A non-profit affair, providing a place for knitters from everywhere and area shopkeepers to meet for a one-day knit-in. Knitters are invited to meet, chat, knit, share ideas with others, and make new friends. Area yarn shops have the latest yarns as well as old favorites, needles, notions, patterns, and books for sale. There are no classes.
For the first time this year, there will be a $5 admission fee to cover event costs. The other admission fee is at least one item which will be donated to local charities in the Roanoke Valley. You will spend whatever money you choose on items purchased from the vendors, lunch, dinner and a hotel room (if you come a distance.)
The event is organized entirely by volunteers and everything needed for the event is donated.
The founder is Sue Esser, SHE Knits , SHESSER@aol.com .
Organizers are:
Many other volunteers help make the event possible.
Debbi, Tere, Sue, and Rae at the 2007 NoSoKnit
The program or order of the day is very simple. When you arrive, you will register for the event, turn in your charity item(s), and receive a ‘goodie bag.’ At the beginning of the day, each knitter introduces himself or herself. Throughout the day, drawings for door prizes are held. During the morning, you may vote for the charity item which shows the most original use of donated yarn. A prize is awarded to the winner after lunch.
We will break for lunch at 12:00 noon. You may either purchase a boxed lunch and eat with the group in the meeting room, or go to one of downtown Roanoke’s many restaurants.
Goodie bags contain: Yarn to be used for your charity project for next year’s NoSoKnit. Various items donated by yarn companies, yarn shops, knitting designers, and knitting magazines.
The NoSoKnit is full. We hope you will be able to join us in 2009. The NoSoKnit is always held the last Saturday in September, so remember to mark your calendar and register early!
If you have registered and then find that you cannot attend, PLEASE let us know so that another knitter may have your space.
For lunch, you may choose to eat elsewhere, but you may purchase a delicious boxed lunch prepared by Lib and Amy Catering. The lunch will consist of a sandwich or salad, pretzels, fruit cup, dessert tart and a canned soda or bottled water. The sandwich lunch will cost $9.35 and the salad lunch will cost $12.10. Tax and delivery are included. You must pay for the lunch in advance.
Water is being provided by The Thinking Knitter. There are vending machines and a snack bar in the building.
Prizes are donated by yarn companies, yarn shops, knitting designers, knitting magazines, and NoSoKnit attendees. We try to gather enough prizes so that each person receives a knit-related door prize.
The Roanoke Higher Education Center ( http://www.education.edu/ ) is located directly behind the Hotel Roanoke in the old Norfolk & Western Railroad headquarters building. The Center has an excellent map and directions on their web site at http://www.education.edu/directions-parking.html . There is plenty of free Saturday parking in the lots shown on the Center’s map.
The Claude Moore Education Complex (CMED on their map) is located across the parking lot from the main building’s Johnson Alley entrance, where the parking lots are located. Registration will be held in the lobby.
The charities receiving the items donated this year will be the same as the last year:
You may donate Items for infants, children, and women. Machine washable and dryable yarns MUST be used for everything except the ‘Scarves of Hope.’ Since wool irritates some babies, please do not use wool for baby items. The families living in the shelter are living in very cramped quarters, and do not have room to dry items flat, nor money for dry-cleaning, so their clothing must be machine washable and dryable. If you attended the NoSoKnit last year, use the yarn donated by yarn manufacturers which was in your goodie bag. If not, any yarn will do.
As an added incentive, a prize will be given for the most creative use of the donated yarn.
You will find links to some patterns suitable for charity knitting here.
For more information, contact Rae Creedle at rae@thinkingknitter.com .
This donation is entirely voluntary, but if you have excess yarn, patterns, and/or buttons , please bring them to donate. The greatest need this year for the inmate knitting group is sweater's-worth quantities of acrylic or washable worsted-weight wool yarn. They also can use sets of buttons for cardigans, and children's patterns. They also need circular knitting needles. You can clean out your stash and help others at the same time. They will be used by female inmates at the Alderson, WV, Federal Women's Prison Camp. A group of about eighty women knit and crochet for needy area children, elderly nursing-home residents and battered women's shelters. They make lap and baby blankets, and each child on their list receives, at Christmas, a sweater, mittens, cap and scarf. The inmates make no profit for the project, and also have no funds to buy yarn. They rely entirely on donations from the community.
For more information, contact Debbi Young McNeer at djmcneer@citynet.net .
To join the permanent mailing list for the Roanoke NoSoKnit so you receive NoSoKnit announcements every year, enter your address in the box below and click on the 'Join Now' box.
Send comments to Rae Bullock Creedle
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