Category Archives: charity

YARN SWAP April 15th

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NEXT SWAP: SUNDAY APRIL 15, 1-3 pm

$15 – Proceeds go to the Red Door Women’s Shelter

It’s that time of year again … time to tidy up your yarn stash and purge the stuff you’re never going to use. That’s right, you can bring us your shame and leave your guilt in our yarn swap bins with the assurance that the yarn that didn’t work out for you will have a second (or third, or fourth) life in a new home.
What do you do at a swap? Bring in the yarn and needles you don’t want and take home whatever you like from our swap bins. The leftovers are donated to charities, and don’t be embarrassed by the quality of the yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, West Toronto Support Services, and Gilda’s Club, most of whom prefer acrylic!
If you want to donate but can’t make the date please feel free to drop it by when we are open, sealed up in a plastic bag. The only yarn we can’t accept is anything that is strongly scented (cigarette smoke or perfume). We are also a drop-off point for Street Knit and Knitted Knockers of Canada.
  • $15 to participate in the swap (proceeds go to the Red Door Women’s Shelter)
  • Drop-in, no need to sign up
  • Everyone is welcome, all skill levels
  • Location: 1382 Bathurst St, Toronto ON
  • In-Store only, NOT ONLINE

YARN SWAP Jan 28

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Yarn Swap

Sunday, January 28, 1 to 3 pm

It’s that time of year again … time to tidy up your yarn stash and purge the stuff you’re never going to use. That’s right, you can bring us your shame and leave your guilt in our yarn swap bins with the assurance that the yarn that didn’t work out for you will have a second (or third, or fourth) life in a new home. And while you are here you can also drop off your knitted donations for Street Knit and Knitted Knockers of Canada!

What Is A Yarn Swap?

What do you do at a swap? Bring in the yarn and needles you don’t want and take home whatever you like from our swap bins.

Leftovers Go To Charity

The leftovers are donated to charities, and don’t be embarrassed by the quality of the yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, West Toronto Support Services, and Gilda’s Club, most of whom prefer acrylic!

Donate Any Time

If you want to donate but can’t make the date please feel free to drop it by when we are open, sealed up in a plastic bag. The only yarn we can’t accept is anything that is strongly scented (cigarette smoke or perfume). We are also a drop-off point for Street Knit and Knitted Knockers of Canada.

The Rules

Yarn swap is a congenial, collective, happy event. We gently remind our swappers to play nicely in the yarn boxes:

  • Be Kind
  • Be Gentle
  • Share
  • Don’t Grab
  • Don’t Hoard
  • Don’t bring anything that smells of cigarette smoke (it is unfortunately destined for the garbage).

This is a FREE drop-in event, you do not need to register, just show up!

YARN SWAP Sunday Oct 22

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Yarn Swap Sign

Yarn Swap

Sunday, October 22, 1 to 3 pm

It’s that time of year again … time to tidy up your yarn stash and purge the stuff you’re never going to use. That’s right, you can bring us your shame and leave your guilt in our yarn swap bins with the assurance that the yarn that didn’t work out for you will have a second (or third, or fourth) life in a new home.
What do you do at a swap? Bring in the yarn and needles you don’t want and take home whatever you like from our swap bins. The leftovers are donated to charities, and don’t be embarrassed by the quality of the yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, West Toronto Support Services, and Gilda’s Club, most of whom prefer acrylic!
If you want to donate but can’t make the date please feel free to drop it by when we are open, sealed up in a plastic bag. The only yarn we can’t accept is anything that is strongly scented (cigarette smoke or perfume). We are also a drop-off point for Street Knit and Knitted Knockers of Canada.
This is a FREE drop-in event, you do not need to register

Knitted Knockers!

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Knit-O-Matic is now an official drop-off location for Knitted Knockers of Canada!

Knitted Knockers are special handmade breast prosthesis for women who have undergone mastectomies or other procedures to the breast. These special handmade prostheses are knit with love by wonderful volunteers and are available to women who find traditional breast prosthetics too expensive, heavy, sweaty, and uncomfortable. They are made of Cascade Ultra Pima cotton yarn to be non-irritating. They are mailed to those who need them free of charge.

How Can You Help? Buy a skein of Cascade Ultra Pima, get the pattern from the Knitted Knockers of Canada website, and knit 2 or 3 knockers. Once made, bring them back to us. Or, if you don’t want to knit, buy a skein of yarn and donate that – volunteers will do the knitting for you! Easy Peasy!

 

 

Sixteen Bags Full!

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Many thanks to everyone who came and/or donated to our yarn swap in October! It was literally an embarrassment of riches – we collected about eleven bags of yarn and hand knits for StreetKnit, three bags for West Toronto Support Services, and another bag for “A Good Yarn” of  Sir John A MacDonald CI (they especially appreciated the needles). When the ladies from StreetKnit (above) left their car was FULL.

If you want to make a donation of yarn, needles or hand knits but can’t make it to one of our swaps please feel free to bring it to the store in a sealed plastic bag any time we are open.

Our next swap is Sunday January 22, 2017, 1-3pm.

We’ve Got Heart (+Freebie)

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Heart & Stroke Becel Ride for Heart 2015: freezing rain was abundant, as were port-o-potties.

You may or may not know that we at Knit-O-Matic support a few yarn related charities (Street Knit, Silver Circle West Toronto Services for Seniors, Gilda’s Club). We also donate to other more conventional charitable organizations that are important to us and our families and friends, like Plan Canada, the Hospital for Sick Children, Sistering, The Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, etc. Our most important commitment is the Heart and Stroke Becel Ride for Heart.

