The Knit 15 Challenge

Here I am at the end of July, and I am finally paying some attention to the blog! Oh well, at least I managed to post once this month.

My main reason for writing this post is to show you what I have been knitting during the past couple of weeks, and to perhaps inspire you to think about knitting for a good cause.

This is my current in-progress Mother Bear, Mother Bear #7 (link is to my Ravelry project page). As you can see, she still needs some work; another arm, a face, a skirt, some stuffing. I'm knitting her for a wonderful charity effort, the Mother Bear Project, that brings comfort—in the form of bears—to children in developing nations who are affected by AIDS.

I've been knitting Mother Bears off and on for several years, and the biggest reward for me is seeing the faces of the children when they receive my bears. Here is my latest bear to find her forever friend; so sweet!

If you want to see more examples of the happiness that a bear can bring, check out the photos on the Mother Bear Project's Flickr photostream. I guarantee that those kids will put a smile on your face.

My most recent bear knitting was inspired by my friend, Jill, who is Jillsknit on Ravelry. She has started what she is calling the Knit 15 Challenge. The idea is to spend 15 minutes a day knitting for charity. She saw it as a way to rediscover your knitting mojo if it has gone missing, but even if you have mojo to spare, knitting to help others is also a great way to help yourself, too.

I'd love to see other knitters pick up the challenge. Even if you don't do charity knitting for 15 minutes every day, give it a try when you can. If you post a photo of your charity knitting on Instagram, use the hashtags #knit15 and #knit15challenge.

I have been doing some other charity knitting lately, and I'll be back with more information—and inspiration, too, I hope—soon.