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We are so excited to introduce you to Crochet by Vanessa Rae! This skilled crocheter is offering to donate scarves to Threads of Compassion when you purchase selected scarves from her.  She has been volunteering with us for quite some time and has donated some beautiful scarves. When she inquired about this idea it was very easy to say YES! We knew that she would be offering great, quality scarves to those who participate in her offer.

This new initiative allows you to donate a scarf to us with each purchase of an infinity scarf. The timing is perfect for our cooler weather as well as gift-giving this holiday season. She has an Etsy store with details of the offer as well as a Facebook page with more samples of her work.

We hope you’ll check out her site and consider making a purchase.

We had a great Work Day in September!

One volunteer spent about an hour and a half packaging 51 scarves. We had 88 more scarves that were taken home to be washed and packaged in October.

There were people that stopped by to drop off scarves or yarn and visit for a few minutes. We had some that great scarves that had arrived in the mail or been dropped off at the building. Several ladies worked on some beautiful scarves that will be ready in the next month or two to be packaged and made available to offer comfort to survivors.

Thank you to each person who joined us in September, we look forward to seeing you again soon!

We’re looking for  votes! Please consider taking a few seconds to vote for our photo in the contest. Yarnspirations is hosting a giveaway of Caron United yarn to be used for charity projects. We’d love to take their yarn and turn it into scarves. They are going to do a random drawing from the top 10 entries, based on number of votes received before the contest ends on August 1st at 10 am EST.

You can see our entry and vote for us here. Please note that you need to vote, not just like the photo. It’s votes that count, not likes. The  voting happens on Facebook, but you don’t have to have a Facebook account to vote.

Please share this with others who may like to help us try to win the yarn.

Our Threads of Compassion OKC website is in need of some help… the hosting service we have just isn’t working for us anymore. Though I don’t understand all the technical stuff, it seems we’re just a bit too big for the $5/month version we’ve just been paying for ourselves.

In fact, over the weekend the site was “down” for 17 hours. That’s what inspired me to go ahead and seek some help. Around $25/month will get what we need and since that is quite a jump from $5 I thought I’d ask for help.

Maybe you don’t knit or crochet, but you do care about assault victims, and giving a bit of money could be your way to be a part of offering some comfort. Or, maybe you do already give scarves and would still like to help with the site. Either way, we welcome your partnership in this part of the project.

Whether you have $5 to give, or $25 for a month, or wanna go ahead and give $300 to cover the year, we’d love your help! You can get it to us by check through the mail, cash if you’re able to meet near OKC, or PayPal if you’d like to donate online.

Thanks for thinking about joining us in offering comfort to survivors of sexual assault!

It is so cool to see the Threads community expanding! One of the staff members from the YWCA has a connection to a TOPS club that likes to help with charity projects. When she told them about our work, they were excited to join us.

Several of their members got busy crocheting and knitting and delivered 36 scarves this month. In addition to that, one of their members was able to join us at our June meeting, bringing quite a few scarves with her as well.

It really is neat to see how we can all have a part of providing comfort, whether that is making the scarves, packaging them, or sharing with others who can do the work. There’s a place for everyone at Threads of Compassion!

As you may have noticed, we have a work day each month. Most months it is the first Sunday and we meet from 2-5 pm in Edmond. Every month is different, how many people come, and what exactly we do varies. But some elements are always the same… Some of us work on scarves, we visit with each other, and we package the completed scarves.

Though the meeting is scheduled for a 3-hour block of time, some people stop by for just a couple of minutes or half an hour or so, while others stay the whole time. One participant’s 2-year old daughter and husband usually stop by for a bit as well.

We’ve had one lady who wanted to be a part of Threads but didn’t knit or crochet or have time to learn right now. It’s been great to have her come package the scarves so that the rest of us can continue making them. Before she came a few of us would stop working on our current project and do the packaging. Now we can keep going!

At our June meeting it was neat to watch 2 different people learn new things. One lady admired a scarf donated by another and learned the pattern from her and started a new scarf with that pattern. Another was able to learn a new way to change colors of yarn without making a knot. It is so cool to be part of a group that is willing to share knowledge with one another. We also had a great time just talking and getting to know one another.

