Archive for February, 2008

Crafts for Colombian Orphans…and a fun pattern

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Jane and I have started a group on Ravelry for knitters and crocheters who would like to make a small gift for the girls at Ciudadela. Hats, scarves, socks, gloves, mittens, small toys, purses…we’d be thrilled with any and all. And you needn’t be a Raveler to participate. Just email one of us if you’re interested.

A few years ago, Phyllis of Got Gauge invited her readers to knit bears for kids in a Jamaican orphanage, and provided a pattern that she says has been around since the 1940s. I had never knit a stuffed animal before but this was so easy and such fun that I made two!

Here’s the pattern (double-click for a full size version):

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In the Beginning (by Jane)

Monday, February 18th, 2008

There is so much background to this blog, it’s hard to know where to start. The very beginning, of course, the impetus for this mission of Friends of Colombian Orphans began in 2005, in Austin, Texas. Kidsave International and their Summer Miracles program Here brought 11 or 12 orphaned children from Colombia to central Texas for a holiday.The kids supposedly didn’t know that they were here to find a home. One child, a girl of 14, hadn’t found a family …. yet. She is now our daughter.

The adoption is a story in itself and perhaps will be shared here some day. But more importantly, this blog is to show you what can be done if there is simply a will to do it. My husband and I visited our daughter’s orphanage a few times before we left Colombia. We visited three orphanages and were overwhelmed by the spirit and warmth of the children and their caretakers. How could we just leave and never go back? What can you do from so far away?

We are finding ways to help….

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