Nicky Epstein is one of the most popular knitwear designers to have ever graced the planet.
Check out her website: Nicky Epstein
If you are already a fan of Nicky Epstein,
you are going to be thrilled with
Knitting a Kiss In Every  Stitch:
Creating Gifts for the People You Love
And, if you weren’t a fan before,
you most certainly will be
after you see this lovely,
delight filled treasure of a book.
This is a book that is
all about love:
The love of knitting,
the love of great, and inspiring
designs, and the pleasures of  putting love into action by making wonderful gifts.
It’s a beautiful book, built on an excellent …read more

In March, I ran 3 contests on Hankering for Yarn.
One of the contests was the Compassionate Crochet contest.
The winner of that contest, Barbara Pretzsch, has proved herself
to be a winner in more ways than one!
Barbara has used the kit that she won to create a whole collection
of compassion caps and has shipped them off to the Knots of Love folks
so they can distribute them to cancer patients.
Bless your heart, Barbara, and thank you!

Okay… now, here is an invitation that is hard to resist….
The invitation is  from Luib na Lùban, (Lùban air an Drochaid in Gaelic, pronounced, roughly, “Loooban er n drawkitch”),
which translates to: In Amongst the Stitches.
They are  a new textile art group in Skye, Scotland, that is inviting all Scots, ex-pats, Scotophiles and any other stitching folk  to take part in a wild and woolie project to cover the Skye Bridge in knitting and crochet.
On their Ravelry page, they have listed the dimensions of all the pieces that they need. (They need a lot, and don’t worry, the pieces won’t be …read more

Last week, I announced a contest for  compassionate crocheters
There were 44 entries and I was deeply touched by all of them.
This morning, I asked my husband to pick a number between 1        and 44. He chose ‘20′, which is Barbara Pretsch.
Congratulations, Barbara! I will be sending you an email, requesting your mailing address so that Laurel Hill and Knots of Love can get in touch with you to mail you the compassionate  crochet kit for a chemo cap!
Thank you so much to all the other compassionate crocheters   who responded to this contest!
original drawing by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I just posted about the  crocheted compassion cap Knots of Love kit  that Laurel Hill is kindly donating to one of the  readers of Hankering for Yarn.
And, now I am pleased to offer a second contest, courtesy of
Knots of Love and Laurel Hill.
This contest is for a compassionate knitter.
The prize is one of Laurel Hill’s
knitted compassion cap kits
How do you win?
Simple, post a comment, telling me to  whom you would donate  the compassion cap that you will knit from this kit.
The contest begins now and closes on March 17th.
It is open to citizens of Canada and the United States.
(image …read more

Some kinds of synchronicity are really neat. Others are more poignant.

I received a note the other day from Christine Shively at Knots of Love,  telling me about the chemo cap kits that they are now working with Laurel Hill to create.
‘Great!’, I thought, knowing how many people’s lives are being radically altered by cancer in their family or among their friends.
Then, a few days later, I received a note from a dear friend, saying that she is now facing the challenges of cancer. 

I immediately went into prayer, visualization, breath work and healing imagery mode for her.
Her family and …read more

One thing that rings true for many of us crafty people is that we’re giving. Maybe it’s because there’s no way we can use all of the things we make, so we’re happy to gift others!
If you want to gift something and feel good about it, too, consider charities. There are many different charities that need handcrafted items. I usually choose a charity at the beginning of the year and make items throughout. I try and switch it up each year so that I can help different ones.
Baby items are always a hit because they’re small and you can whip …read more

Here is the link for the pattern for the earflap style baby cap that I designed for the Knit One, Save One campaign for the Save the children fund:  Baby Cap
Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Have you heard about The Mother Bear Project?

About Mother Bear
The Mother Bear Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears. 
The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children who have nearly nothing in the world with the message that they are loved by someone halfway around the world.
The response has been overwhelming, with people wanting to help from all over …read more