I was desperately trying to think of something to different to write about msf, and about why the money we are raising was so important. Everything I was wanting to say sounded so trivial, and I also wanted to do something different.

After all p/hop is all about being different, knitting in itself is different, standing out fro the crowd and saying “I care enough to do something” is different. Every time I log on to Ravelry I see that someone else has p/hopped something different. I even gained a spinning wheel and the chance to do something different thanks to p/hop.

In the end I decided to revert to type, I’m a teacher, I’ve just finished teaching my Year 9’s about vaccination, we were discussing why vaccinations are done. They had no idea what many diseases were. The words measles, mumps, rubella, TB, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio mean nothing to them. None of them had ever known anyone with any of those diseases. Every child in the UK will get vaccinated against those diseases, it won’t cost their parents anything.

I want to live in a world where every teacher can talk about vaccinations and have to explain what the diseases they protect against are.

That’s why I design patterns for p/hop, that’s why I offer things I don’t want to others, that’s why I donate.

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Thank you HilltopKatie. You can read more from Hilltopkatie here including a competion to win some ready knitted p/hop patterns and other knitted goodies, all in aid of p/hop.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I like cake, probably a little too much.  I enjoy everything about it, from selecting the recipe and ingredients to making, baking and eating it.  But I particularly love sharing it with family and friends.  Cake is wheeled out for celebration, commiseration and comfort.  A slice of cake shows that you thought of someone.

As p/hop celebrates its first birthday it felt only right to bake a celebration cake and this is what I would like to share with you.

P/hop Banana Cake

125g unsalted butter, melted
150g sugar
175g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1//2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas weighing between 300-350g without skins

Pop a paper liner in a loaf tin (I don’t get on with the silicone ones) and set the oven to 170°C/Gas 3.
Melt the butter gently and set aside to cool slightly.
Weigh the flour then add the baking powder, bicarb and salt combining thoroughly.
Using another bowl, mash the bananas to a pulp.  The more mashed the better.
In a large bowl weigh the sugar and add the cooled butter beating well.
Into a jug or small bowl crack the eggs and beat lightly with the vanilla extract.  Add this mixture, half at a time to the sugar and butter beating thoroughly.  Then add the banana.
Sift the dry ingredients into the wet a third at a time, combining gently but thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the tin and bake in the centre of the oven for around an hour.  I usually check after 50 minutes and see how it is doing.  A cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centre should come out cleanish when it is cooked.
Leave in the tin to cool for about 15 minutes before popping it on a rack.
Eat as preferred, thick or thin but preferably shared with family or friends.
Enjoy!

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Mmmmm, cake. Thank you Knittingtastic. You can read more from Knittingtastic here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

A pair of Hopsox – £5

Knitting on the plinth – £102

A barn raising blanket – £850

Knowing that we have raised enough money to keep a member of MSF  staff  “in the field”  for a whole year.

PRICELESS

Thank you for making this a memorable year for me – I now have THE BEST pair of purple socks, and I’ve knitted in one of the most random places in central London.

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Thank you Rooknits. You can read more from Rooknits here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I’m knitting the simplest of scarves (and hopefully the quickest) because I’m working to a self-imposed deadline of 24 hours from start to finish.

The pattern is the Airy Scarf from Last-minute knitted gifts by Joelle Hoverson, but I’m using two strands of Kidsilk Haze instead of just the one as specified. Combining pale pink ‘Fondant’ with the deep raspberry ‘Blushes’ is giving an interesting colour variation and a much more textural effect than with the single yarn, and it’s still as soft and light as a cloud.

In the book, the scarf appears in the ‘two to four hour gifts’ section. Well, my knitting speed isn’t up to that! I cast on at 3.30pm yesterday and as is the way of these things, did a bit and broke off to do something else, did a bit more and went to cook supper, did a bit more …and so on, so quite how many of the 24 hours I’ll have spent on it by the time it’s off the needles I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m getting a lot of pleasure from making it (and knitting against the clock adds to that, actually) and I hope someone will enjoy wearing it when it’s done.

I’m delighted to be taking part – at Natalie’s kind invitation – in the p/hop birthday celebrations, and to be helping to spread the word about Médecins sans Frontières. I shall think of my scarf as the raspberry fondant icing on the p/hop birthday cake, but time is short so I must pick up those needles again!

