THE STORY BEHIND OPERATION HOLIDAY STOCKINGS

I was asked to write down how we got started on Operation Holiday Stockings, so I’ll do my best, hoping not to bore you.

Our oldest son, Dave, was deployed to Iraq in 2005. He left on April 12th, and it was a dark day for me. Before he left I asked him if I could knit him something and his response was “Thanks Mom, but I won’t need anything, the Army will supply me with everything I’ll need.”

When Dave was home on leave in October I again asked if I could knit something for him, and he again told me he had everything he needed.
I went along praying for his safety, and the safety of the troops he was responsible for.

While Dave was in Iraq I would get up early and be at my computer at 5:00 a.m. If he was going to be able to email me, it would be between 5:00-6:00 p.m. his time. It may have been early, but well worth getting up at 4:30 in the morning. It was my connection to know he was alright.

In the middle of November I had to get a thorn removed from the index finger on my right hand. That was on a Wednesday. On Thursday, a friend, Susan, met up with me during my lunch hour to show me how to do circular knitting. When she walked into my office and saw this huge bandage on my finger, she put down the double point needles and handed me the circular needle and said let’s get started. By Friday night, I had knit a baby hat, and I was feeling real proud of myself. (In case you are wondering I taught myself to knit with the bandaged finger in a matter of seconds, just used another finger.).

That weekend David and I went over to Edgar’s Acres in Sequim. On Saturday morning at 4:30 I got up to make my coffee, and turn on the computer for the 5-6 hour, hoping to hear from Dave. It was November 19th. I did hear from Dave. He sent an email with this message:

“Hey mom, I have a huge favor to ask. I was wondering if you could knit about 230 small stockings for our Christmas “celebration.” That or send some Christmas decorations over. Our commander has asked us officers to come up with something that we can use to decorate our company areas for the Christmas season. They don’t have to be elaborate, just simple stockings. I figured you would know enough people that knit so that it wouldn’t be that hard, and I know that all of the soldiers would really appreciate it.”

I got up from the couch, picked up my coffee, got the dogs and we went outside for our walkabout. It was pitch black, and all of the stars were at my fingertips. I looked up and ask God “did you read what he just sent?” God’s reply was on point. “Mom, when your son is in Iraq, you don’t say no.”


I went back in and emailed back “just 230?”

I then emailed everyone I could think of. I emailed the Ample Knitters, Small Paws Rescue, yarn shops, all of my friends and family, and by 6:00 started knitting. Mind you I had NEVER knit a sock in my life. I fortunately had the Miracle Loop knitting book, 40” size 7 needles, and yarn, and knit up the class sock. It took all day.

I started getting responses by 7:30 that morning and we were on our way.
When I went into work on Monday and told Susan about this she told me “no worry, knitters won’t let you down, you will probably get over a 1000 stockings.”
In two weeks we ended up with over a 1,000 knit, crocheted, sewn, and decorated stockings for Dave’s company, and for a couple of others. A miracle happened.

We heard back from all of the soldiers and they were so thrilled we remembered them, and many cherished their stockings.

When Dave finally came home in March 2006, he had his stocking with him. He also had me promise to continue doing Operation Holiday Stockings until all of the troops returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The next year I asked Dave to find me some troops to send the stockings to, and he came back with a full brigade. When he spoke to the commanding officer about this project he asked “does your mother know how many are in a brigade?” Well, I didn’t until Dave told me it was about a 1000 soldiers. Dave’s response to the commanding officer was “she does, and it won’t be a problem for these ladies.”

In 2006 we ended up with over 1600 stockings.

In 2007, the enthusiasm and involvement was less, but we were still able to send out around 1200 stockings.

We sent one box of stockings to Major Rick, who is an officer in Special Forces, and was deployed to a very dangerous area in Afghanistan. One night Rick woke up his soldiers and told them they were moving out of their camp, which was next to the mail tent of the makeshift base. They were leaving for a mission, and he decided they needed to leave early. When they came back in three days, the area where their tent had been had been bombed, and the mail tent, and several others were destroyed as well. In this attack they lost 6 soldiers, and morale hit rock bottom. Two weeks before Christmas and no mail to be had.

They moved the camp, and the next week a box was delivered to Rick and in the box wre the stockings we had sent him. The soldiers were speechless, and so grateful. The box of stockings was all they had for the holidays last year. I saw Rick this summer and he told me that I will never know how much those stockings meant to the soldiers. They were feeling hopeless and forgotten. With the stockings they knew there were people back home who cared, loved them, and wished them well.

