexagon made by you. Thank you so much everyone!

I’d like to end this post with some kidney facts so that you can be aware and informed about the important role your kidneys play and what you can do to reduce the risk of kidney disease.

The main job of the kidneys is to remove toxins and excess water from our blood. Kidneys also help to control our blood pressure, to produce red blood cells and to keep our bones healthy.

Here are some ways to help reduce your risk of kidney disease:
• Keep the Pressure Down – High blood pressure accelerates kidney damage. To protect yourself from kidney disease you should monitor your blood pressure regularly and maintain a diet low in salt and saturated fats.
• Keep fit and active – This helps reduce your blood pressure and therefore reduces the risk of kidney disease.
• Don’t smoke – Cigarette smoking slows blood flow to the kidneys, decreasing their ability to function properly. Quit smoking to slow the progression of kidney disease.
• Eat healthily and keep your weight in check – This can help prevent diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with kidney disease.
• Know your kidney function – If anyone in your family has suffered from kidney disease, if you are diabetic or if you are of Asian or African ancestry, it is particularly important to get your kidney function checked by your GP. In the western world, 30-40% of patients with kidney failure have Type 2 diabetes.

Look after yourself and your kidneys my dear readers! I need you to be healthy so when Crochet For Kidneys Part 3 is launched in the Autumn, you can help me make more blankets. Deal? Deal.

Our hexagon hookup

10 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Natasja in Crochet For Kidneys, My ramblings, Other people's crochet, Part 2

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

crochet

Friday the 7th of February had finally arrived. It was the day of our hexagon hookup at the Court Farm Garden Centre cafe. I arrived just before 10 am to find our long table in front of the cozy fireplace. Isn’t this just the best place ever to get together with friends, old and new, for a spot of crochet?

IMG_5567 with craft border

Jude, Liz, Mary, Gill and Jenny arrived soon after me laden with bags of hexagons and even two completed blankets. Luckily the cafe wasn’t very full at this point because we did sort of take over a bit. Squeels of “Oooh Mary that’s gorgeous!” and “Bright solid colours! Just what I needed!” could be heard over in the conifer section.

The ladies really blew me away with their generosity. Like I said in yesterday’s post, I received enough hexagons for one blanket, as well as two completed blankets yesterday. Within two minutes, the blanket count rose with three. Totally unexpected and so welcome.

We didn’t waste much time in getting our drinks and eats. Everyone knows you crochet much better when you have coffee and a scone.

IMG_5594 with craft border

We decided that the six of us would spend our two hours joining the straight sides of six hexagons, to make the rows that I would eventually join up. I made little packets of rows for each of the two blankets I took with me. If they helped me make up the ten rows of six, all I have to do is join the 10 rows together in zig zags and do the borders for all the blankets. Easy peasy.

Here’s Mary sewing up a straight side.

IMG_5597 with craft border Jude and Liz doing their straight sides. IMG_5574 with craft border IMG_5572 with craft border I had such a great time with these ladies. I think it was at this point I did a little hoppity-dancemove as I returned to the table. I was in my element. I mean really: day off work, morning in a cafe, crochet, friends, coffee, scones, hexagons for charity, chit-chat about all things crochet and yarn related. How could I not be happy?

IMG_5569 with craft border So much concentration! Gill is sewing up the hexagons that she made. It looks like she will have made enough for one complete blanket!

Jenny’s little helper Nat was very well behaved and friendly. He’s the cutest little guy.

IMG_5593 with craft border Can you see how pretty Gill’s hexagons are? I can’t wait to see the completed blanket. Jenny kept her head down the whole time, working away non-stop.

IMG_5582 with craft border Here is Mary’s blanket. IMG_5571 with craft border

Mary is very proud of her blanket. And so she should be! I can’t explain to you how well made this is. The sides are super straight, the corners extra pointy, the tension amazingly consistent throughout and the 5cm wide (US) sc / (UK) dc border done in exactly the right combination of colours.

I will take more photos of Mary’s blanket, as well as Liz’s purple and white hexagon blanket that I told you about yesterday, for a later post. You will definitely see more of this blanket!

Next time I’m doing a blanket I’m going to make a Mary Border. It’s so simple but so effective. The odds that your blanket will be made up of (US) sc / (UK) dc stitches are very slim, so using that stitch for the border is the perfect contrast and it forms a lovely stiff edge which keeps everything nicely together. A Mary Border. That’s a thing right? It wasn’t, but now it is.

At the end of the two hours the six of us had joined all the straight sides of both blankets. Two hours extremely well spent and a great help to me.

To Liz, Mary, Jenny, Gill and Jude I want to say a huge thank you for taking the time to help join the hexagons. I had an amazing time and you’ve been a great help to me. If I could, I would do it all again next week. Hey, I’d do it again tomorrow if if I could!