The Close-Knit Gators, a new charity-based knitting club on campus, held their second weekly meeting Tuesday night.

When finished, about 40 pumpkin hats will be donated to the Shands Children’s Hospital at the UF for Halloween.

Read the rest here: http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_76441cb5-3b5d-5384-9381-c7af11182578.html

Sep 17, 2009 – The home shopping clothing specialist has teamed up with the Sailors’ Society and is aiming to provide hundreds of knitted hats for the merchant seafarer charity’s Woolly Hat Campaign 2010.

The retailer has put together a free ‘knit-a-hat’ kit; providing customers with everything they need to create wonderful woolly hats. The new hats will warm the cockles of merchant sailors’ hearts – as well as their heads – as they battle the elements to ship our consumer goods around the world.

The kit contains Lands’ End’s exciting new feelgood yarn – a specially sourced blend that knits into wonderfully warm and cosy clothing. Enough of the feelgood yarn has been put aside to enable the business and its loyal customers to hit their target of 1,500 hats to be distributed to sailors during Woolly Hat Week – February 7-13th 2010.

Lands’ End UK Managing Director Tim Curtis said: “We’re proud to pledge our support to the Sailors’ Society as it works to enrich the quality of seafarers’ lives in the UK and around the world and we’re sure our customers have all the necessary skills to get knitting and make a difference.

“Sailors and sailing is close to our hearts at Lands’ End – our US founder Gary Comer was a world-class sailor and our business grew out of its roots as a yachting equipment retailer into the global clothing brand it is today.”

Jan Webber, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at the Sailors’ Society, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Lands’ End. Many people forget that without the seafarer, everyday essentials that we take for granted would not reach our shores. These people often spend many months at sea in harsh conditions, sometimes not even speaking the same language as their colleagues.

“A simple act of gratitude can mean the world to someone far from home and family; by knitting a woolly hat you are spreading the work of the Sailors’ Society and directly benefiting the seafarer at the same time.”

For more details, contact Rachel in the Lands’ End Press Office on 0870 600 3870

www.sailors-society.org or visit www.landsend.co.uk/feelgood

The owner, Ellen Johnson, challenges other nearby Yarn Shops to knit and crochet caps for infants. So far this program has netted 3,284 caps for babies.

Read more about this fun idea, here: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090531/NEWS/905309947/1005?Title=Yarn-Bowl-Challenge-uses-college-rivalries-to-help-infants and… why not start your own!

We Wear Red Knit Along
Sweater:  February Ladies Sweater
Yarn:  Tanis Fiber Arts Aran Weight in We Wear Red colorway
Includes:  Sufficient yarn for size chosen, Red Dress pin, pattern and shipping.
Starts:  July 1st
Finishes:  July 29th

Pre order today so Tanis can get right to work on the yarn.  Kits must be ordered by June 15th at the latest to guarantee July 1st delivery.

Never tried Tanis Fiber Arts – now is definitely the time!  If you love Dream in Color – you will love this yarn too!  I promise!

25% of all sales will be donated to the Heart Truth.  Link is posted on the store location page at www.pickupsticks.ca

Here’s where you can find all the kits in the various sizes:
http://pickupsticks.ca/index.php?cPath=420

Thank you so much!  Let’s all Wear Red this Summer!

Pick up Blue Sky Alpacas’ Knit Chickens Pattern and some fabulous Knitch yarn* and let your imagination go free range. Submit as many wacky chickens as you like by the June 15, 2009 deadline.

Go here for more details, this one sounds like fun! http://knitchknitting.blogspot.com:80/

Go here for more info: http://sheepshots.blogspot.com/2009/04/mittnz-again-its-time.html

Wanting to continue in the Prawer Shawl Knitting but already having more shawls than needed, this blogger came up with the idea of knitting and then fulling slippers as a way to continue in the ministry.

Read more at the Prayer Shawl Ministries Blog

The Vogue Knitting Rose Choker is a free download, here: http://www.dreamweaveryarns.com/catalog/vogue-knitting-rose-choker-free-pattern-p-2854.html  It’s also available as a crochet pattern.

Knit or crochet the Rose Choker featured in Vogue Knitting Summer 2009 with 1 skein of Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer and 1 skein of Tilli Tomas Rock Star.  100% of the proceeds from the sale of Hope kits will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, a foundation dedicated to education and research about causes, treatment, and the search for a cure for breast cancer.

Click on this link to find out how you help?  http://www.savethechildren.org/programs/health/child-survival/survive-to-5/knit-one-save-one.html 

And, to hear Lisa talk about this wonderful charity, click her to listen to her YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np7u66Dw_WU

Phyllis Schmidt knits a teddy bear. “I’m a little slow this morning, because my hand is a little bit stiff,” said Schmidt. With only a few more rows to finish, “then it’ll be ready for stuffing,” she said….

The children Phyllis knits these bears for are all kids affected in one way or another by HIV or AIDS. She hopes to do another 100 bears this year.

WOW!!

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local_wluk_manitowoc_woman_knits_bears_200902261654_rev1

This particular issue features cables, such as the sweater pictured.
Knitnet also has a free e-newsletter you can sign up for.

StreetKnit, a group of knitters in Toronto who knit items for homeless shelters is mentioned. “Down at The Pump, a pub in our University of Toronto neighbourhood, knitters are gathering every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. to chat and knit for StreetKnit, which collects new hand knit items to be donated to the various shelters and homelessness groups across the city. As the group’s Web site says, We can’t knit shelter, but we can do the next best thing.

The following is taken directly from Knitting For Charity’s website:

A World of Ways to Make a Difference
If you love to craft, American Angels can use your help. There’s almost no skill they can’t put to work helping a soldier or their family, and knitting is certainly not an exception. Just a few things you could knit for this worthy charity include:

–black hats for winter helmet liners
Pattern here (personally, when I make these, I make the neck ribbing a bit longer so it covers more of the neck, oh, and just an FYI… make them out of superwash wool, or they will shrink. Ask me how I know. Ugh!
–slippers for soldiers overseas or in hospitals
–Christmas stockings, tree skirts, or ornaments
–an afghan (or “comfortghan”) for a wounded solider.

The Citizen Sam website, here, has more ideas.

Oh, and, Merry Christmas Everyone!! Go out and play in the snow today.