Knitting for Babies- Project Progress to Date

This is about everything knitting regarding the knitting service project Knitting for Babies. We are knitting for  Project Linus as well as a private contact of our Character Leaders teacher that distributes hats, socks and other knitted items to families in need. Follow the knitting project from its launch in March of 2012 and into the future! :)

Brother trying to figure out how to knit

New knitters

February 2, 2013- Today I planned a last minute knitting group for IB C.A.S. students, both new and old. The juniors just joined the CAS meetings and they are getting involved in several new projects as well as starting some new ones too. I am trying to think of someone to continue this project into the future, and I am still working on who will handle it later once I leave for college. Today I had two of the new juniors contact me that they would like to attend knitting group so today's knitting group consisted of myself, my brother, and the two new IB students. I taught all three of them to knit today and after getting over the initial frustrations of knitting, they began to understand and appreciate knitting more as a skill and even to some people, an art. It is this creative expression that I think is really important to many people, including myself because I use knitting not only as a way to help others learn and expand their skill set, but also as a stress reliever for myself. Knitting has taught me patience and I hope that those I taught today get the same thing that I do out of knitting. Today's group was originally planed to be two hours long and it ended up being three hours because everyone was enjoying themselves so much. I have also learned that knitting builds friendships because at the beginning of this meeting I did not know the two girls that came, but by the end of it I felt as if they were friends of mine. In addition to teaching others how to knit, today I also started a new knitted square. It is made of soft pink yarn and I am projecting that the area of the square will be just over a foot squared when it is finished.
3 hours creativity

January 20, 2013- I am very excited because my mom just gave me some crocheted squares to piece together for a blanket. She told someone at her work about the knitting project and she told her sister who crochets and she made me a few squares. I am very grateful because although I do not know how to crochet, I love the pattern that it makes and I really appreciate the hard work put into a piece. I am grateful that that community is getting somewhat involved in the project.

My overly large yarn collection

January 10, 2013 to January 19, 2013- During this time period I began to knit a new square to put towards a blanket that is patched together, the square one that I mentioned in an earlier post. This square is multicolored blue and I spent approximately 7 hours knitting this square. I am hoping to patch this together with other similarly sized squares and create a blanket.
7 hours creativity

Patches the knitted dog, project mascot!

January 4, 2013- Today we met for the knitting for babies project. There were 5 people in attendance, which is pretty good for a knitting group on a busy weekend! This is the first meeting for 2013 and I am so glad that this project has been going for almost a year. We are starting to collect various beanies, socks and other items. Blankets are pretty hard to complete, especially with bust schedules, so today at the meeting I am going to propose a new direction for the project to go in. I am going to ask the group how they feel about making squares and sewing them together to make a blanket or two. I think that this would be a great thing to do. Today I taught 2 new people how to knit at knitting group, both of them first time knitters. They were surprised how easy it was after they understood it. This is something that I really want to teach people about knitting, that it is for everyone and you don't need to be 90 to knit! I want to break these stereotypes by teaching teenagers to knit and I feel as if I have been successful so far. Knitting group today lasted 5 hours total.
5 hours creativity.

Socks made by yours truly.

November-December 2012: While in Theory Of Knowledge class, I decided to knit a pair of pink tube socks. Everyone in the class already knew that I knit and many of my classmates were involved in the project and in the class we were just giving presentations in class and listening to others' presentations. I am at the point where I can knit without paying much attention to the knitting itself so I was knitting a pink sock and paying attention to people's Theory of Knowledge presentations at the same time. Throughout the rest of November and December I continued to work on the pink sock in TOK class and at home as well. I spent about 12 hours knitting this sock. It was slightly larger than I though it would be so that was quite a surprise, but that is okay because it turned out nicely. I am beginning the second sock currently, which will be inverted in color, a blue sock with a pink toe. When the pair of socks is finished, it will go in the collection to give to a family who is in need of socks for their children.
12 hours spent knitting pink sock. 12 hours creativity.

blanket squares in progress

April-December 2012- I started knitting a blanket, it is made of white fluffy yarn and large plastic needles. At first the progress was barely coming along and I realized that this was because the needles I was using were too small and that the blanket would be too thick. I then decided to unravel this blanket and create a new one because I realized that the time spent was thus ineffective if there would not be enough yarn to create a full blanket. I restarted the blanket but of course school work is very busy and I work on the blanket whenever I can. I t will be a full sized blanket when it is finished, but it will take quite some time. I know that when it is finished, it will make some child very happy and that makes it worthwhile to spend the time on the blanket.
15 hours spent knitting the white blanket so far. 15 hours of creativity.

