Answered Prayers

So, here are just a few of the items which have sold at the Pleasant Home Holiday Shop. Three of these items went to the same person - but I don't have a problem with that. Whatever the bank account will allow.

I stopped by the shop to take a look at the table to see what was still there and while there is plenty left, it is easy to see (for the trained professional) that a few items have left to go live with other citizens of the world.




Thank God. This is a sincere thank you. The Pleasant Home Holiday Shop is the big sale of the year for both the knitting group and for me. When StitchCraft was first involved, we were invited to participate by the program director of Pleasant Home and we had fun and we were successful for two years. The third year, last year, was after the church threw out the knitting group so I wasn't certain we would be invited back thinking they would take the church's new knitting group over ours. (As it turns out, they accommodate both of us.)



Last year, being the first event unassociated with the church, we didn't know how well we would do. At the end, we were still the top sellers of the show and everyone in the group who had something on the table made money. This year, there were only four of us who had items ready to be sold and I was concerned (as I always am) that we would not have enough for the table - but we do and the first day of the sale went well and from what I could see when I was there today, we are still doing well. I don't know that we will be able to hold on to our title - and though I really like having that title - there are more important things - like Marion and Vicki selling at least one of their items.

For myself, I needed the success because I want to be able to say the first year wasn't a fluke. I wanted it to be a success because it was the first year that I was the one in charge. And, yes, as bad as it is, I wanted it to be a success because I didn't want the church that kicked my group out because of an insecure and petty pastor, to win.

This year, it's about the fun and I want to be successful because the group is laid back and while we do want to make quality goods for a decent and fair price, we do it for the enjoyment first so we want it to be successful because it's great for our synergy.


I am still working on the blue afghan and still having fun with it...but that feeling is creeping in. That feeling that I'm ready for it to be over because I've been eying some patterns and would like to cast on. Of course, there's nothing to stop me from casting on but I don't want WIPs all over.

It's going to take a while to get this one done because the color is changed every row. It is about half done and it's Bohemian and way cool but I am ready to get on with the last half of it so I can do something else. But I also see I am going to be sad to see it done at the same time I marvel at it. Call me Walt Whitman - I have multitudes.

The Walls of Jericho

It appears that I've been ignoring you. But it only appears that way. Rest assured you have been on my mind. I have been busy knitting up a small storm. These are some of the things that have come off the needles recently. Yes, just some, there are one or two (maybe three) things that are not here.

The fabulous Melissa arranged for our group to go to Close Knit - a LYS in Evanston and we were there for a few hours. It is a small shop - the smallest we've frequented but the owner, Lucy, was great. She went around the table helping the folks who needed help with their projects. We've already got another date to go back there.

Two things I discovered:

I need to add another exception to the yarn moratorium. The first reason, you recall, is when I need to get filler yarn to complete a project. The second reason is when a shop owner does a very nice thing like host a group of knitters in her shop and keeps the shop open a little longer - including the cash register for people to make their purchases - we should, indeed, make a purchase. After all, when we meet at Borders and Tamale Hut Cafe, I ask people to make a purchase there so we just aren't taking up space. The same holds true for LYS, especially since when we are being hosted we take up a lot of room other customers could occupy. Which explains the three balls of yarn I purchased yesterday.

Second, there are two things some LYS do that really bugs me: a very small clearance sale stock (which the store yesterday had but it's understandable there because the shop is very small, but there are others that just have a small basket in a big ass shop- c'mon now.) AND those shops that refuse to wind sale items. As if my purchasing the yarn they put on sale is somehow insulting and not in need of winding. They put it on sale for whatever reason they wanted - wind the damn thing up. (That was not an issue yesterday. My skeins are ready to go.)

Melissa asked if I was ready to go for the show the first week of December and I said I thought I was. She asked how many afghans I had ready and I said six, but I think I have five. She wanted to know how many items I had. i said about 40. I was much better than last year when I had more than double that amount because I wanted to make sure we had stock. This year, we don't have as many artists contributing so of course, I have less. I also noted that yesterday marked the two week blitz but this afternoon no blitz has started. I do have an afghan square on the needles - Beth attended yesterday and brought me squares she's been holding on to for a couple of years when she attended the Sit and Knit!! A great start to 2011!

I may be able to knock the monochrome afghan out by the time the show rolls around but I'm not in a rush....

Is this calm attitude worrying anyone else but me?

Conviction of the Heart

The Sit & Knit or SNK as Knitting Knoobie coined it, was a success. Not everyone who RSVP'd showed, but there were a couple of dozen knitters who came and sat on the Veranda of Pleasant Home - Mills Park and did some stitching for Compassionate Care Hospice.

