Mother Me

The bears are following me.

A few months ago, I saw a listing for The Mother Bear Project on the Lion Brand Yarn site. It's an awesome initiative. Crafters around the country knit or crochet a bear, using a standard pattern which is provided for a $5 fee. All the bears are then sent to Minnesota from which they are distributed to children around the world who have been affected by the AIDS crisis. This is a totally not-for-profit organization running off the energy of some very awesome volunteers who want to ease the pain of a population of the world most people want to forget exists.

At the time, I thought long and hard about ordering the pattern but I was busy on other projects so I let it slide. It didn't slide.

A couple of weeks ago my friend sent me the link for the same project. She is in the process of adopting HIV+ children from Africa and has started a great blog about HIV+ adoption. Positively Adopted So off I went to check out the Mother Bear Project website again. After gazing at all those gorgeous brown faces--and the kids are cute too-- I could not resist. I ordered the pattern which arrived two days later.


Okay, I am terrible about following patterns. It's not that I can't follow a pattern. I can read them. I just don't like to follow other's directions. I made my first bear exactly as described but my soul cried the entire time. I noticed that, at least the way I crochet, the bear was structurally weak--i.e. I'm not sure those seams are going to last for the long haul. Therefore, I altered the pattern to crochet it entirely in the round--sort of an amigurumi feel. There's no side seams--which I think looks better and will last longer. That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking with it. (Not that I couldn't stand not to mess with the pattern because I HAVE to mess with patterns--nope, nope, nope.)

My pattern alteration did result in a slightly shorter, fatter bear. Okay, the thin tall bear just looks wrong to me. But it's basically the same and I think the Mother Bear Project will be okay with it. Please Mother Bear Project be okay with it because I am emotionally incapable of making a bear according to the originally pattern but children need bears and this one looks really close to the original pattern.

If you are so inclined, check out the site, order the pattern and get working. Knit or crochet--your choice. You're going to make some kids Beary Happy. :-D