Santa Dash...

...by one of our team.

At the start of December one of our team dressed up as Mrs Santa and joined Santa dash to raise money for her local hospice. Despite a very soggy day (she said she could really have done with some glasses with windscreen wipers LOL) she completed event and raised £140.

 

She brought her medal into work....

...to show all her colleagues who had sponsored her.

As I sit here creating this post I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last posted - time has more than just flown this year but although the posts have been rather lacking I think time has been well spent on the various causes that I and my colleagues have managed to support.

Back in July my "Craft & Chatter" group completed and sent off 150 mini hats for the Innocent Smoothie "Big Knit" to help raise money for Age UK. When the hatted bottles hit the shelves in the shops this Autumn, we eagerly looked out to see if we could find any of our creations. The answer to that was NO but we all bought items with hats that had been created by other folk. There were certainly some fabulous creations.

In October we were merrily making crochet & knitted poppies...

...which helped to raise just over £180 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

The group are currently making "Bonding squares" for local Neo-natal units.

The office supported the Newham Food Bank (part of the Trussell's Trust) again this year and as usual I decorated the collection area to make it look a little more festive. There was a fabulous response and we collected far more than in previous years. The Newham Food Bank provided nearly 2000 food parcels last Christmas and we hope our contribution helped them to do even more this year.

Our support of the RNLI is on going and folk regularly bring in books & un-wanted gifts to add to our 'shop' area. Support from wonderful folk on the web has also been amazing - handmade items & cards from Lunch Lady Jan & Shaz Silverwolf  (regulars on Julia Dunit's "What's on your Workdesk Wednesday" over at "The Stamping Ground") all very much appreciated.

Although you would never believe it due to the lack of posts on here, November & December were very busy crafting months. I finished off all my handmade gifts and managed to make all my cards (yes, I failed on the making as I went through the year - but hey-ho it all got done) but the thing that I didn't manage to do was take photos as I went. I was so determined to get everything wrapped the photos were forgotten.

With it being just a few hours away from a New Year, I can't promise that posting will be any better but I'm sure 2018 will be just as busy and just as crafty as 2017..........................................

 

The Poppy Appeal...

...and a bit more fundraising.

After having sent 150 mini hats to "Innocent" to help support this year's AgeUK fundraising, our Craft & Chatter group decided to make a start on some Poppies.

Patterns were obtained from a variety of sources (all supporting the Appeal) and we made a start.

Here are some photos of my early efforts...

 ...but since then I've become a little more adventurous ...

...and even made a few double layered ones.

I have more photos that need to be up loaded but to be honest, it hasn't been easy getting photos of the fabulous selection that everyone has produced as most of the poppies have sold before they even got to go on display.

Last week we officially put the poppies on sale to the folk in the office and on the first day the display was left almost bare. Resulting in the poppy 'fairies' working overtime to meet demand.

So...sorry for the lack of posts lately but as you can see there has been a good reason.

We have raised £140 so far due to the generosity of the folk in our building.

With the exception of the broach pins all the yarn has come from people's stash - along with an assortment of buttons.

Isn't it amazing how valuable all those crafting scraps can be................................................

Someone...

...wanted to say "Hello".

But then got a little shy.

This is "JJ" and he belongs to one of my colleagues. He wanted to show 'Lunch Lady Jan' just how smart he looked in his doggy bandana...

 ...but then had second thoughts and got a little camera shy.
However, it wasn't long before he got over the problem...

...and was getting up close and personal with the lens LOL.

JJ has certainly fallen in love with his bandana - doesn't he look smart.....................................

I am a naughty...

...blogger.

The lovely Lunch Lady Jan sent me another parcel of goodies for the RNLI fundraising and although I had taken some photos I hadn't loaded them to my PC - how bad am I; sorry Jan.

There were a couple of beautiful tote/shopper bags that I can't show you as they have been nabbed by a friend for gifts but here finally are some pics of the wonderful items Jan made...

 ...hanging padded hearts...

 ...lovely drawstring bags perfect for PE gear, ballet shoes...

 ...or even just a change of shoes if going out on a walk...

 ...sunglasses cases...

 ...and tissue holders...

...such a lovely selection and aren't those Doggy Bandanas cute.

Such a generous parcel of goodies - Thank you Jan.........................................................

150 Little hats...

...will be winging their way to join the BIG knit.

From 11 May 2017 until Friday 14 July 2017 our Craft & Chatter group have produced 150 mini hats for 'innocent smoothies' to place on their bottles this Autumn.

This was the colourful heap that I turned out onto the table...

...so that I could count what we had made.
I even managed to add a  "4th of July" hat...

 ...actually knitted on the 4th of July.
Just look at all these pretty colours...

 ...don't they look cheerful.
"Ollie" octopus managed to join the collection...

...just in time for the big send off.

