Red Scarf Project

In Memory of Dong Lin (Peter)

2005-11-22T23:12:00.000-05:00

Dong Lin made my heart sing.

Knit Unto Others and Call for Suggestions

2005-11-20T09:52:00.000-05:00

I'm knitting like a knitting maniac so that I can complete as many items as possible during these 2 weeks of the Knit Unto Others knitalong. Join in -- see the cool button in my sidebar!

Hope is a fellow knitter and she emailed with a very good point and question, "Do you know what materials would be best for making warm things for the kids? I have noticed in the past many people who collect for institutions don't want things made from pure wool or anything difficult to wash." My response: I'll pose this question to other knitters. :-) So send in your suggestions! I will also research on some charity knitting sites and let you know what I find. I am currently using Lion's Wool-ease, which is combines wool for warmth and acrylic for washability. I will also double-strand with Lion's Homespun. I bought one of the red scarves that was double-knitted with it and boy is it warm and soft!

URGENT Need for Knitted Items for Children in Shunyi and Shan Xi

2005-11-15T00:58:00.000-05:00

Hello! from the estranged RSP knitter (um, that's me, Lisa Miller).

I received an email from an RSP friend in Beijing. She has an urgent request for winter items for children. Please read her message below. Please mail items to me and I will get them to Amy ASAP! My address: 1205 E. 35th St., Charlotte, NC 28205.

Amy's message:

"I volunteer every week at the China Care Children's home in Shunyi, which is close to the Hope Foster home. China Care has in Shunyi, about 30 babies to toddlers and now some school aged kids. When I was there last week the Chinese office manager and I were talking about the school aged kids and shetold me the new 4 year old deaf boy had finally been placed in a school. I thought it was great, howevershe then told me he might not could go any longer asit is starting to get cold here and his school has noheat and he has no warm clothes. So I came home andbegged all my Western neighbours for clothes and Iwent to the market and bought him a coat and then Iknit a hat and scarf. I went back with all the stuffand the same Chinese lady says great, we also have 87school aged kids with the same problem in foster homesin Shan Xi. I knit a lot, but I don't think I canknit for 87 kids!Should you happen to belong to a knitting group andyou all are searching for a project...this could be one! I even have an FPO address which means no international postage fees. If you don't belong to such a group, could you give me any pointers on how toget the word out? Thanks so much, Amy in getting colder by the day Beijing"

and this is her next email:
"Hats, scarves, maybe mittens, even sweaters and vestsfor the kids would be very much appreciated. I sawsome of the toddlers going outside today at the homeand the hat bag was only full of summer caps. Betterthan nothing I guess, but I need to knit up a few. Babies through school aged. And I guess I should add there of course more kidsthan the ones in Shunyi and Shan Xi, China Care haschildren's homes in Batou, Inner Mongolia and Tiuanyi. As well as various other support type projects, Iknow all the other foster home/children's homes in thearea also support other programs through China.Too many kids to keep warm!"

Let's Get Going

2005-10-05T10:23:00.000-04:00

I will start this post with a warning -- I was very sad when I wrote part of this entry. Earlier this week, I read an update on Hope Foster Home's website (www.hopefosterhome.com) and wrote to my friend, the nurse volunteer that I spent a few weeks with this summer. She is an amazing woman who has been volunteering in China for the past 11 years. She and her husband will be moving to Jiaozuo in about a year to run the Special Care Unit (aka Palliative Care Unit -PCU) for HFH and hopefully help develop another one like it in Luoyang. They are heading over to China next week for a 3 week visit. What follows is my email to Lyn and then a summary of her reply.

