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Good News and Knitting, Issue 4

09 Jul 2013 / 0 Comments / in Good News and Knitting/by Joanna - Chic-a Founder

Knitting Helps People Stay in their Homes

Knitting is helping those living in remote parts of the world with little or no income

Knitting is so amazing, it not only helps those who do it, but also can help people to stay in their homes. In the Philippines, there is a little village where the Ifugao indigenous people live on terraced mountains and grow rice fields. Unfortunately, recently, the crops have not been enough to sustain an income for these farmers, let alone to provide food enough for their family to eat. Many of these people have had to abandon their land to find provision for their families. Imagine how hard that would be to do, leaving everyone and everything you have ever known to go in search of food and income for your family. These Ifugao people have been rice farmers here for an estimated 2,000 years. Their legacy is strong, but it is at risk of dying.

The Solution

This is where knitting comes in. A project called the Ricefield Collective was started by someone who saw the problem, and wasn’t afraid to find a solution. She decided to teach these women how to knit, in hopes they could at least sell hats to local tourists for some income. She spent 6 weeks with one lady, Jean, and taught her what she needed to know. But selling hats in the local village wasn’t enough. They needed to sell further afield to bring in the kind of income that would allow them to stay on their land. And so the Ricefield Collective started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds, and raise awareness.

They are now currently past their initial goal of $24,600, but are now trying to get to $85,000 so that they can establish a permanent base in Ifugao, and every $5,000 beyond that gives them the ability to employ one more woman for a year. You can purchase the hats these women make on the Kickstarter website: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1597899565/ricefield-collective-knit-4-life.

Knitting may have saved the livelihood of this village, and these people. And it continues everyday, in so many ways, to change people’s lives for good.

What about you?

What is your favorite thing about knitting? How has it helped you or someone you know to have a better life?

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you smile while you knit, knowing you’re part of something bigger!

Thanks,

Joanna

 

 

Good News and Knitting, Issue 4: How Knitting helps people stay in their homes. Find out more about this campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1597899565/ricefield-collective-knit-4-life

Good News and Knitting, Issue 3

17 Jun 2013 / 0 Comments / in Crochet, Fun things in the Knitting World, Good News and Knitting/by Joanna - Chic-a Founder

Passing the Time with a Purl

There are three things that we would all do well to remember; stereotypes don’t do anyone justice, assumptions are dangerous, and real men knit.

We’ve seen the image of Ryan Gosling admitting to relaxing to the sound of knitting needles clacking together while he knits. It’s heartwarming, and makes us love him even more. But lets face it, he gets to knit to pass the time on a movie set. On a movie that he’s being paid handsomely for. We all know, it’s a good way to pass the time.

What if?

But, what if the time you had to “pass” was entire years, or decades? What if you are a political prisoner, imprisoned on an island where your job is picking up rocks? Sometimes “what if” is reality.

That’s what happened for the prisoners of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years (in prison for a total of 27 years). It is said that their favorite way to pass the time was to practice their purl and rib stitches. Getting those stitches perfect became the game, like a sport, and rallied these men together.

What’s Tradition Got to do With it?

Knitting, in most people’s minds, has been assumed a traditional women’s pastime. Men didn’t do it, as it was widely considered a “crafty” hobby. And grandmas everywhere did well to uphold the stereotype, knitting us those amazing Christmas sweaters every year. (We still love you, gran!) And now, those ugly Christmas sweaters are now “in” fashion.

But what if knitting was the thing that kept you alive? Gave you hope in a hopeless place? And helped you gather you the strength to shift an entire country’s political atmosphere. The entire country of South Africa was on the verge of abolishing one of the most divisive relics of social injustice: apartheid. Racial equality was about to become a reality, and we like to think that knitting helped get it there.

Watch this video from the BBC, as we think you’ll be inspired:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21595857

 

What about you?

Good things come from knitting. So, how does knitting help you? (Hopefully, its not just about passing the time.) Let me know!

Thanks,

Joanna

 

 

Good News and Knitting, Issue 2

11 Jun 2013 / 0 Comments / in Good News and Knitting, News & Updates/by The Happy Chic-a Admin Team

Knitting is helping Reduce Prison Sentences

Inmates at a prison in Brazil are learning a new skill, while also being able to take time off their sentence. Designer, Raquell Guimaraes, was looking for a workforce for her new line, and was unable to find anyone who was qualified or cost-effective. That’s when she had an idea.

She decided to employ the inmates at the local prison. She could teach them a new skill, boost morale, and give them a wage. The prisoners receive 75% of the minimum wage, but also learn a skill they can take with them to the outside world, making it easier for them to find employment.

Unconventional, maybe, but it seems to be working. And we think its a win for knitting and crocheting everywhere!

What do you think? Would you hire an inmate from your local prison? What about offering a knitting program that reduces prison sentences?

The Knitting World

We love that the world of knitting and crochet is full of stories like this one, full of hope and good news. People seem to come together around knitting, and we all know, it’s good for the soul. When we can do something we enjoy, with people we enjoy, our quality of life goes up considerably. People who knit seem to be much less lonely, and they find purpose again, or for the first time.

