For the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

[mijan]

My sister has started a fund-raising effort.  She and other volunteers are knitting and crochetting scarves for sale, and ALL proceeds will go directly to the victims.... here she is.

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Hi, sister here. My name is Yvette, I just graduated from college, I'm broke as hell and I like to crochet. I moved back home after I graduated college, and I've complained at length about not having my own room. I was watching the hurricane coverage yesterday when it hit me that, nevermind their own rooms, these people lost their houses, everything. What can I do to help?

Well, obviously scarves or other woolen things aren't going to help people in the deep south, but the profits from said scarves will. I'm making these scarves and selling them for $35-$55, depending on material and complexity, with all proceeds (i.e. money above and beyond the cost of material) going to the Red Cross. The only reason some would be more expensive than others is that essentially what I'm contributing is my time and talent; the more complex, the more time. I contacted the American Red Cross about this today, they are sending me a contract that essentially promises to anyone buying a scarf that all proceeds will go straight to the Red Cross for the relief effort.

Other random details...

-I need a name for this whole operation. Something with a good acronym would work, I'm open for suggestions.

-I take requests for colors/styles of scarf. Type of wool, tassles, pockets... for pockets I need measurement for how long a scarf would need to be to wrap around someone's neck and down long enough to put your hands in; this type of scarf is obviously more expensive because they have to be a lot bigger.

-Most scarves will be $35, thicker ones / more patterned ones will be $40, and pockets added AND Harry Potter scarves will be $50. Some people have asked for extras added to the HP scarves, those are $55.

-If any of you crochet or knit and would like to join up, I'm sure there are a lot of people who would appreciate the extra funds this would raise.

Anything else... oooh yes, email me at arwen_guinevere@yahoo.com if you want to order a scarf / volunteer to help / donate money for startup to help buy materials / ask questions... or ask me out on a date, I'm cool with that too.

 

Thanks big sister for letting me post on here and thanks in advance for reading / getting involved.

Comments

[eleal.livejournal.com]

My father-in-law (yes, he is very crafty) makes scarves out of Eros Ladder Yarn. They are not too time consuming other than you have to be careful not to get your needles between the sides of the "ladder" and they are really beautiful. They're very dressy (in fact, they are not at all for warmth) but they go nicely with dress coats, etc. He's sold them from $40 to $60 so they'll beef up your donation amounts.

P, I'll e-mail you a picture of my scarf so you can see what it looks like.

This is a really great idea!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Michelle here again... on behalf of my sister, thanks. She's already started production tonight. Even my mother took out her crochet hooks for the first time in years.

Oh, and you sent the scarf pics to me, not to my sister. You've got to use her e-mail addy. :)

[frogman1286.livejournal.com]

well i dont really have need of a scarf, but i am willing to donate a couple of dollars, i dont have much, since im going away to college and all that, but i can give a few moneys.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Every dollar helps. *glomps*

[kriken.livejournal.com]

Think your sister will mind if I pimp this a bit (aka, is she ready for a possible deluge of requests)?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

This is the sister.... pimp away. I'm okay with giving out the email address and all that jazz.

P.S. I've set a price on HP scarves at $50. After checking around a bit, my other prices are relatively low. Also, the HP scarves take a lot more time and material than the other more basic scarves. The ones in the movie are roughly huge. Specify exactly how you want them- skinny with the same colors, authentic to the movie except crocheted instead of knitted, whatever your preference. Just give me as many specifics as you want. I'm also okay with requests like "I'll take a red one. Go play."

Once again, no money goes to me; this is just essentially making a donation to the Red Cross and getting a scarf while you're at it.

[kriken.livejournal.com]

::waves:: Will pimp away, then.

Let me know if you want more specifics about my scarf (sent you an email earlier). I'm okay with the extra money - to tell you the truth, I was going to give you $50 no matter what.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh, Kris, this is Michelle this time... you might want to let Yvette know if you want the scarf design from SS and CoS, or the PoA design. Very different, yes?

