WWKIP Day is this Saturday!

It’s time to come out and KNIT IN PUBLIC this Saturday from 10 -1 at the Benjamin Hooks (Central) Library. We will be in the open area behind the elevators and next to the magazines.

Here is the agenda:

10 – 10:45 knitting lessons for the public, spinning demos, general stitching and chatting. 
10:45- 12:15 show and tell (bring your FO’s!), door prizes, fast knitting and crocheting contest 
12:15 – 1 knitting lessons, spinning demos, stitching and chatting.

We need:

people to teach knitting for both teaching shifts 
spinners for both shifts to demonstrate 
US 7, 8 or 9 needles for teaching (I’ll bring the yarn) 
knitting related paraphernalia for door prizes

Post in this thread if you are coming, if you can provide any of the above or if you have any questions.

Post this on your blogs and e-mail all your friends so there will be a big turnout. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!

WWKIP update – we have a location!

If you live here:

you are invited to the Memphis, TN  World Wide Knit in Public Day.  (Residents of other planets are welcome as well provided you leave your death rays at home.)  Our location will be at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library at 3030 Poplar Ave.

The library is eager to host us and has given us space near the magazine section on the first floor.  We will be knitting, crocheting and spinning from 10 am – 1 pm on Saturday June 14.  

Now that the time and date is set we are working on the details.   Some ideas are to have knitting and crocheting lessons for the public, spinning and machine-knitting demonstrations and a “show and tell” session to share our FO’s.  There will be an information table for members of the public who stop by, so please bring information about your knitting group or fiber-related business.

We hope to see you all there!

Yarn Sales This Week:

Hobby Lobby has all knitting needles, crochet hooks and accessories 40% off.  Bernat felting wool is $3.44 for 2.6 oz and Coats Classic Crochet thread is $1.27.

Lion Brand Homespun is $3.58 through May 7th at Hancock Fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark your calendars…

 

 

 

for June 14!  It’s World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKIP Day) and everyone is invited!  This means you too, crocheters and spinners.  The MIFA Love Cap Program will sponsor this event and we’ll let you know the time and location as soon as it is confirmed.  

Love Caps has also signed on for another fun new project this year.  To find out what it is, be sure to read the newsletter that will be landing in your mailboxes this week.  (If you are not on the Love Cap mailing list, e-mail me at sterry@mifa.org to get your copy.)  In addition to a review of last year’s activities, we are announcing an ambitious new agenda for 2008.    

There is so much going on that I’m planning an extra newsletter for May.  This additional issue will include details of this year’s events and and opportunities for you to sign up to help with various activities.  We will need your input and participation to pull off such big plans so check it out and consider how you can pitch in.  

Yarn Sales this Week

Michael’s has Lion Brand Homespun for $3.69, Lily Sugar n Cream cotton for $1.19.  There are also two very nice acrylic yarns, Red Heart Soft and Caron Simply Soft for $2.49.  Both yearns are soft and warm, and Red Heart Soft comes in beautiful contemporary colors.  Caron Simply Soft comes in bright colors that kids will love.

Hobby Lobby has all knitting looms at 30% off and several of their in-house yarns marked down.  They are also having a big blowout on DMC crochet threads and embroidery floss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re back- really!

The long blog hiatus is at an end.  The holidays are over, my broken camera has been replaced and new plans are in the works for 2008.  Stay tuned for details in the coming weeks.  

 

MIFA will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year!   While we are best known for our Home-Delivered Meals program, MIFA has been busy reaching out to a variety to people in our community who need a hand up.

 

 

In 2007 MIFA volunteers spent 138,310 hours making a difference in the lives of their neighbors. With their help we were able to deliver 2,300 meals to the elderly every day, as well as be available to advocate for more than 7,000 residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. We helped our neighbors by providing transitional housing and life skills education for almost 400 children and their families who were homeless; provided jobs, mentoring, and/or college preparation to 71 urban teenagers; assisted 3,348 clients with utility assistance; and provided more than 70,000 trips for seniors to doctors’ offices and other necessary destinations. 