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Thank you Cornflower. You can read more from Cornflower here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

a little scene from my home . . . our yellow maple just a couple of weeks ago, beginning to shed its branches. now it’s completely bare, as are all the trees surrounding the house.

the sudden transformation floods the house with a new winter glow, bringing all the colors inside alive with light.

cozy warm woolens take on a new importance and life as we get the house ready for winter by spreading blankets and shaking out sweaters and coats from their summer storage spots

new knitting goes on the needles in preparation for christmas giving.

so much to look forward to in the changing of the seasons and so much to be thankful for, inside and out . . . a warm, wooly, and happy birthday to p/hop!

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Thank you Anne. You can read more from Knitspot here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

One year after it started, p/hop has grown and grown. We have p/hopped patterns, destashed yarn and even rehomed a spinning wheel and have together raised enough money to keep one fieldworker (Doctor, Nurse or Logistician) in the field for a whole year. We would love to raise enough for another year.

Today is the launch of the last phase of Condition Critical.

Before I go any further, please visit the website for Condition Critical, watch the video and meet Françoise who has great dignity and a strength I cannot begin to imagine.

After you have watched it, please leave a message by clicking on the map, or if you use Twitter, send your message by tweet and spread the word.

Today I am not just asking for your donations, I am donating something myself.

Please have a look at the patterns on this site (in the toolbar at the top) and  download as many you like. These patterns are not free, we ask you to make a donation for them. You decide how much to give.

When you donate on either the Just Giving site or the First Giving site, be sure and leave your email address. MSF won’t use it for anything else, and neither will I…. but all the emails will go into randomised donor list and one person will receive a whole year of The Yarn Yard yarn club, one parcel every month in 2010. Pete and Clare from MSF will do the randomising thing on my behalf.

This is a gift from me to one of you. It’s worth £175 in the UK or Europe and £186 ($280 USD) in the rest of the world.

If you are already in the club and your name is chosen you can give the membership to someone else (or have a double dose) or you could p/hop it yourself at your knitting group or on ravelry –  I just need to know where to send the yarn, so when you donate, remember that email address!

The closing date for this is 15th December 2009. So why not enter today and then go and tell all your knitting friends about it too.

Please come back and visit the blog throughout the week and see who is blogging for us… you may get some surprises!

This is what I wrote on the Just Giving page when I set it up about a year ago.

I like knitting.
Plain “vanilla socks” allow me to switch off for a while, knitting round and round and round as I mull over the events of the day. It is sometimes called “mindless knitting” but I prefer to think of it as recharging my batteries.
And then there is challenging knitting, the stuff which takes me out of my comfort zone. The sort of knitting where if I dare to think about what’s for dinner at the same time as I knit, then there is the guarantee of much tinking or frogging (or both).

I am incredibly fortunate.
I have a home in which to knit.
I have the luxury of being able to switch off occasionally.
I know that there will actually be a dinner.
And I know that the people for whom I knit are safe, and usually just a phone call away.

Please donate.

Thank You.

Natalie.

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Thank you so much Natalie. I’m sure most of the p/hop regulars won’t need introducing to Natalie.

If you’re new here firstly: welcome and thank you for visiting p/hop and secondly: you can follow Natalie’s adventures in yarn and life here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

When Natalie of Yarn Yard asked me to contribute a post to the p/hop birthday blog event I was more than happy to agree and was thrilled that she had thought of me but this was quickly followed by blogger’s block and in the week that followed, in between blowing my nose and coughing, I began and discarded a thousand posts.  I seemed unable to think of a single thing to write about.

But suddenly last night my head cleared and I knew just what I wanted to write about.  This sudden clarity of thought came at the end of a long and busy day.  Still not feeling 100% my Monday began with the usual rush of packing lunches and rushing children and husband out the door, the day proceeded in a rush of assisting on a school trip (ah yes, to be sat on an overheated coach full of 6 & 7 year olds with pounding sinuses and a hacking cough, such pleasure).  The day raced on with an afternoon of swimming lessons and grocery shopping thrown in for good measure and the poor Technical Advisor arrived unexpectedly home in time for dinner on the one night that I could offer nothing more exciting that beans on toast.

Have to say that thankfully the dear Technical Advisor conjured up a heavenly dose of poached eggs and mushrooms on toast inspite of his own weariness and the evening slowed down mercifully.  However by the time I got to bed last night, I was quite certain that I would fall asleep the instant my head touched the pillow and was most surprised to find that the stillness of my body only served to give my mind more energy to whirr.  The problem, I suddenly realised, was that I had not read.  Not one page.  You see I read every night and have done for as long as I can remember.  I cannot imagine not having a novel on the go by the side of my bed, reading before I close my eyes is as natural as drinking coffee in the morning.  When the children were babies and sleep was so precious I still went through the motions of picking up my book even if it did take a very long time to finish those post-baby books and I could face only the simplest of chick-lit.  I think my eyes would barely reach the end of a page before closing.  Reading a book at bedtime is my way of putting the day away.  It is impossible to really follow the words on the page whilst thinking of anything else so my mind is forced to close off it’s thoughts, it is like clicking the shut down button.  A gentle whirring as each window in my mind closes and my mental machine settles, ready for sleep.  A gentle full stop to each day.

P/hop is such a fantastic idea, giving knitters a creative way to donate to Médecins Sans Frontières. If you don’t know about p/hop then please go and take a look and do tell your knitting friends.

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Thank you PoshYarns. You can read more from PoshYarns here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I wanted to knitti spaghetti for p/hop’s birthday because I wanted to mix food and knitting. I blog about food, I like knitting and I like p/hop.

So, I boiled the spaghetti and covered it in olive oil (eating a few bits long the way). It cools very quickly so I didn’t have to worry about burning my hands.

I then tried to cast on, but this didn’t work because it kept slipping off the needles… So, I had to knotti the spaghetti with very slippery fingers in a knitting style.

I thought the final product was a storming success and I predict that everyone will be wearing these in summer 2010.

If you want the pattern, just make a donation to p/hop using the widgets on the right and leave a comment for me here

The Gallus Bankiva Knitti Knotti Spaghetti

And I also made a spaghetti birthday cake for p/hop too. Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Happy birthday p/hop. And my dinner. All in one.

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Thank you Gallus for our first ever knitting/food crossover post. You can read more from Gallus at her blog, The Trough

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

Here at MSF towers, celebrations have been in full swing! We have raffled knitted goodies (some that staff have made), raising £70 for the p/hop pot! We have also had real cake brought in by Clare (carrot and orange AND coffee and walnut)… And we sang a little song. Check it out…..

Just want to say as well that it has been fantastic updating the office on the p/hop project in our Monday meetings over the past year – I’m pretty sure there’s a few who still have no idea what I’m talking about, but I think for all it is the source of constant amusement.

And don’t get me wrong – this is not a bad thing…. Nothing like this has ever been done for MSF UK and I think the philosophy behind p/hop and the fact that it has evolved and grown and involved so many different people (many of them non-knitters and completely unsuspecting , makes people laugh.

As you know, the work MSF does in the field is very serious. The news we hear from our doctors, nurses, logisticians etc on a daily basis can be uplifting but at the same time they are where they are because something is drastically wrong, and that is always sad. You guys, the p/hoppers,  engage with MSF in such a lovely way that it has a really positive impact on the people working here in the office, supporting our guys in the field.

I can confidently say that if you now say ‘knitting’ to people that work here, they will say ‘p/hop’ whether they get it or not

So here’s to all of you, for bringing a smile to the faces of all of us! Look forward to more of the same…..

Bev (HR) won a scarf made by Mandu (Finance) in the raffle.

PS. Staff who have now knitted who had never knitted before include:

Simon (Association Coordinator) at the Plinth watching rooknits

Sophia (until recently of HR) at FibreFest

Mike Patmore (field lab tech) at UK Ravelry Day

Louise (p/hop coordinator) all over the place

Me all over the place

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Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

We have another gorgeous new p/hop pattern for you lovely p/hop knitters today.

These stylish and cosy mittens were designed and generously donated by Åsa Tysk. Here’s Åsa tells us about her pattern and process:

“The Intertwined mittens were born out of two old, balls of wool and a scrap of mohair. Bored with my other knitting projects I played with them a bit and out came cables in a way I liked. In my imagination I saw them covering a big, wintry sweater, quite a stretch for the small amount of yarn I had, so I settled for handwear.

I had no intention of making a pattern as I have never really written one before but then a Ravelry group I had joined had a big charity knit off and a team was formed in favour of p/hop. Learning that p/hop was dedicated to raise money for Medécins sans frontiers, I felt I had to contribute! So I wrote down instructions for the mittens and with great help from my teammates they became this pattern.

I’m really glad to be doing this for p/hop and MSF!”

Thank you very much Asa, your pattern is beautiful, perfect for Christmas knitting.

As always please don’t forget to make your donation to p/hop based on the number of hours of pleasure you think you will get from p/hop patterns.

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Thank you  Åsa.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.