Hats made by our knitters

May 2012- It is currently AP/IB testing season and times are getting stressful with the big tests looming in the future. I have had less time to work on the larger scale projects like a blanket, but I have found that an easy project to work, on because it is easily portable, is a small pair of baby socks. It is the perfect size to take to a study group so while I am reading and studying I can knit, and if i need a stress relief break, I can knit a row or two to calm down a bit, then continue studying. I am kitting a pair of mint green baby tube socks with size 2 needles and fingering weight yarn, they should be about newborn sized. Knitting gives me time to reflect on the creative process involved in knitting and I know that when I am finished with these socks, that parents will be very happy to have a new pair of socks for their newborn. This makes all the time knitting very well worth it, knitting gives me joy, but knitting for someone else brings me even more joy.
15 hours spent knitting pair of socks. 15 hours creativity.

March 25, 2012- Today was the first day of kitting lessons for the Knitting for Babies project that has started in partnership with IB CAS and Vista High School Character Leaders. The project focuses on teaching high school students to knit in order to make blankets for Project Linus, http://www.projectlinus.org/ a non-profit organizations that provides babies in need with blankets for comfort and warmpth. I have taken up this project as one of my IB CAS projects because I have a passion for knitting and I like to help others; whether it is making a blanket for someone, or teaching someone a new skill, I enjoy it nonetheless. About 8 people showed up for today's lesson held at my house and I realized a few things throughout this experience of teaching others to knit.

1. Everyone has different skill levels. Some people picked up knitting instatly much like I did a few years ago. Others have some more trouble visualizing how all the stitches come together for the end result of a blanket. But this is completely okay, although some people may get impatient after a while of trying to learn, it is best to be encouraging and supportive by answering all questions and demonstrating the knitting techniques that have worked for in the past.
2. When we work together with a goal in mind, anything can be possible! We began to talk about the blankets we would like to make and the difference we would make to a child with our blankets.
3. Planning is key. We were supposed to have our meeting at a local park today, but it began to rain, so we moved the knitting inside! Also we have all agreed to meet every Friday in Mr. Hanlon's room until school is out for 30 minutes during ELP to talk about our project and knit.

Today, I spent a total of 3 hours knitting and teaching. 3hrs of Creativity

Oceanside Beach Clean Up

February 9, 2013- IB CAS Beach Clean Up! Today was the second IB CAS clean up and we cleaned up the area near and around the Oceanside Pier in Oceanside, California. We took our plastic bags and gloves and began picking up trash along the sand, under the pier, and in the bushes along the street. I realized the same thing that I did while we were cleaning up the park in Vista; you don't really realize how much trash there is an an area around you until you are really looking for it and then you truly realize that impact that you are making upon the environment when you pick up the trash. It really makes you feel great that you are doing something useful to help the environment. When we were finished picking up trash, we separated out the recyclables to reuse for either an art project for the IB Art students, or to recycle. Either way, the beach was cleaner and we were recycling old materials.

2 hours of service.

2012 Sparkle and Shine 5K

Filling up more waters for racers!

December is the time for the winter Sparkle and Shine 5K in Mission Bay in San Diego. I volunteered at this event the previous year and I really enjoyed my experience. I met so many nice people and I loved the work I was doing. One thing that really motivated me to volunteer again in 2012 was  the smiles and looks of satisfaction that was on the girls faces as they finished the race, I was hoping to experience that again. It reminded me of the little moments that really create a person; even small things like completing a 5K can build confidence in the long run. I arrived at 6 am for set up and we unloaded the big truck full of all the supplied for the race. We set up a stage, marked the start and finish line and helped all the vendors set up booths. There were a lot of volunteers there and it was great to see everyone working together to make a handful of little girls' day. I worked at the snack and water table where we organized all of the donated food into piles and cut it up into appropriate serving sizes. We had bananas, fruit snacks, pastries, and bagels. We also served as the water table and I was one of the runners, making sure that we had enough cups on the table at once all with water in them. This meant constantly filling up cups and bringing new water jugs into the booth. It was a really great experience because I got to tell every finisher that came to the table for water congratulations, and it was really rewarding to see them all smile back and say thank you. I also learned the importance of communication in various situations; I was working with a group of other women and we were working very well together communicating on what needed to be put out on the table, if we needed more water and what was going on around us. It was a great experience and I would like to continue working with this organization. I left the station at 10 am.
4 hours service.

