Geek-A-Long

As some of you may know, when I’m not reading or doing other book-related things, I like to do stuff with my hands. Mostly, I knit and make jewelry, usually while listening to audiobooks, so I suppose that still counts as doing book-related stuff.
At any rate, in addition to working on tons of small knitted items to go with a costume I’m planning in conjunction with the publication of Mary Robinette Kowal’s Ghost Talkers, I have been participating in the Geek-a-Long over on Lattes and Llamas.
The Geek-a-Long is a year long knitting or crochet project, which ultimately results in (hopefully) a blanket. There is a geeky theme every year, and the goal of the project is to raise money for Child’s Play, a charity to help kids in children’s hospitals around the country.
This is the third year that the Geek-a-Long has been running and the theme is Video Games. How could I resist? There have been two squares posted so far, Mario Kart and Tetris.
I opted out of the Tetris square, it just doesn’t strike my fancy, but there is a Portal square from two years ago that I plan to substitute just as soon as my yarn gets here. The square being released today is, I think, Kirby-themed.
I really enjoy knitting and working on a big, group project like this is really fun.
The way Child’s Play comes into it is varied. First, if you buy your yarn from this year’s sponsors, they will donate a small portion of the purchase price to the charity. Next, you can make direct donations through a widget at the L&L site. And third, if you finish all your squares for the year, you should end up with two different blankets. Either or both of which could be sold and the proceeds donated to Child’s Play. Or, you could just get the word out there about the charity.
And what exactly is Child’s Play, you might be asking. Well, Child’s Play is a charity that was started in 2003 to help kids in children’s hospitals. One thing that most people don’t think about is how those kids spend their time. It can be exhausting to be in the hospital, and that’s without taking into account the reason that they’re there to start with. So, anything that can take their minds off things and enrich their time is welcome. So, Child’s Play donates games, toys, and books to partner hospitals. They have also expanded to partner with some domestic violence shelters recently as well. I think it’s a pretty great charity and I’m happy to be able to combine knitting with a good cause.