Book Review, Finished Object, and Giveaway!
Betsy Greer describes how she came to knitting, how it became meditative for her, and then the possibilities just kept expanding. The result is Knitting for Good. Divided into three sections: Knitting for Yourself, Knitting for Your Community, Knitting for the World, Betsy intersperses her own analysis and research with many interviews of widely known indie crafty people.
Several patterns are included as well, great for assisting the knitter to dive into the world of charitable crafting. This fun baby jacket(Ravelry Link), the Mossy Jacket by Fawn Pea, is one of the patterns. I used the recommended yarn, buttons from the button stash I posted about a few days ago, and a merino blend for the border. Other patterns include a hat, reversible scarf, dog bed, vest, and a really charming stuffed lion.
The author’s tone is down-to-earth and friendly, as if you were chatting with a really well-informed friend. Knitting for Good is about being an agent for change in your own mindset as well as in the world. No matter how humble a beginning that first cast-on stitch is, Betsy shows how it can be transformed into an act of social justice. And in the process, knitters continue a craft handed down from their foremothers, while the threads of creation, creativity, and generosity are unbroken.
I’ve been inspired by Knitting For Good. It’s a reminder that as much as I enjoy needle arts as a way to show my family and my friends how much I love them, I also need to share that love with others, especially others in need. This year I’ve been trying to sew up some extra baby items when I make gifts for friends or for my nephew. I hope to have a box at the end of the year that I can bring to a local women’s group to distribute to new moms in need.
Finally the giveaway! In the spirit of Knitting For Good, I am giving away a copy of the book to one reader in the United States. Simply comment on this post and include a thought or idea on how you can be a knitter for good.
What a lovely giveaway!
I am new at knitting but I can already tell that you can only knit so many scarves for your family and friends.
While my knitting skills may not be entirely appreciated by some of my family members – this book, knitting for good could give me a lot of ideas about what I can knit that can help those in need.
We have lots of local shelters in the city where I live – would love to knit up helpful items to go towards those in need. This book would definitely help further grow the idea!
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I love to craft for charity, after reading the book and trying a few things I would donate it to my local library. Thanks for the giveaway! Jennifer
I knit bandages for Lutheran World Relief – they’re super easy — straight garter stitch in white cotton yarn…
I participate in knitting for spirit jump, which is an organization providing gifts and cards for cancer patients.
http://spiritjump.blogspot.com/
thanks for the opportunity to win a this book!
I’m hoping the book, which would be gift to my 13 year old daughter, will encourage her to knit for charity! We’ve already sown dolls for charity together I’m hoping she’ll find inspiration to knit for charity too.
http://warmtheworld.org/support.htm is a group where I live that provide knit comforts for lots of people. The website that I provided shows who they currently support with knit goods that are donated.
I recently learned to knit (december 08) and am hooked. I’m currently in the process of knitting and crocheting 20 handmade toys for a Children’s Hospital toy drive.
I’ve done a little knitting for charity but really need to do more. I really like the idea of making hats and mittens for those cold in the winter.
That sweater is adorable.
What a great book! I’d love to win the giveaway. I am still in the beginning stages of knitting, but I hope to make some more intricate items for silent auctions in the future. Mostly I knit for those I love – I’ve probably knit more things for others than for myself.
For anyone looking for another idea that’s actually very fast and easy with great benefits, a friend of mine and I have knit gauntlets for nursing home residents. She knew of women who had issues with the delicate skin on their arms tearing during daily activities so we knit the gauntlets for them to wear. We used yarn from stash in bright colors that were machine washable and dryable and the ladies loved them! The gauntlets made them feel lovely and worked great protecting their arms.
Wonderful…the two things I relly enjoy, reading and knitting all in one book. The best part is I haven’t read this one …yet. Thanks for a lovely giveaway idea.
What a wonderful giveaway. I’ve been slowly knitting a stash of preemie caps to be donated to a local hospital, they are such quick little projects, but can do so much good.
Thanks for the opportunity!
Fantastic! Knitting something, for someone is good because it is at the heart a gift of your time and there’s just not enough of that!
Thanks for this great give-away! I am about to start a new job at a university in Oregon, and I am planning to organize a knitting group that knits projects for charities (like blankets for Project Linus or hats for the Red Cross). I’m hoping to get students involved in crafting for others.
Thanks!
Allie
What a sweet giveaway. Gifts with a conscience! I’m pretty new to knitting, but I have made a scarf for my local yarn shop that goes to kids in the foster program. I’d like to learn how to make baby blankets or recieving blankets to give to our county hospital. Thanks for doing such a wonderful giveaway.
