Debbie’s current project is sending out a call to all her caring, generous readers to pick up their needles and crochet hooks to join her in making items to help infants and children in need across the country. Debbie feels that this initiative is worthy of our time, talent and yarn. Debbie’s project is called Knit1, Bless2. The national charities supported by this effort to help these precious, needy children will be Project Linus, Newborns In Need and Binky Patrol.

As part of Knit1, Bless2, Leisure Arts is making Knit Along With Debbie Macomber, A Charity Guide For Knitters available from March 1 to May 1, 2010, at LeisureArts.com at a special price of $12.50 ($4.45 off the regular retail price of $16.95. Enter Coupon Code DMACB.) The collection includes patterns and information for a variety of organizations. All of Ms. Macomber’s  proceeds from her licensed products, including the Leisure Arts Knit Along series, go to charity.

To join in this project, you need to sign up at Ms. Macomber’s  webpage, Knit1, Bless2.  There is a special tag that you need to print out and attach to the garment, allowing you to designate the charity of your choice.  The projects need to be completed and mailed in by May 31, 2010.

It will be very interesting to read about the final tally of items gathered by this project.  Ms. Macomber has a database of 75,000 fans gathered from book signings and those who have signed her guest book at her website.

Here is a fun video about the creation of The Truly Terrible Horrible Sweater. . . That Grandma Knit.  The pattern is available for free at Ms. Macomber’s website.

Ravelympic logo by zzwhitejd

Today the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver, BC.  and the Ravelympics will start at Ravelry.

What is the Ravelympics you ask?  The event is online at the social knitting  website called Ravelry.  The website  started out with knitters and has evolved to include fiber fanatics of all kinds – spinners, weavers, crocheters and pattern developers, not to mention all manner of suppliers including yarn manufacturers and magazines.

Ravelympics is two weeks of focused, intense personal & team challenges to tackle while watching the Olympics.  Ravelryites picked projects to start or complete, joined groups and posted projects.  The fun begins with “casting on” at the opening ceremonies of the games and ends when the torch is  extinguished.  This mad group is composed of over 8,711 participants from around the globe that have one goal in mind – to complete the projects they  posted while watching world-class sporting events.

By the time this is over there will be a large mass of projects completed, personal goals achieved and hopefully Gold medals for America!

Photo copyright The Dream Rocket

The goal of the Dream Rocket is to wrap a Saturn V Moon Rocket in art.  The website writes  ”The Dream Rocket aims to connect art and education through a global collaborative initiative.  It will inspire participants to consider, express, and explore their dreams for a better future using Dream Themes such as Energy, Space, Peace, Science, Recycling, etc .This will be a collaborative effort to reach out to students, teachers, schools, individuals, groups and organizations to create and submit over 8,000 “Dream Theme” or “Visionary” panels that will be sewn together in Huntsville, Alabama.  This historical 30,467-square foot quilt will represent dreams from all over the world. During May and June of 2010, (60 days) this quilt will completely wrap the 363-foot vertical Saturn V Rocket which stands in front of the  U.S. Space & Rocket Center® in Huntsville, Alabama.”

Who started this project?  The International Fiber Collaborative (IFC) was founded in 2007 by artist Jennifer Marsh. It is a non-profit organization that promotes global collaborative public art initiatives, a marriage of art & education. The IFC prides itself in being a grassroots organization, reaching out to students, individuals, groups and organizations all over the world.

How do you get to participate?  Go to the website now and reserve your space, then create and submit a Dream Theme Panel or a Visionary Panel.  Make sure to mail the panel with the Entry Form between: August 1, 2009 – February 1, 2010. (no later than February 1, 2010).  The cost per panel is $100.  If you require a sponsor, this page tells you how to find sponsorship.

This past weekend, however, I  hit a gold mine!  This sale had knitting pattern books from the 1970′s and 1980′s.  I randomly packed three cardboard magazine holders and negotiated for a bulk price.  Bonus, the magazines did not smell musty!  I also scored some Anny Blatt mohair yarn at this same sale.

When I arrived home and started going through the boxes, I found not only the old knitting patterns, craft magazines and torn-out patterns; but I found the first and second published Woman’s Day Crochet Annual.  Did I mention that the first Woman’s Day Crochet Annual was printed in 1947 and the second in 1948?  These magazines are in very good condition – no rips or tears but the covers are a little worn at the binding edge. The pages are yellowed and the pictures are in black and white, but I am very excited with the find.  Each booklet is marked with a price of twenty cents and contains over 70 patterns.

