Blueberry in Raspberry sauce...its tootyfrooty with a little lace!!

Hello dear friends!  In my last post I mentioned that I would be posting some pictures of the crocheted squares, which I will be mailing to KAS (http://www.knit-a-square.com/) tomorrow!  I have been SO busy crocheting away and then making cards in between my crocheted squares!

I have also become involved in the KAS Forum and what fun that has been!  Meeting ladies all over the world, who are knitting and crocheting for the children in South Africa.  It has been so energizing and I feel like I have a whole new set of friends to share ideas with!  If you are a crafter or an artist, you know we tend to get so involved in our craft sometimes, that we forget to take time to interact with others.  I am probably even more inclined to not get out and socialize, due to my physical  limitations.  (it isn't that I'm unable to go out, it just causes me a lot of pain if I sit for very long ;o).  However, when we do take the time to chat with others of like mind, it is so refreshing and rejuvenating!

Here are a couple pictures of the children in South Africa that I am especially moved by......their smiles are so precious and I want so badly to reach out and hug each and every one of them! The hats and squares that I send are my way of sending a hug across the continents to them :o)......
Look at these smiles!  Wow, they have so little and look at that joy!  We could really learn from them, don't you think?

This little guy is SO serious....what a beautiful child.  I wish I could give him a big hug; I thank God that KAS is there to give him some warmth and make his life a little bit less harsh!

I hope that some of you will be touched by these pictures and perhaps moved to do some small thing or to pass this message along.  As I have mentioned before, there are millions of children who are orphans in South Africa; and whose parents have most likely died from the AIDS epidemic.  Children as young as 4 years old can be seen carrying their baby sibling on their back!  As stated in my new friend Laurie's blog:  There are an estimated 1.9 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa. 500 children a day are made orphans by the combined ravages of AIDS and poverty.

Please take a moment to check out her beautiful blog!  : http://www.kittysfiberjourney.com/2012/01/var-servicedomainwww.html

So, finally, here are a couple photos of what I have been working on!

I have about 16 of these now and I'm actually starting on this month's batch.  In order to motivate us even more, the KAS forum has come up with a monthly incentive for trying out new colors or patterns.  This month is:  French Lace, Frooty Tooty, Fantasy (Fairies, cartoon characters​, wizards, dragons, elves etc)"......LOL, that's quite a list!  I found a neat pattern online through Ravelry and revised it to come up with my "blueberry in rasberry sauce" square!  Ta da!

It's definitely lacy and not as solid as I normally make them.  I learned through the forum that they like to have one really fun square to put in each blanket, so one lacy square won't make a difference in the warmth.  I''m crocheting several more in my favorite pattern (the one I used on previous photo).  I will probably do a couple more in my "blueberry" motif ;o).  By the way, if you knit or crochet, there are several pretty squares (with free patterns) on the site where I found this pattern:  http://dayna.tdgservices.com/Patterns.aspx.

Some of you may be wondering, if you don't knit or crochet, how you can help.  If you go to the KAS website, you can donate any amount or pledge any amount that you might feel comfortable with;  http://www.knit-a-square.com/knit-a-square-donate.html.  Even $5.00 a month can make a huge difference in a child's life!

In addition, I discovered that they are in constant need of socks!  So I'm planning to add some socks to my packages every month!  Would you like to help me with that?  You could send socks to me to add to my packages, which would be much cheaper than you mailing them to South Africa.  I will then cover the postage of getting them there.  The other option, of course, is that you can mail socks directly to KAS and they will be more than happy to put them to good use!!  Postal instructions are here:  http://www.knit-a-square.com/postal.html

So please, take the time to check out this organization and think about some small way you might help!  http://www.knit-a-square.com/

Lastly, I would ask that you keep all the wonderful volunteers who give so much of themselves and all of the children that are cold, hurting, hungry and/or orphaned in your prayers!

In love and fellowship,

~Mary Anne