If there is one week in the year that inspires a new generation of knitters, it's got to be National Knitting Week!
Knitting magazine launched this annual week of celebration in October 2005 - so if you have missed out, now's your chance to join in!
Stitch ‘n’ Bliss
WOW! Where has the year gone? National Knitting Week (NKW) has once again crept up on us and it’s time to get those needles at the ready to join in the fun. Following on from the huge success of last year’s NKW, where many of you joined in and helped Knitting raise nearly £10,000 for Bliss - the special care baby charity, this year, with your help, we are going to continue our support.
The Bliss Family Support Helpline
Last year your donations went directly to help support the Bliss Family Support Helpline.One of the most basic needs people have during stressful times is to be able to talk to someone about their problems. The Bliss Helpline (0500 618 140) is a national Freephone Helpline that offers advice and support to families and friends of anyone with a baby who is in, or has been in, neonatal care. As this helpline continues to thrive, Simon Crowson (partnership manager Bliss), has decided this year your money will be used to help cover the distribution costs of 40,000 Going Home Packs.
Knit 1 - Pass it on
And here's how we are going to do it
Knit 1 – Pass it on is a new national campaign launched by the Crafts Council in partnership with the UK Hand Knitting Association. The aim is simple: to support at least one other person (child or adult) to learn how to knit or crochet. All you need to do is pass on your knitting skills! Depending on the age and ability of the person you are teaching, this could be finger knitting or the basic knitting or crochet stitch, progressing to casting on and plain or purl knitting. The main thing is conveying the pleasures of yarn crafting and having some fun!
To kick start this exciting new campaign, Knit 1 – Pass it on, why not get sponsored for your efforts and raise more money for Bliss? This could be done as an individual or a group. All you will need is a handful of willing students, who have so far slipped through the knitting net (yes apparently they do exist) and pass on your skills!
Click here for more information from the latest issue of Knitting Magazine: 
Going Home Packs
When babies spend days, weeks or even months in hospital, parents come to rely heavily on the doctors and nurses who care for their child. The unit becomes almost a second home to them, and when the time comes for their baby to leave, it is natural for many to feel anxious and alone. This is why Bliss has launched the new Going Home Pack – to help families through the next big step in their babies’ lives. Supported by Fairy Non Bio and Pampers, the pack contains discount vouchers and a range of newly updated Bliss booklets covering many of the aspects involved with taking a baby home from a neonatal unit. www.bliss.org.uk
The sponsor form can be downloaded from here or www.ukhandknitting.com. Alternatively send an A4 SAE to us here at: NKW Sponsorship Form, Knitting magazine, 86 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XN.
Please make all cheques payable to Bliss.
And finally, this is just one idea, please don’t forget to carry on with all the usual (and unusual) events which have helped raise so much money in the past!
To register your event, visit click here and find an event near you.