I can’t wait for the weekend to begin; I’m sure there are more treasures waiting for me at the next group of estate sales.

This is a large gathering of fiber-arts enthusiasts (knitters, crocheters, spinners, and fiber lovers),  growers of natural-fiber-producing livestock and vendors of the materials and tools associated with each.  This is a  true showcase for one of Dutchess County’s first (and still viable) industries;  the Sheep and Wool Family Festival is now in its 37th year at the fairgrounds.  Sheep, llamas and alpacas will be on display, with craft and fiber artists presenting the wonders of wool and sheep related items. The show is family orientated with activities for all ages,  including a pumpkin chucking contest, a Hay Maze,  cooking demonstrations, and Border Collies showing off their shepherding skills.

This year the workshop schedule includes Lily M Chin, among a host of other wonderful fiber artists.

Link s you may be interested in:
General information
Index of events

This year the Book Sigining and lecture events will feature Clara Parks, Lily M Chin and Kristen Rengren, the author of Vintage Baby Knits.

Also featured is The New York State Make it with Wool Contest. This contest  will be held Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 10am to 2pm . The Make It With Wool prizes are sponsored by the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival.  Contestants must select, construct and model their own garments.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is the leader in the breast cancer movement by supporting the research to cure this disease.  The foundation is constantly finding new partners and sponsers to generate funds to support their cause.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation is the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

The knitting community is no exception in supporting breast cancer sufferers. Pattern designers and Charity knitters have long supported breast cancer sufferers by knitting and crocheting Chemo caps.

The September newsletter from Bernat® introduces the new Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection. This collection is available at participating ACMoore, JoAnns, Michaels, Walmart Canada and Zellers – while quantities last. Bernat® is contributing $10,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® through the purchase of the yarn in the Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection from August 15 – November 15, 2009.

Bernat has also made available 4 new free patterns featuring their new yarns. There are two knit patterns and two crochet patterns available for download. These patterns are not available through the normal free pattern search.

Easy Gift Scarf Cabled Hat & Scarf Prayer Shawl Crochet Chemo Cap

It is important for us as a community to acknowledge the many men and women that have fought breast cancer. The best way to honor their heroism is to work towards a cure and to make a difference. A purchase from the Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection will make sure the total amount of $10,000 will be given to the to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® foundation.

To find out more information about breast cancer research, breast health, or any other breast cancer issues, visit the foundation or call 1-877-GO-KOMEN.

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On Friday, the 7th of August at 12:15 p.m., the knitters started knitting, following the Guinness World Record rules. The Guinness World Record rules were that the attempt must be made by knitters knitting for 15 minutes, using “traditional needles” which they define as “two needles”. This means that every person that participated used two needles, and not circulars or four needles.  The attempt was a success.  The record was broken, but no official word yet.

There are many blogs detailing this event, and also a video from K2TOG at The Oregonian.

[tag]Clara Parkes[/tag] , author and blogger, reviews the new line of yarns from Blue Sky Alpacas at her[tag] Knitter’s Review[/tag] site.  According to Clara, this yarn brand, Spud & Chloe, was the hit of the recent TNNA.

The yarn comes in 3 weights to complement one another, and in a multitude of colors.  The yarns can probably be found at your favorite store by now.  A google search (my favorite search engine) found many hits yarn stores, including kits at[tag] Jimmy Beans Wool.[/tag]

In addition to the new yarn, [tag]Susan B. Anderson[/tag], blogger and author of Itty-Bitty Hats and Itty-Bitty Nursery, is now working for Blue Sky Alpacas.  Susan was hired to write and create the Spud and Chloe blog and to design and write free patterns for the blog,with  new and fresh free patterns every month.

The term “self publishing” produced over47,000,000 hits at google.com.  Here are just two that I looked into, including one that is use by blogger and knitter [tag]Nanette Blanchard[/tag]. Nanette blogs at [tag]Knitting in Color[/tag].

One self-publisher is[tag] Lulu.com[/tag] The Lulu website offers many options for the self-publisher, including templates, methods of binding, and marketing if you so desire.  You also can set up a storefront to sell your books or patterns electronically.

Another company that offers publishing services is called, appropriately,[tag] Self Publishing, Inc[/tag].  Self Publishing offers different services than Lulu, including packages that use the help of Graphic Designers.  Self Publishing also has an online book store for the self published authors called[tag] Just Bookz[/tag] where your book is listed for sale at no cost to you after you use their services.

Whatever choice in publishing you make, I hope it is both profitable and enjoyable for you.