Circles

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man himself will not find peace." -- Albert Schweitzer

This past week was a busy one for the Crafty Angels. We received six BIG boxes and two envelopes of yarny goodness from far-flung Angels, and the local Crafty Angels met on Saturday, October 10. I decided to do two posts on all the lovely handmade items because there were so many! So I'll start with our get-together on Saturday.

We had a wonderful time of inhaling yarn fumes, fondling yarny goodness, and coveting yarn. Plus we had lots of laughs! Even with the cold, dreary weather, the temperature inside my house was nice and warm - both from the love waves given off by the yarny goodness the Angels brought with them and the warmth of friendship. We were a small, but mighty, group. Want to see who was there? Take a look!

Angels Debbie Kreusch and Doris Ahlstedt - both from Chicago, and Lisa from Lake Forest.

Angels Jeannine Patt and Penny Sawczak - both from Chicago, and Carol Flowers from Barrington.

Penny started off the parade of yarny goodness with these lovelies:

A lovely blanket made by a friend of hers at work, which will be perfect for one of the young girls served by Cornerstone Community Outreach's homeless shelters.

LOTS of wonderful scarves for the folks we serve at Good News Community Kitchen and Cornerstone Community Outreach.

A beautiful prayer shawl - everyone just loved the colors!

And toys for the kids at WellSpring's shelters -- she made scarves for the bunny above and the bear (a Chicago Bear) up top! Penny, thank you for your speedy fingers and creativity. You rock!

Angel Debbie Kreusch had the babies we serve at Swedish Covenant Hospital on the brain, and in her fingers:

We were blown away by this blanket -- it is amazing because it is NOT knitted, it is CROCHETED using a special technique to fade out the yarn colors working with two strands of BABY YARN, AT THE SAME TIME, and a very complicated stitch that puts one strand of yarn in the front and one strand in the back.....actually, I got completely lost when Debbie tried to explain it to us. Suffice it to say it is indeed something you have to concentrate on doing, and you can't be chatting with someone while doing it. The results, however, are truly heirloom worthy.

Always the Queen of Scraps, Debbie made this blanket out of leftover yarn from the previous blanket!

If you remember the post from our last meeting, Debbie took home lots of partially finished squares made by Lela Runquist, and donated by her daughter Amanda Bixby, when Lela moved into an assisted living center downstate. Look what Debbie brought back, made from those squares:

Beautiful blankets for the seniors we serve at Cornerstone's Friendly Towers! These are not only gorgeous, but will really keep our seniors toasty warm this winter. Debbie did a great job crocheting all the squares together and creating artistic designs from them. Debbie, thank you for continually taking on challenges and being absolutely fearless in trying new techniques and stitches - you are an inspiration to us all!!

Angel Carol Flowers has been busy, too:

Lots of nice, warm, feminine scarves!

And beautiful spa cloths for the spa bags we're putting together for the women served by Cornerstone's and WellSpring's shelters. The Angels would also like to thank Angel Anita Hohenstein and honorary Angels Mary and Michael Doucette for their very generous donations of spa bag "innards" -- small bottles of body lotion and body wash. The Angels are shooting for 500 spa bags this year -- and we are well on our way! Carol, thank you for your so very strong dedication to the cause and great willingness to teach so many of us how to do what you so wonderfully do!

Angel Jeannine Patt took some more of our "never-ending balls" of donated yarn -- this particular yarn has AMAZING yardage! -- and with TWO skeins, made this lovely prayer shawl:

This is the second one she has made, and they are just gorgeous. Trust me, this shawl will be treasured by someone facing a serious illness or death of a family member.

Jeannine also had our Swedish Covenant Hospital babies on the brain, and made this gorgeous baby blanket -- which she said consumed yarn like there was no tomorrow! But just look at the lace edging she put on it - breathtaking! Another family heirloom! Jeannine, thank you for always caring so much for our babies, and for making yet more prayer shawls whenever I ask. You are such a blessing!

Angel Doris Ahlstedt always likes to make baby things -- and just look at these sweet baby hats, Birgit! More for the "bath-tub filling" challenge! We also all really liked the baby blanket -- Doris used simple stitches, but created an absolutely lovely pattern. Doris, thank you for sticking with the Angels for so long - and for being so concerned that all the babies we serve have something lovely to go home from the hospital in. You have touched so many lives!

Carol has been teaching Angel Lisa how to crochet over our last two get-togethers, and just look how far Lisa has come:

Scarves for the Red Scarf Project - wonderful!

And gorgeous spa cloths using all sorts of stitch combinations. Way to go, Lisa! Lisa, you have such a busy life with so many, many demands on your time. Thank you for deciding to learn how to crochet on top of your already great knitting skills, and for squeezing in work for the Angels in those fleeting free minutes you get in your day -- and doing this consistently. You amaze me!

As we laughed and chatted, I thought of Schweitzer's quote up top. I pray for each of you Crafty Angels every day, and I've mentioned before that one of the things I pray for you is for compassion -- because I just can't see how you can do Crafty Angels work without feeling compassion for those in need. It dawned on me on Saturday that, very definitely, the Angels' circles of compassion have grown tremendously in the eight years of our existence -- and continue to grow every year. Your circles of compassion now encompass not just people in Chicago, but those in need across the United States, in Afghanistan, in Africa, andon waterways literally around the world. WOW!! Angels, YOU ARE AMAZING!!! I am so thankful for your loving hearts, creative spirits, nimble fingers, and great dedication. What an impact you have made, and are making, in your global circles of compassion!