As of this writing, Knit for Food has raised $541,032, more than what we raised last year! Donations will be distributed equally to No Kid Hungry, Meals on Wheels, Feeding America, and World Central Kitchen.
My little team of one raised $305 and based on the number of donors (and, yes, I include myself), I’ll be sending $50 to a local food bank, Second Harvest of the Big Bend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This was an exciting and fun fundraiser during an extremely difficult time for our country. My deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed, either by knitting or donating or both. It just goes to show what we can do when we do it together.
As far as my knitting goes …
Floating Squares Wrap designed by Amy Christoffers at savoryknitting.com
This design plus these yarns …
Rowan Kidsilk Haze
In the above photo, you can see the sample I had started to test the pattern. Then I got serious.
The start of the Floating Squares Wrap.The end of knitting for the day
As you can see from the two photos above, several hours of knitting didn’t get me very far. I consider myself a fast knitter, but the yarn is quite fuzzy and thin. I need to knit slowly otherwise I’ll be dropping stitches.
So … My butt is tired and my fingers are tired, but I’m looking forward to continuing my work on this wrap. And I am just so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful experience. Many thanks to all of you who supported me.
At the end of the day, Wendy signals her desire for food by sitting at attention … and blocking Greg’s view of the TV.
I’ve been remiss in promoting this fundraiser, and now it’s only a week away! On April 11, I will knit for (roughly) 12 hours in support of four major charitable organizations:
In just a few weeks, Knit for Food has raised over $283,000, well within reach of the overall goal of $300,000. Last year we raised OVER $500,000 so my fingers are crossed that we exceed our goal this year.
Please note that 100% of the donations will be shared equally among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
I still have not decided what I’ll be knitting. As it is, I have more knitting projects lined up than there are days in the month so I’ll be able to keep myself busy. That’s not the problem. What I’ve been stymied by is whether to offer a knitted item as a gift in order to encourage donations.
Last year, I gave knitted items to randomly selected donors, and that was fun. Yet, I’ve been feeling I need to do something different this year. So many more people in the U.S. are hurting and struggling this year than last. I want to make more of an impact, even if it is still just a drop in the bucket. So …
Yup, I’m doing this again! If you were following me last year at this time, you might recall that I participated in this fundraiser for the first time.
This year’s fundraiser started a couple of weeks ago, and it has already raised over $87,000, and we still have a few weeks to go.
Last year we raised OVER $500,000, and 100% of the donations will be shared equally among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
The “rules” are very simple: I will knit for about 12 hours on April 11, 2026, buoyed by the support of people like you.
Of course, any cheerleading you can offer will also be greatly appreciated.
I have not yet decided on what I’ll be knitting on April 11, but I’m considering one of Laura Nelkin’s designs. It might well be another one of these:
Me modeling a hooded scarf (designed by Laura Nelkin), knitted during one of Laura’s mystery knit-a-longs.
Or some such variation … Or maybe one or two Red Resistance Hats aka Melt the Ice hats. (The history and pattern for these hats is available here at Needle and Skein.)
A red resistance hat knitted by me.
I’ve knitted three so far, although I made a mistake in the first one so I’m keeping that for myself.
I will pop up now and then as we get closer to April 11, and I will definitely let you all know what I’ll be knitting as soon as I know.
In the meantime, stay safe, find joy where you can, and be a helper if you can.
The day was successful but exhausting. It started with me picking up the beginnings of the watch I was knitting for the Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon ….
… and taking it with me to a Hands Off protest at the state capitol.
And I knitted while standing …
The protest was great. They estimated that over 1,000 people showed up, a huge number for Tallahassee. It was actually FUN. Most of the signs were angry, but the people themselves were good-natured and friendly. Here’s a couple of my favorite signs.
We had lunch with a friend afterward, and I continued to knit.
I kept knitting while my husband drove us home. I kept knitting while he made dinner. I kept knitting while we watched TV. At a few minutes before 10 PM (EDT), I finished.
I still need to block (handwash and air dry) the hat. And I still need to randomly select a winner from my donors.
I will complete the other projects (socks and a scarf) that I’ve written about (Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2025). They will take a lot more than a day to complete.
Thank you all for your support. This was my first fundraiser, and I am so glad I participated. We raised over $500,000 for Meals on Wheels, World Central Kitchen, Feeding America, and No Kid Hungry.
At a time when I often feel helpless, this experience showed me what good can be done when people come together.
The Knit-a-Thon has officially started. And two hours from now, I’ll be at a protest at my state capitol. Here’s more from me:
So my video might be kinda long (about 4 minutes) for WordPress so if you can’t view it … I’m just saying hello and thank you to everyone who has donated to my team of one for the Knit-a-Thon. Here’s more info if you missed it: https://givebutter.com/knitforfood25/marie-bailey/mariebailey
I show my progress on the three projects I’ll be knitting throughout the day. To be honest, not a lot of progress from my last WordPress post so if you can’t view the video, you’re not missing anything really.
