Send A Hug For Syrian Children!

"Living God, our world is broken-hearted by the atrocity of chemical weapons being used in Syria, killing children, women, and men indiscriminately. And our hearts grieve no less for the many tens of thousands killed and millions displaced by the civil war there. We pray for peace, God of peace: not just the cessation of conflict, but a new day of reconciliation, civility, and collaboration for the common good ... in the Middle East, and around the world'' ( extract from a prayer for peace in Syria by Brian D. McLaren)

As we join many people around the world in a day of praying for peace in Syria.
Send a hug to a Syrian child and help keep children warm during cold and wet Turkish winters,by knitting/crocheting/weaving 8 inch squares. We will then sew the squares together to make blankets for the Syrian refugee children. It will also let them know that they have not been forgotten - they are loved and cared for.

Every square is a hug from someone who cares!

Please consider making a square or two today. Any spare wool you have can be knitted / crocheted / woven into eight inch squares and then we'll stitch them all together into a blanket. Our blankets are lovingly sewn together from squares made by adults and children from all walks of life and many different countries around the wold.

Squares Needed: 8” x 8” (20 cm x 20 cm) Knitted or Crocheted or woven. (we will make good use of any size but 8'' is best)
Any Design, Any Colour, but Straight Edge please. 
Acrylic if possible (or whatever you have in your stash!) 
When sending squares could you please enclose: 
Your Name & Your e-mail address so I can let you know I've received them.

You can also find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/LilyLoveInTheLanguageOfYarn

Refugees fleeing Syria urgently need our help. 

Help us make a difference today!

'Lily' is supported by businesses and individuals in Turkey, whether it be donations of yarn, Knitting and Crocheting or transportation of completed blankets to receiving agencies.

'Lily' has no paid employees.  All the good work is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

'Lily' wishes to thank all those private individuals and businesses which support us.  Without you, there would be no 'Lily' - Love In the Language of Yarn.  We work hard for the day when we are no longer needed to help keep Children warm.

Dianne Jones - Founder of  'Lily'- Love In the Language of Yarn.
Address - 'LILY' C/O Dianne Jones
                   Türkmen Mahlesi
                    Ünlü sokak No 10 D4
                    Kuşadası
                    Aydin
                    Turkey.
We now also have a  branch in Jordan, the address to send squares to Jordan is 
'LILY' C/O  A Mencke
P.O. Box  2842
Jubeiha
Jordan, 11941

'Thoughtful Thursday' Syrian Children Out In The Cold

Photo: AFP

As I lay in my bed last night, listening to the storm outside (torrential rain, thunder, lightning), I was thinking of the Syrian refugees. Thinking of the children who have already been through so much suffering and now having to live in tents as winter conditions set in. Yesterday I read a report from Save the children Out In The Cold a compilation of testimonies and photos laying out some of the challenges Syrian families face as they prepare to endure a cruel winter, out in the cold, and it broke my heart. There is a photo of a little boy aged 5 with his hands all chapped from the cold saying ' I want a blanket'. That image won't leave me! 
I am so proud and amazed by all we (LILY) have achieved - 10 months since I founded LILY - Love In the Language of Yarn and I put out a plea for knitted and crochet squares to make blankets for the Syrian children in the refugee camps in Turkey we have sent off an amazing 4,225 blankets to help warm the children. But it's not enough! there are at the moment 154,705 Syrian refugees in Turkey and at least 60% of them are children.

Please Help LILY

I am asking if everyone can send just 3 squares! I realise the cost of sending items by post especially to Turkey can be costly but  3 squares  would fit easily into an envelope and postage shouldn't be too great. 

 So please if you could just knit or crochet 3 x 8inch squares, pop them in an envelope and send them to the address at the bottom of this page, we will sew them together to make blankets and a child with nothing will get a warm and colourful, cover for their bed!

We work with reputable, experienced relief agencies to securely transport and distribute our hand-knit and crocheted blankets. 
You can also find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/LilyLoveInTheLanguageOfYarn

Please Help If You Can!

'Lily' is supported by businesses and individuals in Turkey, whether it be donations of yarn, Knitting and Crocheting or transportation of completed blankets to receiving agencies.

'Lily' has no paid employees.  All the good work is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

'Lily' wishes to thank all those private individuals and businesses which support us.  Without you, there would be no 'Lily' - Love In the Language of Yarn.  We work hard for the day when we are no longer needed to help keep Children warm.

Dianne Jones - Founder of  'Lily'- Love In the Language of Yarn.
Address - 'LILY' C/O Dianne Jones
                   Türkmen Mahlesi
                    Ünlü sokak No 10 D4
                    Kuşadası
                    Aydin
                    Turkey.

3 Little Squares

Merry Christmas.

But please if you can spare a little of your time knit a square or three for our 3 Square Appeal.
Hundreds of Syrians crossed into Turkey on Monday, a day after an airstrike reportedly targeted a bakery and killed scores of people in a rebel-held Syrian town, 1,100,  refugees mostly women and children arrived on foot or by cars. Turkey is now hosting more than 145,000 refugees from Syria in 13 refugee camps  and soon to be 3 more.

(photo credit: AP/Khalil Hamra)

I realise the cost of sending items by post especially to Turkey can be costly. Therefore I've decided to launch this 3 square appeal. I am asking everyone especially during the season of goodwill even though it's a very busy time, PLEASE spare a thought for the Children of the Syrian refugees and if you could knit just 3 squares they would fit easily into an envelope and postage shouldn't be too great.

