Knitting in Massachusetts: Purl for a Purpose on Nov. 9 to raise money for Pine Street Inn

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Purl for a Purpose on Nov. 9 to raise money for Pine Street Inn

Boston's Pine Street Inn is having a Knit-a-thon Sunday, Nov. 9, from 11:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. to raise money for its housing program for formerly homeless people. It works like this: participants pledge to knit or crochet a certain number of 9"x9" squares and ask people to either make a flat donation or pledge on a per-square basis. The squares will be assembled into blankets that will be given to tenants of the Pine Street Inn residences.

Pine Street Inn makes it easy to create your own fundraising web page (through the site FirstGiving.com) so you can collect donations online. They ask that you start making squares before the event so that more blankets can be assembled during the Knit-a-thon. (Any kind of yarn is okay; just label each square to show its fiber content.)

Sign up for Purl for a Purpose, or learn more about it, here.

If you can't participate, please consider helping me raise money by clicking the Donate button and giving online.

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Knitting / Crochet / Spinning Community

S 'n' B Boston This Yahoo discussion group is a good place for new knitters to get advice. Some members of the group also meet in person in and around Boston.
Ravelry Like Facebook for knitters. This is THE online community for knitters, crocheters, and other fiber buffs. It's a worldwide group with tons of tools that let you find other knitters, share photos, find patterns, keep an online record of your knitting projects, and discuss any topic under the sun (even stuff not related to the fiber arts).
Greater Boston Knitting Guild A membership organization open to knitters and crocheters at all skill levels. Meets monthly.
Boston Area Spinners and Dyers Meets monthly from September through May for learning and demonstrations.
Common Cod Fiber Guild Guild formed to provide a T-accessible place for speakers and presentations about fiber activities. Hosts speakers and other activities. Membership based, but nonmembers can attend events for a small fee.
Baa Baa Black Sheep Knitting Guild Dues-based organization meets monthly at the Stoneham Senior Center
MetroWest Knitting Guild West-of-Boston guild meets in Needham
Nashoba Valley Knitters Guild Meets in Harvard, Mass.
Woolworks' List of Massachusetts Knitting Guilds

Good Knitting, Crochet, and Spinning Mags and Sites

Crochet Me This online magazine is sort of like the crochet equivalent of Knitty or MagKnits. It offers free patterns and articles. I'm kind of tired of seeing knitting sites and books described as "hip" and "modern," but those descriptions do fit.
Knitter's Review Includes reviews of yarns, books, knitting tools, discussion forums, etc.
KnittingHelp.com Tons of FREE videos demonstrating knitting techniques, plus a forum, glossary, patterns, and online store.
Knitty A great, fun webzine with lots of how-to's and lots of free patterns for every skill level.
Rebecca Great magazine with fun, trendy patterns for GGH brand yarn. The web site usually offers a couple of free patterns from each issue. (The actual magazine is in German, but the U.S. version has the patterns translated into English. You can get it at many knitting stores.)
Spin-Off Interweave Press's excellent spinning magazine.

Some P.C. Knitting Companies

Himalaya Yarn Small company offers mostly handspun and hand-dyed yarns made with recycled and/or Nepal-grown fibers. The company provides business opportunities for local people. For instance, its recycled silk yarn is handspun by women’s cooperatives and the profits support women’s shelters and programs.
Lantern Moon This company sells baskets, beautiful wooden knitting needles, and accessories like silk needle cases, hangers and measuring tapes, made by a Vietnamese women's cooperative.
Malabrigo Yarns Like Manos del Uruguay, this company works with a cooperative of women in Uruguay to make its yarns. It offers hand-dyed 100% merino worsted-weight wool.
Mango Moon Yarns Like Himalaya Yarns, Mango Moon offers yarns made in Nepal from recycled silk in order to provide income for women there.
Manos Del Uruguay The web site says this yarn company was established “ … to give support to Uruguayan craftswomen … Its purpose was and is the economic, social and cultural development of its members and the environment in which they live.”
Peace Fleece Peace Fleece makes yarn from wool bought from Russian, Israeli, Palestinian, and American shepherds. Also sells wooden knitting needles with tops handpainted in Russia (very cute); needle cases (also v.c.); adorable learn-to-knit kits for kids; felting supplies; Russian drop spindles; unwashed fleece; and wooden buttons. Everything is reasonably priced.

Good Knitting Books

Here are some knitting books I've found useful; if you buy from Amazon using these links, you'll be helping to support this blog. Thanks!

Probably the best all-around reference. Covers tons of knitting techniques, with step-by-step photos and illustrations. Includes a glossary of knitting terms and abbreviations used in patterns, which is a big help.

Handy reference of knitting techniques, sized to carry in your knitting bag. Also includes size charts, needle and swatch gauges, and lots more.

Reading this book is a little like having a friend who's an experienced knitter around to give you random pointers. There are lots of tips for improving your knitting. Some of the information is easier to understand once you already have some knitting experience.

Dry reading, and almost too comprehensive and detailed — I definitely would have been put off if I had picked this up as a beginner. But where else can you find instructions for more than 30 different methods of casting on?