My message: It is with sadness that I am writing to you. I just read HFH's latest newsletter and I am quite upset. I guess I just need to express a few things to someone who can relate -- you've been in my place many, many times. I hope I don't get you down.
The first heartbreaking part of the newsletter for me was reading that Lucy Fu Zhi Wen died. She was a little girl (5 weeks old) who came in during my last weeks in August. She was such a sweet little thing, she was quiet and smiled softly. It is comforting to know that she was in the PCU during her last month, that she was cared for, cuddled, and loved. But it's so difficult knowing that she was a baby that may not have died in other circumstances. I wanted to take her home with me.
The next part that was very distressing for me was the PCU update. Peter and Amanda (I wanted to take them home with me too) were sent back to the orphanage to make room for sicker babies. The possibility had been raised of sending a couple of the healthier babes back to the orphanage, but I didn't think it would actually happen. Apparently it came to that and now Peter and Amanda are regressing rapidly. My heart broke when I read that. I feel so helpless. What can I do? There must be something. Send money? Adopt more children? Go back to China? And then I get overwhelmed thinking about the vastness of the situation. So many children. I am so concerned about these just because I had a chance to know them. There are thousands of others whom I'm sure I would be attached to if I'd met them. Amanda and Peter were fortunate to spend months in PCU and regain their strength to a point of relative healthiness. But will they eventually be back at PCU due to neglect and declining health? Would they have been better off never to know that such a clean, caring, comfortable world exists? Would they be eligible for HFH's new long-term unit if it was up and running? If they were at one time, will they be again?
I must say there were many uplifting notes in the newsletter. It is encouraging to hear about life-saving surgeries, life-changing cleft repairs, Fu Si Yu (another infant who came in during my last weeks in August) being healthy and moving to HFH Beijing, and comforting of babies during their last hours. There is a lot of amazing work being done for these babies, but it still hurts so much to think about individual babies (and the thousands of babies like them) who don't have such positive outcomes. It helps to know that even when things don't go perfectly, there is someone there to care and help (e.g., David rushed back to Singapore).
Thank you for listening. I thank you for going back to China. People like you give me hope.

My friend replied with words of comfort. That's not to say that this is easy for her; I'm sure she has gone through many ups and downs through the years of helping these children. Although she is aware that Amanda and Peter will regress a bit, she is optimistic because there is another team going to the orphanage and maybe 2 full time workers from an assistance team type organization. She will check on Amanda and Peter during her 3 week visit. She also imagines Peter will be a candidate for HFH's long-term unit as soon as it is completed.

So why am I sharing all of this in the RSP blog? I want all of the RSP supporters to know what's going on. Although as I said in my email I am overwhelmed by the vastness of the situation, I will continue contributing via the RSP. I got a message from Abby, a RSP reader, asking if the RSP is continuing. I've decided that since the market for red scarves is pretty much saturated around here, I think I will move online to eBay charity auctions and send 100% of sales to Love Without Boundaries (LWB) , which is partnering with Hope Foster Home to build a new special care unit (http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/hopefosterhome.cfm).

I'm still in the brainstorming phase so I'm not sure of the logistics. Next week, I will bring out the remaining RSP inventory and start posting the items under charity auctions for LWB. One idea that I have is to cut myself out as a middleman -- maybe some knitters and crocheters who are eBay savvy will post their own items and ship them directly to the buyer. I am definitely open to ideas.

The way I see it, there is one more thing I can do -- help educate about the precious children's need for forever families. With that said, I will direct you to a video clip I saw on a couple's adoption announcement page. It's a short video that has an uplifting message about Chinese children joining their forever families. Check it out at http://www.bringmehope.org/index.html. I will ask Jacob and the BMH organization if there is a way to embed the clip on this page.

Thank you for reading!
Lisa

Red Scarf Project Revisited . . .

2005-09-11T11:44:00.000-04:00

Hello RSP supporters!

I am back and finally will get off my previously jet-lagged butt to update my site. Thanks to Princess Knits and Eboni in a Pear Tree, I will get started. I had a beautiful scarf from Princess awaiting me upon my return from China, and I received a lovely scarf from Eboni last week.

Revisit soon -- I will be back to give details about my adventure. Slideshow anyone?

Thank you to every single one of you!

Lisa

Journey's End, Journey Begins

2005-06-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for China. All the arrangements with the Hope Foster Home are made, my bags are packed, zero flight and all that. Thanks to everyone who either knitted or purchased or both, we donated $6,000 to the home, possibly with more to come. To call this project a success would be an understatement.

This site will go dorment for a while. The Red Scarf Project itself has been winding down for some time now, but this will be the last update this site at least until fall. In the meantime, hubby will be posting news about me on his blog at www.lisaandjacob.com.

Thanks again to everyone!

Red Scarf Spring Inventory

2005-04-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

Wow -- I just did an updated inventory, and boy howdy have we moved some scarves. We're down to the 10 pictured below plus a handful of new arrivals that I'll post this weekend. (And did I mention contributions are now closing in on $5,000?)