We are doing this project again. We have to. I have a promise to keep.

We would love to have you join us. I have attached the pattern I created so everyone can knit if they want (remember I had never knit a sock before November 19, 2005), together with a wish list for stocking stuffers. We also accept cash donations for postage. The postage has been around $900-1000 each year.

My contact information is below.

Thank you for helping to spread the word for this project.

Sue


OPERATION HOLIDAY STOCKING

Worsted Weight Yarn
Size 7 Needles

Skill Level: Advanced BeginnerRating: Easy

Cast on 28 stitchesKnit 6 rows (garter stitch)
Starting with right side, work 24 rows in Stockinette Stitch (SS)

Work short rows as follows:
Knit 18, turn
Purl 9, turn
Knit 10, turn
Purl 11, turn
Knit 12, turn
Purl 13, turn
Knit 14, turn
Purl 15, turn
Knit 16, turn
Purl 17, turn
Knit 18, turn
Purl 19, turn
Knit 20, turn
Purl 21, turn
Knit 22, turn
Purl 23, turn
Knit 24, turn
Purl 25, turn
Knit 26, turn
Purl 27, turn
Knit 28, turn
Purl one row even
Knit 6 rows even in Stockinette Stitch
Shape toe:
Row 1: *Knit 1, Knit 2 together, repeat from *, last stitch knit 1.
Row 2: *Purl 1, Purl 2 together, repeat from * , last stitch purl 1.
Row 3: Knit 2 together to end of row, with last stitch knit 1.
Row 4: Purl 2 together to end of row, with last stitch purl 1.
Cut yarn about 12 inches and draw through remaining stitches and fasten off.
Sew seam with 12 inches of yarn.


STOCKING STUFFERS
Chap stick®
Shampoo samples
Gum
Hand soaps
Baby wipes
a personal note would be nice too!

From Lt. Dave:
Here's a list of things that soldiers will like to get in the stockings. In addition to the list that Sue (my mom) put up, these are some things that I liked getting while in Iraq:
Hard candy
Beef jerky
Decks of cards
Puzzle books
Small toiletries
shaving cream
Toothpaste
Tooth brushes
Tic-Tacs®
Drink powders
Gatorade®
Kool-aid® (sugar added)
Crystal Clear®
Iced tea mix
Mixed nuts
Candy Canes
Anything that will last for a while because I'm sure that they will be getting more than one care package.

TTFN

Sue

Definitions of Knitting

Have you ever noticed how many types of knitting we all have? I’m not taking about “circular” knitting, or intarsia, or whatever technique you are knitting. I’m talking about the type of knitting we have for various occasions. When talking with other knitters I’ve heard them refer to their knitting as follows:


Backup Knitting - this is the extra knitting project you take with you when going somewhere, just in case you finish the project you are currently working on.


Chartiable Knitting - this is knitting from the heart. This is the way knitters help to warm others, be it babies, the homeless, and even the animals in shelters.


Christmas (or Holiday) Knitting - this is the knitting consisting of all of those “gifts” you are knitting. These would be fun except you’re under a lot of pressure to get them done because you waited until October 15 to get started.


Commuter Knitting - this is the small knitting project that fits into your purse or backpack. It’s small enough so you don’t need a whole seat on the bus or train, but big enough to help you pass the time while stuck in rush hour traffic.


Dial up Knitting - this is the knitting project you work on when you are using dial up service for the internet. Depending on how fast the dial up service is it can be mindless knitting or serious knitting.


Fall Knitting - this is when you are ready to think about knitting with those lovely wool yarns in your stash. It’s finally getting cool enough to knit up a new sweater to wear in January.


Knitting Class Knitting - this is the knitting you do while taking a cool class from people like Cat Bordhe or Sally Melville. You are so anxious about keeping up, and learning, that you end up with a stiff back, sore neck, and a headache.


Knitting Guild Knitting - see Sip and Knit Knitting, except the sipping isn’t involved.


Knitting Knitting - this is the project you work on anywhere you want since you know the pattern, and are able to do anything while knitting. It’s your current project and you are having fun doing it. It can be any of the knitting listed, depending on how well you can mix the type of knitting with what you are currently doing.


Mindless Knitting - this is therapeutic knitting. This is the knitting you don’t have to think about, such as a garter stitch shawl or scarf, or maybe even the leg or foot of a sock.


Ott Lighting Knitting - this is the lace project on size 0 or 1 needles you do during the winter in the evening hours. At a certain age you need all the light you can get.


Serious Knitting - this is the project with charts, or complicated instructions. You need a quiet space for this until you get the pattern or instructions straight in your brain. It is usually done at home.


