Gratitude and appreciation are often overlooked and taken for granted. Gina Bonomo Dugas of the Mosaic Yarn Shop in Blacksburg, VA was determined to remind everyone how luckily blessed we are. She conceived an idea to host an event that benefited not one, nor two, but three local charities: libraries, the local food bank, and the homeless. Her idea came to fruition on December 5th during a snowstorm that kept folks further in distance away, but for the folks who did attend, the event was a hit!
Here are the details of this charity event:
The $10 admission included a buffet lunch, exclusive buying at the featured vendors, chances to win door prizes, and a goody bag full of various items from all over the fibery and local businesses. Each table had a literal pile of yarn that might be mistaken for a centerpiece, but was in fact a selection for the knitters and crocheters to make hats. At each seating was a pattern varying from a newborn to an adult male. The crafter would first decide which table (I sat at the purple yarn table though the orange yarn table tempted the Hokie in me) and then sit in the chair of whatever pattern interested her/him.
With so many colors to select, it was difficult to choose, but since I brought in the purple yarn from the Land’s End event, I decided to make as many hats as possible with it. To make the day more fun, I taught two women how to knit. Both had learned a little, but needed more coaching. By the time all three of us were finishing up the day, I had not only enabled them, but also made two more friends. 
There are many folks in the fibery world to thank for their donations. I am listing them here because their generosity should be noted:
Huge thankful bunny hugs go out to every one of these companies for participating!! The best news of this event? We will be doing it next year and will have at least twice as many folks than the 71 crafters that signed up. How do I know? When the Pawtucket Red Sox had their first Stitch and Pitch game, the numbers were exactly the same. (I am rubbing my paws together in glee!) *beaming bunny* Until then, these 42 photos will have to do as proof! =:8
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"Blacksburg,
3 Bags Full,
Berroco Yarns,
Bijou Basin Ranch,
charity,
Classic Elite Yarns,
David Simpson,
food bank,
homeless,
Juniper Moon Farm,
Lawre's Laine,
libraries,
Mosaic Yarn Shop,
Twist Collective
Finally I am sneaking in time to enter a blog post! For the past couple of months I have been occupied with work and found myself feeling detached to everything else. Sure, I managed to make it to special guild meetings (courtesy of Guido Stein and the Common Cod Fiber Guild), knitting SNBs/circles, and conferences (Stitches East with the awesome Ravelry Helpers). However there are little bombs inside my head that want to explode. I am wrestling with them during my daily drive, and sometimes hourly at home.
Every year I make resolutions and then immediately break them. They all fall in the same line: weight loss, driving more at work, turning WIPs into FOs, fixing up the house, volunteering more charity work, saving money, and then blogging about it all. Last year of 2008 was full of surprises — both good and bad. I hope to make 2009 a bouquet of sweetness whenever possible. Doing so may involve in closing off harmful relationships (all are muggle ones) to my psyche. If these old ties were true friends, they would understand. For now I shall sharpen my skates and sprint across my icy network as fast as I can. I may even bunny dance during my run!
In the knitting realms, Ravelry has definitely kept my attention — and the attention of over two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) members. Though the membership seems small, Ravelry made its debut to a very select handful on April 11th, 2007 and has skyrocketed membership like a “hockey stick” in a graph. The niche of “internet crafting” is amazing to behold, and Ravelry caters worldwide primarily to knitters and crocheters who are also spinners, sewers, weavers, and jewelers. The site can be very overwhelming to those not familiar with forums, but the information and social networking aspect can be harnessed into powerful business connections.
A few examples are presented in the following:
1. All members are given a Notebook to track their projects, yarn stash, needles/hooks, library, friends, and other items. The organizational aspect helps leash each member’s tigers of piles.
2. Local yarn shop owners on Ravelry have found that when customers come into their shop and are fuzzy on pattern material details (“I think the pattern’s name is ‘Wavy Wimple’ but I am not sure.”), the LYSO can go online and look up the pattern and suggest the yarn and tools necessary to make it.
3. For events like Rhinebeck S&W, TNNA, and Maryland S&W, vast information including what vendors to check out, which hotels to stay/avoid, where to find the best eateries, and when the meet ups occur were communicated in specific forums.
