Episode 12: Knitting for Charity

What's going on, aka The Madness that is the Month of May: 3 May: Love your Yarn Shop Day! Local events include Erika Knight at Nest (Friday night, give them a heads up if you're joining them), Debbie Bliss at Wild & Woolly and 10% off purchases at Knit with Attitude. 9-10th May: Stephen West is teaching two classes at Loop in Islington - Knit a top-down shawl and Colour play the Westknits way! 14th May: Knit a Tulip for ME Kick Off at Double Tree by Hilton London in Chelsea.

The Nymphalidea shawl WIP - knit in Porpoise Fur fibre in the YFP and Clotted Cream colourways.

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi! 15-18th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik. The Mini-Marketplace on Sunday afternoon is open to the public, and will feature Triskelion Yarns, Purlescence, Beads by Laura and Hand Dyed by Kate.  16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon. 23rd May: A Yarn Story Grand Reopening! In their new digs at 128 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG from 18th May. 23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart. 25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire 30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon. Vendors include A Yarn Story (with some Porpoise Fur fibre), Midwinter Yarns, John Arbon and Wildcraft. What we're working on:

Rachel's gorgeous Windmill Bay Stole is finally off the needles!

Rachel has completed not one, but two things - hooray! First up is her Windmill Bay Stole, 8 stinking feet of fingering weight alpaca lovelieness. There is much relief that it is finished. She's also finished a handspun shawl for the Porpoise Fur booth at I Knit Fandango - Nymphalidea from Knitty.com designed by Melinda VerMeer, in Clotted Cream and YFP (aka fluorescent yellow) Shetland. She is still working on Painted, and has started another handspun shawl - Penrose Tile by Carol Feller. Allison finished her Green Memories colourwork hat for the Yarn in the City Not-a-KAL-KAL, and has done some spinning, as she is about to start adding to her fibre stash in a monthly fashion with the Hello Yarn Fiber Club. Charity Knitting We start off with the amazing charity knitting done by 2014 Great London Yarn Crawlers, who donated over 150 items to our charity partner Refuge. We will be collecting again for Refuge this year, so please bring any and all charity items to the kick off party at the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace on 5th September. We also recently learned about AYME (the Association of Young People with ME), an organization that supports the estimated 25,000 children and young people in the UK who suffer from myalgic enchephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. AYME is launching an awareness campaign called "Knit a Tulip for ME", with a goal of collecting one knitted tulip for every ME-affected young person in the UK in 2015. So far, they've collected 5,000 woolen tulips, and they are holding an official launch on 14th May at the Double Tree by Hilton London - Chelsea with a display of some of the tulips already contributed. The campaign also has a Justgiving page, if you'd like to make a donation. You can also email Jackie (scroll down for the email address) for the pattern and a sponsorship form.  There are a number of other charity knitting opportunities out there, including Knit for Peace, which supports people in India, Pakistan and Rwanda. There's also a wealth of charity knitting groups on Ravelry, including Knit Aid UK, Charity Crafting UK, and the innocent and Age UK's Big Knit (love the smoothie hats!).As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is welcom to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanStraight for Your Heart - Sarah Peacock