Swatching for Oliver

Before I had a child of my own, I could be sympathetic to a lot of child-related health issues, but I really didn't understand the depth to which they affect the parents. Now that I have a child of my own, I have a much better idea of how it feels when something happens to your child that causes them some kind of distress. Fortunately for me, Zosia hasn't had to undergo anything more distressing that the vaccinations that every child gets, but I do have friends and colleagues who have had to go through significantly more to ensure the future good health of their child or to help ensure that their child has a good quality of life.

One of those friends is Emma Emma has been my "blog neighbor" in the Knit Bloggers ring since 2002 (although, sadly, now it appears that we have been separated in cyberspace). At that time, I wasn't a very adventurous knitter and I was really just getting my knitting legs underneath me. I can still remember the incredible good feelings I got one evening after coming home from work and finding a package from England on my door step: my first sock yarn. How amazing that someone I knew only by email would send me a thoughtful gift to encourage me in a new direction. It was the start of an addiction, a fiber trading experience, and, best of all, a friendship.

Since that time, Emma and I have sent quite a bit of fiber back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. She's remembered many of my special events with lovely electronic greeting cards and when I had problems with miscarrying, she was one of the first to email and talk to me about it. I know she's made relationships with many knitters around the world -- she's left many kind and positive comments on many blogs. And I know she's been generous with her words and her needles to many people. I don't know if I will ever get to meet Emma in person, but I know I would love to have her living on my block here in Chicago.

Emma has a very lovely son, Oliver. I've been enjoying Emma's pictures of Oliver since I started reading her blog a long long time ago. He has a beautiful smile. He also has cerebral palsy, and, as he grows, he's had increasing needs for equipment that helps him to be mobile and helps Emma and Alan give him the kind of experiences that every child deserves to have.

Right now, Oliver is in need of a larger car seat. Any of you out there that have kids already know how much gear costs for kids. A good car seat can cost anything from $50 - $300. Oliver's equipment costs significantly more. In order to help out Emma with some of those expenses, Michaela has started a project that can help you de-stash a little and feel good about helping out a fellow knitter and her child. She's sent out a call for 4" x 4" knit squares. She's collecting them and is going to seam them together into what she hopes will be at least 2 blankets. And then these blankets will raffled off to help out with some of Oliver's needs for new gear. She initially envisioned the squares out of left over sock yarn (although she is open to squares out of almost any yarn except lace weights and super bulkies).

Since, we all know I have a lot of left over sock yarn, and I've been able to find some extra knitting time while Z nurses, I thought I might be able to put this time to some extra special use. I talked it over with Ms. Z and she enthusiastically endorsed the project with a big smile and a willingness not to squirm too much while she nursed. So I pulled out some yarn, and my copy of Barbara Walker's stitch treasury and started on my first square.

Swatching for Oliver

For my swatches, I'm using some Opal (in honor of the fact that the first sock yarn I ever knit with was from Emma and was Opal -- it's still one of my favorites) and some Tess Designer Yarn's sock yarn that was left over from my Jaywalkers. The first swatch, done in the Opal, is in a pattern called "Quaker Ridging" which I think works pretty well with the self-patterning Opal and isn't too complicated to work on while keeping an eye on a hungry baby.

There's still plenty of time if you'd like to contribute to the project as well -- I believe Michaela has extended the deadline for squares until the beginning of December. Maybe you have some swatches of the right size that you've already knit that have been looking for the right new home? Maybe you've been looking for an excuse to try out some stitch patterns for fun? This is a neat way to play with yarn and help someone out without having to knit an entire garment. Isn't it nice to think that a 4" x 4" square of knitting could help make a kid's life a little better?