Sip and Knit Knitting - this is the knitting project you take along with you to a gathering of other knitters for sipping and knitting. This project usually ends up on the table, or in your lap, while you are busy sipping and chatting. It’s best if this type of knitting is mindless knitting.


Snuggle with the Dog or Cat Knitting - this is close to snuggling with the kids while knitting. However, depending on the size of the dog (or cat), and how well trained they are, this can be combined with Ott Lighting knitting or serious knitting. If the dog (or cat) is big, or not too well trained due to juvenile behavior, then this knitting should be combined with mindless or TV knitting.


Snuggle with the Kids Knitting - this is knitting you can do while you have a kid leaning on you while sitting on the couch. Afghans are perfect for this type of knitting, especially if you are watching TV and snuggling with the kids. (See reference to TV knitting.)


Spring Knitting - this is a transitional period. You can finish up the winter knitting at the beginning of spring if the weather is cool. It’s also time to start up on the summer knitting so you have a new sweater to year when it gets hot.


Summer Knitting - this is cotton, or cotton blend yarn knitting you do when the weather is hot. You don’t want to be knitting up wool sweaters in the hot weather. You will end up just putting the knitting down and feeling even hotter.


Teaching Knitting - this is the garter stitch knitting project you are working on while teaching someone to knit for the first time. It’s fun to knit along with them.


Travel Knitting - this is knitting you take with you for trips of more than an hour. If traveling on a plane or train, it is probably best to have a small project because of limited arm space. Circular knitting such as socks is best. If traveling in a car, the project can be more expansive, unless of course, you’re traveling in a carpool.


TV Knitting - this is close to mindless knitting, or sip and knit knitting, but you can incorporate it into serious knitting if you stop and read the charts and/or instructions during the mundane commercials.


Winter Knitting - this is the best knitting. It’s cool enough to bring out the wool and wool blend yarns and knit up a storm. It’s time for the sweater projects. It’s time to knit up hats, scarves and gloves. You usually get the most knitting done with winter knitting because it cold and dark outside, and you are snug in the house staying busy with yarn and needles.


What type of knitting are you currently doing? How many types of knitting? Me, I am sure I have about ten types of knitting currently in the works somewhere around the house.

TTFN

Sue

Operation Holiday Stockings 2008

It’s sad, but true. We still have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we need to let them know we haven’t forgotten them.

It’s sad, but true. People are sick and tired of the war. They want it over. Well, we all do, but Operation Holiday Stockings is NOT about the war. It’s about the troops. It’s about showing our SUPPORT of the troops. It about letting them know they aren’t forgotten.


It’s sad, but true. Enthusiasm for this type of a project is next to nothing now. This type of a project isn’t “in” or “politically correct.” Fortunately, for our troops in the war zones, there are still a bunch of us who do CARE. We remember they are still in harm’s way, and we won’t forget them.


It’s sad, but true. We have our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters, cousins, and dear friends, in war zones, and they won’t be home for the holidays. The least we can do is send a little bit of home to them.


It’s sad, but true. This is the fourth year we will be doing Operation Holiday Stockings. Each year we do this project, we pray we won’t need to do it again the next.


We are again doing Operation Holiday Stockings. We have to do this. Our troops need us to do this. I have spoken to some of the soldiers who have received the stockings and they have told me the stockings were cherished and very much appreciated. The idea that a we cared enough to do this project did wonders for the morale of the soldier away from home and family during the holidays.


We are collecting stockings that were made with love and caring. These can be knit stockings, crocheted stockings, sewn or decorated stockings. Each stocking should be about 6”. Including a note inside the stockings is prized. We will need to receive them no later than the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.


We have a Yahoo page set up for this project, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OHS_2006/, and all of the information, history, and patterns are listed on the page.


Please email me at ramsddj at aol dot com for more information. If you know of a soldier who we can send stockings to, please let me know.


I’ll be keeping you all posted on our progress. Thanks for your continued support, and keep praying this will be the last year we need to do this project.


TTFN


Sue

You Be the Judge

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been knitting in spurts this summer. Since early July, I've been knitting the Sweet Sabina Child's Cardigan from Webs.

It's going to be for Cyn's granddaughter, and I'm knitting it in the largest size for 2-3 year olds. It's been a real pleasure to knit it, and challenging for my concussioned brain. Each step of the way, I've had to relearn a technique, which is what I was hoping for. The more I had to relearn, the easier it got. Hurray! I think the concussioned brain is finally back to (near) normal. This darling sweater went on vacation with me, back and forth to Edgar's Acres, and to work to knit during my lunch hours (when I got one). I'm ready to finish the sweater by sewing up the sleeves, and then sewing them onto the sweater, but I have a question ....