This batch will be heading off later this week to add to the ones donated by folk all around the country - here's hoping that the target of 2 million hats has been reached/exceeded.

As a group we have decided to continue with these fun little knits so that we can see just how many we can have ready for next year's event.

These little hats don't take long to knit and help to use up all those little bits of yarn that we crafters can never throw away (although I admit I did buy some more yarn when some pretty colours took my eye LOL). So I'd better keep those needles handy and busy - perhaps we can manage two boxes full by next year...................................................

Today is our weekly...

..."Craft & Chatter" at work.

We will be doing a count up of the mini hats made so far.

At last weeks gathering we had a display table of the different types of craft that folk have been doing. This was in sup[port of a "Health & Wellbeing" event that was being held in the building and there were various talks & stalls set up in different parts of the office.

There were examples of cardmaking as well as the knitting & crochet...

...with a selection of seasonal and general cards...

 ...the mini hats were very popular...

 ...and the basic knitted squares seemed to prompt a few folk to consider getting their needles out...

 ...but surprisingly, these Christmas cards with images of the Bugaboo character "JJ"...

...seemed to catch more attention and we may have a few folk join us to make a few cards.

It will be interesting to see how many 'new' folk turn up for the group today.

In the meantime, the knitting needles are still clicking away and we will have to see what our total number of mini hats has reached as we will be packaging them up next week to send off.....................

Not all ideas...

..actually work.

Whilst others do.

I wasn't sure about the "Minion" but other folk seem to think he is fine...

 ...and the "Ghost" (free pattern found on line by a friend) worked beautifully but a colleague suggested knitting a "TARDIS" (the Dr Who telephone box). This wasn't such a success a) because I didn't have the right shade of blue b) because the TARDIS is square and the innocent smoothie bottles are round so it looks rather distorted. Ho-hum...at least it is another hat to add to the collection.

Innocent Smoothies stated they wanted to achieve 2 million mini hats this year which means they would be donating £500,000 to Age UK to boost funds that help elderly vulnerable folk deal with heating issues during the colder months of the year. Around mid-May they said they had reached approx. 1.2 million (the deadline for submitting the hats is end of July).

Our "Craft & Chatter" group at work will be well over the 100 mark by mid-July when we will be packing them up and sending them on their way.

Here are a few more that have been added to the collection...

 ...the one with the multi-coloured bobbles at the back seemed like a good idea at the time LOL - let's just say there will not be a second one knitted.
The collection box is filling up nicely...

...and the good thing is, folk are getting to use up all those odds and ends of yarn that they have hanging around the place (you all know how we crafters don't like to throw anything away).

I've now cracked the 100 mark for little hats and will be keen to see just how many my final total amounts to when we have to send them off.

Our group have said that this has been quite a bit of fun and some of them may continue in between other projects so that we get a head start for next year.....................................

I've knitted...

...ninety-one mini hats; so far.

The total currently stands at 94 hats, three of which have been made by colleagues (one by Heather, one by Pam and one by Kristian). Lynn has been knitting away and promises her finished items when she has attached some bobbles and Francis has been knitting little character hats that just need some googly eyes attached.

I thought I'd done about 70...

 ...and just kept adding the finished ones to the box.
These little hats are so easy to knit - perfect for an evening in front of the TV...

 ...and the basic pattern can be 'played' with to create all sorts of designs. Here are a bunch of 'bell flowers'...

 ...in a variety of different colours.
Yesterday I added a few more hats to the box and decided to tip out the contents...

 ...this was the pile and it was quite a surprise to find just how many I have knitted over the past few weeks.
I had a go at making a 'Minion' type hat...

...but it didn't come out as I wanted (a touch of leaky elbow syndrome). Still, it's another hat for the collection.

We are aiming to send our hats off by the middle of July so there should be plenty of time for me to break that 100 mark......................................................................

The little hat collection...

...is growing.

I had a bit of a play over the weekend - after all, despite it being a Bank Holiday weekend there wasn't a great deal to watch on the TV of an evening.

So the knitting needles were busy and I made around 20 little hats...

 ...two of my 'plays' are shown in the photo on the bottles.
The yellow & green and the blue & white were a couple more...

...they were sewn up at this week's "Knit & Natter".

Some of the other folk in the group have been making hats too but they also need to get them sewn.

The knitting part seems to be quite quick & easy but we are all less than enthusiastic about the sewing LOL

Still, we seem to be doing well and hope to have a good collection completed and ready to send off by the middle of July.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much of the box we manage to fill.............................................

We're joining in with...

...the BIG knit.

Each year the company who make 'innocent smoothies' here in the UK have a drive to raise money for "Age Concern". This money helps to provide the elderly with the means to keep warm during the Winter months.