You can also find me on Instagram (@marieannbailey57) and Facebook (https://facebook.com/marieannbailey). I HOPE to post pics during the day.
Again, many thanks to everyone who donated. I am planning on having a giveaway of one or all of my projects for those who donated. [The finished project has to pass my standards first.]
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m participating in a Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon on Saturday, April 5. The fundraiser will divide donations equally among four organizations: Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels. If you’re interested in donating, here’s the link: Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2025.
I’m a bit nervous since this will be my first time participating. I’m supposed to knit for 12 hours, generally 10 AM to 10 PM. It’s a honor system but, trust me, knitting for 12 hours is nothing to a lifelong knitter.
BUT.
April 5 is also the day when rallies are planned across the nation. You can learn more about that here. My husband wants to go. Two of our friends want to go. I should go. But I also committed myself to knit for charity.
So I’ve come up with three knitting projects so I can knit according to my environment. (Apologies for the poor quality of the photos. I have a learning curve when it comes other photographing indoors.)
The beginning of a watch cap in light olive.
The simplest project will be a watch cap in an overall knit 2, purl 2 rib. I’m using a design by Sandi Rosner, a knitter who also writes on Substack at A Good Yarn. [If you’re a knitter and a lover of books including audiobooks, I highly recommend Sandi’s newsletter. All her posts are free but I have a paid subscription because she offers detailed yarn reviews.] This is the kind of project I can easily do while distracted … like at a rally. Yes, I can knit standing up and no doubt I’ll probably squeeze in a few stitches while walking.
Multi-colored yarn that will be knit into a pair of socks.
The fabric in the photo above is what knitters call a swatch: usually a 6″x 6″ square knitted in either stockinette or a specific pattern with your preferred yarn and needles. The point of the swatch is to measure the number of stitches and rows per inch, or the gauge, and see if the results match the gauge of the pattern. I am the sort of knitter who tries to get around swatching, but in cases where fit is very important–for example, a sweater or a pair of socks–swatching is necessary. I haven’t measured the gauge of this piece yet, but I suspect it will tell me that I will need to use size 1 needles to knit the socks I have in mind.
The sock pattern is a simple rib stitch pattern, but with #1 needles and multicolored yarn, I need to pay attention to what I’m doing. I can watch TV more or less but I wouldn’t be comfortable taking this project to the rally. I have to be alert to any possible dropped stitches which, for me, are easy to miss when I’m knitting on such small needles.
Just the tip of the iceberg that might become a shawl … or a scarf
My third project is a Pines and Needles Shawl. You can see some versions of the shawl here: Pines and Needles Shawl by Sweaterfreak. Now I didn’t knit a swatch for the shawl, but I did experiment with three different needle sizes before I decided on one that seemed to suit the yarn best. The thing, I’m not using yarn recommended by the designer. The yarn I’m using is finger-weight yarn, or yarn usually used for knitting socks, which is finer than the recommended yarn. So … I’m using a finer yarn and smallish needles (#3) which means I’ll likely wind up with a Pines and Needles scarf. I think I can live with that.
This project requires me to pay close attention. I’ve already had to rip out (or frog in knitters’ parlance) and start that little triangle over several times. Not the kind of project that I’d want to take to a rally.
So, there we are … or here I am. I am excited about knitting all day on April 5 and for a good cause, not just my own selfish pleasure in knitting. Meanwhile, evenings are getting warmer here in north Florida so Raji’s snuggling might soon come to an end, at least for the summer.
Friends, I thought long and hard about this. This morning, I decided that it’s something I simply have to do. I’ve signed up to knit for 12 hours on April 5, 2025, to raise funds for Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
Many of you know that knitting is my “happy place.” I can do other things like weave or write, but my deepest intrinsic satisfaction always comes with knitting. And that’s one reason why I haven’t been blogging very much. I’ve been knitting. Recently I completed the Elvan shawl that I wrote about here.
The first photo of the Elvan Shawl is from the designer, Florence Spurling. The others are my own photos showing more detail of the intarsia patterns. Generally, it was fun to knit, and the yarn was wonderful to work with.
After these photos were taken, I sent the shawl to a friend. This particular friend was someone I knew from high school, someone I had lost touch with until a few years ago when I heard that her mother had died from Covid. And then a couple of years later, she was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, she’s gone through her treatments and (so far, so good) has been doing well. I thought of her often while I was knitting the shawl, thinking of how sweet the soft wool yarn would feel against her skin.
She wrote to me when she received the shawl. She wrote all the words that makes a knitter’s heart sing.
And so I keep knitting.
For the Knit-a-Thon, I’m planning to knit socks. I have quite a stash of sock yarn, and socks can be done quickly. Plus, who doesn’t need socks?!