Do the sleeves look too small for this sweater? I would appreciate your opinion. You be the judge. I already left a message for Cyn to check on the sleeve length before I sew in the sleeves. This morning when I was showing off my handiwork to David, I thought the sleeves looked a bit out of proportion to the rest of the sweater.

I finished the sweater last night at 5:20 (strange the things we note and then remember), when it dawned on me I was OUT OF KNITTING. Sure I had the stockings for OHS 2008, but that's my traveling knitting because I don't need good light, and will knit on them on my way home today from Edgar's Acres. No, I was referring to "sit down and relax knitting." I told David "I'm out of knitting, what am I going to do?" David laughed, he couldn't believe I didn't bring back up knitting. If fact, he really laughed. Well, I thought I had included my back up knitting, but it wasn't in my bag. I was close to panic, when I noticed a basket in the sun room that had a bag in it. Guess what, it was an old knitting project I started a couple of years ago. It's a shawl out of a cotton/linen blend and is perfect for dial up knitting. In fact, with each picture I upload to this blog, I can get three to four rows (of 150 stitches on size 11 needles) knit. Not too bad.

Well, I've managed to knit about 16 rows on the shawl while posting today. I've got some things I need to get done here at Edgar's Acres before we take off to Bellevue today.

Note to Deb: Thanks for the belly laugh. Regarding your question in your comment on my last post, I think by the fact that you picked up on the "t" is answer enough for you.

TTFN

Sue

I've Been So Busy

Six weeks, it's been six weeks since I posted. Where did August go to?

I haven't been just sitting around for six weeks, that's for sure. I've been handling work, the garden, knitting a bit here and there, trying to find time to relax and waiting for summer to show up. We've also been traveling back and forth to Edgar's Acres every weekend working on a big project.

Summer arrived on Labor Day; finally!!!! We've had beautiful weather since then and now my garden is going nuts.

In the past six weeks I've been canning green beans, Blue Lake Green Beans, the only beans worth growing, preserving and eating. I planted both the bush and pole varieties in order to have plenty. I was starting to worry whether or not I'd have enough because it has been so cold. Now that the sun and warmth have finally showed up, I'm harvesting the beans, picking every third day. So far I have put up 45 pints and should get at least two more pickings off of the pole beans, giving us about 10 more pints. Good eating this winter. My family will be very, very happy. We had a bumper crop of raspberries this year. I put up two batches of freezer jam, which is plenty for us. Cynthia came over to Edgar's Acres and picked enough for three batches, and there were still plenty left over. Because of the cold weather during this summer, I had to go buy pickling cucumbers to make the dill pickles. I did use my own garlic, however, so these pickles are going to be tasty. And yes, those are red peppers in the jars. These will be ready for Thanksgiving.We have now harvested all of the red potatoes. We got over 100 lbs of these red beauties. David and I have what we need, we have shared a bunch with our friends, and donated about 60 lbs to the food bank. The russets will be ready to harvest next month.

I have spent the last six weeks harvesting, cleaning, and curing onions. Walla Walla Sweets, Red Burgermeisters, and Cobra, a yellow storage onion. David and I have enough for twelve months, and again passed them out to our friends, and donated a bunch to the food bank.

And then there is the garlic.

You have to believe me on this one, there is nothing better than home grown garlic. There is nothing easier to grow than garlic. The garlic on the right is the hard neck garlic, which is really potent with rich flavor. The garlic on the left is the soft neck, which is mild and stores well.

And then there is the knitting. I've been knitting, but not a lot because my hands have been busy with produce. The only knitting time I have is during my commute to and from work (if I'm awake that is).

Well, the doggies want some attention. They say I have been busy with the pressure cooker and computer long enought.

TTFN

Sue

Finishing up our vacation

We decided the best way to finish off the vacation was to take the dogs and head over to Edgar's Acres. We needed a place with a slow pace to deal with jet lag, and ...



we needed to address the produce growing in the garden.





I started out by pulling up the hardneck garlic. This is Chesnok Red, which I purchased from Territorial Seeds in Oregon. This is good stuff.



Next I pulled up some of the Walla Walla Sweet Onions. Everyone in the Pacific Northwest loves these onions when they are harvested in late July/early August.



The onions and garlic were set out overnight.



