Knitting and Sewing For AIDS orphans

I felt a change coming before the beginning of the year, don't know how, I just feel things sometimes, I knew something good, something inspiring would enter my life, and it did.

So....... I have been knitting again.

This time for some very special little people.

I discovered, and have bonded with a very special knitting for charity organization. A family run , grass roots organization that has done so much incredible work in the short 2 1/2 years since the family started.

Knit-a-square or KAScare is a way for me to give back and be creative at the same time. I am knitting to keep children warm, children that live in extreme poverty, in Southern Africa, and have lost their mother's to AIDS, yes they are orphaned, and many abandoned with no one to care for them. It is estimated that there are 500 new orphans a DAY in S.Africa, can you imagine?

Many of them have HIV/AIDS themselves and these sick children need warmth even more to keep their immune systems healthier.

Here is what I have knitted so far, 5 hats and 2 squares. Knit-a-square collects 8"/20cm knitted or crochet squares. Knitter's send them directly to one of the co-founders in S.Africa and volunteers help her sort everything, then they are sent to another group of volunteers in Soweto where they are sewn into blankets.

I have published a page for them, The Knit a Square project for AIDS orphans

I would love you to come read about them and see some smiling faces of the children who have received blankets, and if you are interested find out other ways you can help if you do not knit or crochet.

What I love about this charity is you get to see the kids they distribute blankets to, they take lot's of photos and these kids are so grateful for the love. They now plan on giving each child a hat and a sweater too. The nights can go down to 0 degrees in the winter and most of them sleep on floors without heat, even the babies.

My shoulder has been sore from the knitting so I decided to make these dollies... ohhhh what fun they are and so easy.

These children really need something to cuddle and maybe they can even talk to them and tell their troubles to them :) Look how cute they are, although I could use some practise painting the faces, and I have just realized I forgot to give them rosy cheeks.

This free pattern is from Dolly Donations and so easy to make with scraps of fabric. I was lucky enough to have just enough brown in my stash to make these little darlings. The pattern comes in a boy's design too which I will try next.

Thank you to Sarah for the pattern and running such a sweet blog.

You can see more donated dollies on Sarah's blog, where recently a shipment went off to some very needy children in Haiti.

Take care, and hope to see you soon,

Lynn