What a lovely giveaway! Hospitals almost always need hats for babies!
I think a wonderful way to ‘knit for good’ is by teaching others to knit. Particularly children. Its an excellent hobby to pick up, a great way for kids to explore creativity and spend time, and the more who know how to knit, the more that can share their craft with others!
Thank you for the giveaway!
I have knitted hats for babies for a while now. I once taught a class on how to use two circulars for knitting in the round and used a baby hat as the project. Most of the hats created by the students were donated as well.
What a great giveaway – I’m doing this for a friend who is always knitting gorgeous things for my darling boy – a sweater, a turtle, and she is so talented. She can sit literally for HOURS doing nothing but knitting and be completely content! She’s extremely generous, always giving away her projects and always using the very best yarn/threads. She would LOVE this book.
Wonderful! My church has a knitting group that formed this year, and we have just finished a prayer shawl to be given to one who “needs a hug from our community!”
It would be great to make lots of little clothes for a Crisis Pregnancy Center!
Thanks for the give-away!
-Breezy
The book sounds really great! I just learned how to knit and am starting my library of books and patterns. My mom is a big-time charity seamstress and knitter. She’s inspired me to do the same.
I am very new to knitting – just a few months. Would you believe that youtube has taught me to knit? I would love to be part of a knitting circle though. Love my knitting/blogging friends. =)
Wow, how to use my new found super powers for good… hmmm… I live in a very rural, impoverished community. I could knit things for neighbors who need a little something to keep themselves or their families warm. =) Yeah! *looks round for her cape*
Aw, shucks, Meredith, thanks so much for giving away a copy of the book! Wow! And Fawn’s Mossy Jacket looks wonderful! Job well done!
And what a wonderfully kind book review to boot, which is made even more special by all these amazingly inspiring comments on how people plan to use their knitting for good!! Awesome!
The sweater is beautiful and I’d love to check out that book. I’ve been collecting heath and beauty items for my mom to give to her church who, in turn, gives them to people who need them… I’ve yet to get any knitted item to a charity, altho’ I’m currently working on a few birds for a baby named Birdie that passed away this year I believe. His mom is making them and giving them to others at the hospital as a symbol of hope for their little ones facing medical crisis.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Robin
cokelush at gmail
Thanks for the great giveaway! I’d love to contribute some knitted items to a charity this year…it’s on my list of things to accomplish this birth year! Thanks for the friendly reminder to be a “knitter for good.”
What a nice giveaway! I am hoping to teach my 4H group how to knit (they asked me this year when they saw me knitting) and get them to knit scarves to donate to a shelter.
I love the idea of knitting hats and scarves for the homeless. When I was learning how to knit, I made a ton of scarves. I ended up giving most of them to people on the streets.
I am doing an entirely handmade Christmas this year. I think it counts as knitting for good to make things that my family and friends can cherish instead of buying more things that eat up resources and clutter their homes!
Im a beginner knitter,LOL.Sounds funny.It would be a great gift for me,I would love it! count me in please!
That would be an awesome book to have…thank you for offering it as your prize.
Love that adorable sweater….
Oh yay! That book looks amazing!
well I knit for the preemie project, so that’s pretty good! 🙂
What a nice giveaway! Now that my children are a little bit older, I think that I am going to knit mittens for our local food shelf to hand out to needy families. It gets really cold here!
That is a lovely giveaway idea! I knit scarves each year for a local charitable food delivery service to give to their clients.
Funny..I’d recently been thinking how I could make extra baby hats for the local hospital or shelter.
First of all, LOVE the sweater (AND the quilt on which it’s photographed.) Every winter our neighborhood organization has a hat/gloves/scarves roundup for needy families. This year, I am going to knit a set of each for a boy, a girl, a woman, and a man. (Now that I have made three hats this year, thus, having learned DPNs. Yahoo!)
And, if I win this book, I am going to pass it along to someone else so they can keep the goodwill going.
Thank you for the opportunity.
This book sounds great. One thing that I’ve been doing is participating in the “knit-a-square” project. Extra yarn from various projects gets knit into 8 inch squares. And sent to S. Africa so that they can be combined with other 8 inch squares and made into blankets for orphans there.
I knit some scarfs for the Special Olympics this year.
Absolutely fabulously generous of you! Thank you so much for the chance. I make hats and scarfs for needy families at Christmas time.
The only project I can think of is baby hats for the hospital so I would love to read that book! lol! Thanks for the give away chance!
What a great book this looks like! I enjoy knitting hats and scarves and since I live in Alaska, knitting them for children in need is a never ending task:)
I’m knitting hats to keep babies heads warm. It makes me feel good to do it, and it keeps them cozy!
