This spring I coordinated with Sandra-Ann Nolfo of Sacred Heart University for her graduate thesis. Sandra-Ann's thesis was focused on managing a community volunteer project. She spearheaded the efforts to get knitters and crocheters together to make blankets for the Warm Up America project. I'm glad I participated as I continue to make the 7x9 swatches whenever I am inbetween projects and don't want to get stuck on the train with idle hands.
Below is a lenghthy dissertation I submitted to Sandra-Ann as part of her project. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I highly recommend volunteer knitting. I find it's a nice balance to my personal projects, designs and gift knitting.
Happy knitting!
WHY DO I VOLUNTEER?
I feel it’s extremely important to give something back to the community in some manner – whether it’s a donation of time, talent, or cash. Everyone can participate in some way, shape or form. I have always been reminded of the old adage “To whom much is given, much is to be expected.” Whether we’re blessed with talents, health, freedom, wealth or other, I feel it’s important to share. I also know that we reap far greater benefits by helping others than the recipients often do. This is critical, in my viewpoint, to our own physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. On a less philosophical note, I think that volunteering is a perfect way to meet new people who might not otherwise cross our paths. Sandra – I never would have met you if not for your college thesis project!
WARM UP AMERICA – My Approach
Getting Started
I started before I even received Sandra’s brief. I went online and found out some information about the project at http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html. I have tons of leftover yarn, so I started to use it up. I set aside the squares I made, and will probably continue to make squares semi-regularly and donate the finished additional blanket at a future date to another organization under the Warm Up America name.
The Knitter’s Stash
Background – Every knitter has an overflowing stash of yarn (both new and old) that he/she just can’t bear to part with. Mine is quickly beginning to take over entire sections of my house! For example, I have about a half dozen large plastic storage bins in the garage solely dedicated to future projects. In my sitting room (which, by the way is ONLY used for my knitting bee – so I’m considering renaming it “my knitting room”) has bags and bags of semi-finished, current, near term projects, remnants and supplies. If piled correctly, this stash is not visible to visitors to my home, thereby giving me the appearance of a “perfectly neat and orderly homemaker.” HA! Only my housekeeper and fellow knitter bee colleagues know the truth of the mess hiding behind my sofa. I’m even considering buying a credenza or shelves to properly store my stash in the Knitting Room.
And that’s not all… In my bedroom, hidden behind the headboard of my sleigh bed, is yet another stash. This stash includes the projects that are somewhat forgotten. I haven’t yet lost complete hope on them. I’ve just lost interest in them for the time being.
If these stories are somewhat alarming, have no fear. Rest assured that every avid knitter out there has a similar hidden stash somewhere.
Why do I tell you all of this? Why would it possibly be relevant to this charity project? Well, the answer is simple. The Warm Up America charity project gives me the perfect opportunity to use my leftover yarn and clean up my stash. This is the ideal win-win situation for the whole family!
Daily Commute to New York
Another reason I like this particular charity project is because I work in New York City and spend over 2 hours each day on the train. I use this time to knit. When I don’t have a specific project to work on, I can always grab my “Warm Up America" 7x9 template, a skein of yarn and needles and happily knit my way to work. Generally, I can knit about 2 squares during the day’s commute. I just hate to sit still on the train and waste that precious time. This way I can do something productive, relaxing and best of all – do a good deed!
LESSONS LEARNED
Figuring Out the Pattern – Repeating Patterns Various Times
It always takes a couple tries (or false starts) to get the 7x9 swatch started. You have to make a small sample first to determine the correct gauge and number of stitches. Then, when you actually start to knit (thinking your swatch will be exactly 7 inches wide), you soon discover after knitting a few inches, that your swatch is really only 6 inches wide. So you rip out and start over. This is very frustrating. It’s also very time consuming. I found it easiest to figure out the pattern once (determine the proper size needle and number of stitches) and then knit 3-4 squares using that same pattern. Since our blanket has 3 main colors, I could repeat my favorite patterns in other colors 3-4 times as well. This saved me numerous hours.
Larger Knitting Needles
Another time saver I discovered was to use larger needles than called for in the original pattern. The Warm Up America website called for size 7 needles. I found this to be too small of a needle and too tight (and thus, too stiff). I often jumped up to a size 9 or 10 needle to make a quicker, softer and easier knit swatch. A knit square with a size 7 needle took me about 90 minutes whereas a square with size 10 needles only took me about 50 minutes. That is a big time saver! I could finish 2½ squares just on the train with a simple pattern and a larger needle.
Personal Benefit – Learning New Stitches
Another personal benefit I got out of this project is that I took advantage of the small swatches to practice new stitches that I wanted to learn but have never really dedicated an entire sweater to. The Warm Up America swatches allowed me to learn some new skills on “practice yarn” on a small basis as part of a larger overall project.
Another Plus – Teaching Others to Knit
Yet another personal benefit I got out of this project is that I used the swatches as a perfect platform for teaching others to knit.
Nice work using your train ride time so well!
Posted by: claudia | Tuesday, July 27, 2004 at 22:26