I was trying to figure out which gift would make a good item to start out the New Year. This one jumped out at me, just because it’s such a great idea.
There’s something I noticed lately. Knitting is “in” again. It’s not just for grammas anymore. My sister, who’s a professional veterinarian and graduated at the top of her class at Princeton, loves to knit. So does the young lady whom I manage at work, who happens to be one of the smartest computer programmers I know. And walking through the streets of New York, I see professional women with their briefcases on one hand and their knitting bags on the other, just knitting once and purling twice away.
Knitting for Peace is a great book that talks about a 200 year-old tradition that is coming back in vogue: “charity knitting”, where communities would get together and knit for those in need. It’s a tradition that dates back to Martha Washington, who organized knitting efforts for soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Today, there are initiatives to knit blankets for refugees, mittens for the homeless, socks for the troops, and even caps for premature AIDS babies. This book highlights 28 of these efforts, and even comes with a few sample patterns that can be used to knit charity projects of your own.
Aside from being a great way to spur on volunteer efforts, a portion of proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to charity.
United Airlines has teamed up with the American Cancer Society to do something pretty cool.
a great gift for yourself or for anyone who might find themselves in a hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm, flood, or other situation where electricity is not available.
It happens to the best of us…you’ve been so careful in sending out all your Christmas gifts, and lo and behold, you get one from someone you totally forgot about!