 

Love Cap volunteers are beginning their 18th year of providing caps, lap robes and  other warm clothing to clients of MIFA and other programs in our community.  With 59,425 items under out belt, we are sure to cross the 60,000 mark before our annual gathering this fall!  

 

Watch this blog and check your mailboxes for a new newsletter in late March to keep up with this year’s happenings and events.  We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions too!  Please leave a comment on this blog or send us an email.

 

 

Yarn Sales This Week 

 

Michael’s has Lily Sugar & Cream cotton yarn 4 for $5,  Caron Simply soft and Red Heart Soft 2 for $5, and Bernat Bamboo and Cashmere blends at 2 for $6.  The entire stock of knitting needles and crochet hooks is 25% off.

 

Hobby Lobby has marked down many Yarn Bee yarns to as little as $.99.  They also have Omega LaEspiga nylon thread at 30% off.

 

Lion Brand’s Woolease Worsted, Chunky and Thick n Quick  are all 30% off at Hancock Fabrics through Wednesday. Hancock has also begun stocking yarns from Caron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogspeak 2

To read knitting blogs with proper understanding you must know the lingo. Now that we all know all about our LYS (Local Yarn Shops) it’s time to discuss WIPs and UFOs.

The blanket above is both a WIP (Work In Progress) and a UFO (UnFinished Object). It is obviously unfinished. What the picture doesn’t show is that the knitter is actively working on it. When she has bound off, woven in ends and blocked it, the blanket will cease to be a WIP and a UFO.

This white scarf is a UFO but not a WIP. So what’s the difference? The knitter (hmm who could she be?) tried out the pretty pattern but decided that the yarn was not really suited for a scarf. She then stashed the whole thing in a bag in the back of her closet where it has languished for two years. The scarf is unfinished (a UFO) but there is no work being done and no progress being made. Therefore, it’s not a WIP.

Now you can clearly see that all WIPs are UFOs but not all UFOs are WIPs. And that if a knitter or crocheter resumes work on a non-WIP UFO, the project becomes a WIP once again. But don’t let it keep you up at night.

Now time for a quiz! What would you call the red scarf below? A WIP? A UFO? Both?

The answer is neither! The scarf is now an FO, or Finished Object, ready to wear or give.

Yarn Sales This Week

Michael’s has Red Heart Super Saver 7-oz skeins for $2, Red Heart Soft and Caron Simply Soft for $2.50 and WoolEase Thick and Quick for $5.

Hobby Lobby has marked down many of its store brand novelty yarns.

The Lion Brand sale continues at Hancock Fabrics until Oct. 17.

I’m back!

Sorry to have disappeared for a while. As many of you know, I resigned my position as Congregational Outreach Coordinator at MIFA but will stay on to continue the Love Cap Program. Now that things are wrapped up at the office, the newsletter is in your hands and the three-week upper respiratory crud is almost gone, it’s time to get back on track.

The big news is that we have a date for the annual Love Cap Party! Invitations will go out early next week. Please join us at this event to turn in your caps, enjoy refreshments and meet other knitters and crocheters. Here are the details:

Love Cap Party
Sunday, November 11
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Colonial Park United Methodist Church
5330 Park Avenue (Park and Estate)

We have received some beautiful scarves for the Scarf Challenge but could use a few more. If you have time, whip one out this month and bring it to the party. Scarves made for the challenge will be sold during the holiday season to raise money for MIFA’s Home-Delivered Meals Program. Increased costs for food and fuel are straining the Meals budget and we appreciate all of you who made scarves to keep our seniors fed. (Scarves not designated for the challenge will be given away as usual.)

Yarn Sales this week

There is a lot of nice acrylic yarn on sale around town this week!
Michael’s has Wool-Ease and Vanna’s Choice for $2.50 and Paton’s Shetland Chunky for $4.