Do you know someone who is lonely, or looking to be part of something bigger? Teach them to knit! It may save their life.

How about you?

How is knitting making a difference in your life? Or in your community? We’d love to hear about your Good News & Knitting (or Crafting or Crocheting or any creative outlet)!

 

Thanks for reading!

Have fun Creating and Connecting,

Joanna

 

Knitting Reduces Prison Sentences in Brazil:
Original story found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22574008

 

Knitting: Not Just for Grannies

22 May 2013 / 0 Comments / in Fun things in the Knitting World, Good News and Knitting/by The Happy Chic-a Admin Team

Knitting: Not Just for Grannies

The social knitting experience is drawing a younger crowd than ever before, according to current research:

“Industry experts claim that the percentage of female knitters under age 34 in the U.S. has more than doubled; true or not, it’s easy to find young yarn-obsessed females wherever you look.”

Why is this seemingly old-fashioned hobby making waves as the newest trend for those under 34? or under 40?

Many knitters are in it for the friendships, the encouragement, the socializing, according to this article by the Star Telegram. For some of them, it creates a reason to form a group, a place to get inspiration, and a way to further their knitting skills.

Global Movements

The newest trend among the younger knitters is that now they form communities online, not just in living rooms. Socializing and knitting have gone global.

That’s good news for us here at Chic-a. Our colorful fabrics and clever knitting totes are perfect for the “Knitting Socialite” to look fabulous at all times. (We’re a little biased, you see.)

Do you attend a knitting group? If so, how old is the average member? (We’re just curious if the research holds up!)

Thanks for stopping by!

 

View Original article here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/29/4806818/younger-knitters-are-in-it-for.html

Keep Calm

20 May 2013 / 0 Comments / in Good News and Knitting/by The Happy Chic-a Admin Team

Good Knitting News from Chic-a

Chic-a Good News and Knitting; kids keep calm at school with knitting

Kids keep calm at school with knitting

Teachers are beginning to use knitting and stitching in the classroom. We have had reports of cross stitching being used to successfully change violent and disruptive behaviour in special schools. One head teacher told us “The effect is instantaneous, overwhelming calm”.

Some teachers in mainstream schools and colleges are using knitting to enable them to teach pupils with ADHD and kinesthetic learners (those who need to fiddle or tap while they take in information). Knitting appears to occupy the brain sufficiently to lessen or stop hyperactive or disruptive behaviour whilst at the same time enabling the pupil to take in information and to learn. One teacher told us “It opens up a window for learning”. 

Others are using knitting groups to open up channels of communication with difficult students. These teachers report members of groups, who may have been initially aggressive towards each other, beginning to communicate and talk. They report improvements in performance in school work and social integration since taking up knitting. In addition, self esteem is raised in those who may have previuosly lived with constant criticism.

One story tells of an English Literature teacher in the 1960s who encouraged his whole class to knit while he read them the set stories and plays. The story teller told of how she remembered what he had read and was able to recall the information later. She also remembers his lessons as the most enjoyable she had.

Many others have also told us that knitting has improved their memory. It’s known that multi-sensorial events are remembered more readily, so perhaps this is an explanation. Others believe that being a bilateral exercise, knitting could be enhancing the connectivity between the right and left cerebral hemispheres, which may lead to an improvement in memory.

The bilateral movements required in knitting could also be an explanation as to why those with dyslexia and dyspraxia have found improvement in their conditions since taking up knitting. In addition they have found that knitting also helps them to organise their thought processes and have found this skill to be transferrable to other areas of life.

Knitting and stitching teach key life skills, such as PATIENCE, PERSEVERENCE andCOMMUNICATION. Many stories also tell of how knitting in particular teaches that mistakes can be undone, that it’s not a catastrophic event to make a mistake and that goals can be reached despite a few detours along the way. Indeed, the end product may be considerably ‘richer’ if a bit of exploration is done on the way! They also raise self esteem, so along with the calming properties they can be extremely useful tools in the classroom.

If you’re thinking of starting up a therapeutic knitting group based in a school, please let us know. You’ll find information on starting up a social knitting group on our Groups page. When you download your free Core Pack you’ll be sent a link to our Specialist Packs. You may also like to visit Stitchlinks Plus where we are putting together a list of other possible beneficial activities which will provide your students with suggesions for a variety of skills to learn.

Originally posted on http://www.stitchlinks.com/education.html

Share your “Good News”

If you have a story of knitting or stitching being used for good we’ed love to hear it! You can use the comment section below or the contact form HERE.

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How Chic-a Began

Chic-a was founded in 2007 by Joanna Reyes. Born out of an idea to create something practical, yet fun and colorful for knitting and crochet projects, Joanna designed and crafted the Quick Draw Project Bag. Responding to immediate popularity, Joanna continued to develop products to meet the growing demand, and out of this, Chic-a was born.

After 10 wonderful years in business and meeting countless amazing people who have helped make this venture possible, the Chic-a offices are closing their doors. Our products will no longer be manufactured, but you can still find some in retail stores. Click here to find one near you.

If you have any questions about Chic-a, please contact Chicaknitting@gmail.com

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