For those of you who live here in the UK you will be familiar with the sight of bottles of smoothies sitting on the shelves in the stores, wearing little knitted or crochet hats - and some of these can be quite ornate. The 'hatted' bottles usually hit the stores around Autumn and for every bottle with a hat sold, 'innocent' will donate 25p to Age Concern.

This year they want to put 2 million bottles out there with hats - so far they have received in excess of 1 million but the deadline is closing in (hats have to be with 'innocent by 31 July).

I received an email reminding me about the deadline so I asked the "Knit & Natter"/"Craft & Chatter" group if they wanted to make some hats that we could send off for the cause - they said yes.

Here are a few that I have made...

 ...nothing overly fancy but I'm going for numbers.
We have a collecting box so that others in the office can contribute...

...even if they don't attend the craft group.

If you knit/crochet, why not have a go too. There are lots of free patterns on the Internet - along with details of where to send the completed hats. These little makes are a great way of using up all those scraps of wool for a good cause.

Sitting here chatting isn't getting things done so I'd better get back to the needles.............................

Fundraising for the RNLI...

...is still going strong.

I sent out an email to everyone at work asking for donations that we could use as raffle prizes and folk certainly 'stepped up to the mark'.

These were the photos I took just before the Easter weekend...

...and there have been a few additions since. People are so very generous.

What with end of year performance reviews and a complete restructuring of our line of business things have been a little slow on the charity front. However, even with just the trickle coming in from book & craft sales we have managed to almost reach £900. It is hoped that our raffle will boost interest and we should make the £1000 by the end of May - fingers crossed.

I have to say a very BIG thank you to everyone who has contributed to the fundraising.

It has been an interesting year of fundraising - book sales, craft sales, shipping forecast sweepstakes, raffles and afternoon cream teas - all done without any 'hard sell' as I didn't want folk to feel pressured into participating.

I will be continuing with the fundraising for the RNLI as I think it is a very worthy cause - I just need to come up with some ideas for the coming year to keep interest high..........................................

It is a sorry state of affaires...

...that so many folk in the UK are needing to resort to food banks to make ends meet.

Not the sort of thing that you expect to see in this day & age - but unfortunately, a fact of life.

For the last few years a colleague of mine has organised a food bank collection at the office and this year was no different.

I set up a decorated collection point for him and keep an eye on the progress - keeping it tidy and highlighting items that we could do with more of.

This was the collection point for this year...

 ...the WRMK Alphabet punch board came in handy...

 ...and we had a good selection of festively decorated boxes ready to take the donations...

...and it didn't take long for those boxes to fill up...

 ...these photos were taken at the start of this week...

...but by yesterday when the goods were packed up to take to the food bank, you couldn't get anywhere near the original boxes (sorry, no photos as my camera battery went flat).

Folk in the office who were not able to purchase anything themselves were very generous in making donations for the "Big Shop" - over £300 was given in addition to the donated goods. This meant a group of colleagues headed off to the local supermarkets and did a mahooooosive great shop which was subsequently deposited by the collection point until arrangements could be made to get everything to the food bank. An army of staff then assisted in loading everything into a couple of office cars (it was a tight fit) and it was delivered to the food bank yesterday afternoon in time for the organisers to make up the Christmas parcels that they do each year.

As a Nation we really shouldn't be in a situation where folk are having to rely on food bands just to survive but hopefully, for those who find this a reality it is hoped that our efforts will help a little to brighten things up at what can be a very difficult time of year.........................................

Lunch Lady Jan....

...has been busy again.

She sent me another parcel of goodies for the R.N.L.I. fundraising.

Some pretty parcels of patchwork coasters....

 ...in a lovely combination of festive fabrics. Hand stitched felt decorations...

 ...this is just one of each to give you an idea of the pretty pieces. Then there's the bunting...

 ...some in bright cheerful colours and the others to match the coasters...

...it looks fabulous.

Such wonderful makes from the lovely Jan - Thank you so much.

The fundraising is continuing and we are not far from the £800 mark (which considering I was only aiming at £150, is amazing).

With the exception of buying some scones, jam & cream back in the Summer so we could offer "Afternoon Tea", everything else has been donated. Folk are still bringing in books for the sale (and going home with a few new ones LOL) and Shaz Brooks' lovely cards have been selling well. Jan's last batch of goodies barely made it to the sale table before they were snatched up so I have no doubt these will go the same way.

I am so pleased with what has been achieved and can only thank folk for their support and generosity.

Wells-Next-the-Sea have enough money for their new lifeboat and some of the extra money will go to building a new boathouse to keep it in.

Folks here in the UK will be familiar with the fabulous work that the RNLI do keeping our coastal waters a safe place to be. This hot Summer has seen our beaches and waterways used a lot more than usual and when folk have gotten themselves into difficulties the RNLI have come to the rescue.

As someone who lives near to the water, I think they do an amazing job considering they are all volunteers and will continue to support them where I can.................................................