Knitting

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XRX Attorney Sends Instructions to Stitches Claimants

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I’ve been trying to keep you posted when I hear more about XRX, Inc., the company that ran Stitches events, ceasing to exist. To recap: the day after a virtual event, and not long before an in-person event was set to take place, the company added a notice to the Stitches events page saying the company would cease to exist and no longer hold events.

It implied that the company would be filing for bankruptcy, though the letter sent to claimants from the company’s attorney merely says the company “will be dissolved,” which is not necessarily the same thing and doesn’t offer the same protections to people and companies owed money than filing for bankruptcy does.

Some individuals who signed up for events that are not longer happening have reported successfully getting chargebacks from their credit card companies (more on that and some other updates here).

The Screwed by Stitches Facebook group has been made private, but if you join you can find a few people who have shared the letter, dated June 9 and sent by attorney Clair R. Gerry of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

In a nutshell, though, the letter says potential creditors have a right to file a claim for any amount they may be owed by the company. In order to do so, they need to submit a claim in writing along with supporting evidence of the amount due.

Such evidence could be “any contract, invoice, billing, statement or other documentation” supporting the claim. Claims must be mailed to the attorney within 120 days of June 9. If statements are not filed on time or to the address indicated in the letter they will be considered void.

The letter notes that if claims that are rejected, claimants will have to “commence legal action” to appeal (which sounds too expensive for most people to want to deal with). It also says they anticipate there will not be sufficient funds to pay all claims, in which case claims will be paid on a pro-rata basis (meaning only a fraction will be paid) and if a person’s pro-rata is less than $10 they will not be paid.

I don’t know if the company will have to file for bankruptcy once the claim period is over, or if it can just dissolve and pay a percentage of claims without officially filing. I’ll keep an eye on it and let you know when there are more updates! 

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

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.