I mentioned that they were done, but I couldn’t stand posting crappy pictures of them, so waited for sunshine. I’m glad I did. Here, (in several pictures, because I can’t hardly contain the happiness on one blog), are the finished Mitaines Sans Frontières tricotez pour Tricoteuses Sans Frontières, comme collecteur de fonds pour Médecins Sans Frontières. (If I am very lucky…someone will now correct my crappy French).
If you prefer English, these are The Mittens Without Borders knit for Knitters without Borders, as a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders.
I’m working up the gumption to give them away. Soon.
Today is International Women’s day, and it is worth noting that the Knitters Without Borders are almost completely women. (In the interest of accuracy, I can tell you that to the best of my knowledge, of the 627 members, 5 are men.) I updated the total for you. Knitters without borders has raised more than $60 000. For scale, I can tell you that Willie Nelson’s concert fundraiser brought in $75 000. Think about that for a minute. A hoard of knitters raised almost as much as Willie Freakin Nelson. Then dance. Feel powerful. Celebrate Women’s Day. (Try, if you are like me, to give up the urge to raise *more* than Willie Nelson. Competition is not good for your soul).
Finally, if you can stand it, remember that not all women are as powerful and rich as you. Some of the money we sent to MSF will go Women in Darfur, where it will change lives in ways you can’t even begin to imagine. I am forever grateful, both for your incredible generosity, and for the knowlege that no matter how sympathetic I may be, no matter how much I read, I will never fully understand their plight. I am very lucky.
In honour of you powerful women….Gifts!
Pam R. is continuing the karma wave by donating Mary Thomas’s Book of Knitting Patterns. originally published in 1943, this book is a classic resource.
Shannon S. will be having a good time with this.
Mary H. sent this.
Take a deep breath my friends. Deep breath. It’s handspun qiviut. (Qiviut is finer than cashmere and warmer than wool. It’s the downy undercoat of the artic musk oxen. It doesn’t felt and It. Does. Not. Itch.)
Annie J. , please take good care of it.
Jenny has this beautiful Koigu. Enough for a pair of socks.
I’m hoping that Jennifer D. is a Koigu Virgin, since I love watching people discover it.
Christie H is another one who can’t something without giving something back (do you see how this is going to go on forever?)
She’s donated this beautiful scarf to the cause and it’s going to warm the neck of Jill T.
Betty B. has a copy of Alice Starmore’s Fishermen’s Sweaters that will be going to Katherine L. Merci Betty!
Ann Budd wrote: ” I’ll donate a copy of my book The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (autographed, if whoever wins would like), along with The Knitter’s Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements. ” Isn’t she nice? Ann will be sending (and autographing) her books to Megan R.
As always, I have emailed the lucky ladies. Tune in tomorrow when I give away Emma’s book and begin the Laurie’s sock yarn spinning tutorial. Promise. Happy Women’s Day.
Wow! Today was gold prize day!
Yay for the sun! I think winter
really will end this year.
The mittens are incredible Steph. Thank you so much for all the work you did to help raise all this money! Happy International Women’s day to you too
Do you realize I actually held my breath, waiting to hear who had won les mitaines?!
And you’d better be spinning today. Gray, not Laurie’s enticing custom dyed roving. Gray is for gansey. Get going.
I notice that there is no picture indicating the thumb placement 😉
Those mittens are even more beautiful than I expected.
Help! I’m overwhelmed by the generosity and **talent** of all of you. R: scarf donated by Christie H.—- could you please divulge the pattern and yarn used.
More lucky people. We should all be so thankful for all that we are given. How wonderful that so many people share their time and money. The mittens are a work of art, Steph.
I really can’t even imagine how much money that is. Almost as much as Willie Nelson?? How is that possible? Of course with prizes like qiviut I guess I can understand. The mittens are amazing. Take your time and enjoy them 🙂
Yay KSF, and yay international Women’s Day. I have a little something to donate to the donators–how can I best get it to you? I made some purty stitch markers, see, and I have an embarrassment of riches as is. So I want to give some to one of the KSF brigade.
Ok..
Good Journ�e de la femme to you too ! From Mtl no less.
