I have been very slow to set another raffle hare going. I have had a lot on my plate these past weeks, and I had to get off the screens for a bit because it was overwhelming for a moment and I needed to just sit back for a bit. But I am back!!
This raffle is for a lovely human called Abdalla Mughari, and his family. They live in Gaza. Well, they did live in Gaza, and Abdalla was a nursing student, until the IOF blew up first his university and then his house. He and his family are now living in a tent in a refugee camp in Gaza, unable to leave. I really want us to keep giving him and his family hope. Originally he had a target of €20k, to fix his family’s damaged house, and to travel to Egypt and finish his interrupted degree. But then the family lost their house entirely, mined by retreating Israeli soldiers because they are grotesquely violent. So the amount requested has doubled, and we will keep going until something shifts in this goddamn hideous mess, and until we see Abdalla and his family safe. Since we started donating to this raffle back in May, it has raised over €9000. We are capable of huge things collectively.
On offer this time are two lots. The first is a set of three very fine linen lacemaking threads. These are SOOOPER fine - like I’ve never found anything as fine, and even more unusually, they are dyed. These threads came from the same collection as the bobbin laces on my website. All of them came from a very elderly lady who had been collecting for decades, when she passed on they came to one of the dealers I buy from. The threads probably date from the late 20’s to early 30’s given their colour, but could also be late 40’s to early 50’s, as France stayed very stuck stylistically until well after WW2 had ended, just one of the catastrophic effects the war had on French society. I tend to think they are 30’s though. They were used to make bobbin lace - the same sort of laces as are on my website, although bobbin lace can be exceedingly fine (as this thread attests). So there are three here, chestnut brown, pale aqua, and peach, and I have the remainder of these up on my website if you miss out on winning them but still want some.
The second lot is a set of six assorted bone crochet hooks. I think these are just lovely, but I can’t crochet. I kept two to use as hairpins! Again, there will be other sets on my website of these but I haven’t got to putting them up yet. I will next week
So - how to enter….
How to enter: Please donate €5 for the set of six bone crochet hooks, and €10 for the three hanks of linen lacemaking thread, to Abdalla’s Gofundme, for which the link is here - Abdalla’s Gofundme . Take a screenshot of your donation, and send it to my raffle email address (not my usual email address because it may get lost there, I am trying to keep raffle emails separate from my business). My raffle email address is lagrossetoile.deux@gmail.com . If you donate €15 or more, I will enter you for both raffles. I will pay postage for both pieces to the winners - if you have a box going with me that I can add these pieces to, I will donate that postage cost to the fundraiser, or if you choose to pay postage costs I will ask you to give that amount to the fundraiser and I will post out. I will draw the winners next Friday evening the 11th of October, so you have until then to enter. If neither of these pieces takes your fancy, you can donate without emailing me your receipt!
Please be aware I will be away this weekend from the 4th to the 7th without my laptop, and so if you enter the raffle, I won’t acknowledge your entry until early next week. I try to always send everyone who enters a thank you as I paste your emails into a spreadsheet (I use a random number generator to choose the winner)
Once again, thank you in advance. And thank you also to the people who I see donating every week or so to this raffle regardless of whether or not there is something to win. This point in our history is particularly painful in so many ways, and we have to keep seeing each other and showing up where and when we can.
With love
xxHanna
Your work to raise funds to help Abdalla and his family is so inspirational. We contribute in order to support him, but also to validate the excellent work you do. It’s a way of being a part of something for people who are caught up in desperate situations. Let them know that there are people out there who care ❤️