"Freeze AIDS"

December 1st isn't just 24 days until Christmas, it is World AIDS day 2012, an awareness day about this dangerous disease. Here is one thing we can all do to help raise awarenes, by "freezing AIDS" and eating ice cream!! 1.Get some ice cream and put a red ribbon in frosting or strawberry sauce on it. 2.Take a picture. 3.Upload it to http://www.freezeaids.org/. I just uploaded my picture there. When you upload your picture, they will put it on their website and give you the opportunity to donate to Givey and Chasing Zero. To mark World AIDS Day 2012, Chasing Zero and Givey have launched the campaign 'Freeze AIDS' to raise awareness of the astonishing impact Antiretroival Treatment is having around the world. (Antiretroviral treatment has been vital in seeing AIDS-related deaths plummet by 25% globally over the last 6 years). Show support today and eat ice cream! 

I spent some time researching the organizations and what they do to help out AIDS awareness. Together they have an amazing goal of eliminating AIDS all together to create an AIDS free world and cure those who are suffering from AIDS today. That would be such an amazing improvement for our world and we all need to do all we can to show our support for their cause. 

My mint chocolate chip ice cream with red frosting ribbon to support AIDS awareness. 

Learn more about these organizations:

http://www.freezeaids.org/

http://www.wearechasingzero.org/

One hour Action.

Park Clean-a-thon

Taking a break from picking up trash to take a picture in
a gazebo at Brengle Terrace Park.

PARK CLEAN-A-THON!!! This is a really exciting event for IB CAS because it is an event we planned and organized ourselves during our Friday CAS meetings at lunch. It doubles as a park clean up and a fundraiser for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) because people could sponsor us a flat rate to clean up the park and those funds go to the WWF to support their wildlife conservation efforts.
We have put forth an effort to improve our community by participating in beautification of Brengle Terrace Vista community park. This beautification came through picking up trash throughout the park. We all met on Saturday morning in the parking lot to organize into groups to disperse around the park and pick up trash. My group was myself, my boyfriend Anthony, and my brother Jake and we made a pretty amazing clean up team. We started by making our way up a hill, bushwhacking through brush and bushes collecting trash as we went. Then we made our way across a large grass slope to another brush area of slope where we walked the nature walk hiking trails and picked up as much trash as we could. We came across a hobo hut, and other areas with a lot of trash so we had to return to get a new trash bag. We made our way eventually to the Alta Vista Gardens and took a picture in the gazebo there. Some of the most common trash items we picked up were a lot of broken glass, wrappers, pieces pf paper, food packaging, and other miscellaneous items. 

Jake and Anthony picking up trash.

At the end of the 3 hour clean up, I think that our small three person group picked up the most trash, returning with one and a half large, black trash bags full of trash and probably walking 2 miles around the park. I think that it was really a learning experience for me because it opened up my eyes to the amount of trash in our parks and the disrespect that many people treat our community parks with. I didn't realize the amount of trash that was in our parks until I was looking for it and then as I picked it up I though that people should do this more often, because there was a lot of it. I am very glad that I participated in this clean-up event  because I feel that i had an  active role in community beautification and make the park safer for not just the wildlife by improving the habitat but for people as well. The amount of broken glass that we picked up could have composed a dozen large glass bottles and I felt that was dangerous for the wildlife, pets and the people enjoying the park. So a note of importance, keep everyone safe by cleaning up local parks and recreational areas.
I would enjoy doing another park clean up so at the next meeting for IB CAS I will bring up the project and maybe another organization to support.
Learn more about the work that the World Wildlife Fund does at this link. : http://worldwildlife.org/
Three hours of Service.

Making Holiday Cards for the Troops :)

A picture of some of the snowflakes that I created. 

As the holiday season is approaching, a tradition in Character Leaders is to make holiday cards for the men and women serving our country. The cards we make are sent to veteran hospitals, bases, or even overseas to bring holiday cheer to those who sacrifice their lives every day to protect our freedoms in the United States. It is the least that we can do to show our appreciation. The first after school card making day was today after school. We had paper, markers and other simple craft making supplies. I saw that some people had cut out papers in the shape of things to glue to the front of the card. I had the idea of creating snowflakes so other people could glue them to the front of their cards fro decoration. Making cut out snowflakes is something that I have been doing for years around the holiday season and this was certainly a skill that I could contribute to the card making effort. Just like people, every snowflake is different and I think that is part of the beauty of making snowflakes, the connection to human life in that sense. I spent one hour after school making cut out snowflakes and giving them to other card makers to glue to the front of their holiday cards.
One hour of creativity.

To make paper snowflakes:

1. Use either a square or circle piece of paper. You need scissors.
2. For a square piece of paper, fold the paper into a triangle and continue folding until the desired size is met. For a circle, continue folding in half until desired size is met. 
3. Cut small shapes out of the sides of the triangle. Remember that everything you cut is only half of the design that will come out on the unfolded snowflake. An example: to create a heart, cut a half of a heart into the side of the triangle.
4. Carefully unfold and enjoy! :)

Volunteerism