Some members of the Bitch n Stitch group that meet at my LYS have formed a group called "Knitters for Critters" to raise money for organizations cleaning up the San Francisco Bay oil spill that occurred earlier this month. Here is the first post from our website, Knitters4Critters. Please visit the website for links, where to donate, and photos to come of our ornaments and the exciting yarn goodie basket that you can enter to win with a ticket for each $25 donated to one of our four organizations.
Knitters are all about seeing
connections. Maybe it’s because we are so into figuring out how to take
a strand of fiber and make it into something beautiful. We who knit
want to make connections to those who are doing such great work on our
behalf in response to the oil spill that occurred earlier this month.
Therefore, we are delighted to announce the launch of the Knitters for Critters Project in response to the San Francisco Bay Oil Spill that occurred earlier this month.
This
project is both by and for knitters, but non-knitters can support the
project through purchasing. We are delighted to have the support of
Warren Agee and Marin Fiber Arts in San Rafael!
Knitted Ornaments
Knitters
for Critters is focusing this week on knitting the ornament pattern
from the Holiday issue of Vogue Knitting – it’s essentially a knitted
tube that can go over a Styrofoam ball. It would be better to make the
smaller sizes, especially the two-inch size, given the cost of the
Styrofoam balls.
Please bring your contribution by Friday, Nov 23rd, 12 noon to Marin Fiber Arts.
These ornaments will be sold this coming Friday from 4 – 8 pm at the Marin Fiber Arts booth at San Rafael’s annual Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland in downtown San Rafael. Look for the Marin Fiber Arts booth!
What we need:
- A total of about 50-75 knitting ornaments, initially
- A donation of a “tree” (about 3 feet tall) that we can put the ornaments on
- Help in putting together the balls on Friday morning and early afternoon at Marin Fiber Arts
- Assistance in selling the ornaments at the Winter Wonderland on Friday, November 23rd.
Yarn Basket Drawing
Contribute by December 14th—midnight!
Our
knitters and Marin Fiber Arts are together putting up their stash and
tools for a wonderful drawing for a basket of yummy stuff, just in time
for you to have wonderful stuff to knit during the holiday time. Photo
of the basket will be coming soon! We invite you to make a donation to
one of the three organizations assisting locally in the clean-up listed
below. We will have a drawing on Saturday, December 15th . For every
$25 you donate, you will get one slip in the drawing itself.:
To participate in the drawing, click on the organization, make your donation directly to the organization, then send an email to "knittersforcritters@yahoo.com" with:
1. your name
2. your city (we’d like to be able to know where the donations are coming from)
3. how much you donated (so we can track the donations as a whole, and put in the correct number of slips into the big drawing).
Charities we are supporting!
Wildcare
Wildcare
is one of the key organizations that has accepted and treated oiled
birds found on the beaches, and a proud member of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) They provide immediate treatment of birds, and transportation to the regional hospital for further treatment.
Baykeeper
Baykeeper’s
boats have been on the Bay surveying the impacts of the spill and
reporting back key information about the clean-up, both positive and
negative, keeping the pressure up on those responsible for mitigation.
They are posting reports on their website about volunteer
opportunities, and will be on the job for the coming months to survey
the damage and provide information for responders.
Golden Gate Parks Conservancy
The
Golden Gate National Recreation Area north of the Golden Gate bridge
was one of the most heavily impacted areas. The Parks conservancy is a
non-profit that will be monitoring the impact of the spill in the weeks
and months to come.
International Bird Rescue Research Center
Located
in Cordelia, IBRRC is set up to treat, maintain, and release oiled
birds, particularly water birds, which were most affected by the spill.
News about the spill
To see updated information about the oil spill's impact on the coastal beaches and wildlife, please visit the Marine Mammal Center's news page.
