Back in America

Nikko 2010

I know I've been absent from the blogging world for a while, so let me catch you up to speed:

After the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear problems in Japan, Ryan and I decided to move back to America 3 weeks earlier than we had planned. We arrived in Texas about a week ago, where I spent some wonderful days with Ryan and his family (after some not-so-wonderful days frantically packing and moving out of our apartments in Japan). I then flew back to Michigan and drove down to Chicago with my parents to visit family there. I just arrived back home (Michigan) yesterday and am still busy unpacking, organizing and locating all my crafting items in order to start crafting in order to start blogging again! Phew. I'm tired.

It's been a whirlwind of events and emotions since I've been back. I already miss my friends and life in Japan but am also overjoyed to be with family again.

There is so much to be done in Japan and every donation helps, if you want to make a donation here are a couple reliable places to make one:

Covenant World Relief

Red Cross

source

Knitting along

I just finished the baby hat for the "Knit, Pray, Love" project!

I used a free pattern from Ravelery, they have tons of free patterns.

Hats, mittens, sweaters, you name it, there's a pattern for it.

There's still time for you to knit one too! The deadline is November 1, so hop to! There's a chilly newborn in Afghanistan needing a nice hat to keep their cute little head warm and fuzzy. When you're finished send it to:

Please mail by *November 1st*
CURE International
701 Bosler Avenue
Lemoyne, PA 17043

Happy Knitting!

Knit, Pray, Love

Image from Mornings with Brant

In case you've already finished your red scarf for the OFA , here's another project to start working on. Maybe you've already heard about Katie's project over at Mornings with Brant, but if you haven't, here's the jist:

She's calling the project, "Knit, Pray, Love". While you're knitting, she's asking that you pray for the child (and parents) that your hat/booties/blanket is for. I'm excited to get started on some hats and even attempt some booties! And if you belong to Ravelery, Katie started a group here for people participating in the project.

"We have a need: Chilly newborn babies.

We have a secret weapon: You. If you can knit. "

Please mail by *November 1st*
CURE International
701 Bosler Avenue
Lemoyne, PA 17043

Red Scarves Project for the OFA

(picture via OFA)

The Orphan Foundation of America collects red scarves every year for OFA students enrolled in college or trade schools. If you knit or crochet this is a great opportunity to send encouragement to some great students! They are currently accepting scarves for the 2010 year until Dec. 15. Send yours in today!

OFA The Red Scarf Project

21351 Gentry Drive,Suite 130

Sterling, VA 20166

USA

Dolls for Haiti complete!

Well, they're complete! I finally finished the faces and now I just have to ship them over to Sarah at Dolly Donations.

I ended up adding a little felt flower to the girl doll for a little extra cuteness.

The two boy dolls are pretty much the same except for the color of their pants. They're practically besties.

I'm hoping to ship them off before I leave for summer vacation this week. There's still time to sew your own doll, check out the Dolly Donations site for all the details!

And then there were 3

I'm just about finished with my dolls for Haiti! The last step is embroidering the faces on and then I'll ship them off to Sarah over at Dolly Donations.

If you sew, knit, or crochet, there's still time to start your own dolls! These are so quick to sew, you could sew up a few in just an hour to two. The pattern and tutorial are super easy and on the Dolly Donations website - check it out!

In other news, today is Ocean Day in Japan and I have the day off. Naturally, I'm going to go to the ocean and spend some time on the beach (wearing plenty of SPF 50, of course) relaxing and swimming. And also wearing my new wide-brimmed straw hat. I love a good straw hat, don't you? Hope you had a great weekend! :)

First doll - in progress

I've started working on my dolls for the Haiti donations and here is my first girl doll - cut out and partially sewed:

(sorry for the low quality photos here!)

I'm planning on making 1 girl doll and 2 boy dolls. Dolly Donations is looking for more boy dolls to send over this time around. Once I finish up the dolls for Haiti, I think I might try my hand at making my own doll pattern and whip one up for my neice.

That's all for now, hope you're having a great week! :)

Dolls for Haiti

I just came across this great project at Dolly Donations. Sarah is collecting homemade dolls to send over to orphans in Haiti - check it out! The deadline is Nov. 1, but it's recommended to send them a week before the deadline. Sarah has the free pattern and tutorial over on her blog. This is a great project for sewers of all levels and a wonderful way to bring a little joy to people on the other side of the world.

Let the doll making begin!

Update! Don't sew? Dolly Donations accept knitted or crocheted dolls too!