In the Loop, June 2021
Happy Pride Month!
In June, CKC celebrates Pride Month with this spectacular treasure from CKC’s Crowdsourced Collection — the Rippling Rainbow Shawl by designer and fiber artist Robert Powell, ca. 2000, originally created for Meg Swansen and Elaine Rowley’s notable book, A Gathering of Lace, XRX Books, 2000. (CKC Crowdsourced Collection #2019.034)
Jolie Elder, former CKC Vice President, shares her sweet recollections of receiving this shawl from Robert Powell, but does not mention that she also wore it to CKC’s Founding Symposium in November 2012. However, I remember it well!
In July, Marina Scott, CKC’s new Membership Chair, will launch our second annual membership campaign. We appreciate your support through membership donations more than we can express, and hope you will help us make this, and every annual membership campaign, a success by renewing your membership or sharing the gift of membership with friends and family.
Thank you for your generosity during challenging times!
Jennifer Lindsay
President
July is Membership Month!
July is CKC’s annual membership campaign! CKC allows you to choose the level of support that feels right for you! CKC’s new Annual Membership is just $10. CKC’s Sustaining Membership is $35 to join, and $20 annually to renew when your membership remains current. All CKC Members are eligible to volunteer on projects and to serve on CKC’s committees or Board of Directors, whenever such opportunities arise.
During July, we want to encourage anyone whose Sustaining Membership has lapsed to RENEW NOW for $20, no matter how long ago your membership expired. To check the status of your membership, visit our new membership interface.*** Current CKC Members can take advantage of July’s membership promotions to give a discounted membership to friends and family members! Stay tuned for membership promotion details and prizes for current CKC Members too!
As a CKC Member you are helping to support:
- Development of a Standardized Knitting and Crochet Nomenclature
- Expansion of Online Resources about Knitting and Crochet History
- Establishment of Preservation and Exhibition Guidelines
- Development of Online and Physical Exhibitions
- Development of Educational Outreach, Materials, and Programs to Share and Preserve Our Stories and What We Have Made
- Promotion and/or Publication of Research on Knitting, Crochet, and Related Arts
***If you never set up a password, visit our membership interface and click “having trouble logging in” —
Princess Diana Sweater Pattern Still on the Needles
We have delayed the release of CKC’s updated pattern for Princess Diana’s famous Black Sheep Sweater. We need more time to test and tweak the instructions for this wardrobe classic, but we think it will be worth the wait!
The original pattern, created by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, can be found here. CKC’s revised and updated pattern will offer knitters an expanded range of 12 sizes from 32” to 64” and options for knitting flat or in the round. In honor of Princess Diana, and designers Muir & Osborne, we will offer the Black Sheep Sweater pattern for free. We will also encourage donations to Doctors Without Borders, the designers’ charity of choice.
To participate in the Black Sheep sweater test, please email the test knit administrator Mary Claire Phillips at mcphillips@centerforknitandcrochet.org. A huge “Thanks!” to all current pattern testers! You are contributing so much to the future enjoyment of this iconic sweater pattern!
What’s Your Favorite Vintage?
Join CKC’s First-Ever CAL in August!
CKC’s first Craft-Along will move from July to August, and it’s all about VINTAGE! We invite you to craft along, and share your vintage-inspired patterns and projects with us on social media, including Ravelry, during the final month of Summer!
We will also offer two moderated, virtual crafting meetups (on evenings and weekends) — just for current CKC Members and Princess Diana’s Black Sheep Sweater test knitters!! We hope you will join us! It’s BYOB, of course! Watch for CKC’s What’s Your Favorite Vintage? CAL details and meetup dates in July’s newsletter.
Mystery Magazines with Vintage Patterns are Still Available!
Need inspiration or patterns for CKC’s “What’s Your Favorite Vintage?” CAL? Please consider supporting CKC by purchasing a Mystery Magazine from our online store while supplies last. We still have a great selection of vintage pattern magazines available as part of this fun and mysterious CKC fundraiser. Your magazine will remain a mystery until you open it, but you can select your preferences when you place your order.
Participation in this fundraiser is not tax deductible, but it is tax free. Funds from the sale of these vintage magazines support CKC’s development of future online content and related programming, e.g., online exhibitions and educational materials, and honoraria for speakers and guest curators. We thank the donors who shared their collections to make this fundraiser possible!
Needle Arts Making News
Crafting with Pride:
- Bistitchual: We think it’s important to make crafting accessible to anyone who wants to learn, because it’s a pretty valuable tool — plus it’s a lot of fun!
- #HatNotHate Is Helping Put an End to LGBTQ+ Bullying — With Knitting!
- Yarn-bombing for change and inclusivity at the University of Tennessee.
Fiber arts put the ‘pop!’ in popular culture and fashion:
- ‘Chic Grandma’: Crochet Is Back, and There’s Nothing Nanna About it.
- Project: these crocheted earrings want to know what you’re doing this weekend.
Art & inspiration:
- Bisa Butler’s portrait quilts vividly capture personal and historical narratives of Black life.
- Knitter recreates Queen’s estate in wool. And what did you knit during lockdown?
Crafting community:
- Art students use knitting to demonstrate “Together We Mend”.
- Worldwide Knit in Public Day: Stoughton Knitting Competition Participants to Face Norway Knitting Community. Norway: 1, Stoughton: 0. But next year… next year…
Your Voice Matters!
We encourage all CKC Members to contribute to CKC’s monthly newsletter. Please email your inquiries, ideas, and stories to newsletter@centerforknitandcrochet.org. We hope to hear from you!
Look for our Newsletter Archive, coming soon!
June Newsletter Contributors
Editors: Jennifer Lindsay, Kay Simmons
Content: Anne Lies, Rebecca Keyel, Jennifer Lindsay, Mary Claire Phillips, Marina Scott