[kriken.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, very different. I asked for a slytherin scarf, standard pattern from the first movie, since I've already got someone knitting me a gryffindor one from PoA - this way, I've one for whichever mood I'm in ;)

[avidbeader.livejournal.com]

Good for your sis. *jots down email* I'm sending a lot of my bead jewelry to another LJ friend who is organizing an auction to raise funds.

[plastiqueallure.livejournal.com]

Did you cross-post this to knitting? I didn't see it there, but I think it would be appreciated.

[mary-re.livejournal.com]

Do you know anyone who could set up a website for your sister, or has extra space on theirs that she could use? I have never bought a scarf before, and have absolutely no idea about different styles or anything. Also, I'm sure more and more people would be interested in this if they could see what they were getting.
Just an idea.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I don't know a damn thing about websites, or anything like that, and none of my friends really do either. This is a pretty small-time operation, with my sister crocheting scarves as fast as she can, one by one. That's why we're hoping to get more people involved. Do you know anyone who knows website design?
~Michelle

[mary-re.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I don't, but someone on my flist just linked to an HP community, hpkatrinarelief. You could probably post there (or actually, wait a day or so for membership to get bigger), and see if anyone there can help you out, or knows someone who can.

If nothing else, you could set up an lj and post pictures there...?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

That might work. Actually, I was thinking about doing hand-carved wands. That's one of my personal specialities. I'll go over to the LJ community you just linked, and see if there's a way for me to get involved that way.

design

[mintymadness.livejournal.com]

I'm not a genius at web design, but I kind of know the basics to run a website. If what you guys need is a simple site that shows examples of scarves, prices, and orders, I think I can help.

example: http://minitsu.monkey-ame.com

If that's not good enough, I hope you guys find something better! This is an awesome idea--I wish I could order one, but mom would never let me. *lament* Anyway, good luck to you all. :]

Re: design

[mijan.livejournal.com]

It's pretty good! *applauds* Definitely better than I could ever do. However, my sister, mother, and neighbour already have more scarf orders than they can keep up with. The fund-raiser is going amazingly well! Our living room is completely buried in yarn. I'll definitely keep you in mind if we need more help though! Thank you!

Re: design

[kingjohn23.livejournal.com]

Hey, why did you lock your blog?

How weak shakes head

Re: design

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Hey, you said you wanted me to shut up... and I'm not. I'm taking a break, going out to do some errands. I can't keep up with all you loud-mouthed, idiotic, socially blind conservatives, and I have other things to do. Including calling my unit.

Re: design

[kingjohn23.livejournal.com]

When did I tell you to shut up? You can say what you want.

You're still a traitor. God will judge you harshly.

Re: design

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I talk to God every day. She told me to tell you that you're a dink.

[hpdm4ever.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to again say how nice it is that your sister is doing this. I received my scarf in the mail today, and wow was I impressed. I love it! Please pass my compliments on. I also sent my money order to her yesterday, so hopefully she'll get it in the next day or so.

xoxo
Kat

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Cool! Which scarf did you get? I've been watching her make every single one.

[hpdm4ever.livejournal.com]

I got one that is double width, dark green, with tassels on the ends. I absolutely love it... I can't wait until it gets cold enough that I can wear it! Although, I'll tell you that when I opened it this morning, I was so excited to get it that I wore it around the house even though my mother kept giving me weird looks. :)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Ah, you're the really tall person who wanted to be able to wrap it twice, right? I really liked that one. I hope it was worth it... OH! And you might like to hear... whatever you donated for the scarf is going to be doubled. My sister is giving the money to the Red Cross through the Red Sox fund for the Katrina Victims. The Red Sox are MATCHING all donations. So, if you give five dollars, the Sox will put in five more dollars to match. Five dollars becomes ten, $50 becomes $100. So, your donation is going to be doubled by the Red Sox. :)

[hpdm4ever.livejournal.com]

It's totally worth it! The perfect length. And I'm glad to hear about the donation being doubled! I'm a Phillies fan, but this is just one more reason to like the Red Sox.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Actually, a LOT of Major League baseball teams are matching fans' donations. But the Red Sox are well known for doing charitable work. Curt Schilling, one of our pitchers, GAVE A HOUSE to a family of 9 who had been displaced by the hurricane.