I’ve been finding a lot of ways to avoid writing. Firstly, I challenged myself with a new-to-me method of knitting. Well, not entirely new to me as I had knitted “top-down” sweater patterns before, but those patterns always resulted in raglan sleeves … you know, the ones with a diagonal seam from armpit to collar. Not the best design for someone with a pear-shaped figure like myself. This new-to-me method, designed by Julie of Cocoknits, has a tailored yoke and pattern variations for different body types.
Are you all still with me?
I bought the Cocoknits sweater book and workbook and even a work stand (which I haven’t yet used but it came with a nice hemp bag that I could put all my tools in so that was handy). I do have some issues with the book as it was written in a narrative style, and I spent a lot of time flipping pages to figure out what to do when. I also had three false starts (meaning I started knitting and then had to rip out and start again because I misunderstand the instructions). Eventually, I also realized that it would be best to use the stash yarn that’s been wallowing in my cedar chest for the past 20 years. If the sweater is a failure, no great loss then.
And I persevered … much better than I do with my writing. For some reason, I rarely, if ever, give up on my knitting. Following is the result of my labor. Yes, this is a selfie. I do NOT enjoy taking selfies but my husband was busy and I just wanted to get it over with. The “pose” is simply to show a sleeve, not my hair, but … whatever.
Me wearing Prototype 1 of Cocoknits Emma Version B, posed to show sleeve
As if that were not enough to distract me from writing, I decided to weave potholders. Yes, you read that right. Potholders.
Many, many years ago, long before I moved to California, I learned to spin yarn and weave at a college I briefly attended. I fell in love with both activities and when it was time for me to pay tuition for the Spring semester, I decided instead to buy a 4-harness floor loom and move back home. The loom I bought is similar to the one below, but mine had four treadles instead of six.
Four harness, six treadle floor loom from Harrisville Designs.
I wove a few things, dragged the loom across the country with me, wove a couple of more things, then sold my loom to a friend when I moved into a studio apartment that simply didn’t have enough room for it. Since then, I’ve wanted to resume weaving, but haven’t felt like I have the space for it or the dinero. And now I feel totally out of touch with weaving.
I subscribe to a magazine called Little Looms which promotes weaving on small, even tiny, looms. A recent issue had an article on weaving potholders. I know I wove potholders when I was a kid, but my memories are vague. That said, I was hooked (no pun intended) by the article. I promptly ordered a potholder kit from Friendly Looms (which just happens to be affiliated with Harrisville Designs, the company from which I bought my floor loom all those years ago). Of course, I also had to buy a pattern book. Of course.
Wendy wondering what all this has to do with her.
Here’s my first potholder.
After I shared these photos on Facebook, two of my relatives asked me to make a couple for them. Cool.
Weaving potholders is a meditative practice. It also doesn’t take long to make one. It’s almost instant gratification compared to knitting a sweater.
But, in truth, I have been writing. I joined a group in the SmokeLong Fitness Community and have written a bit. I want to share what I’ve written here. I just need to figure out how I want to do that.
And if you’ve read this far … here’s your gratuitous cat photo.
My little boy Raji loves snuggling up to my big boy Junior.
Nothing. Yes, dear Reader, I got almost nothing for this post today. I have been fairly productive of late, but not with writing or blogging. Again, it’s the knitting.
A friend noted that the buttons on the baby sweater I knitted for a baby-to-be might not be appropriate for a baby.
Yes, they are cute cat heads but the ears are rather pointy, not too sharp against my rough old skin, but I don’t want to the buttons to be the cause of baby’s first injury. So I swap them out for these.
And, to be honest, I think these buttons are better suited. They are pretty without drawing the eye entirely away from the sweater pattern.
I hope to present the parents-to-be with the sweater and hat tonight. I’m sure they will be pleased that at least the outfit can be machine washed and dried, and yet it is wool. Merino wool, in fact, which is very soft.
Well, that’s it for now. I’m thinking (again) of changing my blogging schedule. If I aim for Fridays, then I can have all week to write and revise my posts instead of doing them half-off as I am now. We’ll see.
Oh, and what about the classes I’m taking? Well, the Modern Poetry class is a no-go for me. It’s too fragmented: too many links to follow, an audio here, a video there. Each week brings an email (or two) with several embedded links. In contrast, a class I started a long while ago (on a lark), through the same platform (Coursera) has a very simple syllabus, with all content accessible through my iPad app. The course is historical fiction and very interesting so far. I can (and have) happily watched a video lecture while knitting. I’ll say more about that class in a later post. I’m still looking forward (with eagerness and dread) to the Fiction Workshop that will be offered free through the International Writing Program. That will start on Thursday, September 24. And, no doubt, you’ll hear all about that as well.
Until then a little eye candy for all you cat lovers: my green-eyed boy Junior. Why buy a fancy cat bed when an old basket and a couple of magazines make him happy?
Marie at 1 Write Way 