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Posts Tagged ‘nonprofit knitwear’
Is it me or are there a lot of babies being born? Nicole from the office across the hall just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Mikki, my daughter who is in love with Pierre, told me a friend of hers is expecting a baby girl very soon. Seth’s friend, Nakeba, is due any day with – what else? a baby girl.
Later this month I am going to be hosting
GIA Knitting Circle: Rockaway Beach Booties for a Cause
a dine-a-round type thing at the Chicago Grantmakers in the Arts conference with my friend Frances Phillips of the William and Elise Haas Fund. Yes, we will be knitting and dining in high style and what will we be knitting?
So glad you asked. Baby booties.
Frances liked the idea because we could finish one during the session and complete a pair by the end of the conference. We could be furiously knitting grantmakers, baby booty buddies and check up on each other’s progress in between sessions and workshops.
“Ooh, your booty came out so cute! Let’s cast on the next one together.”
“Do you think its rude to knit during a panel?”
“So, who’s pregnant in your life?”
She also said the project was perfect because she has a lot of pregnant friends. And if a knitter in our group doesn’t have someone to give the booties to, we can find a local Chicago charity to donate them to.
I just so happen to have a pair to donate. They are the sample booties I made in a steely baby blue for the knitting circle which, of course, I wouldn’t dream of giving a baby girl. I am actually dreaming of something uber fabulous for their precious feet.
OK, OK, I know, but don’t you just love them?
Rockaway Beach Booties are simple to knit and simply adorable. Grab your needles, here’s the pattern.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
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Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
The next time someone tells you they are expecting a baby, here’s something fabulous for you to knit that will keep little feet warm. These baby booties are done in a simple garter stitch with a ribbed cuff to keep the booties on snugly. Snugly? Is that a word? You know what I mean.
The best part about this project is that it has been designed for all of you busy people who would love to make beautiful handmade gifts quickly and easily. And the funny thing about these booties is that once you know how to make them, suddenly everyone is having babies!
Tip: I like knitting on circular needles because I usually find myself knitting while I’m waiting for a meeting, sitting on a plane or taking a break between doing everything else I’m supposed to be doing. You can tie up the needles quickly and never drop a stitch. If you are planning to knit on a plane make sure your needles don’t set off the metal detectors. Indulge yourself and get yourself some bamboo or polished wooden needles.
Can’t wait to get started? There are baby feet to be bootied. Grab those knitting needles and get going!
Here’s the pattern in a power point presentation.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Seth and the finished booties
I am in love with my latest project.
These are a pair of booties with a little cuff knit in a bouncy bright red microfiber that are easy, quick and so Wow! that I just had to share them with you. My friend Frances at the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and I are going to present this project at our knitting circle in Chicago for the upcoming Grantmakers in the Arts Conference.
Now I have to tell you that I really have no use for directions that make me do all kinds of extra verkcockte (Yiddish for stupidcrazy) steps that can be done more simply and elegantly executed. I am absolutely insulted by poor design that lacks thoughtfulness in the details.
What do I mean by that? Listen, now I’m on a roll. The original design for these booties had no cuff to keep them on a baby’s feet and as any new parent will tell you, “Who needs another thing to keep track of?” I cut down the number of steps, simplified the process and creating a set of little videos to accompany a slide presentation so anyone can follow along whether you are in a knitting circle or knitting on the beach.
I want all you nonprofit and ninja knitters to be able to knock out a pair of these booties whereever and whenever you find some spare time. They will keep a baby’s feet warm and bring a smile to new mommies and daddies.
Frances happens to have a lot of pregnant friends. If you are like me and do not, maybe there is a charity you can donate them to. Let me know if you find one.
Stay tuned! More to come.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Jackie at Rockaway Taco
Sometimes it takes a village, sometimes it takes a fish taco.
Today, I would say the fish taco wins. The Moveable Feast is in the Rockaways today and I am delighted to have my staff here to experience artful living at the beach. First stop, Rockaway Taco. This is the home of the $3 taco, $4 if you want a deluxe with guacamole. Have one with fresh watermelon juice or hibiscus ice tea and hang in the back with the locals. Awesome!
Of course, we had to have an ice for dessert. Today there was mango, lemon and cinnamon chocolate. Just the thing to cool yourself off with while walking to the beach.
I gave everyone the nickel tour of my house on Beach 124th Street. We stopped off to see Andrea, our accountant, who sent everyone home with cucumbers from her garden and we continued our trek through Rockaway Park, Belle Harbor and Neponsit until we reached Fort Tilden, the home of the Rockaway Artist Alliance and the site of our High School to Art School summer program.
Daliana, Jackie, Lynn, Katie and Hoong Yee
Today was the student exhibition. As we wandered through the building, I couldn’t help but notice the artwork was much more thoughtful and conceptual than in previous years.
The students were articulate, bright and spoke confidently about their work. One exceptionally poised young woman, Ana, who received a large scholarship from School of Visual Arts, gave us her business card. The parents who came were just as enthusiastic about HS2AS’s impact on their children, some of whom traveled in from places as far as Rockville Centre, Manhasset and New Jersey.
We ended our adventure munching on cupcakes, fruit and cookies at the reception while meandering through the studio space that was filled with some extremely compelling pieces by the students.
“We are going for more than just college acceptances.” Yeon Ji said with a smile. After an afternoon of frantic yelling, last minute installation mishaps and challenges, she was finally calm. The show, hung on simple double strings throughout the space was stunning. “We are going for big time scholarships. Ana got $50,000 from SVA and Kevin got the Hadar Foundation award. These kids can do it.”
High School to Art School at the Rockaway Artist Alliance Studios
Sometimes all it takes is a day at the beach.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
photo by John’s copper craft
People like to see things.
Your eye is naturally attracted to images, colors, interesting objects. Less so to text.
Come on, admit it. Don’t you like looking at book jackets that are zippy? How many of you go into a wine store and really know the difference between all of those bottles of wine and end up picking a bottle because it has a nice looking label?
I like blogs that have pictures and videos. When done well, my respect for the attention paid to visual detail and artistry transforms me into a subscriber. Make it easy for me to enjoy your content and I will be your biggest fan.
As with any communication effort, it is important to know how effective your tools are in building your presence. How engaged are your viewers? What is your Return on Investment (ROI)?
Video is the romance between text and image.
It is the energy that brings to life words and pictures on a page.
I am in love with the two minute video. One minute is even better, depending on what the story is. Video is a powerful way to bring faces of the people involved with your work to your viewers and to the world. While this is a very compelling reason to use video, it is just as important to know what your ROI is.
Here’s an excerpt from a post by Michael Hoffman of See3 on figuring out if and how video is working for you. He suggests 5 questions to help you think this through and does a great job at helping people become better at visual communication.
In fact, a Forrester study found that “any given video stands about a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page that Google has indexed”.
Cast your eye over the full post here.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
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