I will be donating to Louisiana, my home state and, in fact, mailed my pledge off this morning. The address to which to send the 6" x 54-60" scarves made in the 512 Turqua and 886 Blue Red Heart Super Saver yarn to Louisiana project is:
Special Olympics Louisiana
Attn: Scarf Project
1000 East Morris Avenue
Hammond, LA 70403
You can buy yarn many places. I happened across the link at Amazon for a 3 pack for $10.77. I paid 2.23 per skein at Walmart a few weeks ago, but I've read various pricing from others. With so many people wanting it, and a deadline, I think folks are grabbing them wherever they can find 'em.
Red Heart Super Saver Yarn Turqua E300-512, 3 Item(s)/Order
Red Heart Super Saver Yarn Blue E300-886, 3 Item(s)/Order
Requirements in brief: put nothing but the scarf in individual plastic bag and throw a card in the box with your personal info.
I'm quoting from the Louisiana list, so check the list from your state. I think the basic requirements are the same across the board, but better safe than sorry.
Complete list per the web site:
* Please place each scarf in an individual Ziploc bag for sanitary reasons. (I found a gallon ziploc bag to work perfectly)
* Multiple scarves may then be shipped in the same box.
* Please send via UPS, FedEx or United States Postal Service (USPS) to the address specified above.
* Please include one 3x5 card with your name and mailing address clearly legible. (I only had 4 x 6 cards, so I cut one to that size)
* You may also include your email address if you would like to receive updates via email.
* You are welcome to include a note of well wishes in the box with your scarf. However, due to privacy regulations, please do not include any contact information on the note and do not enclose inside the Ziploc bag with your scarf. For efficiency in receiving, please do not enclose the note in the Ziploc bag with the scarf, but place it separate in the box.
There's a place at the bottom to make a pledge of how many you're sending. I am sure this is so that they can judge when they have enough. They will post the numbers somewhere so if your state has gotten all they need, you can move on to someone else who is still in need. If it works out, everyone gets what they need, but not an overabundance. Of course, there will likely be some overlapping. Some will pledge but not send. Some will send but not pledge, and the mail and the pledging may not allow numbers to be perfect, but it's better than needing 1000 and getting 10,000. It's better for them and better for you. You'll be able to send items where they are needed and know they will be used for the purpose for which they are being sent.
There are patterns available here if you want to work with those, but you are free to choose any pattern that gets you to the required size. There are many books and leaflets featuring scarves and many online as well. Here are a few available from Amazon. I don't have any of these, so I can't give you specifics on them. Just remember to adjust for the right size.
Wrapped in Crochet: Scarves, Wraps, & Shawls
Hooked Scarves: 20 Easy Crochet Projects
Just Scarves: Favorite Patterns to Knit and Crochet
Easy Crochet: Scarves (Easy Crochet)
Storey Publishing: Crochet Scarves! 15 Hip Projects
Crochet Hats, Mittens & Scarves
Knit & Crochet Scarves with Attitude
All that said, Louisiana participates in the basketball and bowling sports. Both are indoor sports. The deadline is March 4. Louisiana has very mild winters and March is on the cusp of our summer temps, so no need to make these very thick. I sent what I'd made because I never received an answer on the Louisiana FB as to if they were participating so I focused on cold figuring scarves are generally used in cold weather. If I were to make more I would use a more open weave pattern like v-stitch perhaps. I'd have to get more yarn though and from what I read it is not that easy to find. I'll try to keep track of their quota and if it looks like they're running short, I'll make more of an effort. Doesn't take more than a few days to make a scarf even working leisurely.
Here are the scarves I sent out this morning.
I'm thinking now that I should have held back the double strand for another effort, but they've been sitting around here for a couple weeks and I was ready to get them out and didn't stop to think. A few days ago, I shipped the scarves that didn't meet the size specs to different charity efforts, so the yarn really got a workout. :-)
In addition to the Special Olympics project, I'm working on a second lapghan for the Alzheimer research center, using the above colors. I feel a tad guilty using the yarn for something other than Special Olympics with people scrambling to find it, but I like the colors together and I did buy the yarn. I'm adapting the Restful Rainbow afghan pattern in size. If you use 75 rows rather than 103, I think it works out perfectly. The pattern is from Mile-A-Minute Afghans (Leisure Arts #108200) (Crochet Treasury Series)
Those lapghans (about 40" with worsted weight acrylic yarn) can be mailed to
Jeffree Itrich
Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study
University of California San Diego
8950 Villa La Jolla Dr, Ste C-227
La Jolla, CA 92037-1712
I think that's all for now. Keep those hooks moving!
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