A Whole Bunch of Charity Knitting News

I like to save up knitting related news for roundups every now and then, and I’ve collected a whole bunch of charity knitting news — which seems to be the main reason knitters are in the news, which is wonderful — so I wanted to present a bunch of it to you all at once.

Offenders is Queensland have been knitting and crocheting blankets as a way to meet the community service requirement of their sentences. The blankets are going to the charity Lifeline to be distributed to people who need extra warmth. The participating offenders were allowed to choose crafting as a community service because of special needs, medical issues or childcare responsibilities that might have prevented them from serving in a more traditional way.

Super volunteer Patricia Brian has been awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of her efforts to help others, including through knitting. She knits for women in domestic violence shelters and started a group knitting for premature babies at a local hospital, among many other good acts she’s been involved in since she retired 17 years ago.

Students at a private Catholic School in Palm Desert, Calif., have been stitching up squares to help kids in Africa with HIV and AIDS. They’re contributing to the Knit-A-Square project, and have made more than 200 squares so far. One student said knitting was better than playing video games, while another said she was taking her knitting to summer camp. I love to hear about the next generation of knitters!

A stitcher in Scotland has been knitting miniature bagpipers and drummers, selling them to pipers from around the world and donating the proceeds to a local hospice. With the European Pipe Band Championships taking place nearby, she’s been really busy stitching up her creations. A drum or pipe major goes for £25, a piper or a drummer is £15 and a spectator £10. She says it takes about a week to make one and that the stuffing is harder than the knitting. So cute!

I can’t resist a good knit knocker story, and I actually have two: one about knitters in Washington who make the knit prostheses for women recovering from mastectomy. Some wear the knit breasts temporarily while waiting for surgery, while others use them permanently because they are lighter and more comfortable than silicon models. And in the UK, the Knitted Knockers group was awarded the People’s Choice Epic Award for making more than 2,000 knit and crocheted knockers, distributed to more than 800 women. The award comes from Voluntary Arts, a group that promotes and supports creative volunteerism.

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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