Hobby Lobby offers 30% off all knitting looms and accessories. Also, Wool-Ease Chunky for $4.44, Wool-Ease Thick & Quick for $4.99 and Jiffy Bulky for $1.77.

Hancock Fabrics has Wool-Ease for $2.24, Wool-Ease Chunky for $3.74, and Wool-Ease Thick & Quick for $5.24 through October 17th.

Knitting Blogspeak

When reading knitting blogs, it’s helpful to know certain acronyms frequently used by many bloggers.   Otherwise, the posts might not make sense.

Today’s blog vocabulary term is LYS, or Local Yarn Shop.   To qualify as an LYS, a store must be locally owned and independently operated.  Most LYS’s are small, offer a selection of beautiful yarns and a variety of classes, and have staff that may know you by name.  While yarn is available at Michael’s, Walmart and Hobby Lobby, none of these large chains qualify as an LYS.

When I first took on the Love Cap Program, all the yarn stores had disappeared.  Since fiber arts have made a comeback,  we have been fortunate to see the opening of several LYS’s scattered throughout the metropolitan area. 

 

 In the heart of Midtown, we have Stash.   Until recently, this shop was known as The Yarn Studio.  Melissa Gibson,  a talented knitter and teacher is the new owner of the brick-and-mortar and the yarns therein, while former owner Papatya Curits is retaining The Yarn Studio as an online business.   Good luck to both of these ladies in their new operating environments!

Continuing eastward you will find Yarns to Go on the Midtown/East Memphis border just past the Poplar viaduct.  Proprieter Beth Crockett was the first to open a shop when the knitting craze reignited a few years ago.  At Yarns to Go you can always find a bargain in the discount section and eagerly await her fabulous twice yearly clearance with the rest of her clients.

East Memphis is home to Yarniverse. Located on Mt. Moriah just south of Poplar, Yarniverse is a meeting place for the Temple Israel knitters. Bogey’s deli is a few doors down, so there is yarn and good food all in one place. What else do you need really?

Finally, for the suburbanites, the multi-talented Brigitte Lang offers yarns, classes and spinning tools at Rainbow Yarns and Fibres in Germantown.  Brigitte knocked our socks off with her entry in our first ever Love Cap Contest at the Mid-South Fair.  It was an angora baby cap made of hand spun yarn straight from her own bunny! 

With so much to choose from, you are sure to find the right yarns, patterns, classes or anything else you need at these Memphis area LYS’s.

YARN SALES THIS WEEK

Michael’s has a sales flyer in the Sunday paper with discounts on several popular yarns. Sugar & Cream cotton is $1.49. Bernat Soft Boucle and Patons Grace are $3. For $4 you can get a skein of Lion Brand Homespun, Lion Wool, or Patons Classic Merino Wool. Hobby Lobby also has several of their store brand novelty marked down.

Happy Stitching to all!

Pattern Overload

 You can knit or crochet the same cap only so many times.  Today we will reveal the location of an almost endless supply of patterns and new ideas for you!

An increasing number of websites with free patterns are springing up all over the internet.  Individual knitters and crocheters with blogs also post their own patterns for others to use.   It would take a long time to track these all down, but someone has done it for us!

**WARNING**

The following links may be hazardous to your time schedule.  Also, you might drool a little.

 

 Knitting Pattern Central and Crochet Pattern Central  are jam packed with links to patterns for everything from caps to sweaters to toys to doilies.  The sites are frequently updated and easy to navigate.  For you  multi-talented crafters, there is also a section for patterns that use knit and crochet stitches.

As if this weren’t enough, you can also find links to tutorials that teach stitches and techniques.  This is a real life saver when you are tearing through a pattern but must screech to a halt because you don’t know how to “psso” or make a decrease in a double crochet row.

Knitting Pattern Central rescued me last fall when cold weather was predicted and I realized my daughter had outgrown her warm hat.  This prompted some major panic because the Love Cap Program manager of all people just can NOT have a hatless child!  Oh the shame and humiliation!

