Ravelry advertisers to patronize

As a way to support my fave social network for knitting, I hope to buy some stuff someday from these Ravelry advertisers :-) my priority is those selling organic cotton yarn.

1. KnitPicks--already bought some yarn from them before. Maybe will buy some needles here, especially those I'll need for knitting hats (circulars and DPNs).

2. ArtFibers--hmmm, they have organic Egyptian cotton, ecologically dyed. They also have nice-looking linen yarn.

3. Lantern Moon--Known for their handcrafted knitting needles. I also badly need stitch markers. I can buy them via Paradise Fibers, which also sell linen yarn on cones. Or maybe over at Verra Yarns.

4. Yarn Mountain--carries lovely handpainted linen yarn by Claudia.

5. Verra Yarns--sells interesting organic and socially conscious yarn from the Mirasol project. I dunno though when I'll have to buy wool yarn again, since I'm currently destashing for my current charity knitting projects. Fortunately Mirasol also has organic cotton yarn.This online store also sells fair trade organic yarn, Rowan Purelife. Here's another online source for Mirasol yarns.

6. Yarn Market--sells Himalayan Aloo yarn as well as Louet Euroflax yarn, etc.

7. Fiber Organics--also sells Mirasol Sampa yarns, based in California.

Charity knitting plans for 2012 (Updated)

Currently I'm just knitting wool squares for KAS, but I also want to knit hats for charity. I'm going for an international flavor this year, destashing my wool and acrylic for these projects.

1. Knit-A-Square (KAS)--South African AIDS orphans

2. Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project (EEROP)--handmade items for poor orphans in cold climates in Europe

3. Hearts for Warmth--for the US. I like this since collection point is in Connecticut, where my older sister also lives. Just a matter of finding someone going to her in CT.

4.  Stitches from the Heart--donates handmade items for premature babies to over 1,200 hospitals/charities in the US, with office based in LA.

Also forgot my plans to knit handcloths/face towels and sell them, to raise funds for charity. I'll be using the expensive but earth-friendly Qoperfina yarn from Peru, if ever I get to fulfill my wish list this year. In the meantime, I'm stuck with using up my current stash of cotton, cotton blend, tencel, hemp, and linen yarns.

Updated Feb. 17, 2012

Added two more charity undertakings

5. Hearts of Love--makes chemo caps for cancer warriors. Challenge for 2012 is to knit one chemo cap a month. So now I'm back to using tencel yarn and knitting one chemo cap a month. Will give it for free to whoever needs it :-)

6. Afghans for Afghans--I donated to them before, when my sis Marie returned to SF after a visit here in the Philippines.


Updated Feb. 19, 2012

Added two groups that accept squares
7. Afghans for Pine Ridge Reservation--for Native Americans in South Dakota
8. Love-squared--Creating afghans for America's homeless children one square at a time

Busy dreaming at

As DreamingKnitter

Ravelry.com isn't public yet...but I love it so much!

Now, if only I can figure out how to add this darned badge to my blogger page... I'd love it even more!

The Year of My Stash

At first, it was pretty overwhelming trying out the wonderful features of Ravelry, which is THE social network for knitters and crocheters.

The very first feature I tried out was My Notebook, which lets me record my knitting projects, yarn stash and other knitting supplies, etc. It's a cool feature because the site links you to other members who have the same yarn or pattern.. well, so far that's what I know. Plus it can automatically add up the yardage of one's yarn stash, e.g. if you have 3 balls of a yarn that's 120 yards long per ball, the total of 360 yards shows up, making it easy to calculate if one has enough yarn or not.

Anyway, I felt like I was just invited to a fabulous buffet with lots to offer. I've only dipped into it, barely. I've been so busy with my non-knitting but equally essential parts of my life, so haven't had time to go deeper into Ravelry, although today I signed up for two groups.

My Ravelry membership came at the right time for me, since it will help me with my own Year of the Stash aims.

All I want this year is to use up my current yarn stash by knitting more hats, scarves and squares. Well, maybe some hand towels too... I also owe someone special a blanket :-)

I won't add to my yarn stash unless I use up around 30%, and only when I know there's someone coming in from the US to bring the stuff to me. Besides, I have enough yarn to keep me busy for about two to three years. I could probably wait until 2009, when my siblings come over from the US for my mom's 80th birthday.

Aside from using up my stash, I'd also like to organize them and store them properly.