Lisa, on the left, was the first to arrive and she did not know how to knit. She has a friend who does high end doggy sweaters and that friend gave her acrylic needles and merino yarn. I was assigned to teach newbies to knit and I tested my new teaching theory which is to teach people how to do a knit cast on because it's almost the same as teaching them the knit stitch. I am glad to say Lisa, Georgia and Aida were all knitting within a half hour! Lisa picked it up within minutes - this girl is going to be a knitting fiend. Georgia is going to be great, too, she has beautiful hand rhythm. I moved my registration table to the porch because I was stuck inside all last year and didn't want a repeat of that. The day started out rainy, cleared up long enough for some of our knitters to take a tour of the mansion (you can't take photos of the inside or you would have them here) and then stormed off and on and we stayed dry on the veranda throughout the whole thing.

You've heard me talk about Marilyn. Here she is already starting to put the squares together for the hospice afghan. I made my squares earlier - I made about twenty of them to get us started. She loves the challenge of getting all these different squares and making them somehow cohesive and she manages to do a great job of it.

Can I also tell you the food was great? Oh, my gosh. The grapes, cheese, goat cheese stuff tomatoes, chips, crackers, bagels and Georgia made her addictive sun teas and lemonade. Our thanks again to our corporate sponsor P.J. Clarkes.
Our youngest knitter was a teenager and our oldest is older than Marilyn (and Marilyn taught Mary how to knit - you know, that Mary.)

The Second Annual Sit and Knit

The moment you become a knitter, you become a more generous person. There really is very little choice in the matter. There are many reasons to knit, but the end result is something gets made. Almost every time you knit something is being made. In the end you will have something. And then something has to be done with the something you've made.

I suppose you could actually keep all 583 scarves you make, but space will become an issue. So when you knit (or crochet) somewhere during the knitting of scarf number 168 you say to yourself: "What am I going to do with all this stuff?"

That's when you create the 'knit list.' That is the group of people to whom you will give something you've created. Now mind you, they never asked to be placed on this list and it hardly matters if they don't because they will be receiving an item from you because you don't have room for any more in your own house which means others have to take the inventory.

And though most of them will graciously accept your treasure and some will actually request items (those are the ones who will have a special place in our wills) eventually, you will run out of people on the knit list. (No, Beverly, I really cannot use that computer cozy!)

Unfortunately, there are people in the world who can use your bounty. It is wonderful to have someone to knit for. It is a gift that catches us by surprise. It started out as (and continues to be) fun, but there is a mission out there and it never ends. The fortunate part is that there are so many of us who have felt the need and will pull out the needles to answer the call.

The Second Annual Sit and Knit will take place April 25 from 9am to 4pm again at Pleasant Home in Oak Park. Last year 30 knitters got together and made baby hats and squares which were donated to area hospitals. This year, we will make squares to be turned into lap blankets to be given to Compassionate Care Hospice - a new facility in Morton Grove. We were asked by Chaplain Elisse if we would consider donating items and I can't think of a better way to provide comfort to those who are there in this new facility.

The event is absolutely free - we'll even provide the yarn and patterns but you are free to bring your own. There will be door prizes and we are allowing groups to have display tables so we can see what other knitting groups are doing. You can find more information here and on President Obama's service website, usaservice.org. We hope to double the number of knitters who participate and spend a few hours in each other's company feeling the good time vibe and that special gabfest knitters have with each other.

If you can't make it to the event, please pray for a great turnout so we can help the hospice provide care for their clients and families. Hope to see as many of you out there as can make it!

Sold!

During the year, StitchCraft has three sales. The spring and fall Pancake Breakfast and Bazaar and the Pleasant Home Holiday Sale. These are the fundraisers for our group. Monday was the last day for the Pleasant Home sale and I thought it would be fun to see what items I've made in 2008 that sold.

There's this friendly competition that goes on. We are curious to see what gets sold. We all have something we think people will punch each other out to get and we are anxious to see when it goes. For me, certain afghans are like children: I raise them to send them out in the world, and when they walk off in the arms of someone else, I want to cry. And when they hang around home too long, I wonder why they're still there.

The funny thing is: you never know what will sell. Last year, we ran out of prayer shawls, this year we've sold only a few. Hats and scarves went like pancakes in May and this winter, a bunch of them are sitting on the table lonely and waiting. At the Pleasant Home Sale, the first thing we sold was the doggy sweater and right after someone bought it, someone else came in asking for one.

