World Wide Knit In Public

Hello fellow yarn lovers,

      I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know that World Wide Knit in Public Day is 10 days away. I can not believe it is almost here!! In case you were wondering World Wide Knit in Public Day is a world wide event held so that fiber artist (if you play with yarn you are a fiber artist) can come together, share the love of the craft and inspire others. Even though it is called World Wide Knit in Public Day I allow knitting, crochet and even spinning at my event. This will be my third year to host the event for the area I live in. I thought I would take a minute to share what the event means for me and why I choose to host it three years ago.

    World Wide Knit in Public is also known as WWKIP. You can see the actual website here. It is usually held on the second Saturday of June. I learned about it during 2014. I knew I wanted to have one for our area so I started planning. I rented a pavilion at a local park and it was an amazing time.

WWKIP event 2015

    I had a good bit of attendees so I knew I had to host another. The following year I went bigger and went for the bigger pavilion with electrical outlets because it get super hot here in June. I was right too, it got close to 97 F here on June 11, 2016. The pavilion was wonderful though but with the sun bouncing off the water I got really hot and actually got heat poisoning that evening and was very sick for a few days. I had more sponsors this year and even some donations from the last event. This year I had games to play like knitters bingo.

WWKIP event 2016

   Now my 3rd event is a few days away. I am so excited as this year will be even bigger. I have even more prizes to giveaway, even more donations and I hope to have a bigger crowd. Social media, like Facebook has really been an amazing platform to really spread the word. I set up a World Wide Knit in Public Facebook group so I can open the lines of communication better between me and the public. You can find our Facebook Group here.  This year though we are beating the heat and having our event at the Quintard (Oxford) Mall. I think this will make it a lot easier for us and keep us cool and increase awareness about the different groups in our area. I am adding a few rules this time since we will be in the food court in the mall. This year I going to be doing multiple drawings at different times and for each prize you must be present to win. Unfortunately with the price of postage rising I just can not afford to mail prizes. I am also setting the rule that you must have a project with you to be eligible to win. I hate I have to put this rule into place but we do live in a world where people just want something free even if they do not even do a said craft. I will do some pop up giveaways open to the public but not many.  I am also asking for donations of knitted or crocheted washcloths. I will then take these to Leeds Alabama to a wonderful organization called The WellHouse. I want to start choosing a local charity organization and using my event to bring awareness to them. I will be giving a small thank you gift to those who make washcloths and even be offering up an exclusive door prize to those who donate.

    So why did I start all of this for our area and decided to take on this project?? Well simply put I believe in community. I believe that everyone should a place to gather and share a common love. I believe that fiber arts can you improve your mental health and help relieve stress. The New York times even did an article on this that can be found here. I think it is a great way to meet people who have the same passions as you. I also believe in a world that is riddled with hate and division we just need something to bring us together. I also firmly believe on being a positive light unto the world. 

   What you are not in my area but want to attend a WWKIP event? Not a problem, you can go to www.wwkipday.com/find-a-kip and then search by the country you live in and then the state. I registered our event there as well and it can be found here. I encourage you to seek out an event in your area and if there is not one maybe choose to host one next year. If you have attended an event before I would love to hear about your experience and how it has impacted your life in any way. 

    Until next time happy crafting.