Finch Students

What an exciting year this has been teaching 5th grade students at Finch Elementary how to knit!  This is the second year Yarns of Hope members volunteered their time teaching during the students' recess break throughout the school year.  Organized by Becca Masters, she helped schedule time between the class as well as volunteers.  There were several consistent students who took up the craft and stayed all year learnng how to make squares.

This year, there was a specific goal in mind when teaching the students how to knit: how to give of their time and talents.  Many of the students at Finch Elementary are low-income families.  They are used to receiving meals, rides, clothes, etc.  Yarns of Hope wanted these students to know what it feels like to not only receive but to give in return.  While the students learned how a new talent in the hopes of carrying this throughout their life, squares were made and then joined to make a group blanket.


 


This blanket was then decided by the "designers" who to give this to. The class wanted to give this to one of their teachers who is pregnant.

The blanket was well-received and the students loved contributing to this project!

Yarns of Hope would love to teach a new batch of 5th graders next year, but we need your help!  Volunteering for an hour a week is needed from 4-5 knitters/crocheters to help give more one-on-one training and speed up the tutoring process.  Please consider donating your time in the fall and see young future crafters learn what we ourselves have become so passionate about.

Many thanks, Becca for organizing this year!  This program has certainly made an impact for years to come!

Field Trip to Fiber Circle

The Tuesday morning YOH ladies had a fun treat in store last week. We went on a field trip to Farmersville to visit Diane at Fiber Circle! In addition to the opportunity of petting and stocking up on some great yarns, Diane had a craft for everyone to make; rosettes! With a little novelty netting yarn and a crochet hook, these cute little floral decorations were quick to stitch. Wear them on a lapel, with a headband, or even make a scarf or table runner with these floral motifs; there's no limit to the creativity!

We certainly hope to have the opportunity to make another trip to Fiber Circle soon!

Grandmother Congratulations!

Congratulations to Cindy Gramley on the birth of her grand-daughter, Ella Rose.  She was born on October 8th at 7lbs., 5 oz. and 22" long. Mom and baby are doing great!

Cindy's quote: "I am having so much fun with this new baby!!"

We're looking forward to seeing more pictures and lots of crochet garments to adorn this precious child!

Nepal Trip

Below is an update on our very own Susan Horn's mission trip to Nepal from her traveling partner, Dawn Didi. By the looks of it, Susan has quite a trip in store for her. Make sure to keep her and Dawn in your prayers. Also, if you are planning on helping out with any of the supplies that were included in the weekly update, note that this upcoming Tuesday is the last day to bring them before she leaves.  Also, the zippered sweater hoodie request has been filled. 


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I cannot believe it! Only 6 days and I am again on a flight to Nepal, Lord Willing! I cannot tell you where the time went!

It has flown by with wings of its own... and now I find solid wings... on Alaska Airlines to LAX where I meet up with my friend Susan and we join together to share the rest of the trip and the month on the adventure of a lifetime.  All my trips are, aren't they?

Pray for us... we fly Korean Air to Seoul, Korea and after a 3 hour layover on to Kathmandu. I think it is a total of 21 hours in the air! We need safety and wide seats? and room to stretch out??!!!??? We lose a whole day somewhere over the ocean so arrive in K-du on 10/20/11 a little after noon. Pray we will quickly get over any jetlag.

We will spend 3-4 days in K-du while I pretend Susan is my TEAM and introduce her to Nepal: a few tourist attractions, our Orphanage, our Women's Beading Enterprise (the women whose day jobs are making bricks in a brick factory... many of you have a piece of their great jewelry to remember to pray for them by!) and the markets where I will stock up on supplies to take out west. (We are role playing as if we have a whole team along to do a pilot run of where to go/ stay and visit! her response will be very helpful in determining the events of next trip... Team Nepal excursion!)

I will be exposing her to local transportation and the looooong bus ride way out west. OH YEAY! We hope to then visit the leprosy colony and evaluate how they are faring. We have been told they need toilets built so we will assess the feasibility of our team in March installing such in this village as well as a Tharu village in the Terrai (plains area.) Then up the last 5 hours of danger into the hills to the 4th range of the Himalayas 2nd ridge on the right the little village/ suburb of Dadeldhura called Thufendana. We will spend most of the rest of the month there arranging legal/ practical details for the new facility.

We are so close! We have raised $8,500.00 of the $10,000 we need to begin construction of phase 1 of the building!