Love the MSF idea !
Also really love those mittens – can you tell us about the pattern.. that would be a great way to start “nordiques” pattern – mitts are easy to do..
Hi Donna — Glad you like the scarf. The yarn is Patons Shetland Chunky, and I made up the pattern. There are two 12-stitch cables on a background of seed stitch (I think there were 5 seed sts between each cable, and 3 on each side, but can’t remember).
Beautiful, stunning, lovely mittens- congratulations! Happy International Women’s Day to you, too- and enjoy your sunshine. Does that mean you are finally getting signs of Spring?
Ok, the pictures of the mittens…they’re like the pictures of the gnome in Amelie…where will they turn up next?
The first one is tricoteR (not eZ), isn’t it? Je oublie-et-et-ette. 🙂
Oh wow, Emma’s book, I just want to touch it. (I think I am a textile junky.) That qivuit is beautiful, I’ve never heard of that and the non-itch part is very intriguing. Your mittens are pure wonderfulness. Have a happy day, and enjoy the sun!!
Ahhhh, qiviut! I lived in Alaska for 15 years, and have 2 items, hand made by those at Oomingmak, an oulet in Anchorage that features native knitting. I have a scarf and a hat. If you remember the musher, Susan Butcher, she wore a knitted hat, made of qiviut, on the trail. Even when soaked with perspiration, this wool fluffs up even more and keeps you toasty warm!
wowza – Willie Freakin Nelson wowowowza!!!
Stephanie, you’re one amazing chick is all I can say. If you don’t feel mighty proud of yourself there are a bunch of us with sharp pointy sticks who will do our best to convince you.
Sara
Stephanie, your Mitaines sans fronti�res tricot�es pour Tricoteuses sans fronti�res, au profit de M�decins sans fronti�res (;0) are absolutly a-ma-zing! De vraies merveilles! You are oh so right to show them in several pictures (hey! it even could have been in many pictures!)
Happy Women’s Day to you too!
You know, we’re not just mostly women, we’re international too! 🙂
Those mittens, btw, are stunning. I particularly like how the greyer stripes make it look like shadows in the sun.
*flees, having experienced an unexpected poetic eruption*
Thanks, Stephanie. Your post made me smile, and I’m not sure what specifically did it. The comparison to Willie Nelson’s concert is amazing. The generosity of knitters gifting to each other. Being Women’s Day.
(That reminds me, I have a canadian friend close by, and every time you mention one of your national holidays, I always call or email her to wish her a happy one. It amuses me to no end, which amuses her. So thank you. The funny thing is, that a couple times now, your declaration of a particular Canadian holiday has explained some odd behavior on her part, and I’ve been able to say, “a-HA! Now I know why you’re making Thanksgiving dinner today!” or something similar. Although very Canadian, she lives it out quietly here in Seattle).
That was long.
Anyway, I’m grumpy, sef-indulgent, and pouty today. I’m feeling sorry for myself and wallowing in it. Your post made me smile. Thanks.
Heee! We came that close to Willy! Er… Nelson. His fundraising. For Charity. Oh man…
The mitts are awesome. I know you had an all-out dance upon completion of those puppies!
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s spinning lesson. 🙂
Do you realize you knit a $60,000 pair of mittens?!? How much will your next pair cost?
Stephanie, I am glad that our contributions will go to help the women in Darfur and other places where it is needed. You are an amazing woman yourself for raising so much money to do so much good. Raising almost as much as WILLIE NELSON? Very impressive.
Them’s fighting words! I’ll be making another donation later today. Must. Beat. Willie. Nelson.
As for the mittens… gorgeous! Are they my size by any chance?
I’m a wiener! I mean winner!
Though not a koigu virgin, I do love it dearly. I’ve been waiting for the perfect color for some socks for me…
Woo hoo!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful mittens. I hope I don’t win them. It would make me nervous knowing I had a pair of $60,000 mittens.
I have it in my head that there were/are two pair(s) of these marvelous mittens –
Wonder where the other set went –
Please advise –
The mittens are breathtaking, and I have to say brought a wee tear to my eye, especially when combined with the total. Amazing!