Oh, OK, fine -- I'll update the site now. (I don't know why Jacob likes bugging me about stuff like this.) These are some amazing new contributions, all of which are looking for a good home.

Spring Break

2005-03-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

First day of spring break . . .

The Red Scarf Inventory

2005-03-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

It's hard to overstate how well this project has gone. Starting with a simple idea to knit and sell a few scarves to friends, we've raised close to $4,000, most of which will go to the Hope Foster Home, made friends around the world, and seen some amazing works of art from generous knitters. Another round of thanks to everyone involved!

We are still holding about 50 of these beauties, all of whom would like to find good homes. Please drop me a line at gremlinperson@carolina.rr.com if you would like to adopt one (for a small contribution to the cause, of course).

2005-03-11T23:52:00.001-05:00

Polly of England's famous www.alltangledup.com sent in this shawl and the scarf that follows. Thanks a million!

2005-03-11T23:52:00.000-05:00

Once again -- a scarf from the amazing Polly of www.alltangledup.com. Cheers!

2005-03-06T23:08:00.000-05:00

Shirley models Big Orange (still available) with optional accent brooch.

2005-03-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

Brenda shows off Fluffy (which she bought) -- a fur contribution from Deborah.

2005-03-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

A visit to the Pendletons' turned into an impromptu scarf party with the neighbors. Here, Sheila and Randa pick out a brooch for Waves (still available).

The Room that Scarves Built (Well, Not Really...)

2005-03-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

Apparently Christina and our friends at Hope Foster Home got the first check. They hung this sign on the staff bathroom (the room we sponsored) and sent us the pic.

Red Scarf Project 12: The Check is in the Mail

2005-03-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

Monday was a great day for the RSP because we finally sat down and wrote the first big check -- $1,500 as planned. The only question left to answer was whether we actually write a physical, isn't-that-quaint check and send it via snail mail OR whether we go online and transfer funds electronically. Tradition won out, mainly because we couldn't determine the last name on the receiving account in question and because I wanted to put my name on an actual check.

All those scarves, all the publicity, all that time and now the Hope Foster Home has something to show for it. Yay!

Red Scarf Project 11: Overwhelming Generosity

2005-02-27T01:21:00.000-05:00

They keep coming and coming -- and I'm so happy. It seems like every day our poor postal delivery person arrives burdened down with even more packages than the day before. But he's young, so don't worry about it.

I'm trying to acknowledge everyone who takes time out of their busy lives, but I'm afraid I'm getting overwhelmed and I don't want to get anyone's contribution wrong. Following this post will be a bunch of pictures, but I won't be labeling who made what for fear of making a mistake. Instead, watch your email or blog comments or good ol' fashioned mailbox for a personal thanks from Jacob and me.

Scarf sales and monetary contributions are also rising. We will mail a check for about $1500 to Hope Foster Home next week, and then they can apply for it to be matched dollar for dollar. We have "adopted" a room, a very special room, at the Special Care Unit. Check it out. Look for Red Scarf USA on the floorplan. I will ask them to change the name so that it will reflect that the Red Scarf Project is a worldwide effort. FYI -- the funds for sponsoring the room will actually go where they deem most needed.

Keep those scarves coming and I'll keep them going.

2005-02-27T01:17:00.000-05:00

Part of Friday's loot

2005-02-27T01:12:00.000-05:00

Piedmont Open Middle friends and family members keep coming through

2005-02-27T01:11:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhh... Ruffles!

2005-02-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

Jacob just LOVES showing off this intricate scallop pattern piece which I'm sure took a lot of patience to knit

2005-02-27T00:55:00.000-05:00

Detail shot of the scallop pattern piece

2005-02-27T00:43:00.000-05:00

Look at this gorgeous seed stitch

2005-02-27T00:28:00.000-05:00

Another stunning piece

2005-02-27T00:21:00.000-05:00

A curvy creation

2005-02-27T00:17:00.000-05:00

I can't help but model this hand-dyed mohair scarf

2005-02-27T00:11:00.000-05:00

Wow! Great shipment on Friday -- four packages of lovely scarves.

Adoption Journal 5: The Feds Say OK

2005-02-22T19:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to put this in the blog, but last week we got our approval letter to bring an immigrant (i.e. one Chinese baby girl) into the country. This is the second of the three big adoption tollgates: first is the home study, then the immigration approval and finally the referral from China. The trip itself is a reward for putting up with all the nonsense.