We don't have rules about what to make in our group. People make whatever they feel like making. After all, the group was made for people to get together and knit. We didn't start out with the intent of selling anything. (That's also why we don't charge for labor.) I will put out a call when we've run low on things or when someone makes a request for the group to make hats for preemies, but other than that, the women of the group knit what they feel like knitting. I think that might be one of the reasons for our success (and we are successful) - our inventory changes with a planned randomness.

We've made some new connections! one of the things we look to do is connect with community organizations and use our craft as a way of helping locally. One of the other vendors at the sale is a Senior Citizen organization looking for knitters. It seems they have this over flowing stash of yarn ( you know I had to stop myself from drooling, right?) and they are looking for folks to come in and knit with their members and use it up. How could I possibly refuse such a need? It will provide the chance for the seniors to use their stash to either sell at one of our markets with the money going back to them and also to donate to the other connection we made.

The Infant Welfare Society was doing their annual meet with Santa. The Executive Director stopped by my table and mentioned they worked with a knit group in Michigan who gave all the kids hats last year. The group disbanded and the children were really disappointed not to get hats. I made an executive decision on my own and linked us to the group to get hats to the kids for the 2009 Christmas season. I seeing a bit of synergy..if we can get the seniors to make hats for the babies and children, I'm seeing a full circle.

I'm not quite sure how long this latest knitting craze thing will last, but I don't think we're a part of that anyway. It wasn't until we formed the group and I started looking into things that I found out knitting was so hot. My guess, is that it probably was also warm but more people know about it. It doesn't really matter - we do what we do because we love doing it and we've found a way to make that work for the transformation of the world. That's always hot!

What A Weekend!

We had our fall sale this weekend and boy, was it a success! I didn't get to leave the table to have any of the pancakes they sell at the pancake breakfast and at the end of the morning, we sold $663.00 of knit goods and an additional $180 in trinkets! Not bad for a day's work. Actually, it's pretty great considering that day only lasts four hours.

I know there were some people walking around taking pictures, but I wasn't one of them. It's also hard to say what the big sellers were. We do keep track of the sales and a cursory glance says the blankets/afghans and hats and scarves were big this year. I know a few of the things I made were purchased. What didn't sell as well were the prayer shawls - we sold a ton of them in the spring but only a handful on Saturday. For the first time, we held the sale over to Sunday and picked up more than $100 in that short hour after church.

I wish I had taken a picture of the room (I need to remember my phone is also a camera) we changed that parlor into a market place and we had sales people on the floor who helped bag and carry - we were a regular little bazaar.

We have one more sale this December at Pleasant Home. During last year's sale, we were the top sellers with a little over $500 for the entire week - for some reason, business was really slow. We will be there again and if we can do another $500, we would count ourselves as being very well pleased. If you happen to be in the Chicago area, come to the Pleasant Home Holiday sale from December 8 - 13. There are a diverse group of artisans and sellers and the house is a historical treasure. We'll be in the living room sitting at a table valued at $250,000. (We pray every day that we won't harm it in any way!)

Photos from the Sit & Knit - Part 1

A bum knee and the registering knitters kept me in the lobby where Marilyn made this beautiful set up of the yarn. Knitters were free to come and browse through whatever skeins they wanted to take and there was more yarns in the boxes off to the right.
Hats and squares were the order of the day and this cute little pom-pom was a favorite. We think the pom-pom is bigger than the hat, but someone will be able to use it and they will look very cute in it!
This little hat is especially important to us because Sherry made it - it is her very first project EVER. She did not know how to knit when she walked in the door. This was actually a sampler to teach her how to knit and purl and we were able to turn it into a hat for a very small preemie.
Here are a bunch of preemie hats. You can see the subtle differences in the hats. Everyone was free to put their own spin on the hats and they did. They're cute in the pictures - you should see them in person!

These two were top favorites!
We had a great time! The Pleasant Home staff was great and everyone wanted to do it again. And so we shall...planning for the 2009 Sit & Knit at Pleasant Home has already begun!

The Knitter's Restaurant - Sit & Knit Info

The registration and information for Sit & Knit is here.

OK. So, here's the deal.

Here's the link for the pattern for the child/adult hat.
Here's the link for crochet hats.
Here's the link for the knitted preemie hat.
Here's the link for the crocheted preemie hat.

You may create your squares in any pattern you like as long as it is 10 inches before blocking. Please weave in your ends.