I like to make blankets for Project Linus. That’s one way to knit for good. You can also donate unused blankets to local shelters.
One way that I can knit for good is to support fibers that support artisans in impoverished places. FrogTree Yarns is a great one for this as they are non-profit and help artisans in Bolivia and Peru. And no, I don’t work for them or anything. I just think it’s great to put our money to work for great causes, even just when we buy yarn!
Another way I knit for good is to put my fingers to work whenever anyone I know is sick or in the hospital. I just knit my sister a sweet little cotton beanie while she was in the hospital last week and she loved it!
Thanks for the chance to win!
leafygreenes at gmail dot com
Thanks for sharing. I try to include at least one charitable item in my knitting/crocheting for the year. Wish I could do more.
I’m currently working on a bunch of blanket for a local hospital. They’re really in need of blankets for babies who are stillborn. That way the parents can have something personal for pictures/cuddles/to take home with them.
there’s a local charitable organization that knits blankets, booties, and caps for homeless children.
flip_em8@hotmail.com
love making hats for our friends at Blanket Coverage in PDX.
singinsweet2002@yahoo.com
How lovely! I like to knit a pair of booties and hat for every new baby in our congregation.
What a great giveaway! Knitting chemo caps is a simple, lovely way to share some warmth.
While I do like to knit goodies for charity from time to time, I think I do the most good by knitting when I take the time to give kids some one on one attention by teaching them to knit. I’ve taught several kids that hang out where I work in my down time and a little girl at my mom’s church. They seem to love making a connection with a grownup and learning something new!
I think I can be a knitter for good in several different ways…. participate in charitable knitting (I’m currently doing some baby items that a little guy is collecting as a service project for his local hospital), I’ve also been thinking of knitting some Christmas gifts for some of my students. I am an itinerant teacher for students with hearing impairments. I always like to give them a little gift at holiday time and some of them could really use a nice warm hat or scarf…small scale idea but close to home .
I’m part of a group called Knit Together. Currently we’re making dish cloths for Habitat for Humanity. Next up: baby blankets for the homeless shelter. I would love to read this book!
Great Giveaway! last fall I knitted several scarves to pass out at a church in the inner city where we serve food to the homeless. I also keep all my friends in dishcloths.
I love to knit for my daughter, so I’m inspired to knit for other children in the community. I know I could donate to the children’s hospital or for the women’s shelter…both great places for children to receive a handmade knitted hat! Thanks for the great giveaway!
I belong to a knitting group at a college and we knit and crochet for local charities. But I want to do some on my own, so I plan to do some charity projects for the Snuggles project for poor little kitties and puppies in shelters. Because they totally break my heart and if I can’t adopt them all, I’ll give them a little bit of my heart with a blanket! 🙂
WOW! Trying to start a charity knitting project at the Yarn Shop I work in !
I love the idea of knitting throughout the year to be able to give warm mittens to kids in the wintertime – like on top of packages made up for the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots.
I enjoy charity knitting. Every year I knit an item for our local hospice’s annual silent auction fundraiser. I also knit baby hats for the nursery in the hospital where I work.
It sounds like a wonderful book. What a wonderful giveaway.
That sweater is so beautiful!
I give free knitting lessons to children and teens.I felt so proud to mentor a sweet young woman last year for her senoir project on knitting.It’s a great gift to pass on to next generation!
Thanks for your giveway. 🙂
What a fabulous idea. Crafty for charity is a relatively new idea to me. As a family we do lot of volunteer work, soup kitchen, nursing home adpot a grandparent, meal for wheels, but I had never though of crafting for charity. I am hoping this book would help my daughters and I tap into this wonderful way of giving. Thanks you for an inspiring giveaway.
use to knit for my children but haven’t for some time but now have great grands and would like very much to get motivated again the jacket would be ideal to start and stay knitting.
I would love to knit more items for my family.
This book is perfect. I decided over Memorial weekend to focus more on crafting for charity. In fact I have listed some on my blog and have asked readers to add more. I need this book. I would love to win it but if I do not I think it will be a must buy!!
A wonderful giveaway…thank you! I knit regularly for the Mother Bear Project. Its so much more rewarding to knit for family, friends, or charity than for myself. Come to think of it, I’ve NEVER knitted anything for myself..LOL! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
This book sounds really good. The sweater is oh my gosh cute! Thanks for the chance!
Thanks for a chance to win!:)
hootie364@gmail.com
This book sounds interesting! I think I could do good by, chatting with older knitters in nursing homes and learning from them. Learning their techniques, hearing their stories and making new friends.
