My dear readers, it is so hard for me to believe that it has been nearly a year since we started our Yarn Storming project. The idea was simple: ask knitters to send in their unwanted, never-gonna-use stash yarn and redistribute it to knitters who, due to the economic downturn or God-knows-what, can’t afford to purchase yarn. From there, the project expanded to included providing yarn to knitters and crafters who just need a little surprise pick-me-up and even charity knitting groups that lovingly produce handmade blankets, hats and other finished objects to hospitals, nursing homes, homeless organizations and NGOs.

To date, Nancy Pope, our Yarn Storming CEO, and her faithful assistant Matt have shipped over 130 packages bursting with yarn all over the country and all over the world.  They have sent yarn to a prison shawl ministry, service men and women in Afghanistan and to so many knitters who needed a little sunshine.

And oh what beautiful yarn they have shipped! You all have reached into your hearts and your stashes and provided such lovely yarns for us to redistribute. We’re talking Noro, people. And Manos and so many more. You dug deep, and gave generously, and made so many people happy.

If you’d like to know more about Yarn Storming check out our Ravelry Group. If you’d like to make a yarn donation please send it to: Yarn Storming,  2091 Sydney Drive,  North Merrick, NY 11566. If you’d like to make an always-needed donation to help defray the cost of shipping out these lovely packages, please send it to the address above or via Paypal to yarnstorming99@gmail.com

If you would know a knitter or crocheter who could use a little happy or if your charity knitting group could use a yarn boost, send a nomination to yarnstorming99@gmail.com. We will need the stormee’s name and mailing address. All packages are shipped anonymously, so nominate away!

If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you are probably already familiar with a project we started last year called Yarn Storming. I don’t know if anything I’ve ever been involved with has ever made me prouder than this project.

In a nutshell, Yarn Storming gathers unwanted stash yarn from knitters all over the world and sends it out to knitters in need. The need can be due to financial circumstances or even just the need for a little happiness.

The thing about me is, I’m good at having ideas but I don’t have a lot of time to take anything else on. So I was thrilled when my dear friend Nancy offered to take on Yarn Storming. Nancy and her son Matt have taken in donations and gotten that yarn right back out to people who need it 100 times! Can I just repeat that? 100 people and organizations have received great big boxes of yarn.

If you’re ever in need of a good cry, check out the Thank You posts that Stormees post in our Ravelry group. These packages mean so much more than yarn to these people. And you made all of this possible.

My heart nearly bursts when I think about all the generosity you all have shown. But now I have to ask you for a little bit more. First, and most importantly, we need nominations! Nancy’s spare room is over-flowing with yarn just waiting to go out to someone who will use it, but we need to know who needs it. You can nominate anyone who you thinks would benefit from Storming by sending a PM to MattsMom through Ravelry or emailing Nancy at npope99 AT gmail DOT com. Organizations that do charity knitting can nominate themselves.

One more thing. I hate to think what the Nancy and her family have spent personally on shipping for this project. And she has never once complained about it. But what do you say we all take one a small part of the burden for them? If you can spare $5 or $10 to help a very worthy cause, please donate to yarnstorming99@gmail.com via Paypal. You can pay with a credit card, even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

Finally, if you have some yarn in your stash that you know you’re never going to use, you can send it to:

Yarn Storming
2091 Sydney Drive
North Merrick, NY 11566

Nancy and Matt will get it out to someone who needs it right away.

This week has been a busy one for the Juniper Moon crew. Paige and Erin are frantically packing up the last of the Spring 09 Shares for shipment; we hope to have the last of them out the door by Friday! I’ve dyeing new colorways for the shop, catching up on my chronically full email inbox, helping with retail shipping and working with Miss Lucy. Every minute has been accounted for at least once if not twice this week and we haven’t even started decorating for our Solstice Party on the 19th yet!

On Sunday I am flying down to Fort Worth to see my mom and sister and driving back in my sister’s car. Carrie just got an amazing job in Denmark! We are so proud of her but I am going to miss her fiercely. She’ll be starting at the beginning of January which is practically tomorrow. Since she won’t be needing a car here, I’m buying her’s to replace Chuck, my truck.

I’m really sad about losing Chuck but we’ve had five years together and it’s time. I leased the truck and really wanted to buy it out of the lease, but Toyota and I have vastly different ideas about what a five-year-old farm truck is worth, so I’m turning him in this weekend.

I am looking for some audio book recommendations for my drive from Fort Worth to Virginia next week. I usually like to download a couple of options, at least one of which is non-fiction, for a looooong drive like this one. Got any favorites? Post ‘em here for me.

In other news, our Yarnstorming Project is still going great guns and we have loads of yarn to send out to knitters in need but we are in need of donations for shipping expenses. If you’d like to help please send your contribution via paypal to program coordinator Nancy P at yarnstorming99@gmail.com. Any amount you can spare is greatly appreciated! Also, be sure to join our Yarnstorming Group on ravelry.

More news tomorrow! I’ve got to get back to the dye pots.

I can’t believe that two whole months have gone by since we began the Yarn Storming project.Or maybe I can, because so many amazing things have happened since then.

To date, Nancy and Matt, the Yarn Storming U.S.A. Team, have received 73 donations of yarn from all over the world. Most of the yarn has come from individual knitters but we have also received yarn from Yarn Forward Magazine and Knit Picks. So much yarn has come in that Nancy’s sainted husband Bob has been grumbling about the need to rent a storage unit!

Just as fast as the yarn comes in it is repackaged and sent out to Stormees that have been nominated by someone who thinks they could use a little lift. 37 enormous packages have gone out, mostly to individuals, but also to:

A prayer shawl group in a woman’s prison in Tenn
A group of charity knitters in a nursing home in Michagan
An ARC DayHab group in Poughkeepsie
A group making bears for children removed from their homes by the courts in Suffolk County ,NY
A social worker at a hospital working in a juvenile psychiatric inpatient unit
A mother’s charity group in Argentina making blankets for babies
and a charity group at Naval hospital in Sicily

Several Stormees have blogged about their experience being stormed and many more have expressed their gratitude in this rav thread. [Because I am a Kittenhead, I can't read these without getting weepy.]

Yarn Storming has also been the subject of a small piece in this month’s Yarn Forward Magazine and inspired new branches in the U.K. and Canada.

I am so proud of what Yarn Storming has accomplished that my heart is near bursting! Y’all are an amazing community that never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Thank you. And a special thanks to Nancy and Matt, who have taken this project from a crazy idea in my head to a reality that has brightened the days of people who really need it.

If you’re interested in becoming a Yarn Stormer you can join our ravelry group, donate your unwanted stash yarn by mailing it to Yarn Storming, 2091 Sydney Drive, North Merrick, NY 11566, or donate money to help cover the cost of shipping via paypal address yarnstorming99@gmail.com.

But mostly, we need more nominations. If you know someone who you think would benefit from Yarn Storming, email me at susie AT fiberfarm DOT com.