Lisa and I were pretty excited to have the packet in hand, and also a little surprised. We'd been told to expect a seriously long wait (as other North Carolina residents have experienced), so we solicited Mom and Dad to make some calls on our behalf. Elizabeth Dole's office assured us that things weren't as behind schedule as we'd heard, and a week later the letter shows up. Probably just coincidence, but you never know.

We mused the other night that little "Poppy" is probably resting comfortably in a orphanage right now after having survived a stressful January. Or maybe her mother's enjoying a little time with her before they have to part. She could even be sitting on a street corner waiting to be discovered by a stranger and taken to a safe place. It's impossible to know.

Red Scarf Project 10: They're Everywhere!

2005-02-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

These are just a few of the scarves that have been donated to the Red Scarf Project. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of these creations. I've not mastered the art of photography to be able to show size, true color and texture, etc. Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing one, although I can't promise that it will still be available because they are going like hotcakes. Scarves have gone out to California, Kentucky, West Virginia, and other cities in NC.

I've gotten tremendous support at my school -- we raised over $300 at the first scarf party and then $200 more from its aftereffects. I left a few at Smelly Cat coffeehouse in our NoDa neighborhood, and I need to get back down there to drop off some more. For the time being the scarves are riding around in my hatchback awaiting a chance to be shown off. The next major showing will be at Piedmont's SCREAM night where students will run a booth.

This crocheted scarflette is from from mmm...fiber!

This intricate needlework scarf is from Jean at The Scottish Lamb. Jean is also the creator of the now famous Red Scarf Project button (located at right).

This thick eyelash scarf is from Barbara in Charlotte. I met her at the Sewing Bird and she emailed me the next week with a donation.

This lovely heart scarf is from Annie of The KnittyGritty.

Margene from Zeneedle sent this beautiful Opera Scarf.

This plum/wine colored scarf was crocheted by Lali in Charlotte.

This thick scarf was knitted by Lori, one of the Copy Queens at my school.

This speckled red scarf was Danielle's first knitting project in about 20 years!

Danielle's mom picked up her needles again after many years, too!

Students at Piedmont contributed these lovelies.

This long ribbed scarf is from Rin of Charlotte.

These are just a few of the many handwoven scarves that Jane from Charlotte sent.

Red Scarf Project 9: Money Talks, Scarves Walk

2005-02-08T18:58:00.000-05:00

To quote a famous philosopher, "Woo hoo!"

Lisa's amazing co-workers put together a Red Scarf Party yesterday and bought over $300 in scarves with more orders still to come. (Pictures coming soon -- the home computer's power supply went splat.) Add that to Sunday's Super Bowl get-together with the Posse Chicks, and today we deposited $375 into the special account I set up.

In other news this week, Lisa's meme crossed over to France (and then again) which I'm quoting here just because it sounds funny:

Rejoignez l'initiative de Lisa : The red scarf project. Le but etant d'acheter une echarpe rouge ou de lui en tricoter pour qu'elle puisse les vendre 10$ piece afin d'aider les orphelins chinois.

Web stats are down (almost a one-third the visitors of a week ago), but we knew we couldn't maintain that level so it's not a big deal. The important thing is that the scarves keep coming in the mail (two yesterday alone).

Red Scarf Project 8: Time for Some Shout-Outs

2005-02-04T18:53:00.000-05:00

The Red Scarf Project has been more time consuming than either of us expected, but also far more rewarding. There's something amazing about looking at your site statistics and seeing visitors from Hong Kong, Australia, France, along with California, Tennessee and New York. My day job is to build websites where we measure of success in dollars, but it's far more interesting to build one where the measure is in emails sent and friends made.

First, the scarves. They continue to come in at the rate of about one a day. Beautiful ones, too, some where the materials alone cost $35. Lisa jumps up and down each time a package arrives or someone from her school drops one off. Thanks to everyone for making her a happy baby.

Then there are the buyers: mom, Aunt Joyce, Judy, Lorraine, Suzanne, the Sparlings. Today I brought the entire travel box to work with me and Lisa (not Miller) Crews walked out with five to give to her staff. Truly amazing.

And then there's the just plain surprising: an out-of-work friend from college who isn't at all looking for free publicity (even though his site could use some) sent in more cash than he could afford to part with right now.

