Danbury Hospital Thanks HHCC

In February, as part of the HHCC's "Hats from the Heart" charity drive, members hand-crocheted (and knitted) 85 adult chemo caps which were then donated to the Danbury Hospital.  Original blog post: http://thehhcc.blogspot.com/2012/02/donation-to-danbury-hospital-greatly.html

Yesterday the HHCC received a letter of thanks:



Danbury Hospial Thanks HHCC'ers for Generosity

HHCC Thanked for Salvation Army Donations

On Thursday, June 7th, HHCC'ers attended the Women's Auxiliary "Luncheon Appreciation."  This luncheon was in appreciation of donations received by local groups, such as The Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club, to the Danbury Salvation Army. 

HHCC President, Grace, accepts Certificate of Appreciation

This is the HHCC's 9th year in donating to the Salvation Army.  Each year HHCC members hand crochet (and knit) scarves, mittens, hats, baby layettes and more (along with a new toy drive) to help the Salvation Army provide to the hundreds of local families in need.

The Women's Auxiliary had a fantastic spread of food, including live music.  HHCC President, Grace, accepted the Certificate of Appreciation.  :) 

Donation to Danbury Hospital Greatly Appreciated

More Chemo Caps Collected (insert: HHCC Pres Grace getting ready
to turn caps over to the Danbury Hospital).



At the "Coffee, Crochet & Chat" session held this Wednesday at Panera Bread on Federal Road in Brookfield, CT, twenty more chemo caps were collected, bringing the total to 85! 

Afterwards, HHCC President, Grace, and HHCC Founder, Dee, brought all of the group's chemo caps to the Danbury Hospital.  While they were waiting to turn the caps over to the hospital staff, several patients approached Grace and Dee and expressed their gratitude for them.  Dee said afterwards, "It was very humbling.  I'm really proud our HHCC members have such big hearts!"

The HHCC will continue to collect chemo caps year-round.  If you'd like to contribute a chemo cap/hat (or more!), please bring it/them to any HHCC meeting.

Meeting Detail: February 2012

Jane Chapman, Creative Arts Coordinator
and Grace, HHCC President

Our first meeting at the Danbury Library was a lot of fun!  Jane Chapman, Creative Arts Coordinator of The Big E was our Special Guest.  Since 2002 (with the exception of last year), the HHCC has enjoyed participating in The Big E - the United States ninth largest state fair - on what is known as Connecticut Day.  Jane outlined the new demonstration area they have in the New England State building, as well as new crochet categories they have for their competition.  The HHCC members will be back at the Big E this September - watch our blog, Twitter, and Facebook page for additional information.

HHCC Member, Diane, with her
Crazy Stitch swatch.

Our member Dee offered instructions on the Crazy stitch.  She advised that there are two versions of this stitch, one worked in rows straight across (also known as The Box Stitch), and the other worked diagonally.  Dee taught the diagonal version.  If you missed the meeting, check out these links that offer instructions on both versions:

• The Box or Brick Stitch
• The Diagonal Stitch

Dee stated she does have a preference - the Diagonal version.  She also likes to substitute the double crochet with extended half-double crochet stitches to "soften the drape."

A sea of Chemo Caps to be donated to the Danbury Hospital.

HHCC'ers also showed they have big hearts.  At the meeting 65 adult chemo caps were collected; these will be donated to the Danbury Hospital this week as part of the "Hats from the Heart" campaign the CGOA Chapter does annually.

There was also some show & tell; visit us on our Facebook page for additional pictures & meeting details.  :)

HHCC February 12th Meeting

The HHCC's monthly meeting,

scheduled for Sunday, February 12th, 2012,

is being held at:

The Danbury Free Public Library
(bottom floor)
located on 170 Main Street, Danbury, CT
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Participants are asked to park in the A. Bardo parking garage (1 block away, located on 10 Library Place, hourly rate of $1.00 per hr)
or along West Street (metered parking, at the time of this blog entry, is free on Sundays; 2 hr limit)

Members and participants of the meeting are asked to bring chemo caps/hats as part of
the HHCC's "Hats from the Heart" campaign.  Caps/Hats need to be adult size, for both men
& women.  These will be donated to the Danbury Hospital.
(pictured above, on right, is a Lacy Chemo Cap designed by Dee; pattern can be found here.)
"Hats from the Heart" labels will be provided at the
February meeting; otherwise, labels can be downloaded/printed from here.

