Well it’s been a frantic few weeks and is set to continue in this manner. Among it all I had a few days visiting my parents which was fun. We went to the beach and not having thought to take a swimsuit I had to content myself with paddling. We went to Weymouth which I remember most strongly as a place I went to on coach trips with my grandmother when she was looking after me during school holidays.
We also went to Sandbanks which brings back wonderful memories of going to the beach after school which means it wasn’t during the holidays, probably because it would have been too busy then to be able to find a parking space. The best thing about Sandbanks is that it’s a narrow strip of land that sticks out into the sea, so on one side of the road is perfect cockling territory and the other side is the softest sandy beach. So you could pick some cockles, go for a swim, then go home and put the cockles in a bucket of floury water so they purge themselves of sand and grit and then cook them up for a tasty treat.
This week I got back on track with the fundraising, it’s been on hold a bit as things got a little crazy, but I finished up one of the larger elements I had planned.
I had planned to make stitch markers to sell to raise funds – I thought 1 stitch marker a mile seemed reasonable until I actually embarked on the task of making over 370 stitch markers. I rapidly gained an immense amount of respect for the people who make them for a living. It’s hard on the hands, but I kept myself focused by thinking about how hard 370 miles would be on the nether regions and just about every other muscle in the body. And for anyone who’s thinking the Bike Rally is 600km – that’s right, but kilometers mean nothing to me – I’m a mile person and can never visualise kilometers – I’m just not wired that way.
I rather nervously listed the stitch markers today in the UK Classifieds group on Ravelry amidst all sorts of doubts that anyone would want them and wondering if I have time to do anything else if it failed?
But I am incredibly thankful to those who have bought them so far, 22 sets have sold and are packaged up ready to go to the Post Office later today, and a few more are pending. What is even more heartening is the support for PWA Foundation expressed by those buying them.
So far, the stitchmarkers have raised £53.40 or $105.09CAD which was donated last night. Whilst I haven’t managed to come up with and implement a different idea each week, we have reached the goal I set at the outset of raising £240 and that does feel like an achievement. Especially as there is still a day to go before the Bike Rally starts on Saturday and then the 6 days of the Rally itself. Thanks to everyone who’s been involved so far, including:
Anna, Debbie, Susan, Gavin, Dorothy, Roy, Charlie, Dennis, Paolo, Miranda, Shirley, Lisa, Liz, Chris, Dale, Nic, Hilary, Pippa, Jacky, Kate.
Week 1 (w/c 11/5): $25.00 £13.72
Week 2 (w/c 18/5): $47.79 £27.00
Week 3 (w/c 25/5): $67.59 £36.51
Week 4 (w/c 1/6): $70.34 £38.00
Week 5 (w/c 8/6): $57.41 £29.32
Week 6 (w/c 15/6): $49.93 £25.50
Week 7 (w/c 22/6): $43.21 £22.50
23/7 $105.09 £53.40
Total: $466.36 £245.95