I decided on an ear flap hat and it only took a few minutes to find and click through to this pattern.  My stash yeilded a skein of Patons Classic Wool that matched my daughters winter coat.  After two days and some very fast knitting, my reputation was safe. 

  

The hat fit her perfectly!  It kept her warm all winter, stayed on when she wiggled AND will fit her again next year.  As soon as I reattach that pom pon that went astray. 

Yarn Sales this Week

Michael’s is worth a visit with Red Heart Super Saver for $1.99, Lion Brand Cotton Ease for $3.99, Lion Brand’s monster Pound of Love for $5.99 and oversized 12 – 14 oz skeins of Sugar n Cream cotton for $5.99.

 All Lion Brand yarns are 30% off at Hancock Fabrics through the July 4th. 

Hobby Lobby offers 2.5 oz Red Heart Sport for $1.33 and has several of their store brand novelty yarns marked down.

Happy Stitching!

Mid-South Fair Announces 2007 Creative Arts Competition

The Creative Arts Premium Book is now available online. Scroll down to pages 7, 8 and 9 to see the knittng, crocheting and weaving categories.

Be sure to enter your best cap in the Love Cap competition sponsored by MIFA! This year we have a category for junior exhibitors under age 19, so help us spread the word among your children and young friends.

To enter fair competitions, complete this entry form and return it to the fair by August 23. You may deliver your contest entries for judging on Sunday, Sept 9 from 1 – 5 pm and Monday, September 10 from 9 am – 7 pm. The fair runs from Sept 21 – Sept 30. Entries may be retrieved on Tuesday October 2 from 9 am – 7 pm.

This week’s bargains

 

Michael’s has a coupon for 40% off any regular priced item in the Sunday paper. Also on sale for $4 per skein are Lion Brand’s Homspun and Cotton Ease yarns. Take a closer look at Cotton Ease on the Lion Brand site. This yarn became popular when initially released because it has a nice hand and the 50/50 cotton/acrylic blend is machine washable. Knitters and crocheters everywhere were distraught when it was discontinued, so Lion Brand brought it back in beautiful muted colors. I have a cotton ease project on the needles now and enjoy working with this yarn.

Hobby Lobby did not publish a coupon this week but they do have all knitting needles, crochet hooks and accessories marked sown 50% through Saturday. If you have never knit on bamboo needles, now is the time to treat yourself to some Clovers. I prefer bamboo to aluminum or plastic because they are not slippery and will not easily slide out of your project. They also feel more natural and comfortable to the touch.

Happy stitching to all!

Yarn sales this week

There are bargains to be had if you know where to go.

Many of us have been counting down the days until the Christmas in June sale at Yarns to Go. Almost everything in the store is 30% – 50% off or priced as marked. Sale dates are June 14th, 15th and 16th. This is the perfect time to shore up your stash for holiday gift knitting.

Hobby Lobby has Caron Simply Soft yarn on sale for $1.22 for 2.5 and 3-oz skeins. Simply Soft is my favorite acrylic yarn because it feels nice in my hands. It also makes comfortable garments that do not irritate the skin. My daughter has a Simply Soft sweater but can only wear it in extreme cold weather because it keeps her so warm. This is an excellent yarn for slippers because it feels very soft and cozy on the feet.

Every other week, Hobby Lobby prints a coupon for 40% off any one non-sale item in the store in the M section of the Sunday paper. If you don’t get the paper you can read their ad and get a coupon online

While there is no ad section from Michael’s this week, you can also find 40% off coupons in their Sunday ads that run from time to time. View Michael’s ads on their website.

For a maximum bang for your buck, use your coupons on some Caron One Pound Yarn.

These monster skeins pack over 800 yards of worsted weight acrylic yarn. One Pound usually retails for about $6. Your coupon will bring the price down to a subterranean $3.60. Further mathematical calculation (all done in my head, of course) shows that a single skein of One Pound will yeild five 3-oz caps for just 72 cents per cap.

Happy yarn shopping to all!