It's all the little things like this that have made this project such a blast. As Lisa said today when I told her I was holding a single check for $105, "That's more than I expected to make from the whole project when I started this."

Red Scarf Project 7: UPDATE! Red Scarf Project UPDATE!

2005-01-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

The response to the Red Scarf Project has been tremendous. To say the least, I have been amazed at the outpouring of support! People everywhere are knitting and purling for this cause that is so close to my heart.

My friend Danielle had not knitted since she was a child; she picked up her needles and created three beautiful scarves. Another friend, Deborah, is a crocheter. Despite the fact that I told her crocheted scarves are welcome, she put down her hook and picked up some needles long enough to create four elegant scarves. A teacher at my school, Melanie, had a scarf waiting for me the day after I emailed her about the project. She has since given me five lovely scarves. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade at my school Piedmont Open IB Middle are knitting in their spare time. A parent volunteer, Mrs. Leighton, who is our resident knitting expert, gave me two scarves yesterday. Jane, a teacher at another school, heard about the scarf project and she sent over a BOXFUL of hand-woven scarves -- some have red threads but most are every other color imaginable. My friend Dana is making jewelry to sell at the scarf parties.

The scarves are starting to come in from new friends: I received a gorgeous "Opera Scarf" in the mail from Margene in Salt Lake City. I received a beautiful long, bright red scarf with fringe from Rin in Charlotte, N.C. I drove to Barbara's office in Charlotte yesterday to pick up an extravagant eyelash scarf she made after I met her last week in a yarn shop.

Here are several updates and/or changes to the project:

Jean at the Scottish Lamb designed and created the super effective Red Scarf button. This fabulous button is popping up everywhere!
My original post and letter mentioned the possibility of working for one of two organizations, the Hope Foster Home or China Care. I have been in touch with the director of Hope and I have decided that is where I am meant to go. They have a desperate need for assistance in their Special Care Unit in Henan Province, so that's where I will go in June.
Thanks to some very generous donations, my travel expenses will be taken care of. All proceeds from this point forward will go directly to Hope Foster Home. I will appreciate everyone's help in getting the word out about this change.
The first Red Scarf Party is being planned for Monday, Feb. 7, after school hours at my school. Faculty and staff will be invited, and parents will be welcomed via online newsletter.
There will be a silent auction at a major event at my school in March. The PTSA has agreed to put our scarves up for auction or to have a separate booth for information and sales.

I want to thank the many people who have responded in one way or another. Whether you've knitted a scarf, passed the word along, bought a scarf, or given words from experience -- I truly appreciate your support. I emphatically thank all of you!

Things I Learned from a Week in the Online Knitting World

2005-01-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

When you cast on with 81 stitches, you can call it one of three things: the German Twisted cast-on, the Old Norwegian cast-on, or the Twisted Half-Hitch cast-on. [link]
Variegated yarn is crazy. [link]
Cutting the toe off a sock is called "sockumcision" [link]
Life is crazy, school is a killer, and it's hard to post when you're out of town. [link]
Those may be the most adorable pewter dachshunds ever. [link]
Aino Praakli's "Kirkindad: Patterned Mittens" is full of fabulous charts, many of which are surprising and new. [link]
A blanket made with a garter stitch has more spring, and yarnovers at the ends of the rows give a place to stitch strips together. [link]
Knitters can help save lives all around the world. [link]
US10.5 needles suck. They take the same amount of time to complete a row that's half as wide as US5 or 6 needles. Plus, there is no flow and your hands get tired. [link]
Bernat DenimStyle acrylic and soft cotton yarn makes a pettable sock monkey. [link]
Sweet Grass Wool it is so different from Magpie Aran Tweed. It caresses your hands as it passes through your fingers [link]
Tuesday is Knitalong Day [link]
On first review, "Spinning Designer Yarns" by Diane Varney looks to be a very well done book. [link]
When giving a gift a yarn to a knitter, surprise them by weighing the box down with books. [link]
A Kitchener stitch requires three things: blunt tapestry needle, a good light source and patience. [link]
If you guessed that this week's work in progress was an Eyelet Rib Wristlet from Terri's pattern, you were right. [link]

Adoption Journal 4: A Surprise in the Mail

2005-01-26T18:42:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled when I got home and saw the mail -- there was a package that I just knew had a red scarf in it. I put aside everything else (including a packet from our adoption agency that was obviously the finalized homestudy that we've been awaiting forever) to focus on the manila envelope. I saw Margene's post last night about a contribution, so when I unwrapped the tissue I knew instantly that it was a beautiful OPERA SCARF! I jumped up and down and grinned ear to ear, and then called Jacob to tell him about it.

