ABOUT CHARITY KNITTING Years ago, a speaker at a machine knitting conference impressed me by pointing out that "we are fortunate women--we can afford our hobbies!" At the time, I could barely afford a used machine and had laboriously scraped up the conference fees, but I had to agree that she had a point. I WAS there at the motel, learning great stuff, and I had a place to go home to. Our charity project for the conference was to knit small bags and fill them with necessities for women who had to leave abusive situations and hide out in shelters. Many left home without even a toothbrush. By comparison, I was fortunate indeed.

Since that time, I have learned more about charity knitting. For one thing, an amazing number of knitters participate! At times, I have contributed patterns to help things along.

Country Knitting of Maine combines a hat contest with a project called "Keeping Maine Warm" to provide hats to the needy. Project Linus provides blankets to children to help with traumatic situations. Another worthwhile cause is to provide head-coverings to cancer patients who lose their hair. I have been there, as have many of you, and I know that soft, warm head-coverings can add a lot of comfort both physically and socially. Newborns in Need accepts clothing & blankets for infants and preemies in difficult situations.

You always have my permission to knit for charity using my patterns. While you may not claim or reproduce the pattern itself, what you knit is your work and you may donate it or profit from it. I protect the pattern and my photos with copyright, not your work.