Every spring my father and I join the Ride for Heart.  We get up before dawn and go for a 50km (31 miles) ride up & down a highway (it takes about 3 hours), we have a snack, and then I go to work. The fundraising aside, it’s actually a very satisfying endeavour (by the time I reach the top of the hill I’m REALLY ready for the coast downhill).

Anyway, the ride is to raise money for the Heart and Stoke Foundation. Heart and Stroke does a lot of really important work which benefits almost all of us (unless you’ve got some of those anomalous centarian genes). They fund research into heart disease and stroke, they educate the public about important cardiovascular related health issues, and they fund programs for people who have had cardiac events (strokes, heart surgery, heart attack, etc). to improve their recovery and their longevity. My father has heart disease, he’s had a few angioplasties and has 4 stents in his heart.  He’s in one of the aforementioned programs and it’s made a significant difference and moving forward he’ll hopefully never need anything drastic, like bypass surgery.

We’re all vulnerable, everyone has a heart, and none of us have lived a life of immaculately healthy eating and exercise. Some people have a genetic predisposition for heart disease, others love pizza, and some of us possess both of these qualities (in spades). Please support my ride for heart, you’ll be contributing for yourself and your family and friends (plus the donation is tax-deductible, you’ll get the receipt immediately and your money goes directly to the charity).

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Yarn Swap This Sunday

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Just a reminder, the Yarn Swap cometh!

When: Sunday February 7th, 1 to 3pm

Where: Knit-O-Matic, 1382 Bathurst St, Toronto ON Canada

A yarn swap is a big eco-friendly redistribution of yarn, needles and other craft supplies. Bring in the crafty stuff you never want to see again and deposit it in one of our baskets. Poke around at all the other donations and take home whatever you want from the baskets. Don’t be embarrassed by the quality of yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, Sistering, Silver Circle Seniors Services, and Gilda’s Club, most of whom prefer acrylic!

P.S.
I spent a little time tonight bagging (zilpoc bags from the dollar store are my best friends), labelling, and ruthlessly weeding my stash. The first bucket is already full – treasures abound!

Knitting Event at Textile Museum: 1000 Stitches

FYI, Knitting event at the Textile Museum of Canada (located in Toronto) ….

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1000 STITCHES: Welcoming Syrian Refugees Through the Arts of Wool and Yarn

Date: Wednesday February 17, 2016
Time: 5:30 – 7:30
Location: Textile Museum of Canada

The Textile Museum of Canada is pleased to assist in the effort of 1,000 Stitches for Syria (1000stitches.org), welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada with the gift of handmade items to provide warmth and comfort. The organization welcomes handmade hats, mitts, cowls, toys, slippers and blankets, all distributed directly to incoming refugees through COSTI immigration services in Toronto.

Join us for an evening of knitting and sewing! If you can’t knit or stitch, join us to hear various presentations – an update on the Syrian situation, an update on Syrian settlement in Toronto and the distribution of knitted items from a representative of COSTI, a demonstration of Syrian needlework as well as the lovely musical tones of the oud.

If you have unused balls of yarn, feel free to drop them off at the Textile Museum of Canada before February 17th for others to stitch. Already finished items can be dropped off at the Museum at any time. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, please contact info@1000stitches.org

First donations!


We’ve received our first donation for 1000 Stitches for Syria. A big Thank You to Hilary Snow for your hard work (5 hats in two days!), you’re awesome!  The official deadline is Jan 31, 2016, but the first pick up is December 15th. They need 200 items to distribute to the first group of refugees, so if you have something or are feeling productive please drop it off before the 15th. (I know, it’s not the most convenient time of year, everyone is making things for holiday gifts). Don’t forget to package it up in a ziplock bag with a filled out donation tag.

Thanks!

Knitting for Syrian Refugees

A number of people have asked me about knitting for the Syrian Refugees who will be settling in Canada. I’ve done a little digging, researching and and networking and have finally have an answer for you and a direction.

Knit-O-Matic will be joining forces with the group 1000 Stitches for Syria, who are collecting knitted and crocheted garments for Syrian Refugees.

 

What to Knit/Crochet

According to our contact in the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship most of the refugees will be families, especially women and children. Currently they seem to be looking for outerwear & small toys:

  • Hats
  • Mitts & Glove
  • Scarves
  • Neck-warmers
  • Small Toys (like Izzy dolls)

Soft, comfortable, and machine washable yarns are a good idea, we suggest:

 

How to Pack it Up

Before you drop your donations off you’ll need to do a few things to get it ready:

  • Please place the donation in a clear Ziploc bag.
  • To allow for easy distribution please download the donation tag form and include a completed donation tag with your item. Make sure the information on the tag is clearly visible from the outside of the bag. (Don’t forget to identify the fibres you have been working with, the type of item that you have donated and the rough size of the item). DOWNLOAD DONATION TAG HERE
  • Please include a short welcome note with your donation. The refugees should have access to translators in English so please express your welcome in English.

Please don’t skip this step, it helps everyone involved!

 

Where to Drop-Off

You can drop off your finished products at Knit-O-Matic, we are an official drop off point. Other drop off points are listed in the Toronto Network of the 1000 Stitches for Syria group. If you are in another part of the country regional drop-off points are listed in the 1000 Stitches for Syria group (presently Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, Kingston, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina and Winnipeg are involved).

The campaign deadline is Jan 31, 2016, but you can drop-off items any time.