ALSO:  Upon popular request, members interested in learning how to crochet the "Crazy Stitch/ AKA The Diagonal Stitch," bring yarn & appropriate sized crochet hook to practice with.

HHCC'ers "Feel Good" at November 'Block Party'

At the November monthly meeting yesterday, HHCC'ers gathered, armed with crochet hooks & knitting needles and generous hearts, to create squares for the Lands End "Feel Good"/ Warm Up America campaign.

The yarn, with characteristics similar to Lion Brands' Microspun yarn, was donated by Lands End; the HHCC received three cones which were wound into "cakes" and placed on each table.

Some members, like Nancy, had requested an individual cone; she worked up this pretty pumpkin-colored lapghan (pictured on right) at home, leaving the ends to be woven in at the meeting.  It turned out so pretty that members requested she write up the pattern!
(Nancy will let us know if she does.)

 Within a short amount of time there were enough squares to start the assembly of a lapghan.  Dee was in charge of the assembly and decided the best approach was to use the "single crochet, chain one, single crochet, chain one" approach.  "This joining technique is not only fast," she said, "but also allows for some breathing room when squares are not exactly the same size."  Ruth replied, "Oh, I just love this joining technique for the same reasons Dee does, plus it looks so pretty!"

How to crochet squares together:
Step 1: Lay out your squares the way you want them to appear.

Step 2: Take a square from Row 1, and a square from Row 2, and place back to back, right sides facing out.

Step 3: Join yarn to first square, create a single crochet, chain one, single crochet into the second square, chain one.

Step 4: Repeat the process, alternating from square to square across to the corner, ending with a chain one.

Step 5: Grab two more squares and continue stitching until all squares for Row 1 and Row 2 are connected together.  End of.

Step 6: Follow instructions from Step 2 - Step 5 until all rows are connected.
Step 7: Turn the afghan, and begin connecting rows in other direction in the same fashion.

For Show & Tell, Margaret brought in a variety of children sweaters & scarves she created from her crochet and knit swatches.  "See, good can come from swatching!" chuckled Margaret.  Everyone Ohh'd and Ahh'd over her creative stitch work.

HHCC member Elaine took advantage of getting some computer help from our "resident expert," Dee Jr.  Elaine is new to working with computers; she learned how to create documents, save them, and email them.  "I love computers," said Dee Jr, "and it was fun to help Elaine."  Elaine stated about her lessons, "He's really good! He knows his computers!  Now I can type up my patterns, save them, and email them off!"

Members also turned in their crocheted and knitted goodies that will be donated next month.  Their generosity overflowed to a luggage cart!  There is no doubt that at this monthly meeting HHCC's "Feel Good" about helping our local community!  :)

These items will be donated the first week of December -- watch for our blog post with the details!

HHCC'ers "Feel Good" at CBS Early Show

HHCC'ers helping to promote crochet
on the CBS Early Show

 Beating the sunrise, HHCC members Candy, Dee, Grace, Irene, Jennifer, and Zip met up early in the moring yesterday  -- in New York City --to help Brett Bara kick off the "Feel Good" Campaign on the CBS Early Show. 

Brett Bara, host of the PBS program, Knit and Crochet Now!, teamed up with Lands End, who is donating 5,000 pounds of yarn to the Warm Up America organization.  They are aiming to get enough crocheters and knitters to create some 64,000 6"x9" squares that will later be assembled into afghans and donated to people in need.

HHCC'er Zip feeds Dave Price, CBS Weatherman, yarn
with NYCCG members cheering him on.

The HHCC was joined by another CGOA Chapter: the New York City Crochet Guild, also celebrating their ninth anniversary this year!
   

 In the picture to the right is Zip, wearing her Ribbon Winning Vest, feeding yarn to the afghan she was working on when CBS Weatherman Dave Price borrowed it for a weather update.  To the left of Dave are NYCCG members.

