In the Loop, October 2023

October 2023

Dear CKC Members and Donors:

Happy Halloween!  Fall is here!  Pull up a chair, grab a warm beverage, and join us for CKC’s current news and upcoming events.  

We enjoyed an informal Virtual Craft Circle meet-up on October 16.  Our next meet-up is on Thursday, November 16.  Meet our guest speaker, Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji, below, and register today!  We hope you will join us.  

Then read on to keep up with all things CKC!

CKC’s Board of Directors

Meet the Woman Bringing 20,000 Children the Gift of Learning to Knit and Crochet  

Please join us for CKC’s Virtual Craft Circle Meet-Up on Thursday, November 16, 2023 to meet Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji.  

Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji is a Craft Yarn Council of America Certified Knitting Teacher from Nigeria with an ambitious goal to teach 20,000 children across the African continent to knit by 2030.  We’ve invited Elizabeth to CKC’s next Virtual Craft Circle Meet-Up to talk about her recent trip to Kenya in August of 2023, and her experiences partnering with the knitting industry, local community organizations, and volunteers to teach children at five different children’s homes there to knit. 

Learn why Elizabeth believes learning to knit and crochet are so important for children, and how you can best support her efforts if you choose to do so.  Visit CKC’s Blog to read Elizabeth’s recent guest blog post “Teaching 20,000 Children Across the Continent of Africa to Knit” about her project and her travels.

Bring a beverage, a snack, and a project to work on and share.  After the presentation there will be time to meet and chat with fellow CKC Members and supporters.

SAVE THE DATE!  

Our last Virtual Craft Circle of 2023 will be on Thursday, December 14, 2023.   We will welcome Sandi Horton, poet, musician, and second-place winner in CKC’s Music Makers Competition.  Don’t miss it!! 

MORE VIRTUAL CRAFT CIRCLE NEWS!  

We are excited to announce that we will offer CKC’s Virtual Craft Circle monthly in 2024!  Some meetings will feature guest speakers, and others will be informal gatherings with more opportunities to share projects, get to know each other, and chat about all things CKC.  Stay tuned for details about our 2024 schedule soon! 

Make it With Wool – Update

Make It With Wool (MIWW), supported by the American Sheep Industry and other sponsors, coordinates annual state and national contests for “sewers, knitters, crocheters, felters, and designers” who create garments from wool fiber and fabric. MIWW’s junior and senior divisions encourage teens and college students to show and share their creativity and skills.

In 2023, CKC was a Bronze Level supporter of the Needlework Awards given at the MIWW National Contest in Dallas, TX. The National Contest is an annual event for winners of all the state and “at large” contests for the previous year. To enter the National Contest, you must first win an award a state event — e.g., a state fair or festival where Make it With Wool has a presence — or enter as an “at large” contestant, if there is no state event where you live.

CKC received numerous enthusiastic thank you letters from the 2023 participants. Gretta Lemke of MN won a Second Place Needlework Award at the MIWW National Contest earlier this year. She wrote:

“Thank you for supporting the national Make it With Wool Contest. I made a navy and gray plaid pieced pencil skirt, a blouse, and even tried out crocheting to create a gray crocheted lace merino wool sweater. I love this contest because I learn so much about the wool and sewing industry. It inspires me to try new things and challenge myself.”

You can see Gretta with her fellow award winners in the photo above. Congratulations to Katie Inouye of AR, Gretta Lemke of MN, and Holly Westenberg of WI!

CKC is pleased to continue its support for the MIWW National Contest Needlework Awards in 2023-2024.

Celebrating Sheep & Wool at Rhinebeck!

CKC Board member, Lori Winterfeldt joined friends for another fabulous year at the 2023 New York State Sheep & Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY on October 21st and 22nd, and shares this review:

“The event is run annually by the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association, and included over 260 vendors this year.  Despite rain on Saturday, vendors reported booming sales — a testament to the growing popularity of this event.  Established in 1980 and in its 43rd year, the Festival includes sheep and goat shows, breed talks, fiber demonstrations, a skein and garment competition, a used fiber and farm equipment sale, a fleece sale, and a Make It With Wool Contest. Fun, food and fiber were enjoyed by all!”

If you have news to share about a fiber event near you, please get in touch with us —[email protected].  Thank you!

Collections Spotlight: Halloween Fun!

Ann White of Bella Crochet (bellacrochet.blogspot.com) designed this Trick or Treat Doily.  Suzann Thompson crocheted the doily in 2019 with No. 10 crochet cotton. According to Suzann, the first round of the lacy border locks the pleats in place; once you have finished three for four rounds, the pleats seem to develop naturally. Suzann starches her doilies with a mixture of one part liquid starch and one part water.  

See this doily in CKC’s Crowdsourced Collection, here.  Add your own holiday decorations and traditions to CKC’s Crowdsourced Collection today!

Join CKC’s 10th Anniversary Shawl-Along

THE DETAILS

Don’t miss the chance to make your own CKC 10th Anniversary Shawl by December 14, 2023.  We will invite you to share your finished shawls at the January 2024 Virtual Craft Circle Meet-Up.  