Margene's scarf is the first one I've received in the mail. Several friends and students at my school have given scarves, but this is the first official donation from Blogland. We have put a link to Zeneedle on our site, and we are working on putting buttons by all the knitting sites.

I truly love the Opera Scarf. I might try to knit one myself. I'll have to visit the candystore tomorrow and get the right kind of yarn.The most interesting coincidence about this is that Jacob just spent four days in Park City for Sundance. No sooner does he come home then this amazing gift from Salt Lake City shows up. That makes two great gifts in one week from this beautiful part of the country.

Blogland's first official contribution to the Red Scarf Project.

Deborah's contributions...

... And Danielle's

Lisa models the generous donations from Jane Prater, a handweaver from the Northwest School of the Arts.

Red Scarf Project 6: Scarves!

2005-01-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

In the time since I last posted on the subject of the Red Scarf Project, a lot has happened.

The official web announcement went up
The first Ebay sale went up
Emails went out to about 150 knitting blog owners
A few blogs like The Knitty Gritty and others have posted the announcement, and just as importantly emails have come in offering to help Lisa's coworkers gave her a half-dozen red scarves to sell (see Deborah's cool contribution) with more on the way (two from Danielle alone)
Dana reached out and pulled in a knitting friend who contributed another 10 or so great-quality scarves
Mom, Mark, Judy and others have all bought or promised to buy

At this point, the greatest concern is how to sell the great contributions we're currently getting. Ebay isn't looking like the strongest outlet at this point -- other handmade scarves don't sell for much more than the $10-$15 range. Our best hope is a little advertising and the fact that this is labelled a "FUNDRASIER."

Speaking of fundraising, I had to share a comment from "amysue" found on QueerJoe's Knitting Blog:

I don't know the family adopting from China so can't speak to there situation, but as both an adoptee and an adoptive parent (my kids were born in Asia) I am put off by two things. ... The personal one is simply my own queasiness about fundraising for one's childs aoption-I acknowledge this is *my* issue and what is right for me (not doing it) isn't necc. right for another family. [snip]

I have no idea what could be wrong with raising money to help pay for an adoption. Who loses and/or is hurt?

Red Scarf Project 5: Our First Volunteer

2005-01-14T18:32:00.000-05:00

Lisa did a mass email to all the knitting blogs we could find (There are knitting blogs? Yes, hundreds) and within hours had our first response:

Lisa--a great project. I assume you got my email from reading my blog or from one of my several friends who has made the trip to China for a daughter. I went with one friend in 2002... one of my life's great experiences. So I'm off to get the details from your link but surely to God I'll knit a scarf. Good luck with the project and the adoption. Kay

We are learning quickly that there's a large unexplored intersection between the worlds of knitting and China adoption. Kay's site is Mason-Dixon Knitting and her friend Elisabeth who went to China writes at CurlsandPurlsNYC. Lisa is already hooked on both sites.

Red Scarf Project 4

2005-01-13T18:26:00.000-05:00

Lisa makes her famous first scarf which eventually sold for $400.

Red Scarf Project 3: Fun with Bamboo

2005-01-11T12:24:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great knitting and Super Bowl weekend.

We went to Huntersville (N.C.) last night and stopped in at LYS Knit One Stitch Too. I always wondered why people indicated what needle types they use (bamboo, aluminum, casein, etc.). I'm a $5 Michael's plastic needle person myself. What could be the difference?

Instead of buying yarn that a friend suggested, I spent my funds on needles – with Jacob’s support and encouragement. I couldn’t decide between the $8.35 Japanese bamboo and the $21 Vietnamese coconut palm, so I got both. (Jacob bought a techy toy for himself, so it was only fair.)

Back at home I started in with the less expensive and wow, I could tell a difference and knew that I would never go back to plastic. I finished that red scarf and then cast on another using my ultra fancy ones, and wowsy wow wow. Now I’ll never be able to go back to even regular bamboo. My eyes have been opened and I see now what a difference the needles make.