4. Designers have the ability to create their own shop in which members can browse their patterns and decide to buy/download after seeing how other folks did in following them. There are future works that will allow Dyers and Spinners the same ability.
5. Specific guilds, groups, and shops can communicate with their friends, members, and/or customers. Kate, the president of Massachusetts MetroWest Knitting Guild’s group posts messages about upcoming meetings and sponsored events. The “Cuppa Tea?” group brings folks from all over the world to profess their love of tea types and where to find them. The “Ocean State Crafters” group discusses items like where to shop or local events. Gina’s Mosaic Yarn Shop Maniacs host various knit-alongs, list classes, and updates on their fellow members.
These lines of communication have networked folks around the world together. Digesting all of this information is a constant work of art, but I love it. Adventurous stories to come soon — I promise!! Meanwhile, please note the other social webs that I live and feel free to include me. Now, I leave you some of Richie’s chocolate cake with white vanilla “almost buttercream” frosting… Bunny hugs! =:8
Today I had a plan. The plan was to head up to Boston after my usual routine of dropping Richie at his work and feeding the bunnies. Instead I ended up taking a desperately needed nap which started me three hours later than expected. Noting the traffic, I did some quick calculations of time and realized that I would never be able to give Lucy Lee’s “thank you” present in person and drop off the three yarn-filled contractors’ bags that fully occupied my Civic’s trunk.
Silently reprimanding my unfocused yet hungry self, I pulled off the highway into the nearest Burger King. “Lunch will be good to clear my head,” I assuredly thought. As I approached the counter to order, inside my body the brain, stomach, and eyes debated over what I should get. “WHOPPER with ALL the fixins!!” shouted the stomach. The brain retorted, “No, the Whopper Junior is all you need to appease your taste craving.” The eyes had a totally different reaction by screaming, “Screw you ALL — Double Whopper, and make it a King-size meal!” Knowing better than to listen to my eyes, I also should have heeded the words from my brain. When will I learn that my eyes and stomach are so ambitious? Frankly, the Whopper Junior Combination meal would have sufficed. (Sigh…) All that mess of thought is a perfect example of the craziness that goes “roundabout” my mind.
It was while I chowed down on the fries was when I altered my decision to drive to Mind’s Eye Yarns in Cambridge and opted to mail Lucy’s tee-shirt to her. Last year when the Massacre happened, she not only said prayers, but her yarn shop was the only one in all of New England that acknowledged “Wear Orange and Maroon Day” and I never forgot that gesture. During my trip to Southwest Virginia the week before, I found the perfect shirt for her at Mosaic Yarn Shop. The next question appeared to badger my mind: Do I go home and put Lucy’s package together, or do I stay on the road?
As my head entered that new debate, the radio announced the news of the candlelight vigil that was held last night on Virginia Tech’s Drillfield to mark “The Eve of the Day.” Unable to stop the tears, I began bawling and wishing I was back in Virginia. The inkling to drive to a “safe place” that could make me happy drove the tears down my face even faster. My brain kept giving me a list of places like “Yarns at Lace Wings” or “Fresh Purls” to run towards. The stomach rattled off “Cheesecake Factory” and “Pastiche” as if sweet concoctions were the solution. And my eyes? My eyes wanted visual peace from the ocean which was over an hour’s drive and full of tourists. I have found the Rhode Island beaches rather rocky and full of pebbles. The Newport scene is a bit too “yacht-club” for my soul-surfer persona. I wanted soft sands to walk upon and the wind blowing in my ears as the waves roared their love to me.
It was then that I realized there was nowhere in Rhode Island that I could consider a happy place. None of the parks or beaches gave me solace — only home and the yarn shops were available for comfort. So where did I end up? As I started driving towards the house, the stomach reminded me of its craving for something sweet. By now I was on Route 37 and turned the car towards Garden City for Panera Bread. I walked in for some cold green tea and a chocolate cookie. Plopping myself into one of the comfortable chairs in the back, I proceed to power on my laptop and enter what is now written. At least I am able to pop into the Lingr.com Ravelry Help! Chat Room to lean on my friends. Without them, I probably would have gone into a deep depression long ago. What a way to spend an anniversary — rambling, driving, and unfocused. I do hope that next year I will be with family and/or friends. Being alone is just NOT healthy!! =:8
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