I believe that knitting for babies is a wonderful way to give back because those types of items are quick to do so a person could make quite a few in not a lot of time to spread the love around even more.
This sounds like a really cool book!
Knitting for good ideas for me- kniting children’s caps for children in cancer hospitals. Hats for soldiers. And knitting preemie sized clothes for babies in the NICU.
This book sounds wonderful! And I love your sweater and quilt in the picture! Before I learned how to knit, my church got a group of people to knit scarves to give to the homeless in our area one winter. That is a great idea to pass on something to provide physical warmth, as well as warmth for the soul by providing nurture through a handcrafted item!
I am in please! Thanks for a wonderful giveaway!
beautiful book… I know the hospital nearby takes hats for preemie babies, and I know I’ve done a few hats for friends going through chemo! And those are just hats! I’m sure many people could use blankets, and when you factor in fund raising options the possibilities are endless!
Sounds like a great book! I love to knit in the winter and would love to find a local charity to support. I have donated to project Linus. That is going on my to do list this fall to keep me busy this winter and as a way to give back. Thanks!
i want to learn to knit and my soon-to-be-retired mom lives with us (a fabulous knitter!) so i would love a copy of the book for us to share! I think i’d like to someday knit wool longies / diaper covers for charity
I have knit for good for my family, both immediate and extended. I have also knit for my community through creating squares for a local organization that collects and makes them into blankets, as well as to teach students at the college where I teach how to knit so they could do the same. I love teaching others how to knit!
I love to knit to bless other people; it’s that simple! I rarely keep any handknits for myself.
Count me in. I think knitting infant hats would be great!
I’d LOVE to win this. I love to knit, I am addicted to books and doing good just makes this the trifecta 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway!
Just as with my sewing, I find myself hoarding more supplies than I need. Recently I made an entire quilt out of stash fabrics for oh fransson’s quilt along, then donated the quilt to my local Relay for Life chapter for a charity auction. I have more yarn than I want or need, and would like to do something similar with it. There are so many cute patterns out there, especially baby stuff, and I don’t have any babies to knit for. I could donate through a Giving Tree at Christmas. This book looks lovely, thanks so much for a chance at winning.
I have a pattern for baby booties that are so easy to whip up. Seems that would be a good item our local hospital. Thanks for participating in the giveaway!
I love knitting, and one project I have been involved with is making knitted lap blanket-afghans for local nursing homes. My local library sponsored the project!
I’m just learning to knit and would love the inspiration!
I love your sweater!
I think the idea of knitting blankets for underprivileged kids is great.
What a great giveaway! I’ve knitted baby caps for third world countries and would love to have new ideas of ways to help out. I also have a group of ladies at church who like to knit and crochet, so I know we could make a difference.
I’m loving the sweater.
This is a great giveaway. It’s important to share our love of knitting with others. There is so much we can do with our craft. One thing that I love to do is teach someone else how to knit. I try to have an extra pair of needles and yarn with me at all times.
I also believe that the children today also need to learn a craft…too much tv and video games.
I give away most of what I knit away. To homeless shelters and groups. Warm Up America is another of my favorites.
What a darling sweater. I make it a point to knit a sweater and afghan for each of my boys. I’m working on my third set right now. I think that knitting for children can make you a knitter for good. It’s so rewarding!
I love this. In the past, I’ve donated knit hats for cancer patients undergoing chemo and for newborns. I’d love to do more of that!
I knit prayer shalls for my church!
Awesome giveaway!
I am 8. I am learning how to sew. I have been doing some embroidery stitches. My 6 year old brother is learning some too. I hope to be on the machine before the end of summer. There are pictures of both of us sewing together and of our projects on my blog. Further down in previous posts, I also have pictures of my family, mom, dad, 15 month brother and other brother and sister. We homeschool.
I am having a giveaway as well at
http://www.sewingsister.blogspot.com
and so is my mom at http://www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com
A friend of mine learned to knit by working on bandages for lepers. She got really good at the basics!
maxandellie at gmail dot com
I knit prayer shawls for a knitting group I’m in and then one of the ladies finds someone who is in need.(i.e. someone in a nursing home, has cancer, etc…)
Thanks for the chance to win! As for knitting for good, I’m going to knit a few things for my church’s bazaar this year 🙂
I already make baby caps for neonates and occasionally knit or crochet afhan blocks for the homeless. Thanks for sharing the blog — I’ll go take notes. 😉
Linda
What a fantastic giveaway. I have been down on knitting lately (since I got my first sewing machine) but perhaps this book will get me going again!