Thanks to Lori and hubby for helping me take my knitting fetish to the next level.

Red Scarf Project 2: The Red Thread Brigade Takes Off

2005-01-09T18:23:00.000-05:00

Once again, Lisa has amazed me with her initiative.

She decided recently that she wants to spend her summer in China volunteering at an orphanage. Our adoption referral won't come until October or later, so instead of sitting and waiting she wanted to get to know the country and help out some of its orphans who don't necessarily have an adoptive family on the way. In short, I think this is a spectacular idea, and I'm behind her 100%.

Two agencies will help an American make such a trip, and both require a financial contribution (travel, some living expenses, and an orphanage donation). So Lisa decided to do a fundraiser to help pay for this trip, and her first idea was to knit some red scarves which she could sell for $20 a pop. The scarves don't take too long to make, but still she was looking at a somewhat slow fundraising process.

When I suggested that other knitters could contribute their own wares, which we would sell, suddenly we're off. I put together a web page that we will soon begin advertising, and we've already started spreading the word to local knitters that we're sure will want to pitch in.

In the end, we may only drum up a few hundred dollars, but I think there's also a chance that word of mouth will help it really take off. The knitting community is surprisingly close (er, "tight-knit"?) -- not to mention blog-savvy -- and I wouldn't be surprised if lots of people respond with donations that we can sell off on Ebay.

Adoption Journal 3: Prints and Printses

2005-01-07T18:22:00.000-05:00

It's 8:30 on Friday morning, a time that both of us are normally at work. Instead, Lisa is moisturizing her hands so that we can go to the feds and get our fingerprints scanned. The immigration office will send these prints to the FBI who will in turn report (hopefully) that we're not wanted criminals and can therefore get a visa for the baby. Whew.

Giving over your fingerprints may not seem like a big deal, but Lisa has been pretty stressed about it. The first time we got printed was for the state, and the technician said her hands were so dry they could barely get a print. So Lisa has been wearing moisturizing gloves every night for the past couple of weeks, and in the end they only helped a little. The technician had to re-scan several of her fingers, and in the end they weren't 100% certain that the prints would be accepted.

Nice surprise of the day: Guilford alum Nikos Chremos works for Mandala Adoption in Chapel Hill which is handling our home study. We'll get to catch up in March at Christina Pelech's wedding.

Second nice surprise of the day: The Charlotte police ran background checks on us and found nothing. As we had expected. No, really -- we truly expected that. Now, if this had been Michigan...

Final Thought: If dry hands really do prevent prints from being lifted, why would any career criminal ever use hand lotion?

Red Scarf Project 1: Dear Friends

2005-01-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

I'm putting my knitting compulsion to work to help Chinese orphans. If you knit or crochet or can make scarves of any kind, you can help me.

Here's my idea: I'm going to sell as many handmade red scarves as I can to raise money. You can help by making one also and donating it for me to sell. And if you don't make scarves but would like to own one, you can help by buying one.

My story: My husband and I will be adopting a little girl from China in late 2005, but before we do that I want to give her country something in appreciation for the amazing gift we'll be getting. Working with the Hope Foster Home, I plan to spend two months in the Special Care Unit of an orphanage in Henan Province, giving the children there my time, energy, attention and love.

My trip: The money I raise with the scarves (and any other donations) from this point on will be donated to Hope Foster Home. (My travel expenses have already been covered, thanks to several very generous contributions!) I will be living in an orphanage where I will do whatever is needed: perform clerical and administrative tasks in the office, help with preschool activities, teach children English, sing songs, play games, spend time with the babies, lead day trips, clean the facilities, do maintenance work. In short, I will provide human interaction for children who desperately need it and help improve their living environment. (In the event I can't make my trip, the funds will be donated directly to HFH.)

Why red scarves: The Chinese have an ancient belief that says all people who are destined to meet are bound by an invisible red thread. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. I made my first red scarf because it seemed like a fitting tribute to the daughter we haven't yet met. And since I'll be working with children who are waiting for their forever families at the other end of their red threads, it seemed only right to make as many red scarves as possible.

Thank you in advance for your help, and may your red thread lead you where you need to be and may the ladybug of luck always be with you.

