Knitting meets Wine in Brooklyn

If you're anything like us, this new group will be just what you're looking for. Knit+Wine will take place the last Sunday of every month at Bar Olivino in Brooklyn. I plan to be at the next one in March - hope to see you all there!

The Knitting Circle on June 2 - Save the Date

We are so excited to announce that on June 2 Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle will be joining us for a discussion of her novel. More details will be announced a little later, but we wanted to give you plenty of time to read up. The book can be purchased here. Ann Hood is the author of seven novels and a collection of short stories as well as a knitting philanthropist. Happy reading and stay tuned for more information.

A brief synopsis of The Knitting Circle:
After the sudden loss of her only child, Mary Baxter joins a knitting circle in Providence, Rhode Island, as a way to fill the empty hours and lonely days. The women welcome her, each teaching Mary a new knitting technique and, as they do, revealing their own personal stories of loss, love, and hope. Eventually Mary is able to tell her own story of grief and in so doing reclaims her love for her husband, faces the hard truths about her relationship with her mother, and finds the spark of life again.

Thank You Clover

The Purl Foundation would like to thank Clover for their generous donation of high quality bamboo knitting needles. Their needles will be put to excellent use by Purl volunteers. Thanks Clover and thanks to Karen at The Knitting Patch for coordinating this donation!

Fruits of Your Labor

Thanks to everyone who donated and knitted this year for The Purl Foundation. All these beautiful handmade items are being distributed to the homeless by the Met Council through their Crisis Services and Family Violence programs. Thank you for everything you have done in 2008 - We can't wait to see what we all can accomplish in 2009.

Try this at home

Last week we had the pleasure of teaching Morgan Stanley junior analysts how to knit for their community service project of the month. As a double treat, Lion Brand graciously allowed us to host this event in their utterly gorgeous brand new Yarn Studio.

Normally when we are teaching a group how to knit their first project, the default is to make scarfs. We decided to mix it up a little this time and do hats instead - the hat is knit flat and then seamed up the side. If you want to make your own (or one to donate), here is the pattern:

Materials:
1 skein Lion Brand Jiffy in the color of your choice
One long set of size 10 needles
One darning needle
one pompom maker

Instructions:
Cast on 60 stitches and work in garter stitch (knitting on both sides) until it is about 5 inches
At the beginning of the next row, knit one stitch then knit the next two stitches together. Knit the rest of the row. You will have decreased one stitch. Repeat the decrease row, for the next 9 rows, decreasing by 10 stitches. After these ten rows, you should have 50 stitches remaining. On the next row, knit one stitch, knit two together then knit the rest of the row until there are three stitches remaining in the row. Knit the next two stitches together then knit the final remaining stitch. Repeat this row for the next nine rows so that you decreased an additional 20 stitches. You should now have 30 stitches remaining.

Finishing:
Cut the tail of the yarn, leaving a few feet to work with. Thread the needle and run it through the 30 live stitches remaining on the needle and drop the stitches from the needle. Pull the yarn tail taut like a drawstring and make a few stitches at the top to secure. Seam down from the top, bringing the sides together and forming the tube of the hat. You can use a very simple seam stitch, pulling the needle through the end loop on one side and then the end loop on the other side. Check the bottoms as you go along to make sure it remains even. Once you get to the bottom, weave in the ends.

Pompom:
Create a pompom using the instructions on the pompom maker and attach to the top. Weave in the ends.

Once you're all done, it should look more or less like mine. Then it's up to you if you want to keep it or donate. Happy knitting!

We are New Yorkers who care

Yesterday we traded in our needles for paint brushes to work on murals at PS 203K for New York Cares Day. Washington Crossing the Delaware never looked so good!

Join Purl for New York Cares Day

The Purl Foundation has formed a New York Cares Day team and want YOU to join. What is New York Cares Day, you ask? It is Saturday, October 18 and according to their website:

New York Cares is looking for 8,000 volunteers to help paint a brighter future for thousands of New York City school children. Join us for a day of good, clean fun -- painting murals and classrooms, adding bright new line games to playgrounds, organizing libraries, and planting flowers -- to help create great learning environments at over 100 public schools throughout the five boroughs.

Go to Purl's team page where you can sign up to join the crew. If you can't join, but would still like to participate, you can sponsor the team. We love NY Cares over here at the Purl Foundation and your donations will help them keep their countless amazing programs up and running.