librarysarie

We have winners!

Sunday was a beautiful day for the MS Walk!  The forecast called for cool temperatures with showers, but it ended up being warm and rain-free. 

The setting was lovely, too.  The walk started off winding through a park and then looped through downtown Keene.  The trees are beginning to turn here in New England, and it was just such a pretty walk.

Kayte's Cronies did great!  We won't know the final totals until the end of October -- you can continue to donate till then! -- but as of walk morning, we had raised more than all the other teams participating in the Keene walk!  Jim and I raised more than $1000 between the two of us, and as of walk day Kayte and I were the #2 and #3 individual fundraisers.  She still has money coming in, and had a lot of last-minute cash donations, so I'm hoping that in the end she'll end up #1 for the second year in a row!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated!  I'm so grateful to all my wonderful friends - you made the walk a success.  We walked in honor of Kayte, and I can't tell you how much she appreciated all the support.

And we have prizes!  As promised, everyone who donated and commented here was eligible to win something from me.  I drew names and the winners are:

• 4oz of BFL combed top from Spunky Eclectic in the "Brain Freeze" colorway: won by OctopusKnits!
• One skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in "Some Summer Sky": won by Vicky!
• Two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Tuscany": won by Olliepup!
• One skein of Socks that Rock Lightweight in "Metamorphic": won by Erin L.!
• Two skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Superwash Merino Mini in "Spring Frost": won by DebKnits2!
• One skein of Wollmeise 100% merino superwash, 574 yards in "Sultan": won by Shelly!

I'll be contacting you all via Ravelry (I think that's easiest) to make sure I have a correct mailing address for you.  Thanks again to everyone who donated!

You're amazing!

When I first signed up to do Walk MS, I set my fundraising goal at $350.  Thanks to the amazing generosity of my blog readers and others, I reached that really quickly and subsequently upped my goal to $600.  Now I've passed that as well -- as I write this I've raised $656 -- but I'd love to raise still more!  Last year our team, Kayte's Cronies, raised more money than any other team in the Keene walk, and Kayte was the top individual fundraiser.  With less than a week left, our team is neck-and-neck with another team for the top spot, and someone we don't know is in the top individual spot.  I want our team to be #1, and I am also super-competitive so I want to give Kayte a run for her money too (as it were).  Won't you help me?  Click here to donate, and leave a comment to be entered into my prize drawing!  Remember, all donations of $25 or above earn you two entries in the drawing.

I promised a prize unveiling, but as you can see life got in the way and I haven't yet managed to photograph the prizes - but they're good.  There's Dream in Color Smooshy, there's Socks that Rock...and there's Wollmeise.  And there may be more, too....

Thanks to you all for your support!  Remember, you have until Saturday, Sept. 25 to donate online.

Why I Walk

Longtime readers will know that I often talk about my nephew Thomas and his mom, my younger sister Kayte.  Kayte is now also Ian's godmother.

Kayte is pretty amazing.  Over the last few years she's put herself through nursing school while juggling multiple jobs as well as being a single mother.  She got her LPN this past spring and is currently working on the last prerequisites she needs to enter the RN program.  (Unfortunately I couldn't attend her graduation, since it was in New Hampshire and I was just days away from delivering Ian, but here she is with Thomas.)

Kayte also has multiple sclerosis.  She was diagnosed three years ago at 25 years old, following a series of symptoms that included headaches, eye infections, and balance problems.  She has handled her diagnosis with amazing grace and strength.  She is currently on an experimental drug regimen that is doing a good job of managing the disease.  While she does have flare-ups from time to time, you would never know to look at her that she has this potentially debilitating disease.

Since her diagnosis, Kayte has become a big advocate for MS research.  Last year, she formed a team to participate in MS Walk Keene, and not only was her team the biggest fundraiser in the Keene walk, Kayte was the largest individual fundraiser.  I couldn't walk with her last year, but this year I'm glad to say that on September 26, Jim, Ian, and I will be walking five miles with Kayte and her friends and family, raising money to help fight this disease.  And we'll be cheering her on as she shares her story with the crowd at the walk.  (Yes.  Kayte is going to be GIVING A SPEECH.  Her shy, public-speaking-phobic older sister here could not be any prouder!)

I hope you'll consider sponsoring me and help make Kayte's Cronies the biggest fundraising team two years in a row!  And to encourage you to donate, I'm sweetening the deal: if you sponsor me, you'll be eligible to win a prize!

It's easy:

- Make a credit card donation here.  (If you'd rather donate by check, send me an email.  librarysarie AT gmail)

- Leave a comment here on my blog telling me you've done so.

Do that, and you've got an entry.  If you donate $25 or more, you'll get TWO entries.  Could that be any easier?

I'm still working out what the prizes will be, but I promise you they will be worth your while.  (I'll unveil them in the next week or so.)  Given that this is predominantly a knitting blog, obviously there will be yarny prizes.  But if you don't knit (or crochet, or spin, or whatever) then just mention it in your comment, and I'll make sure you go into the pool for non-yarn-related prizes.  ;-)  Get your entries in by September 25 (before the walk) and Kayte and I -- with some help from Thomas, no doubt -- will draw winners after completing the walk.

Thank you for your support - and please, help spread the word!  All donations go right into MS research and patient support, so we want to raise as much money as possible for the Greater New England chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Help us find effective treatments and a cure for this disease!