31 March

I received five HUGE parcels today, over 100 squares I would say.

This morning I had a phone call from my SIL asking if her son could stay at our place tonight. He's been down our way attending a bull sale in Foster and needs a bed before heading back to Wagga Wagga in the morning. I was horrified, thinking of the state of the spare room but I have managed to move all the squares into boxes. I had to do it anyway before the weekend because my grandies will be having their first sleepover at Nana and Pops.

I wish I hadn’t done it though, there seems to be SO many more squares now that they are in boxes instead of in piles all over the bed :). Thank goodness I have a few helpers reading to pitch in and help,

Donated Blankets

Well the last couple of weeks have been hectic. Squares and blankets have been coming in thick and fast from all over Australia as well as Canada, the US and New Zealand.

Last weekend I went for a few days R&R at Lakes Entrance and managed to pick up a couple of shopping bags of squares which wasn't bad as Karen had already dropped in two HUGE boxes to me during the week. Then on Friday two big boxes from Dot and Elaine arrive full of blankets and squares. The second picture on this post are the completed blankets they sent, just stunning. The other photos are of the other completed blankets, toys and clothes I've been sent.I've recently discovered the tunisian form of crochet which is by far the neatest way of joining the squares albiet not the easiest. It makes the join look good on both sides so there isn't really a 'right' or 'wrong' side.

Last Friday was my 47th birthday so the two boxes from Tassie were almost like receiving another birthday present. I went out for breakfast with the girls from work and ate a HUGE plate of bacon and eggs. Then my daughter and grandchildren took me out for lunch where Ethan and I shared a plate of fish, chips and salad because I was still full from breakfast. Poor hubby was a bit disappointed that I didn't want to out for dinner that night!

Wednesday 18th March

Well I've had it. I worked from 8am until 6.15pm without so much as a ten minute break because my work colleague had a well deserved break in Queensland. Lucky her.

Yesterday was a great day because I was contacted by Dysons Transport and they are more than happy to transport Bec's huge collection of blankets from Canberra down here. Their depot is only 120km from here so that is much easier to collect than having to go to Bec's. And they're doing it for FREE. Wow! I was thrilled. I'd put out a plea in my radio chat on the ABC on Monday morning and we got a great result. Courier companies had rejected our requests as had another well known busline so this is very generous of Dysons who are only a small outfit by comparison. If I ever travel interstate now by bus I'll be making sure it's a Dysons.

ATTENTION GIPPSLAND KNITTERS

Cartridge World in Traralgon, Moe and Warragul have agreed to be drop off points for any blankets or squares so if you'd prefer to drop them off there and save on postage they are willing to collect them for us.

For those in East Gippsland Stitches and Things on the Esplanade in Lakes Entrance will do the same. They are also doing a wool drive so if you have spare wool please drop it in, or if you knit but don't have any please collect some of the donated wool for free to knit for this project.

Thank you to both these businesses for their support.

Sunday 15th March

Well today was very productive. We had our Gippsland Stitch & Bitch at my house today and achieved lots. Don't ask which one is me in the photo, I was the photographer so you can't see me. We all had a great time, especially trying to work out which squares to put with which others. Everyone took some home with them so at this rate we should get a few knocked together before our next meeting in April.

Thanks ladies, it was heaps of fun and great to meet so many new people.

Saturday 14th March

Well what a surprise. I got home from work last night and found two HUGE boxes of squares left for me by Stitches & Things in Lakes Entrance, knitted and donated by the lovely ladies in that area. Karen is still willing to take squares so please anyone in that area please support this cause and support Stitches and Things which has been a real support.



Tomorrow I'm having a Stitch & Bitch at my house so hopefully we'll do more knitting than talking this time. The stockpile is HUGE so there is a lot to be done.

Library Archives

We have been contacted by the State Library of Victoria and I have posted their message below. Bec and I think it's a great idea and I have given my permission for them to use this blog. If you have posted a comment that you do not want released to the library please either delete it yourself or ask either Bec or I to do it and it will be immediately.

It's really nice that they think this is important enough to be saved for history.

Dawn

The State Library of Victoria (in partnership with the National Library of Australia) aims to build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications to ensure that Australians have access to their documentary heritage now and in the future. The Library has traditionally collected items in print, but it is also committed to preserving electronic publications of lasting cultural value. We are currently seeking material relevant to the recent Victorian bushfires and feel that your site would make a valuable addition to our collection. PANDORA, Australia’s Web Archive, was set up by the Library in 1996 to enable the archiving and provision of long-term access to online Australian publications. Since then we have been identifying online publications and archiving those that we consider have national significance. Additional information about PANDORA can be found on the Library's server at: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/index.html We would like to include Blankets of Friendship in the PANDORA Archive and I would be grateful if you would let me know whether you are willing to permit us to do so, that is, grant us a licence under the Copyright Act 1968, to copy your publication into the Archive and to provide public online access to it via the Internet. This means that you would grant the Library permission to retain your publication in the Archive and to provide public access to it in perpetuity. We assume that in granting permission all contributors to your publication are informed and in agreement that their work will be archived by the National Library.

ATTENTION HOBART KNITTERS

I have been contacted by a lady in Hobart who has managed to find a way to have a load of blankets and squares freighted to me for free from Hobart. She is willing to collect your donations and be a contact person for me there. If you are interested please email me and I shall pass on her details.

Sunday 8th March

Well I've spent the whole day cleaning and gardening. I'm not exhausted but happy that everything is back the way it's meant to be.

Tomorrow we're off to the Jazz Festival at Inverloch for the day which I'm looking forward to. It's always lovely to picnic in the park and listen to the jazz bands.

The piles of blankets and blanket squares are steadily growing. Here's the first two I've actually put together, the rest have been sent to me completed.

We're still trying to find a courier company willing to bring a couple of loads from Canberra and Hobart so if anyone knows a company willing to help I'd love to hear from you.

Monday 2nd March 2009

Well I've just had a few days R&R in Wagga Wagga and feel much better for it. My sister-in-law and her family held their annual hereford stud bull sale which went very well. I was tempted to crochet squares together while I watched the sale but thought better of it when I saw all the dust flying around.

My collection of squares and completed blankets is slowly growing which I'm pleased to see. I shall post a couple of photos for you to see what I have so far. My sister in law even found some squares she knitted as part of a school project 45 years ago that she has kept all this time! She must have known they would come in handy some time. In addition to this I have had quite a lot of wool and acrylic donated to the cause, including two large garbage bags full from Centrelink in Morwell so thank you to those ladies. And one lady in Lakes Entrance also gave me about 20 pairs of socks.

This morning was spent raking all the leaves from our lawns and gardens in preparation for tomorrows horrid weather. Let's hope that no more fires start and that the gallant firies manage to keep the current ones under control.