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Another Loss to the Knitting Community

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evie rosenI think we just need to get through this week with no more bad news, but I’m also saddened to report that Evie Rosen, the woman who founded the knit and crochet charity Warm Up, America, died recently. She was 86 years old.

Rosen learned to knit at the age of 7 and opened the Knitting Nook shop in her native Wisconsin in 196; it was open for more than 30 years. She also helped found the Midwest Retailers Association and encourage the National NeedleArts Association to open its membership to retailers.

Warm Up, America was founded in 1991 as a local charity to provide the homeless with blankets, and it spread and spread such that in that time more than 15 million afghan blocks have been created and more than 300,000 afghans distributed across the United States and around the world.

Warm Up, America is proof that we can all do a little something even when faced with big problems. The charity collects afghan squares, so you can get a group together and just knit or crochet one block each and still have enough for a blanket to warm one person in your community. Multiply that by every yarn crafter making a square, or a blanket, to distribute locally and you can see what a difference all those little squares can make.

[Photo via Craft Yarn Council.]

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Comments

  1. Evie Rosen was a wonderful woman. I met her at The Knitting Nook where she not only gave me knitting tips but thoughtful advise on motherhood. She was so welcoming, always with a smile and a laugh. I’ll always remember her and those years in Wausau, WI!

  2. What a sad week this is turning out to be. I did not know her personally but knew of the foundation through my mother who made blankets and afghans to contribute to this cause. My condolences to all her friends and her family.

  3. Reading the linked Warm Up America article, I thought, “Look what one woman can do.” Think of all the lives she touched.
    Many years ago I taught a classroom of 5th graders to crochet and we made an afghan for Warm Up America. What a great experience that was, I still see those children and they will mention our crocheting time together.
    Thank you Evie for inspiring others and for sharing the fact we are blessed, when we bless others. You will be missed.
    Deb

Have you read?

Book Review: Magical Woodland Knits

Magical Woodland Knits by Clare Garland is a few years old as I write this, but it’s such a fun book I couldn’t resist sharing it. Step into a magical forest full of realistic woodland creatures including rabbit, deer and squirrel, birds and mice, to name a few.

In all there are 12 creatures, and though they are rather small (the wolf is the largest at 14.5 inches/37 cm tall and 18.5 inches/47 cm long), they are so detailed these are definitely not projects for new knitters. 

One of the smaller projects, for example, is the robin, at 5/5 inches/14 cm long. It calls for nine different kinds of yarn. Sometimes some are held together, while others are worked with on their own. This pattern only includes three pages of instructions, but the print is rather small and in that time there are six different sets of short rows. None of this makes it too difficult for a knitter with experience reading detailed patterns, working short rows and working with multiple strands of yarn at once, but it’s worth knowing going in that even for small projects you’ll need a lot of supplies and time to work on them.

These are also not meant to be children’s toys, as they can include wires and other supports that could be a danger to little ones.

The process photos often look like taxidermy on a tiny scale, with little animal pelts stretched out and tons of stitch markers showing where and how things go together.

The finished animals are so pretty it’s certainly worth the effort to stitch up these creatures. You might be tempted to make all 12 and set up your own forest scene or use them to decorate your Christmas tree. You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

Along the way you’ll also find a little folklore about the animals, charming drawings and pretty photos of the finished animals, too. In the back you’ll find some helpful techniques like picking up stitches, making I-cord and working short rows.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 12 patterns. Published 2020 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.