We will have a class for novices/beginners and a class to learn cables. Class size will be restricted to the first 15 to sign up at the registration desk on Saturday.

We will have copies of the patterns at Pleasant Home. You can register in person if you haven't turned in your form.

The weather outlook is good, so if you want to bring a blanket to sit outside, please feel free to do so.

Thank you for all who have sent in their registration forms. I look forward to meeting and seeing you all this weekend!

Our Third Sit & Knit Sponsor - Yet Unknown

Information for the Sit & Knit is here.


So, I received an email from the administrative assistant saying we received several boxes of yarn to be used for StitchCraft. Now, I was expecting donations from Chix with Stix and maybe some more from the Economy Shop so since Marilyn was going to the church, I asked her to check it out.

Seven boxes. SEVEN BOXES stuffed full of good yarn. Marilyn also said there are some granny squares - lots of granny squares.

We don't know who sent them - it certainly doesn't seem to have come from any expected source. So we offer our sincere thanks to whomever sent the yarn to the attention of StitchCraft. The AA said there was no note saying who sent it but only that it was just for us.

We are going to use it at the Sit & Knit on May 31 and should we have any left over (and we hope we don't) we will use it for our projects.

Thank you for giving us the yarn - we appreciate your kindness.

Hand Dyed Yarn

Information and registration for the Sit & Knit is here.

Ok, so this is my first attempt at dyeing yarn. It didn't come out as nice as some people's I've seen on the web. But in person, I find it quite nice. Also, the picture shows variations I didn't even know where there and couldn't see.

I used Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and Kool-Aid. I used vinegar on two of them and went without on the last one. I don't think it made a difference. For these, they are all orange color based so I will use them in making something like a small lapghan or a hat and scarf set. Something like that.

I still need to do some more studying - I have two more skeins to go and about 30 packets of Kool-Aid left. I also used some food dye in the one on the right. It's all orange Kook-Aid, but I dropped some red food dye in and went over the yarn again.

Because spring has finally come, I dried them all outside (out of direct sunlight.)

The next time I try it, I will use more Kool-Aid in the six ounces of water, start with a darker base color and try and lighten up the variations. I'm not real interested in making solid colored skeins because there are many solid colors out there. I have a problem finding nice variegated yarn and this is my way of getting just what I want. Plus, since I can find the wool yarn at a discount, it is really an economical way of making yarn. It does save money and I get exactly what I am looking for - this could be the start of something really fun and really good!

Sit & Knit Partner - Unique Freaque

Information and Registration for the Sit & Knit is here.

We LOVE Unique Freaque!

We loved them even before they decided to promote the Sit & Knit on their blog and in their shop.

The shop is located at 121 N Kenilworth Ave in Oak Park, right across the street from the Post Office.

The shop offers original art and handcrafted items (hence the unique) and their work is breathtaking. Visit the store and be prepared to fall in love.
If you visit the store on the day of the Sit & Knit and mention that you attended the event, you get 10% off your total purchase. (Now, that's freaquy!)

We thank the Unique Freaque for their support of the Sit & Knit and look forward to having visit us and them on May 31st.

So, You Can't Make it to the Sit & Knit

Information and registration for the Sit & Knit is here.

Ahhhh, you can't make it to the Sit & Knit. I'm so sorry, I wanted to see everyone there. We would like to see every inch of Pleasant Home filled with knitters and crafters. (That's a photo of the foyer.)

But if you cannot make it to the event and you would still like to participate, there's nothing stopping you from knitting or crocheting a square or preemie hat and sending it to us if you don't live close enough to drop it off.

Just send the completed item to the address on the registration form and we will add it to the rest of the items to be blessed and distributed. Don't forget to send us your contact info so we can confirm receipt of it. (An email would be great!)

But if you can come, then by all means join us. It promises to be a lot of fun.

Our First Sit & Knit Sponsor - The Economy Shop

Information and Registration for the Sit & Knit is here.

We give our thanks to The Economy Shop located at 103 S. Grove in Oak Park. They are our first sponsor for the Pleasant Home/UMW Sit & Knit.

The Economy Shop is located in a home in one of the historic parts of Oak Park. It is a virtual shopping mall with clothing, antiques, craft items; 15 departments spread out over 3 stories.

Walking in the shop is like walking into one of the quaint New England type places - you know like Mrs. Kim's shop from the Gilmore Girls but not nearly as cluttered.

The shop gets inventory from donations from all across the area so the store is never the same and the things you find are one of a kind and unique. We asked them if they would be so kind as to donate yarn to the Sit & Knit and we stopped by today and got a nice, big batch that will make dozens of squares or preemie hats.

