Free patterns for charity knitting

Interweave Press has a free booklet of 5 patterns for charity knitting here. Think of others and knit a few of these cute items.

Enjoy, Debby

Black Friday Sales at Craftsy!

Craftsy Yarn and Fabric sale up to 80% off from 11/27-12/2!
Craftsy has brilliant savings on the craft supplies you want! With up to 80% off yarn and 65% off fabric, get the best prices of the year while you can.

Free knitting pattern- Christmas stockings

I love the cute patterns on Knitables website

Here is a link to try out some of Sarah's free patterns. 

Check out  her great work with charities too.

Enjoy, Debby

Free Classes!

• Learn How To Piece, Patch, Quilt with Craftsy for FREE! - This class is perfect for the ultimate beginner to learn the basics of quilting. Who knows, maybe they could catch on quick and have a quilt in time for Christmas!

• Learn How To Take Professional Family Portraits with Craftsy for FREE! - How perfect a class is this for the holiday season? Everyone is getting ready to take their family portraits for Christmas cards or just to have in their picture frames at home! Now they can wow everyone with professional quality pictures.

Give premature babies a royal welcome

From the SUN newspaper:

Knit Sun baby bonnet in the little Prince’s honour

Give premature babies a Royal welcome by making them hats to keep warm

This article and pattern is in a British newspaper and directs donations to a London charity. If you live elsewhere, you can contact your local hospital and inquire about their need for donated items for premature babies.

NZ gift for new Prince and singlet pattern

It is always good news when a family has a new baby but this one will be a king! So what do you give a baby Prince? An heirloom shawl! Here are some links to articles about the shawl designed by Margaret Stove and spun and knit by Cynthia Read!
Article one, article two, article three.

As mentioned in the third article, here is a pattern for a singlet from Plunket.org. They can be knit and donated for other families with a new baby.

Enjoy, Debby

Stockings Old and New....all free patterns

Fun and Free patterns. Some old...some new.


Vintage pattern from  1951

Vintage pattern from 1945

From Caron.com

PDF of mini stocking ornaments

From Coats and Clark

From Berroco

First one from RedHeart

Second one from RedHeart...with cables

Enjoy!

Site with great resources, free patterns and a variety of yarn and threads for sale

Purple Kitty Yarns 

There are some great resources for historic crafters at Purple Kitty. Charts of discontinued yarns, needle and hook equivalents, and vintage patterns....some free, some for sale. You can also purchase yarn and a great variety of crochet threads. 


Here are a few links to get you started:

Beacon Hill Shawl

 

Check out that waist!

Sequin Trim Hat

Have fun!

Doing for others...charity knitting and crocheting

You will find loads of places that you can extend a helping hand by some knitting or crocheting and using up that stash of yarn. 

Here are some great sites to get you started:

Knitting Charities: Knitting for a Better World
http://www.interweaveknits.com/community/charities.asp

Lion brand Yarns Charity connection http://cache.lionbrand.com/charityConnection.html
patterns http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/pg.fcgi?page=charityPatternTemplate.html

Knit 'n Style — Knitting for Charity
http://www.knitnstyle.com/knitforcharity/index.shtml

Great online resource for historic materials

Have you been to this site? 

It is called:

On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics

There resources related to knitting, crochet, lace making, etc.

Penquins in need

Did you see this on Good Morning America?


Blue penguins in New Zealand have been soaked with oil after a container ship ran aground near the east coast of the country's North Island earlier this month. New Zealand’s Environment Minister Nick Smith has described the oil spill as the nation’s most significant maritime environmental disaster.


On Oct. 5, a cargo ship ran aground in New Zealand, pouring 350 tons of oil into the ocean. The accident has been regarded as the country’s worst environmental disaster in decades.
More than 1,000 sea birds have already died as a result of the spill, including birds from the country’s native blue penguin population.


Oil can be extremely harmful to penguins, whose feathers are very different from other birds. They have very dense and tiny feathers of different lengths that stick onto them like Velcro, creating a waterproof pseudo-wetsuit.


“Basically, when you get even a drop of oil on these birds, it opens up a channel so water can penetrate,” Kevin McGowan of the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology told ABCNews.com. “It’s like a hole in their wetsuit.”

Skeinz has been asked to help with the penguin relief by knitting small Penguin PJ’s to help protect the birds & prevent them from preening their feather & ingesting the toxic oil.  If you can help out by knitting a penguin jumper – see the link for instructions in the next paragraph.


Here is the link to Skeins web site for info and instructions to make a sweater for one of these penguins who need help.

Happy Friday-2 free Victorian knitting patterns from 1892

Here are two knitting patterns from magazine clippings that date from 1892.


The first one is for a pretty knitted lace edging.

The second is for an early version of a round potholder.

Hope you have a happy and safe weekend. The colors are beautiful here in Virginia. I will be taking lots of photos this weekend!

Knitting for others: NICU

Have you had your share of knitting scarves and shawls for family and friends? How about knitting for others....like babies in NICU?

Here is a great article in Knitcircus with a free pattern to knit a hat and blanket. Preemies need little hats since such small babies lose body heat through their heads.

This article gives contact information for the NICU at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for donations but you can also call your local hospital's volunteer services to see about a local need. Either way, consider knitting something for these little babies.

If you know of some other online resources for knitting or crocheting for NICU's or other charity crafting needs, please post in a comment. Thanks!

PS... Here is a link to LIONBRAND YARN'S Charity Connection