Crafty librarians from across the country caught up at SLA's Centennial Conference in Washington DC to meet, swap,and donate knitted and crochet squares for a blanket to be donated to charity. 2009 marked the second "Needle Network" meeting - an informal event (not sponsored by SLA)that brought crafters together for fun and charity. In 2008, the group donated several bags of yarn and supplies to a Seattle knitting shop that worked with families in transition. The 2009 project required participants to knit or crochet 7x9" rectangles that will be joined to form a blanket. The blanket will be donated to "Warm Up America," a non-profit rganization that donates blankets and accessories to people who have lost their homes, fled abusive relations, or are being cared for in hospices, shelters, hospitals and nursing homes. One adult blanket requires 49 squares and our group donated enough to make a full sized blanket plus a baby afghan!
Organizer Debbie Hartzman, of the Southern California Chapter, has taken on the task of joining the squares and sending the items to the charity.
As a bonus, those who wished brought a hand-crafted bag of
their choice to trade and swap. Members showed their
creativity and bags were not limited to knit or crochet
items. Among the selections were a creatively knitted
bag made from recycled grocery bags (great for wet bathing
suits!), a beautifully sewn wristlet with key pocket, a
needle felted eyeglass case, a strawberry mesh grocery bag
and a velvet evening bag. The swapping involved much
hilarity and admiration of everyone's creations.
The project provided a fun interlude in the busy
conference, and we hope to do it again next year.
The Southern California Chapter of the Special Libraries Association is a group of individuals and organizations who have a professional, scientific or technical interest in library and information science... Learn more at http://southerncalifornia.sla.org
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