Great giveaway, and great inspiration! Thanks so much for the chance!
I think squares made from various knitters made into blankets for the homeless are always nice
great giveaway! I am a big crochet person and am teaching myself how to knit. I am in the process of crocheting some soft mice toys to donate to the local animal shelter. They always get overwhelmed with kittens in the spring, and these little babies need some toys and something to snuggle with!
Hi there! I knit blankets for charity… Pregnancy Resource Centers. eventually I hope to expand to infant icu clinics and women’s shelters.
I’d love to have a copy. Very thoughtful and good (heehee) of you.
Good luck everyone!!
Em
I think I’m going to win!
pjjllive(at)gmail(dot)com
Hats for the Homeless..Milwaukee Rescue Mission.
Fantastic giveaway! I would love to make that sweater for my kids.
Thanks for offering a giveaway!
I’m a novice knitter but I’d like to work up some lap blankets for seniors living in nursing homes.
It sounds like such a fantastic book! And what an adorable sweater!!!
Yea, I have finally made it through all the giveaways. The last few day’s I have been a giveawayaholic, I had to see all the new cool blogs. Now I can get back to my normal life as a mother of 4.
I don’t know how to knit but I have always wanted to learn, so maybe if I win this book, I would finally lean and then I could knit for good. I could knit things that make people warm.
Thanks for the giveaway!
knitting for good – kind of a foreign concept for me – most of my attempts at knitting have been ripped out and rewound!
Oh, I’d love a copy of this book! What a great giveaway.
Well, I try for a lot of giveaway books and never win away so maybe it’s finally my lucky day. thanks for doing this drawing. The sweater is very cute by the way. – Jen (phro on ravelry)
I’ve done Knit for Kids several times (and the Oxfam knitting back when I lived in England), and my kid brother’s would-be girlfriend (poor thing, been in love with him for years, and he thinks she’s just a friend) has just promised to turn me on to some teddy bear project.
Great giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win! You can register to win my blog’s giveaway at
http://ratherbecrafting.blogspot.com
I would love this book as I have never made anything for charity. One thing I have done that would be considered knitting for good is reusing yarn from an old sweater to make new things.
I think every knitter I know ‘knits for good’..the good of others, themselves…to provide the world with a bit of warmth and color. Knitting is one of those useful crafts that make the world a more cozy place.
I’m a newbie crocheter, but I’d love to learn how to knit. I’ve crocheted preemie hats for the NICU Da’Gorgeouses were in after their birth, but there are a few knitting patterns I’d love to learn!
Hugs & Blessings!
Wow I would love a copy of the book! Crafting for charity is always a great use of time and skill.
I just learned to knit a few months ago and would love the book and knitting patterns!
that looks like such a great book! thanks for offering it. 🙂
one thing that really appeals to me is the red scarf project.
http://orphan.org/index.php?id=40
this years submission period is from september 1 to december 15, 2009.
thanks so much! 🙂
WOW! thanks! I’d love the book! And that sweater is gorgeous!
great prize. I’d love to win! I’d knit caps for babies in a local crisis nursery in my area.
Knitting scarves & mittons for the christmas tree at my kids school. They donate to kids in need!
I need more knitting patterns! I have been doing the same projects over and over!
I think I need to talk to my sisterin laws mother in law… lol and she was going to show me some basics to knitting. I learned from my mom, but I don’t live near my mom so it’s hard to keep that going.
Thanks for doing this giveaway!
Cassie
cmdoduck(at)gmail(dot)com
Besides charity knitting, I think teaching others to knit is a wonderful way to be a knitter for good. Thank you for the giveaway!
Looks like a really great book, keeping my fingers crossed!
hi!
i currently knit/crochet squares for charity afghans. 🙂
thanks,
Kim
does going to knit with ladies at a nursing home count as knitting for good? i try to do it at least twice a year. the rest of the year, i take all of my unused yarn over to the home so they can have a stash to work from. thanks for the chance to win!
I donate extra yarn to the charity knitting box at my LYS. I am also knitting blanket squares for an afghan which will be auctioned off at Sock Summit, the proceeds to go to Doctors Without Borders. 🙂
what a great book to giveaway. thank you for introducing us to your blog. i am new to knitting and can see this would be a great book to have to be able to do projects for family, friends, and charity. good luck to everyone, have a great day.
heather hutchinson
russoheather@yahoo.com
I would love to read this book for more ideas of what to knit for beginners. Thanks for the chance to read a book I can benefit from.
When I have a chance I knit hat and scarf sets and donate them to the local schools’ Thrift Shops. The sales go to special school projects.