In the Loop, May 2021
It’s not too late to celebrate May – the official month of Mystery! Purchase a vintage mystery magazine from CKC’s online store to show your support for CKC’s work to preserve and promote the art, craft, and scholarship of knitting, crochet, and related arts: https://lnk.bio/jqgC. See more details below! Photo: Jennifer Lindsay.
CKC Welcomes New Board Members!
CKC’s Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome two talented and enthusiastic new Board members, Marina Scott and Heather Hernandez, who were unanimously elected at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors on May 5, 2021.
Marina Scott is a knitter of over 20 years, self-taught thanks to the dollar spot at Target where they had yarn and needles and she couldn’t resist a good deal. She knits for fun and relaxation and enjoys simple patterns. Also a designer, she has several published patterns on Ravelry, Etsy, and Loving Crafts. She enjoys a series of posts she does on Instagram (@heartbunknitsandmore) called “knitting around the world” where she posts pictures of the globally diverse community that is knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers. Marina is excited to join the CKC Board of Directors; she will be in charge of developing CKC’s membership. A content associate for the start-up company Making, she writes blogs on various craft-related topics. The rest of her time is spent as a pediatric occupational therapist working with kids in schools.
Heather Hernandez has been a fiber enthusiast since she began to embroider around age 5; she became an avid knitter and crocheter in the 1980s. Heather is a librarian with experience in public, academic, special, law, and museum libraries. She holds an MLIS from the University of California at Berkeley, and specializes in cataloging, metadata, and the preservation and repair of paper-based library materials. Sewing, learning to quilt, mending, writing, playing Dungeons & Dragons, baking, and cooking keep her busy as well. You can find her on Ravelry as igel, and as @ulmerigel on Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, and iNaturalist. Heather speaks and reads German, and also loves hedgehogs, “Igel” in German.
Heather is excited to join CKC’s Board of Directors; she will be in charge of developing CKC’s online collections. She has already contributed several items to CKC’s Crowdsourced Collection that were knit and crocheted by her grandmother and family friends.
CKC thanks retiring Board members Ann Grandy and Carol Slotkin, whose increased employment and family commitments during the past year made continuing to serve on CKC’s Board of Directors impossible for now. We look forward to keeping them involved in CKC’s activities in the future!
CKC’s officers will serve in their current roles again in 2021: Jennifer Lindsay, President; Rebecca Keyel, Vice President; Marilyn Huset, Treasurer; Suzann Thompson, Secretary. Thanks are also due to continuing Board members Callie Lasch, Kay Simmons, and Mary Claire Phillips.
CKC’s “Mystery Month” Vintage Magazine Fundraiser Continues!
Support CKC by purchasing a Mystery Magazine from CKC’s treasure trove of vintage knitting and crochet magazines ranging from the 1940s to 1980s!!** Your Mystery Magazine will ship in an eco-friendly mailer, along with some fun extras. We’ll continue this fundraiser while supplies last.
To join in the fun, visit CKC’s online store, set your Mystery Magazine preferences when you purchase — from homeware to baby knits to fashion sweaters — and let Mary Claire Phillips, coordinator of this special fundraiser, choose just the right vintage magazine for you! Suzann Thompson found the bright floppy hat shown above in her early-1970s Mystery Magazine: “This is the hat that inspired me to learn to crochet!”
For sneak peeks of the magazines that are available, follow CKC on social media. Let us know which magazine you receive by tagging @CenterForKnitAndCrochet, and use the hashtags #CKCMysteryMags #CenterForKnitAndCrochet #VintageKnitting #MysteryMonth.
We hope you’ll share your vintage pattern-inspired projects, too!
**Participation in this fundraiser is not tax deductible. Funds from the sales of these vintage magazines will 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!
Upcoming CKC Member Activities
Test Knitters Needed for Princess Diana’s Black Sheep Sweater
We are still seeking volunteers to test knit a fresh take on Princess Diana’s beloved Black Sheep Sweater. The original pattern is freely available, but CKC has updated the instructions for a modern knitting audience and given it a more inclusive size range. Interested test knitters should fill out this form and direct any questions to Mary Claire Phillips at mcphillips@centerforknitandcrochet.org.
Visit the Pennies per Hour of Pleasure fundraising website — P/hop for Doctors Without Borders or Ravelry to see pictures of this of this sweater. CKC will host a KAL honoring Pricess Diana and her iconic knits in July — we hope you will join us! Details coming soon!
Worldwide Knit in Public Day!
Don’t forget to show your knitting skills in public on Saturday, June 12, 2021. To join a group or host a group, visit www.wwkipday.com.
July is Membership Month!
Stay tuned! We’ve planned some special activities and incentives for new, renewing, and longtime members in July 2021. To check your membership status, please visit CKC’s membership login page and log in with the email we use to deliver your monthly newsletter. Have a membership question or need assistance? Email us at info@centerforknitandcrochet.org.
Needle Arts Making News
- What is Michelle Obama Knitting? Inquiring minds want to know!
- The crochet problem: Crochet is on trend this summer, but the fact that it can’t be machine-made has troubling implications, especially in fast fashion.
- Stockton-based Filipina artist finds acceptance and self expression with crochet.
- How One New York Designer is Putting Jamaican Crochet on the Map: Vogue profiles designer Rachel Scott and her collaborations with crochet artists in Jamaica.
- The Designers Who Are Making Knitwear Cool. Does that mean there was a time when it wasn’t cool?
- From TikTok enthusiasts to collectives of grannies, lockdown has unleashed a league of new knitters.
- Louisville woman, 95, knit 4K hats in late daughter’s honor. “I guess people think they are special because they are free … But they are special to me because I think about Carolyn and pray for her as I make each one.”
- Colourful crochet lockdown project lights up library window: Innovative project brought a community together, even when everyone was apart.
- Victorian Knitting Manuals Collection: A rich history and research resource.
- World’s Oldest Yarn: Neanderthals’ handspun reveals math knowledge.
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!
May Newsletter Contributors
Editors: Jennifer Lindsay, Kay Simmons
Tech Support: Rebecca Keyel
Content: Anne Lies, Rebecca Keyel, Jennifer Lindsay, Mary Claire Phillips, Suzann Thompson
Outreach: Callie Lasch