Adoption Journal 2: It's Greek to Us

2005-01-02T18:19:00.000-05:00

Lisa has strode undaunted into the raging sea that is the Chinese language, and I'm damn impressed by her confidence. To me, all languages are impenetrable and impractical walls of chaos, and I thank my stars that I was born in the country that controls the world's dominant tongue.

We have two CDs of spoken phrases that Lisa gave me for Christmas, and we have a few websites to augment our learning, but otherwise we're on our own. So far, we've locked down the following:

Wo Ai Ni (I love you)
Bie Ku (don't cry)
Bie pa (don't be afraid)
Guai HaiZi (poor baby)
Wen yi wen (kisses)
Bao yi bao (hugs)
Wo DuZi E Le (I'm hungry)
Wo GuanDao KouKe Le (I'm thirsty)

The sad part is that we've heard hundreds more phrases, but they don't stick. Learning a new language at 34 makes you realize how pourous your brain becomes.

Adoption Journal 1: The Paper Blizzard Begins

2004-12-30T18:12:00.000-05:00

Lisa and I dove into the China paperchase full steam today. For those who don't know, adopting from overseas is more about paperwork than anything else. We're talking birth certificates, medical records, financial statements, divorce records, pictures, letters of recommendation, and so on. And not only does everything have to be notarized, it has to be authenticated, which is basically the state's notarization of the notary.

Some people are so overwhelmed by all this mailing and keeping track that they pay over $1,000 to have their adoption agency take care of all of it. We are still holding open that possibility, but for the moment have decided to give it a whack ourselves. Today we started by setting up a serious of tasks in Microsoft Outlook and assigning them to each other. Then we knocked off a few of those tasks:

we sent a copy of my notarized birth certificate back to Tennessee so they can authenticate it
we introduced ourselves to the woman at the North Carolina office where we will send the remainder of our docs for authentication
we got a couple of great passport photos taken at Cameraworld (unlike the crappy ones we got from Kinko's when we did this a month ago)

And just now I've finished up our official adoption letter where we say why we want to adopt from China without saying anything that might upset the government ("Do not accentuate the negative aspects of the process, such as the number of abandoned children, etc.").

I probably laid it on a little thicker in this letter than needed -- "We take the responsibility of adopting with the utmost seriousness and care" -- but there's also nothing in it that isn't true. We do take it seriously, we do promise never to abuse or abandon the child, and we do look forward to seeing her home country.

For the sake of posterity, here's the letter in its entirety:

Jan. 1, 2004
To the Officials of the China Center of Adoption Affairs,
We would like to adopt a child (or children) from China. We are very excited to meet our future daughter or son and also to see the country in which she or he was born. We look forward to the time in the near future when we know both her and her homeland.
We are Andrew Jacob Stohler (Jacob) and Melissa Delaine Miller (Lisa). Jacob was born January 23, 1970, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Lisa was born August 11, 1968 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. We are both citizens of the United States.
We realized that we wanted to adopt from China after seeing a
documentary that followed a group of American parents on their Chinese adoption
journey. The scenes in the orphanage when those parents were united with their
children touched us deeply. It seemed like an amazing moment for everyone: the
parents, the babies, the care givers, and even the journalists. It was at that
moment that it became clear to us where our adoption path would lead us.
We have been blessed with a wonderful life full of family, friends, love, opportunities, play and excitement. It is our dream to share that life and pass it on to a daughter or son. We have struggled with infertility and have accepted the fact that we are unable to have biological children, but nonetheless we will have a child. We believe there is a child somewhere in China who will let us share our love and life with her.
We ask for your help in this search to complete our family. We hope to adopt a healthy infant girl as close to newborn age as possible, preferably under 12 months. We would love to open our home to more than one child and are interested in a multiple adoption, if possible. We will welcome a single child, twins, siblings close in age, or two unrelated infants.
Our adopted child will enjoy all the rights and opportunities that any biological child would. We promise that we will never abandon or abuse our child. We will raise a healthy, happy and educated child to become a healthy, happy and educated adult.
Lisa works with school children every day, and she is very sensitive to all the time and attention that goes into raising a well-rounded child. We take the responsibility of adopting with the utmost seriousness and care.
Deciding to adopt was a big decision for up, and we know that an exciting adventure is ahead. We learn more about China each day, and everything we learn makes us want to know more. We hope to instill this love of learning in our daughter so that all of us can continue growing and learning together on into the future.
Thank you,
Jacob Stohler and Lisa Miller