Knitting

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Knit for the Cure

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breast cancer braceletWelcome, October! As you probably know this month is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and all sorts of companies have special sales or pink-themed items on offer this time of year.

In the knitting world, all purchases made in the Interweave Store between now and Oct. 5 will have 30 percent of the proceeds donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Knit Outta the Box offers a kit to knit a pink ribbon bracelet, perfect to give to someone fighting the disease or to wear in a walk or to another fundraising event. It runs $12.50 for the full kit, or $6.75 for the pattern and the yarn or $4.99 for the pattern only. A portion of the sale goes to a breast cancer organization.

And don’t forget about the Calendar of Hope I told you about a couple of months ago. This calendar has 14 knitting patterns in it and all of the proceeds other than Paypal fees go to Army of Women.

Do you know of other ways knitters are helping the cause? Spill it!

[Photo by Knit Outta the Box.]

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Golden Peak Media Acquires CreativeBug

Throughout the saga of the closing of Joann, I’ve been wondering what would happen to CreativeBug, the subscription-based online craft learning platform that Joann acquired in 2017. 

Golden Peak Media has announced its acquisition of the company in a media release. 

Golden Peak is “one of the largest media and education companies serving art and craft enthusiasts in the United States,” according the release, and includes in its portfolio brands like Interweave, Sew Daily, and nine print magazines including Love of Quilting and Interweave Knits. They have daily newsletters, magazines, digital patterns, on-demand classes and host live events.

David Saabye, CEO of Golden Peak, calls the purchase a “very natural fit” supporting crafters in their lifelong learning journeys. 

CreativeBug general manager Liana Allday will stay on and the company will retain its headquarters in Berkeley, Calif. 

Abby Glassenberg of the Craft Industry Alliance collected reactions from some CreativeBug instructors and others with a history at the company, and heard lots of optimism about the news. Ursula Morgan, who was CEO of CreativeBug when the company was acquired by Joann, said Golden Peak is a “perfect home” for CreativeBug as they’re getting an owner that “deeply understands the craft consumer.” 

I, too, am relieved to see that this platform will be able to continue. I’ve been a subscriber for years and I love that it has solid instruction in a wide range of crafts (including knitting, of course!) and is always adding new content to keep the platform interesting. It’s also a great service that CreativeBug is available to many for free through their local libraries, so be sure to check on that where you live if you don’t already subscribe. 

This feels like the last piece of the puzzle in the story of Joann that’s going on all year, along with the announcement that Michaels had purchased Joann’s intellectual property so its private label brands can live on, but of course I’ll keep watching to see if there’s more to come.