At the event yesterday, Lands End gave those participating a scarf; and presented totes and fingerless gloves to those who completed scarves early during the taping.  At the end of the two-hour show, Brett Bara exlaimed how happy she was with the progress and asked everyone to help promote this worthy cause.  The HHCC, will continue on with this worthy cause by having a "Block Party," at our November meeting.



Crochet is Forecasted to be
 Hot! Hot! Hot!



After the CBS Early Show taping, everyone was invited for a tour of the studio, of which HHCC'er Irene wasted no time to forecast that crochet will continue to be hot, hot, hot!

For more details, pictures and such about this event, please check out the following links:

• CrochetingWithDee.com
• AP Images
• Yahoo News (in image see the NYCCG in background w/Brett Bara)
• My Journey With Yarn and Beyond

Brett Bara appears on Connecticut News Station WTNH/Channel 8.  Square crocheted by Dee recognized in segment!  Click Here to watch the video clip: http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/ct_style/community/wake-up-america.

The FeelGood program/ HHCC Block Party

Lands’ End has teamed up with Warm Up America!, and with Crochet Today editor Brett Bara as their spokesperson, on an exciting project to help warm up families in need this winter. The Crochet Guild of America's member guilds have been invited to join in the fun. Lands’ End is donating 5000 pounds of their soft FeelGood yarn so that 64,000 blanket squares by a combination of groups can be knitted and crocheted. The goal is 2000 blankets by mid-December!!

-- AND THE HHCC WILL BE A PARTICIPATING CGOA CHAPTER!! --

The HHCC will be having a "Block Party" at our November 14th meeting. We will need volunteers to crochet or knit 6" x 9" (or 9" x 6") squares with the 153 pounds of yarn from Lands End, as well as volunteers to assemble them into afghans!

The afghans will be donated to the Elizabeth House of Danbury, a shelter for battered women & their children.

The HHCC will also be helping Brett kick off this event by joining her at the CBS Early Show on Wednesday, September 29th. Watch for HHCC members in the crowd as Brett interviews with the show's host about the FeelGood program.

Knit One, Save One Collections

The Caps to the Capital campaign from 2006/2007, sponsored by the Save the Children foundation, was a huge success having collected some 282,000 caps, helping to save many tiny lives.


This program is being reintroduced as "Knit One, Save One," part of Save the Children's Survive to 5 program.

On October 1st, at the monthly "Coffee, Crochet & Chat" morning session, held at the Borders bookstore located in Brookfield, CT, 18 caps were collected.



Additional collections will take place on:
Wednesday, November 5th, and
Wednesday, December 3rd
at the morning sessions of "Coffee, Crochet & Chat."

All caps collected by the HHCC will be hand-delivered to the Save the Children world headquarters before the December 31st deadline. Please note you do not need to be a HHCC member to donate hats!


For more inspiration, if you are a member of the Ravelry web site, please join us at our Knit One, Save One group.

HHCC Charity Drives

Members of the HHCC are encouraged to participate in the three main charity drives for the year:

Hats from the Heart Campaign: From January to April members are encouraged to crochet adult sized chemo caps for donation to the Danbury Hospital. The hats are needed for all seasons, and need to be made of the softest of fibers. This campaign is called Hats from the Heart as the first group donation is made around Valentine's Day.



Baby Preemie Sets: From May to August members are encouraged to crochet preemie baby sets that include a little cap and afghan. Afghans should measure 18" to 24" square and be made of acrylic. (Nylon will melt when the items are sterilized.) The caps should range in size from fitting an average orange to an average grapefruit. Donations are made to the Danbury Hospital in the early fall.

Salvation Army: From September to the last week of November, members are encouraged to crochet (or knit) hats, mittens and scarves in a variety of sizes and colors. The items are gathered at the meetings and then sorted/labeled one evening at the Borders bookstore (date to be announced) to make it easier for the volunteers of the Salvation Army. Sizes up to teen/adult for both male and females are needed. Donations of new, unused, unwrapped toys is also encouraged. At a determined date, members wanting to participate in the drop~off at Foster Street in Danbury are asked to wear a Santa Hat.


If you are not a member of the HHCC but would like to participate in any of the charity drives, please do! For more information, please contact us.