The prices in the shop are phenomenal! The staff is extremely helpful and friendly and the store is one of those feel good places. You just like being in there.

Check out the website. They are not open every day so you need to watch for their sales. And if you happen to have something to donate, the website will tell you the days and times they will take your items. Proceeds from the shop goes to support seven area charities serving children, the mentally ill, and even animals.

We are honored they chose to be a part of the Sit & Knit!

We appreciate the Economy Shop donating their yarn

Sit & Knit - Pattern 4 - Adult/Child Hat

Information and registration for the Sit & Knit is here.

The knitted hat we recommend for adult/children can be found on the Lion Brand website.
This hat is easy (all garter stitch) and it can be unisex and made with or without the pom-pom on top. Adjust the stitches to below 70 for a child's head, keeping the gauge in mind.

Also, if you are interested in knitting for charity and want to find groups where you can knit with others, or want to find a group that could help out folks in need, check out their Charity Connection.
It's a great place to source for groups doing good work in the world!

Sit & Knit - Pattern 3 - Squares

Information and registration for the Sit & Knit can be found here.

Make squares to be sewn together
You may use whatever stitch pattern you like (I do caution against doing an open weave kind of pattern however, these afghans will get plenty of use and need to be practical.)

The squares should be about 10 inches, eh, square of course. Do not leave a tail, please knit or weave them in. We will have folks doing nothing but sewing them together to make afghans and blankets. You may bring some already done as long as they are the required size. Most of these in the photo will be going over to the Sit & Knit to get the seamers started.

It would be nice if we can get a few hundred squares done (is that a lot?!) each blanket will be about 60" square so will need 60 squares for each one.

It is ambitious - but what's a Heaven for?

Sit & Knit Pattern 2: Crochet Hats

These patterns came from Bev's County Cottage (no relation!) Her site is full of patterns intended to be used for mission knitting and since we are doing a Sit & Knit, we qualify.

We will use the patterns for the adult/teen hat and bev's scrap hat. Visit the website for the actual patterns and pictures. I don't crochet (I know how, I just don't) and these seem easy enough for beginners on up.

Information about the Sit & Knit and the registration form can be found here.

---

Sit & Knit - Pattern 1 - The Preemie Hat

Information and registration for Pleasant Home/UMW Sit & Knit are here.

Thanks to Stitches From the Heart for this pattern that I saw on Knitty Gritty. This is the pattern we will use to create the preemie hats to be donated to hospitals with neo-natal centers.

You will need size 6 needles and worsted weight yarn. Visit the website for the actual pattern. These hats work up fairly quickly. (I did one while sitting in a meeting - don't tell anyone!) You can also do them on dpn's and avoid the seaming.

UMW & Pleasant Home First Sit & Knit May 31, 2008

The StitchCraft Circle of First United Methodist Church of Oak Park and Pleasant Home announces their first Sit & Kit to take place May 31, 2008 at Pleasant Home (on the corners of Pleasant and Home in Oak Park)

The all day event is the launch of the circle's Head2Toe Project.
Registration form and information are here.

The Head2Toe Project is an intiative to give assistance to area hospitals and agencies by providing handcrafted items.

At first, the idea was for people to donate a new pair of socks for a child or adult and StitchCraft would create a hat and scarf to go with and then donate them to ChildServ. Well, ChildServ never answered our phone calls or emails, but we were enthusiastic about the idea so we revampled it and here we are at the Sit & Knit.

More information will be coming in other posts including the patterns we will be using, information on Pleasant Home (it's beautiful!) and the organizations we hope to help!

Stay Tuned!

Nine Day Afghan - Day 5

OK, so two strips are done and they are sewn together! The third strip has yet to be started. I do not believe I will have this afghan done in 9 days.
But I must admit, I do like it better than the first one I made. Those original strips are slowly making their way into the new strips. I am using a combination of Caron By the Pound and Herrschner's worsted weight yarn (which I am beginning to like quite well!)

Hey, if you're in the Oak Park area in May, keep a watch for the Sit-N-Knit at Pleasant Home. Right now, it's in the planning stages but it appears as if it will be a great time. The idea is to have as many knitters as we can safely get in the building and on the grounds to knit preemie hats and booties, simple baby blankets, and scarves and hat for children to adults. We want to distribute them to area hospitals, and organizations helping teen mothers and the homeless.

As I said, we've just started planning it - but we hope to be able to pull it off, and if we can, you'll here about it right here!

I have to go start that third strip now.