Please if you could just knit or crochet 3 x 8inch squares, pop them in an envelope and send them to the address at the bottom of this page, we will sew them together to make blankets and a child with nothing will get a warm and colourful, cover for their bed!

FOR ONE 8"/20 cms SQUARE, you will need:Yarn from a 100 gram (3.5 oz) ball of yarn or scraps of yarn  worsted weight , double knit or 8plySize 4mm needles  10 (USA)A yarn sewing needle. Cast on 32 stitches (try to make your stitches neither too loose nor too tight to help ensure uniform squares) Row 1: knit Row 2: knit. These two rows form the 'garter' stitch knitting pattern for your square but you use any stitch you prefer, beascreative as you like. Continue knitting  until you have knitted a square To ensure you square is 8"/20cm either use a tape measure .

Cast off Use your yarn sewing needle to sew in all the yarn ends using a darning method.

VERY IMPORTANT Leave a one metre length of your yarn attached to your work after you have cast off. This will be used to join the squares together. but if you're changing colors work in your other tails.  DO NOT TIE AND CUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE KNOT, THAT IS GUARANTEED TO COME UNDONE.  Knot if you want, but leave a tail and work in your ends. 

leave 1metre of yarn attahed.

We work with reputable, experienced relief agencies to securely transport and distribute our hand-knit and crocheted blankets. 
You can also find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/LilyLoveInTheLanguageOfYarn

Please Help If You Can!

'Lily' is supported by businesses and individuals in Turkey, whether it be donations of yarn, Knitting and Crocheting or transportation of completed blankets to receiving agencies.

'Lily' has no paid employees.  All the good work is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

'Lily' wishes to thank all those private individuals and businesses which support us.  Without you, there would be no 'Lily' - Love In the Language of Yarn.  We work hard for the day when we are no longer needed to help keep Children warm.

Dianne Jones - Founder of  'Lily'- Love In the Language of Yarn.
Address - 'LILY' C/O Dianne Jones
                   Türkmen Mahlesi
                    Ünlü sokak No 10 D4
                    Kuşadası
                    Aydin
                    Turkey.

Wednesday Question: How To Join Knitted Squares?

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more.
Here is this weeks question  This is a question I was asked yesterday during a charity knit in-  How do you join knitted squares together?

Answer: 

I have been doing this for some time and i have seen quite a few ways of joining the squares, and some methods of joining them are better than others. This is the method I prefer as it is a very secure method of joining and is quite unobtrusive both visually and comfort wise.

Place your squares so that the direction of knit for each one is perpendicular to the next one, so one vertical and its neighbours horizontal, as below. If you're a quilter then it's like 'post and rail'.

Place your squares flat on a table, right side up and arrange the colours in a pleasing manner.

Thread a wool needle with either a long length of yarn leftover from the cast on or bind off, or join in a new length, about one and a half times the length of the section you will be stitching.

Start with a figure of 8 knot into each corner stitch, from the right side down and through then

up over to the other side and right side down and through again. Repeat this twice so that each of the 2 corners has been stitched twice.

Next you'll start joining the two selvedges, one is a garter stitch side edge and the other will be a cast on or bind off edge. If you look closely you'll see what i've done.

Matching stitch on one side by knitted row on the other, you pick up a horizontal bar from each side in turn, pull the thread all the way through for each stitch and pull the stitch firm but not tight. Choose an edge stitch or at most one knit stitch in from the edge. Sometimes you have to make a decision as to which one to choose but try to make a rule for yourself so that you always choose the same way.

When it's done right you'll find that the stitches disappear and the end result is very neat and flat, see below. I found this method a little tedious at first while i was learning it, but now i love it as the final wrap looks lovely and i know it's going to stay together for many years no matter what harsh treatment it gets.

I have been doing this for some time and i have seen quite a few ways of joining the squares, and some methods of joining them are better than others. This is the method I preferI as it is a very secure method of joining and is quite unobtrusive both visually and comfort wise.

Place your squares so that the direction of knit for each one is perpendicular to the next one, so one vertical and its neighbours horizontal, as below. If you're a quilter then it's like 'post and rail'.

Place your squares flat on a table, right side up and arrange the colours in a pleasing manner.

Thread a wool needle with either a long length of yarn leftover from the cast on or bind off, or join in a new length, about one and a half times the length of the section you will be stitching.

Start with a figure of 8 knot into each corner stitch, from the right side down and through then

up over to the other side and right side down and through again. Repeat this twice so that each of the 2 corners has been stitched twice.

Next you'll start joining the two selvedges, one is a garter stitch side edge and the other will be a cast on or bind off edge. If you look closely you'll see what i've done.

Matching stitch on one side by knitted row on the other, you pick up a horizontal bar from each side in turn, pull the thread all the way through for each stitch and pull the stitch firm but not tight. Choose an edge stitch or at most one knit stitch in from the edge. Sometimes you have to make a decision as to which one to choose but try to make a rule for yourself so that you always choose the same way.

When it's done right you'll find that the stitches disappear and the end result is very neat and flat, see below. I found this method a little tedious at first while i was learning it, but now i love it as the final wrap looks lovely and i know it's going to stay together for many years no matter what harsh treatment it gets.

These 4 squares have all been stitched together this way, can you see the stitches in the seams? No lumpy seams to rub on the child or frail elderly person who ends up with this wrap. Also the squares cannot be pulled apart without a lot of intricate effort.

Weave all the ends in on the wrong side by following the line of knit for about 8 stitches then back again to the edge. 

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog.