Do you have yarn in your stash that you just don’t know what to do with? Perhaps you’ve bought too much for a project and have leftover balls or skeins. Maybe you fell passionately in love with custard yellow a couple of years ago but now it just doesn’t do anything for you.

New Year, New Stash!

What you need is a p/hop swap to reinvigorate your stash for the new year! Traditionally, p/hop swaps have been held at local knitting groups or events. People bring yarn they’re no longer in love with to swap, it all goes on a big table, and then everyone chooses something from the big pile to take home. And of course, they make a p/hop donation for the fun of it and the shiny new-to-them yarn.

Not all of us can get to these swaps, so this January we’re hosting a postal p/hop swap. If you sign up, you’ll need to send around 200g of unused yarn from your stash to your partner. In return, you’ll get the same amount of brand new yarn to play with. It could be a yarn base you’ve never tried, a colour you’d never thought of, or a combination of yarns that work with something else you already own. Whatever you get, it will put a new splash in your stash, for the cost of postage and a p/hop donation with all the money donated going straight to MSF’s fantastic work.

Sound fun? The details of the swap and sign ups are in our friendly ravelry group here. If you have any questions about how the swap works, that’s also the place to ask them. Come and join us for a stash swapping start to 2013!

Tweeting about this? #NYNS #phop

If you glance to your right and take a look at our Just Giving Widget you will see that we, that’s me and you and all the fibre-fans who have contributed to p/hop, have raised over £33,000 for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). This is fantastic. We’re still a way off from reaching our target for this year of £40,ooo, but we’re getting closer.

At the moment MSF staff are working flat out in South Sudan, with 15,000 people who are struggling to survive without fresh water. This shocking situation has not reached our mainstream media but you can help spread the word. This video with MSF doctor Erna is on Vimeo and the news story is here.

If you are unable to watch the video here’s part of what Erna says:

“We went early on Tuesday morning to provide medical assistance and rehydration points along the route,” says Doctor Erna Rijnierse, MSF’s medical team leader.

“It was a truly shocking sight as we witnessed some of the weakest dying as they walked – too dehydrated for even the most urgent medical care to save them.”

She adds: “The scale of what is happening here is shocking, even for experienced emergency team members who have seen a lot.”

While you may be feeling helpless you can make a difference. Share the news of what is happening to people in South Sudan, tell your friends, tweet about it, share the video on facebook. As always, your donations through p/hop go straight to MSF’s work, where it is needed, whether or not it is on the news.

Thank you.

If you visit Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)’s website you’ll see lots of reasons why we p/hop.

There’s an opportunity to gain more insight into MSF’s lifesaving work and humanitarian principles for those of you who have access to BBC2, on Newsnight, starting at 10:30pm (GMT +1) tonight.

The feature is about MSF’s work in a hospital in Jordan where doctors are performing complex surgery unavailable anywhere else in the Middle East on victims of terror and violence from across the region. You can read more about it on the BBC website.

Khitam (on the right) was playing in her garden in Falluja when she was caught in an explosion aimed at US troops. She, like Hussein, is awaiting skin grafts. (Photograph from BBC website)

And while you’re watching I hope you think to yourself, “I helped do this.”

Happy New Year Everyone. Before we launch headlong into 2011 I’m going to take a few moments to look back over 2010. What a year it was, we were here there and everywhere meeting hundreds, if not thousands of friendly and generous knitter, but you know all that (well you do if you read the blog). One of the things I love about p/hop is when people are inspired to make a difference and raise money which will enable MSF to provide vaccines, midwives, nutrition and other life saving care to people who desperately need it.

Take for example IsobelM who asked for a collecting tin and some info on p/hop and MSF to add to a display on knitting in her local library in the Isle of Man.  Or Shelia who always makes a donation through Just Giving whenever there is a birthday in the family, remembering those who have very little in life at times of personal celebration. Or Rhoda who knitted tea cosies to sell for MSF at a local craft cafe and gallery. Or the anonymous knitter who donates for a pattern.  Or Rooknits and Picperfic who coordinated the 2010 raffle blankets and all the individuals who donated their knitting time to make squares to create beautiful throws. All these acts of kindness make a huge difference.

Jacqui, modelling her Flowers in the Rain design at Woolfest in July

You’ve helped Dr Ekdahl deliver two healthy babies to Haseena and Jamila in flood striken Pakistan.You’ve helped prevent, control and treat cholera outbreaks in Haiti. You’ve helped vaccinate thousands of vulnerable people in Niger against meningitis. You’ve helped raise nearly £22,000, over US$4000 and 1,500 Euro for MSF since p/hop started.

Good eh? If you helped p/hop raise money for MSF, in any way, no matter how small, in 2010 give yourself a pat on the back, a nice cup of tea,some knitting time, and start thinking about what we can do in 2011.

Photo from MSF UK

Thank you.

Added at 10pm: After I wrote this the UK fund raising total went over £22,000! What a brilliant start to 2011. Don’t forget you can also donate in US dollars, Euros or make a donation in your local currency to your country’s MSF office.