A scrapbook of finished-project highlights

NB:  Our very own pattern book, StringThing Theory.

Community Service

These group projects were inspired by needs in our neighborhood and causes close to our hearts. We started with a Brick Wall blanket for a hospital patient followed by a group project for Habitat for Humanity – blanket(s) and kitchen items.  We also did a super-cute blanket for a raffle benefiting the animal shelter (but I failed to get a photo, alas.)

We made baby hats for a hospital charity as part of our Hat Attack game, PURPLE baby hats to support parent education about shaken-baby syndrome, and hats for a cancer support center.

We have so many great opportunities to use our knitting skills for Good and Right!  So we did an Awesome SurveyMonkeySurvey to see what kinds of things the group most wanted to work on.

Celebrations and Games

We’ve had some crazy fun with off-season (and on-season) holidays, as well as celebrating the annual World Wide Knit in Public Day. We also celebrate our group birthday each fall, and look for silly opportunities to do white-elephant gift swaps.

• StringThing turns 1: eats cheerios; can toddle capably; loves to wave hello
• StringThing turns 2: eats animal crackers; favorite words are NO and MINE, needs a nap
• StringThing turns 3: alternately loves cheese and refuses to eat cheese; asks Why; makes messy art
• Christmas in July/Hat Attack
• Killer Rabbit
• Biological Warfare!
  
• Holiday ornament swaps

Field Trips

Our very first field trip was literally to a field… for a sheep shearing! We’re regular fans of the annual Stitch-N-Pitch Bulls’ Game, and go on spontaneous trips to various yarn stores out of town (including a Train Trip to Greensboro), Corn Maze expeditions, trips to the beach, and to local fiber festivals. We even did a retreat to Ashville. Not to mention various hilarious bar nights and movie nights…

Workshops, Teach-ins, and Knit-Alongs

Our shared knowledge is vast, and we love learning new things! Often it’s just helping the person next to you, but sometimes we get organized: Squirrel-Along; Cast off – from Best of the Sock Summit; Tatting Day; First-Sock Support Group; Crochet Days; A Good Day to Dye / Dye Another Day; Drop Spindle Days, and Knit-alongs for Fair Isle, lace, and entrelac.   We even did an Easter Sunday Basket-Along! But nothing quite compares to the Makers’ Faire 12-hour demo marathon.  Stringthings hosted a booth on spinning and weaving, with an audience of  – literally – thousands, over an entire day.  Props to the Makers of the Makers’ Fair, who did a really amazing job organizing the whole thing.

Other Genius Plans

We’ve done a lot of neat stuff that doesn’t fit in any obvious category. We’ve had a booth at Centerfest for two years in a row. We hold annual group yard sales as fundraisers for various projects, too – the first one, to help purchase equipment for a local fiber arts workshop, and the second to help send a representative to the amazing Sock Summit conference in California. We even helped make a giant crochet installation art piece (went on display in Atlanta, GA).