This will be a new home for 2 paraplegic girls who have been literally "broken" for the last 13-20 years. They fell out of trees cutting foliage for their cows/ buffalos that many years ago and currently live in a rat infested dungeon with a leaky roof and corroded cement floor. They deserve better!  Many thanks to those of you who have contributed to their new facility!

Do you realize that if the rest of us could each contribute our cup of Starbucks change just for this one week we would have the remainder needed to pull this off for them! You would be making a significant difference in their lives for the rest of their lives and may be even in the lives of others for eternity!

Phase 2 of this building will be a skill training center for women and a DIY library (the first of its kind in Nepal) enabling poor women to begin microenterprises! We will need an additional $15,000 for that. Phase 3 would be another level up and be a guest house for teams to stay that come to help out! Pray you will one day be on one of these teams! Our next one will be for the entire month of March 2012 if the Lord wills! You could be on it! Wouldn't that be exciting!

We will be frequenting the new bakery/coffee shop (Manna Bakery) regularly if not daily!!! I hear from many, that God is blessing the whole community through it! What fun!

Around Nov 18th we will travel back to K-du. We will spring for the $150 flight from Dhangadi to K-du so she can experience that. She wants to do the Flight by Mount Everest on her own so pray for safety for that for her!

Susan and I will be back in our respective Dallas and Seattle homes just in time for Thanksgiving (Nov 22nd) so this will be a marathon trip!

Additional prayer requests:

• Our health... we are spring chickens but need strong immune systems and no aversions to a steady diet of rice, curried vegetables and lentils.
• The Divine contacts the Lord will give us... that we will recognize them and be faithful to show His love and grace in any language!
• Protection: the dangers are innumerable... His angels... about 10,000 strong.
• That all the transitions will go smoothly... with landlords, widows, lawyers, contractors, supply sources, excavators etc.
• Existing ministries to flourish: The above mentioned and the radio broadcasts (we need $300/month to continue those) the homeless dal/bhat (soup) kitchen, our widows care ministry both that operate on the QT and keep a low but effective profile. I think there are 8 in all.
• That we will bear much fruit and be faithful to our calling and Glorify Him in all we do.

If you are getting this... you will get my updates as internet is available!

Thanks for praying and supporting us! You are truly our backbone!

Love Ya,

Dawn Didi

Our State Fair Is A Great State Fair

The 126^th Texas State Fair is already under way and the D/FW metroplex is alive this weekend with football fans (Texas/OU game anyone), livestock and obscure fried foods (Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack and Fried Bubblegum were the winners.)  Of course, you should not leave the fair without having the ultimate fair-going food:  The Fletchers Corny Dog.

Aside from the food, seeing a gentle giant, the myriad of events, exhibits and shows that can overwhelm the senses, the most important exhibit space to visit is the Creative Arts building (of course, we are a bit biased seeing how we are a stitching group but all the more reason to support the arts!)  Iridescent and textured jams and jellies shelved proudly, delicate hand-crafted dolls encased in glass, the saturation of color on canvas and the ever-blending grey tones on a black and white photograph adorn shelves and walls for passer-bys to ooh and ahh.

In addition to these crafts, this category is the primary entry us stitchers flock to see:  Needlecraft.  If there isn’t enough inspiration throughout the year at local yarn and fabric shops, online patterns and other stitchers projects, this is the crème de la crème of talent in the state.   This is what many dream of one day accomplishing; to have a project worthy of hanging at the fair.  This is the time when stitchers look at a project and say to themselves “I could do better than that!”, “What were the judges thinking?!?” or even an agreed “That piece deserved to win.”  Whatever thoughts that do transpire, attending the fair creates a sense of comrade between stitchers by encouraging all to go back home and try a new technique - even a new craft altogether.  No matter who has been pinned and who was left behind, we all know that even though our crafts are time-intensive and a labor of love, we knit, crochet, quilt and stitch because this is our peace; this is what makes us happy and in turn, others as well.

I encourage all of you to try to attend the State Fair this year and view all the wonderful crafts that are in the Creative Arts building.  Be sure to be on the lookout for ribboned items from our own crafters Kelli Phelan (cross-stitch) and Jennifer Stover (knitting.)

To find out more information about the State Fair visit HERE.

For additional entrance discounts during the week visit HERE.

The fair ends October 23rd so don't miss it; don't even be late!

See y’all at the fair!

Frogs

Here's a great photo of one of our members, Barbara, showcasing the rice-sack frogs that she has made!  What a colorful selection and so much fun to do!