CONGRATULATIONS. This must be the most heady mitten completion you have ever done. They look fantastic.
Thanks for bringing us together. Seeing the total, I do feel special and empowered to have been a tiny drop in a very large bucket. All for a good cause and pair of Harlot Mittens. Plus, several yarn diets were ensured for at least a little while 🙂
I bought some Quivit last year at Stitches East. It came with a pattern to knit a scarf. I haven’t indulged yet though.
OK, as much as I want the mittens myself, I’m going to make a suggestion: I think you ought to keep the mittens, Steph. You deserve to keep them, as a thank-you from all of us, for TSF/MSF, for giving us an opportunity to give back some of what we have been given, for all the laughter you give us each day.
Maybe you could publish the pattern? That would enable all of us to make our own MSF, and maybe there could be an online gallery of Mittens Sans Frontiers (sorry, I don’t type in French!).
What if all of us “gave the mittens back” to Stephanie to say “thank you”?
Maybe this is a dumb, sappy idea, but it’s my idea and I’m sticking to it, despite my own Mitten Lust.
Go TSF knitters!
My little girl Emma was born one year ago today on International Women’s Day with 3 female physicians, 2 female nurses and 1 female doula in attendance. Plus my husband! It was a fantastic delivery drug-free and decisive and it made me very proud of my womanly body.
Happy International Women’s Day!
The mittens are sooo beautiful! I wish I could knit like that (one day I will…)
The mittens are breathtaking, as is the total. Happy International Women’s Day to you too Stephanie, and job well done!
Those mittens are perfection! How about a Mitten Auction. You could raise even more money for the cause. Okay, maybe I have spent too much time on Ebay lately. But they are splendid.
Those mittens are breathtaking. I hope you one day post your pattern for them… *smiling angelically and batting eye-lashes*
Ohhhhhhh, ahhhhhhh. That was my response to your mittens. They are simply lovely and, for someone who can’t seem to stand the yarn mess of multiple colors, yes, even 2 colors, I salute you.
Happy Women’s Day back to you and, as someone who was born and raised in Buffalo, NY long, long ago, I celebrate the day of sunshine with you. I’ve been away from the grey skies awhile now but remember them well. As a proud member of Knitters without Borders, we ROCK.
Where are the thumbs??? We must see a picture of the thumbs, or else we can’t help suspecting, after all your struggles, that you are giving away thumbless mittens.
Um, Steph? HELL NO we won’t give up the urge to raise more than Willie Nelson! Competition is good for the soul, especially when it’s who can put more good into the world… I hope he finds out about this and does another concert, so we can try to top that one too!
Oh, and I sent you an e-mail last week about the promised alpaca yarn…
I think you should keep the mittins for us all Steph , you deserve them!
We are SO awesome!!!
You are also awesome.
But I wonder… the fact that if every one of us came up with $24.00 more, we’d beat Willie Nelson isn’t interesting, right?
No
Competition is bad.
right.
okay,
back to my poncho … the one that seemed to stop growing two days ago
First of all, those Mitaines Sans Fronti�res, are SCRUMPTIOUS!!! I probably gained five pounds just lusting over them. But, I have to agree with Sandi, in my humble opinion (well, you know how those are) – you really ought to have them Steph, no matter how much I would cherish, love, worship, adore and take care of them (as would whomever won them I’m sure), you really deserve them. We. Are. Not. Worthy.
Secondly, I want some of Lanea’s beautiful stitch markers. Could she please let us all know how to purchase these little goodies?
And lastly, WE ARE AWESOME! Almost as much as Willie Nelson! Get outta here!!! I’m going to make another donation. We have to do better than Willie Nelson – after all, we are Women, we are Knitters Without Borders, it is International Women’s Day…
Enjoy your sunshine and Happy Day.
ab
Wow! The total is just amazing. Way to go everyone!
I’m a lurker just come out of the woodwork to say that your mittens (along with everything else you post) are gorgeous. Also my copy of 501 French Verbs says that it should be tricotent. but considering that I (a French junkie) had to look it up your french was not at all crappy and the important thing is that everyone understands you. We all did so Bon Traville
Hi!