The next day the garlic was cleaned. The Chesnok Red garlic is on the right, and the Polish Soft Neck garlic is on the left (it had been harvested early in July). The soft neck garlic stores over the winter better than the hard neck. Got to have both if you love garlic. The onions also were cleaned and ready for consumption.



I also picked strawberries and broccoli.



Not bad for a first harvest.



Sunday morning we went out to pick raspberries. These canes are LOADED!



This is what we picked in an hour's time. More than enough for David and I, and for some friends in Seattle. Yum.

Finally, I pulled up some of the Red Burgermaster onions, red potatoes, and an artichoke for my secretary, Sandra.

All this was done while my feet and legs were driving me crazy with no-see-ums bites that I got the last couple of nights in NJ. Darned gnats anyway. This was the only downside to the trip back east, and the first time these pesky bugs had bothered me. My legs look like I'm recovering from a bad case of chicken pox.

Today, it was back to work wearing long pants and real shoes.

TTFN

Sue

The Rest of the Story ...

Thursday, Day 8: Jim and Sam took us to Gettysburg for the day. We had a personalized tour where the tour guide drives your car, makes stops and tells you about the battles that happened for three days. I had no idea how really massive the battle was. What an amazing story, and what a blood battle.
That evening Sam's son, Keith, and his family came over for dinner. It was the first time for me to meet Keith, and we loved meeting his wife, Jen, and their adorable daughter Emily. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera took a nap so I didn't get pictures.

Friday, Day 9: David and I headed off to Washington DC and packed in as much as we could in three days. It was hot, and HUMID. We took the evening tour so we could see the monuments at night, and spent some time at the Vietnam Memorial. It is a very moving visit.

Saturday, Day 10. We spent the day riding the "hop on, hop off" bus to see various monuments and sights. We sat on the upper level so we could get a better view and soaked up the heat and sun. By afternoon we were riding inside the bus with the air conditioning.
Arlington Cemetery was on the route so we stopped to see the changing of the guard for the Unknown Soldier. So moving and so respectful. The guard is changed every 30 minutes, 24/7, each day of the year, no matter what the weather or circumstances. I can only imagine what these young men must have been thinking on 9/11 while they continued their revered task.

We had dinner at Union Station that night. David loved Union Station (he's a train guy). While there, we ran into these three.

Sunday, Day 11: We rode the Metro out to Huntington, and met Jim and Mike for a ride to Fort Belvore for Sunday Brunch. It was delightful, and it was so nice to see Christine, meet her husband Mike, and see Katlyn and meet Sophie Mae.

What a great family, I love them all so much.

When we got back, we hung out at the hotel for a breather, and then took a cab to La Tomate in the Dupont Circle area in DC. What a lovely dinner. Since we were so full, we decided to walk a while and then catch a cab. Well, we ended up walking all the way down past the White House, and to the National Mall. We probably would have walked all the way to the hotel but nature was calling so we grabbed a cab back. Note ... no public restrooms in Washington DC. Hold it and suffer.

Monday, Day 12: Another ride on Metro to the Pentagon. Christine's husband, Mike, is stationed at the Pentagon so he was able to take us on a tour. We were able to go to the memorial and chapel where the jetliner hit the Pentagon on 9/11. The tour was very interesting and it was great having Mike giving us any information he could. I couldn't take any pictures (a BIG no no). While we were having lunch, David ran into someone he knew. Out of 27,000 people working at the Pentagon, David sees someone and has a great "catch up" conversation. He always meets up with people he knows no matter where we go.

After the tour we headed back to the hotel, got the rental car, and headed back to New Jersey. After all, I missed this guy. (He's a retired police chief and now teaches criminal justice on the college level.)

Tuesday, Day 13: Chris' daughter works for David Letterman and was able to get three tickets. So we headed back into NYC for the show. What a blast. Kim took us on a tour behind the scenes and we were seated in the VIP section in the balcony. For those of you who grew up watching the Ed Sullivan Show, the Ed Sullivan Theatre is small, seats about 500. It was so cool to see the stage where the Beatles performed. The show was terrific and the guest was Kevin Costner.

Wednesday, Day 14: David and I went back into NYC with Barbara's sister and her husband to see Jersey Boys. WOW. It is the story of Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons and we plan to see it again when it comes to Seattle.

When we got back to Pat and Barbara's, we had another family barbeque so I could see Chris and Kathy again before we head back home. My cousins, Pat and Chris are the nicest guys in the world, and they were so good to me.

Thursday, Day 15: We got on the jet plane and headed back home to rain and polar fleece.

Today, Friday, we are going to be heading over to Edgar's Acres with all of the doggies.

TTFN

Sue