New Charity Knitting Projects

At Knitting In the City we love to participate in Charity knitting projects, so here are a couple that I have recently become aware of:

Orphan Foundation of AmericaRed Scarf Project

Love to knit, crochet or know someone who does?

Send care and encouragement to America 's college bound foster youth. OFA needs 2,500 hand made knitted or crocheted scarves to put in our Valentines Care Packages. Your handiwork will truly be the personal touch in these packages and bring students the support they need to move forward and graduate to a brighter future.

Unisex colors black, blue, green or yellow are welcome too. Please attach securely to each scarf a small tag with your name, city, and group affiliation that the student will receive. Send scarves with your name, address, group affiliation if any, and email address enclosed to:

Orphan Foundation of America
Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry DriveUnit 130
Sterling, VA 20166

Deadline: January 20, 2006
Contact: Annalisa Assaadi, National Events Coordinator
aja@orphan.org, 703.821.8669
http://www.orphan.org/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:Emily Landsman (202) 258-1287, ehl@mac.comGiselle Pelaez, (D.C. CAC) (202) 638-2575
December 16, 2005

LOCAL KNITTERS SHARE TALENTS WITH ABUSED KIDS

Members of Congress Laud Charitable Efforts during Holiday Season; New Initiative Asks Caring Knitters to Warm the Hearts and Ears of AbusedChildren

Washington DC - This holiday season, the D.C. Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is launching a program to warm the hearts and ears of abusedchildren. The new initiative, which is being lauded by members of Congress, urgeslocal knitters at area yarn shops and bloggers to make winter hats for children served by Safe Shores-The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center, adirect service nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and workingdirectlywith child victims of sexual and physical abuse in the District ofColumbia.

"When I was the District Attorney of Madison County, Alabama, I saw aneed for a new child friendly approach to the investigation, treatment, andprosecution of child abuse cases," said Congressman Bud Cramer(D-AL-5th), founder of the National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville. "Today, there are over 600 children's centers across the country. I am proudto be apart of the nationwide network of children's advocacy centers and tosupport the thousands of dedicated professionals who work on the front linesto help countless children each year. The D.C.'s Children's Advocacy Center'sKnitters' Project is a wonderful idea and something I hope will catch on across the District."

"I am pleased to support the D.C. Children's Advocacy Center and the workthe Center is doing for abused children in the District of Columbia,"notedDelegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large). "CAC's project withknitters is a wonderful example of how volunteers can help professionals provide basic necessities to kids who suffer from the scars of abuse. "

"Not only will these hats keep these deserving children warm this cold winter, but it will also give them a little extra comfort," added Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY 2nd). "I applaud all knitters who becomeinvolved in this vital effort to help victims of sexual and physicalabuse."
The project began when Emily Landsman, a former Safe Shores employee, decided to approach a local yarn shop about pooling its clientele'stalentsin order to make hats for the kids. Landsman began making hats for theSafe Shores to give out during the 2003-2004-winter season. The Safe Shores facility maintains a clothing closet for its clients and requires frequentrestocking.
"Many of the children who came through the CAC did not have proper winter clothing, and I didn't like knowing that there were cold little ears out there," noted Landsman, an avid crochet fan. "I know that most of thewinter clothing the CAC distributes comes from donations, so I thoughtI'd use my skill to help out."

"People are putting a lot of care and attention into them, which is nice because the kids who get them often don't get a lot of care and attentionfrom anyone," added Michele Booth Cole, executive director of the D.C.CAC."The tangible benefit is obvious in that it keeps the kids warm, but the intangible benefit is that it is something that is new and just for them.Those elements can, even in the most horrific situations, lift a child's spirits. Very simple things have a big impact."

Stores and bloggers participating thus far include Stitch DC, Knit and Stitch, Solitude Yarn, NOVA Knitting Group, and chrisabraham.com. Stores andbloggers interested in joining the program are invited to contact Emily Landsman at (202) 258-1287.

Finished hats should be sent to:

Safe Shores,
The DC CAC Attn: Victim Services Coordinator/Knitted Hats
300 E St., NW
Washington, DC 20001

Capitol Hill Needlework Group

We met at Stitch D.C. yesterday, and I do believe that we had our highest attendance of the year with about twelve people. Most of us were working on finishing up Christmas gifts. I worked on my Adean style earflap hat that I am knitting from plain wool yarn dyed with KoolAide. It has a strip of Fair Isle knitting in it, which has re-ignited my love of two-color knitting, and I think that I might do some mittens to match. People worked on socks, scarves, hats and a jacket.

I brought some gingerbread to share, and despite the fact that the center was not fully cooked, it was delicious, and everyone raved.

Last month several of us talked about wanting to knit that fabulous Weekend Getaway Satchel byMarta McCall from the Fall '05 issue of IK. Since then, some of us have slightly scaled back our vision to consider the smaller, yet equally lovely Floral Felted bag designed by Nicky Epstein instead. Marie, who is the proprietress of Stitch D.C. is has ordered the color card for the Nashua Handknits yarn so that we can choose the colors for our bags. I imagine we'll start the knit-along sometime in mid-January.

Stay tuned for updates and pictures as they become available.

Knitting at Food & Friends

It's been ages since I've made an entry on this poor blog. In noticing this, Genia made the excellent suggestion that we should use this space to share what's going on in our knitting groups that meet all over the D.C. Metro area. I could do a little outreach and see if I can get people to send me a quick email and maybe even some pictures of what these groups are up to. Sound good? Anyone? I think that will be a great project for the new year. 'Til then, here's a quick run-down of the Food & Friends knitting group meeting yesterday.

Last night was the last meeting of the knitting group at Food & Friends. This is a project where knitters from al over the DC area are hand knitting scarves for the clients of Food & Friends, a non-profit whose mission is to deliver hot meals to the homes of people in the area who are living with cancer and HIV/AIDS.

Because it was so bitterly cold outside I thought I'd rather drive than deal with the Metro, but instead I ended up snarled in evening rush-hour traffic. I arrived a bit late to see that the Post reporter and photographer were there shooting pictures for a spread they are doing about knitting that will appear in the January 6th Weekend Magazine of the Washington Post. I brought all of the items that I have completed since the last meeting, and the little three-pointed I-cord knot hats were a big hit.

Just as the photographer was lamenting the fact that he didn't have any shots of men knitting, a guy came breezing in. He had sent us an email earlier saying that he wanted to knit a blanket for his girlfriend for Christmas. I told him to go to Stitch DC and they would direct him on what yarn and needles to buy. He came with a lovely bulky yarn and size 19 needles. The ladies at Stitch DC taught him the long tail cast on and the knit stitch and he picked up both right away. In fact, he arrived with about 45 stitches already cast on to his gigantic needle. I showed him how to figure out how many stitches to cast on for his blanket, and he was all set. We were all duly impressed at how incredibly quickly he was able to "get it" and start knitting away on his own. I told him that his girlfriend is a lucky girl and that she will be thrilled with whatever he makes for her.