I’m thrilled to provide a home for Starmore’s Fishermen’s Sweaters. I take it as a sign from the small gods that I will finally learn to do cables! It is snowing here – again – I’ve a living room full of baby chicks, and I just finished my first try at a Ken’s Dulaan Hat (normally I knit socks with 2mm needles and 12mm needles are a challenge – I sent poor DH into the LYS with a caliper to measure needles for me since nothing I has was near that big and I was chicklet sitting to rescue chicks who had figured out how to jump out of their enclosure which will be fortified tomorrow, so the 6-ply alpaca hat is fine for me but I need to get better at knitting with logs before it could go to a cold child). Thanks so much for all your hard work and good words!
Katherine in West Tisbury
Anna! We are too, worthy! There are no gods here, no worshippers; we are compatriots in creation of beauty and value and love and warmth. (And rack-exposing tanks.) How about we share the mittens – a week with you, a week with me, a week with the Harlot?! Besides, as a fellow-poulterer, I know that YOU have done your share and that YOU, personally, are worthy. Excuse me ranting, it’s been a long day. Take this with a grain or a pound of salt and season to taste.
Oh, look, it’s snowing again. But I saw winter aconites blooming last week, so the days are numbered.
Oh, holy moley, way too long a day. I am combining Anna and Katherine. Forgive me. Time to shut up and go to bed.
The mittens are brilliant. Abso-freakin-lutely brilliant. I really need to make some, but here in NC it would be a bit of a joke (but I’d make them and covet their warm wooliness on the 3 days it would get cold enough to warrant wearing them). I’ll be joining the TSF soon, as soon as we can find the company match form (woohoo!) and kick Willie Nelson’s butt. Um, I mean, erm… Not that it’s a contest or anything, and I’m sure he’s not losing sleep over it.
It’s Tuesday and I’ll do the spinning today.
wow! a feast for the eyes this entry…:) Love your gloves, and love the stuff that you took pictures of. I discovered something new as well, Qiviut. Happy International Women’s Day! Now excuse me while I go drool somemore. 🙂
So okay, I’m going to go straight to MSF and donate another $24 to do my part to beat Willie Nelson, and I’m proud to be a tiny part of this amazing venture of yours. Oh, and the mittens are awe-inspiring. I’m loving all the photos of the prizes.
Your inner beauty shows in those gorgeous mittens.
Those mittens are a work of art. And I’m with Sandi here, you really would deserve those. At least put your own name in for the drawing! 🙂
Bravo!
Uh, did I miss something? We raised $60,000+ but didn’t that also generate matching funds? If so, by my reckoning, we whipped Willie’s total badly.
wow. I want mittens! I want your mittens, baby. And knowing what you have suffered for two beautiful (left and right) mittens just adds to the appeal! (not to sound sadistic or anything)
I think you should offer up an autographed copy of YOUR book when it comes out!
Darn you, Harlot – now I must get my hands on some qiviut. Such an enabler. 😉
Les mitaines are nothing short of a triumph!
Browsing by again.
Gracious but those mittens are gorgoeus!
I was stunned by them on first viewing. I wasn’t expecting to be equally stunned by their beauty upon my return. After all… I know what they look like, I know they’re gorgeous, awesome, inspring, and amazing. I figured I’d just pause for a glimpse.
WOW.
I say again.
WOW!
How do you do it ALL???
Helen, who is finally truly happy with the toe.
The mittens are tre magnifique!
The total is fantastique!
My french is …hey wait, I don’t speak french.
Mitaines tricot�es
A french mitten is female, so une mitaine tricot�e, deux mitaines tricot�es. Tricotez is the second person plural, or the imperative: Knit!
(I’ll stop being anal and go back to knitting now…)
hi stephanie
i put your uncle’s name in google.ca search and your amazing website appeared.
i was Tupper’s grade 8 girl friend in oakville on.
always wondered where he ended up, searched a variety of ways but with no luck. i am happily engaged so my only intent is to touch base with an old friend and share some great memories.
sincerely,
barbara
aipuff poiuyt http://ghjkliejuvclfi.com/