Help the Kids of Kenya with Knit Goodies

Do you all know about Craft Hope? It’s a really amazing group of crafters that band together periodically to make things that are donated to others. It started with 29 pillowcase dresses for children in an orphanage in Mexico and has grown such that through the years Craft Hopers have donated more than 150,000 handcrafted pieces to make the world a little brighter for kids and others around the world.

The latest project benefits We Are Kenya, and they are looking for knit (or crocheted, or sewn) hats, scarves, gloves and stuffed animals to donate to about 200 kids ages 4 to 15.

We Are Kenya is a nonprofit that works to educate children in the slum of Soweto, the second largest slum in the country. They feed the children — sometimes the only meal they get each day — and the children are taught by university-trained instructors.

These crafted items will help keep the kids warm through the winter and give them comfort they almost certainly wouldn’t have otherwise. How great is that?

The deadline for sending items is November 1. Please go to the Craft Hope website for more information and to chime in with what you’ll be making. I hope you’ll consider this project if it touches you and you have some knitting time in the next month.

[Photo from We Are Kenya via Craft Hope.]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?