So show your love of CKC by knitting or crocheting a shawl for yourself or a friend.  Join us on Ravelry, Facebook, and Instagram through December 14, 2023 to knit or crochet a shawl together to celebrate CKC’s 10th Anniversary.  

— Choose any pattern

Visit CKC’s pattern bundle on Ravelry for ideas.

— Use CKC colors

Get inspired by the beautiful palettes below . . .

— Knit or crochet

— Make to keep, give, or donate

— Share something about CKC with anyone who asks you about your project!

Help us encourage more people to follow CKC, use and add to CKC’s digital collections, and to support and expand CKC’s preservation efforts by wearing your shawl and talking to people about CKC.  

We hope you will also add your shawl to CKC’s Crowdsourced Collection.  We will compile and share a list of organizations that accept shawl donations.  

Send a photo of your shawl-in-progress to [email protected], and we’ll publish your photo here next month.  

Thank you!

CKC Palettes: Some Tints, Shades, and Tones of Teal and Butter.

CKC’s logo colors are Teal, Butter, Black, Gray, and White.  Use any solid color or combination of colors from these palettes, or variations on these colors based on what you have on hand or like to wear.  

CKC’s End-of-Year Fundraising Campaign Starts on Giving Tuesday

CKC will launch its end-of-year fundraising campaign on Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2023.  Our theme — “Centering Makers Within History” — is one of four themes CKC’s President, Jennifer Lindsay, has identified as vital for CKC’s growth and development over the next decade.  

Be on the lookout for details about our end-of-year fundraising goals, activities, and creative “thank you” giveaways in your email and on social media.  We greatly appreciate your support throughout the year, and at this critical time of the year.  

We would not be here without you.  ❤️

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CKC Member News

• Moorestown Knit & Crochet 2gether: A Virtual Gathering

CKC Member Marilyn Fishman facilitates a knit and crochet group on Zoom that meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 1-2 PM ET.

If you would like to join this event, you can register at https://www.moorestownlibrary.org/events/

Click on the title to start the registration process. You will receive an email with the Zoom link after registering and one day before the event.

You do not have to be a resident of Moorestown, NJ, or the USA to participate. People from across the country and Canada have joined this virtual event.

• Beautifully Jewish Craft-Along

CKC Board Member Lori Winterfeldt wants to invite you to participate in a new craft-along led by Tanya Singer of Tablet Magazine’s Beautifully Jewish Podcast.  The Beautifully Jewish Craft-Along will run for six weeks via Zoom.  You can find out more about it and register to participate by visiting Tablet Magazine’s website, here.  

Membership Corner

• As a CKC Member, you are vital to CKC’s success. If you are interested in volunteering, contact us at [email protected], for more information and to learn about opportunities.
• To those who already volunteer — Thank You! 
• Is your membership current? Check or log in to renew!

Don’t Be Shy!  Share Your News!!!

• Have you designed a new pattern, written an article, been invited to give a presentation, published a book, started a new craft group or craft initiative, been promoted in your guild?  Do you want to engage other CKC Members in what you are doing or in an event in your area? We want to hear from you!  If you are interested in being featured, or have some news or events to share with CKC Members, fill out the form! 

Knitting and Crochet in the News

By Anne Lies

 The generational wealth of crafting:

• A common thread: The art of crochet is woven through generations.
• From Handicraft To Hashtags: Your grandma isn’t the only one crocheting right now. Seriously, though, what do these people know about my grandmother?
• Here, birby-birby… A campus crochet scavenger hunt takes wing.
  • @birbsatbrown on Instagram
  • See also, @osuoctopi

Why knit? Why not?

• How rediscovering knitting and crochet helped me appreciate the little things in life. “I knew I needed something to focus on and that I didn’t want to be spending my time disassociating on a digital device.”
• Why do I knit? I’m not patient, knitting helps me to wait, takes the edge off agitation.

 High-fiber design

• The Galway knitting genius putting a contemporary twist on a heritage design. Those crocheted sleeves, though!
• “It’s all about trusting instincts and not being afraid to try, to keep trying.” A Gabrielle Schwan crochet masterpiece is neither easily duplicated nor ignored.

 Point, counterpoint:

• Slowing down fashion: Sweater weather: Experts say knitting could help fashion be more sustainable.
• Knitting and crocheting aren’t as sustainable as you think. Also slowing down crafting.

Art in the everyday:

• Documentary film on Cowichan sweaters explores traditional garment’s legacy.
• Lost art returns to the Arvada Center. Not lost, like died out, but literally lost-lost.
  • One artist’s story: After 41 years, an artist reunites with missing work.

…and the everyday in art:

• “Long caught in the liminal space between craft and something more prestigious…” Fiber Art Is Finally Being Taken Seriously.
  • Embracing the Recognition: Fiber Art Gains Momentum in the Evolving Art World. Room for all under the art tent.
• Sometimes the way to speak is through art. Jewish Museum Milwaukee examines how fiber artists amplify women’s voices on social issues.

Your Voice Matters!

We invite YOU to contribute to CKC’s monthly newsletter.  Please email your ideas, stories, and announcements to [email protected].  We hope to hear from you!

Please visit CKC’s Newsletter Archive to see past issues!  

October Newsletter Contributors:

Katie Daugherty, Anne Lies, Jennifer Lindsay, Lori Winterfeldt