One person new to the group arrived with quite a few scarves she had made and another brought yarn to donate. You can see photos of the scarves we received this month in our Facebook album.

You just really never know what great things may happen at the work day. We’d love to see you soon at one of the meetings!

We’re working on something new – scarves for men!

At the Yarn Party one of our participants learned that one of the YWCA volunteers met with a male client at the hospital and discovered that all of the available scarves were pretty girly. They were all so girly in color and style that she didn’t feel comfortable offering him one.

Then, at last month’s workday that same participant noticed a donated scarf that was created in neutral colors. Seeing it reminded her of the conversation and she asked about packaging some designated for men. What a great idea! We decided to start making some specifically for men. While we don’t have a specific pattern or color in mind, we’re going for ones that are neutral, or at least not done in traditionally feminine colors, as well as patterns that aren’t too frilly.

We have already delivered our first one! It’s packaged just like all the others we’ve delivered, with an extra label on the outside designating it as a men’s scarf. This way it fits well with the others and the volunteer will be able to easily distinguish it from the other scarves when the need arises.

Our goal is have nine men’s scarves available at all times. This would allow us to have 3 at each hospital where victims may be treated. That way,  just like the women, the men will be able to select their scarf out of a few choices.

Please join us if you can! Knit or crochet a scarf that you think a man would like. Or, donate some yarn that we can turn into a scarf for a man.

 

Our May 2014 Work Day was a  fun and productive time. It’s always great to see what others are working on and have a chance to visit about what’s happening in each other’s lives.

Four of us worked on scarves, finishing one and making good progress on the others.

One lady came to package the scarves. She doesn’t knit or crochet, but she wanted to help. Having her there to package the scarves meant that others could keep going on their projects in progress. She spent about an hour getting just about 30 scarves packaged for delivery. We were so glad to have her join us.

It’s great that we have a place for everyone at Threads!

We recently participated in the YWCA 2 Minute 5K. This was our third time to register and second time to actually do it 🙂

It was not easy to do. It  was a lot of walking at one time for me, as my longest stretches of walking these days involve chasing an active 2 1/2 year old. It was cold and windy and it didn’t take long for my feet (unaccustomed to serious walking) to start hurting.

As we were walking the 5K I found some similarities between participating in it and my experience of recovering from rape that seemed worth sharing…

“This is hard” I heard myself whine at one point. We were walking kind of fast into some pretty strong wind and I just didn’t find it enjoyable. Well, recovering from rape has been hard too.

“I don’t wanna keep going, but turning around won’t help because the car is up there at the finish line” It’s true I wanted the walking in the wind to be finished, to not have to deal with it. I wanted to sit down somewhere nice and warm instead of walk a few more cold windy miles. Redefining my life following the assault hasn’t always been easy. There have been times that I didn’t want to keep dealing with the new reality, but since I can’t turn back time and undo the event I keep going forward.

Other participants were cheering for us. The fast ones who ran and were passing us on their way to the finish line before we even made it half way spoke encouraging words. Volunteers were there to give out water, smiles, and “you can do it’s”. A crowd was at the finish line with medals and cheers. My recovery journey has included lots of people in lots of places who have walked alongside me and cheered me on. Each time I’ve needed a boost, it’s been there just waiting for me to seek it out.

It felt good to cross the finish line. Even though we came in last with a time of one hour and seven minutes, I felt a sense of joy and accomplishment as I crossed the line and received my medal. (this moment was a bit sweeter knowing that we’d beaten our previous time by about 5 minutes) Each time I’ve overcome a hurdle that was a result of the assault I’ve felt a sense of accomplishment and joy. I’ve had moments of victory over challenges that are a direct result of being raped. Those moments of victory feel good.

Walking the whole 5K wasn’t easy, but it was possible, I did it. And, I’m here to tell you that recovering from rape isn’t easy, but it’s possible, I’ve done it!

I’m thankful for each person that has assisted me along the way and I’m hopeful that I can provide that same encouragement for someone who comes along after me and finds themselves in need.