Jordana Paige’s Sale for Preeclampsia Awareness

I wanted to let you know about a very special sale that’s happening tomorrow (that would be July 18). Knitting bag maker Jordana Paige is going to be selling imperfect handbags throughout the day with proceeds to benefit the Preeclampsia Foundation.

Preeclampsia is a condition in which pregnant women suffer very high blood pressure. It can lead to seizures, strokes and organ failure and can cause death of the child and/or the mother. About 300,000 are diagnosed with preeclampsia each year, and it causes serious problems for thousands of women. It is close to Jordana’s heart because her sister lost her son because of preeclampsia.

“It is in memory of Cooper that I am doing this fundraiser to raise both money for the Preeclampsia Foundation and awareness of this horrific disease,” she said.

A previous fundraiser like this raised $15,000 for Doctors without Borders Haiti after the earthquake there, and Jordana hopes this sale will have a similar impact.

The sale will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific (US) time tomorrow, and a new handbag will join the sale each hour through the day. All bags will be $50 each. The sale items can be viewed at the Jordana Paige website and can be purchased online.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one. If you snag a deal, spill it!

[Photo by Jordana Paige.]

Next Pattern:

You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try.

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]

Next Pattern:

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