Friday, March 27, 2009

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

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Red is the New Black


The theme for this week's Illustration Friday is Subtraction. Illustrators can interpret that any way they want in their submitted work.

I call this Subtracting Greed. :-D

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Show Me the Love


In a grey, dark world I love to find splashes of colour. You too? Here are some of my discoveries:

the world "tickle". Just say the word tickle and you're a happier person. Add the colour pink and things look down right rosy.

the ASL sign for
Windy
This should be done with a great deal of enthusiasm, particularly on blustery March days.

the smell of chocolate cake cooking...once again proving brown is indeed beautiful.

And then there's The Toy Society Make a toy--something cute, something that makes you smile. Put it in a plastic bag, add a note, take a picture and then go someplace public and leave it. Yes, leave it. And someone will come along and read the note which says "Free to a Good Home" and will go home with a brand new friend positively free. Their world will be awash in beautiful, happy colours--cause there are still cool, caring, nice people in the world who just want others to be happy--no strings attached.

And that tickles me pink on a windy day.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

It's Only Been Five Months

one totally turkey Thanksgiving, one extra long and stressful surgery, five million Christmas toys, six hundred colds, bronchitis and a diagnosis of asthma since I last posted. Gee, time flies when you're having life.

Update on daughter four: Stinkerbelle. She had her palate repaired in early December. Let's just say it wasn't fun for any of us and leave it at that. Least said, soonest forgotten--as if that nightmare will ever fade. Now, she has been officially diagnosed with asthma. We like to keep things interesting.

T-Rex is much, much less the dinosaur these days. She still is a meat eater--no veggies need fear for their life on her account. But her attachment disorder is much better. Three cheers for therapy!

Sparkles, our profoundly deaf daughter, is seven! and continues to be the life of the party. And Number One Daughter will be eight tomorrow. Wowzer. Life is just whizzing by....

Which brings me to my next post which will be all about the neato creative stuff I've been doing as a softie maker. I've even started doing a little illustration again.

So, I'm going to try really hard not to leave it so long between posts--not to have any of my daughters have any other surgery, not to allow any further illness to darken our doors and never ever again to allow my girls' uncle to give them a drum for Christmas!