This is why I do it.

I went outside to get the mail today, and something was waiting for me:  A thank you note from Knit for Boston.
It said thank you for the adorable items, and how cute they were, and also included a Knit for Boston button for my knitting  bag.

This is why I knit items for charity....I know that I made a dozen kids in the Boston area have warm hands on a chilly day.  Three adults have warm heads, and two more have scarves, to keep them warm in the New England cold.  It makes me feel SO GOOD to do this, to take a skill that I possess and turn it into something that helps others.  It started as a fun little project, a "bet" to see how many things I could make with scrap yarn from other projects.  And the joy that it has given me has been overwhelming.  I already have three Ziploc gallon bags with scraps from this year's projects to start another personal mitten drive in 2012.  How many pairs will I make?  One can only wait and see.

Right now I'm back on baby hats for Stitches from the Heart.  I have about fourteen, and a couple little baby blankets too.  Those will be mailed out around Christmastime.

I get asked a lot, "Wow, how do you do it?"  It's simple, really.  In between every project listed on my Ravelry page, I did a pair of mittens, or a baby hat.  (Or two, or three.  They don't take very long.)  even the baby hats are from scraps for the most part.  Though my friend Patrick scored a big bag of yarn on Freecycle the other week and brought it in on a Wednesday night to share.  I came home with my own smaller bag, dropping it on the table.  Brian gawked at the big bag and I said "um....yeah.  Patrick said to tell you that he's sorry."  So I am all set for yarn for baby hats for....the next year!

So in closing, I do it because it makes me happy, to give back.