Knit 'Til You Quit!, The Boy With the Swollen Eye

Knit 'Til You Quit
You know how sometimes you have a good idea and then when you bounce it off someone else,it just becomes, well, an even better idea? Such was the case when the beautiful Holley finessed my sock knitting marathon fundraiser.

Yours truly, was going to sit around with alot of double pointed knitting needles between now and departure to knit as many toddler's socks as possible. The idea was, get people to sponsor me per sock. The more socks I make, the more money fundraised. Ta-da! I was determined, but inside, I was dreading the process slightly.

In comes, Holley saying, "When can I join your knitting marathon?" Join? Huh? Yeah, she says. Maybe we can sit around together for, like, ten hours or something and just... knit. People can sponsor us by the hour! People can come by and cheer us on! We can eat! Watch movies! Win first prize! Auction off the items we make! Waa!

I laid in bed, astounded at the idea of not having to go at it alone, tingling in my senses. Needless to say I am more giddy than seeing a Takumi bamboo needle set sale at Joann's. Thus, I present to you, "Knit 'Til You Quit!"



Sat., February 16, 2008
11 AM - 9PM

I have friends signed up already to knit as much as they can during that ten hour block. What's even more encouraging is that we are hoping to donate some items to Stitches From the Heart, a non profit that gives booties and preemie hats to the less fortunate.

Weather permitting, Chris is going to man the grill and serve up some food while our hands are busy purling and knitting away.

If you'd like to sponsor me - or any other knitter - by the hour, please email me at: michelle.yung@gmail.com. Thank you!

The Boy with the Swollen Eye
I had dinner tonight with Kelley. She asked me how I was feeling about my trip and I told her I was thrilled, which I am. And though I have no idea how it is going to be in reality, I told her about a BBC TV documentary that I had seen about Mercy Ships. I shared with her how that TV piece brought the reality of suffering so much closer to home.

The nurses and the reporter went to a local village to visit a patient. A little boy's eye was so swollen, bursting with pus and infection. What would've been a mild form of conjunctivitis grew into an incurable infection, fatal to this boy's eyesight. I remember his delight at the toy car he was playing with. I remember his little Spider-Man t-shirt. He had a name. He had a family. He is God's creation. It was my little six year old nephew, I thought. But this boy just didn't have medicine. Just medicine. How in the world does he not have medicine? It seems such a simple question, but it is such a complex problem. But we can be a much viable answer than we think. We must allow ourselves to feel with our hearts, then act without fear. Then, I know we will see a solution. Or at least be closer to one.