******press: please double check your press release against this info below, as there was a rough draft circulated with different dates! Thank you so much!
Melissa Averinos and Beth Dunn present:
This holiday season, Melissa Averinos and Beth Dunn invite you to create hand-knit items for donation to local women and children in need. Handmade for the Holidays, in partnership with Harwichport-based nonprofit We Can, will collect hand-knit hats, scarves, mittens, blankets, and quilts for delivery to Cape Cod residents who are going through difficult economic and emotional times. Handmade for the Holidays is also accepting donations of yarn, needles, and other knitting and crafting supplies to be used by local volunteer crafters.
The staff of WE CAN will ensure that the items go directly to needy women and families in time for the holiday season. All participants — and the general public — are invited to celebrate the conclusion of the project at a public open house at Yummy Goods on Friday, December 4, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Handmade for the Holidays especially requests the following items in adult AND child sizes:
- Scarves
- Hats
- Gloves
- Mittens
- Socks
- Blankets
- Quilts
- Softies (handmade stuffed animals)
Get together with other participants and create your items in a relaxed group setting at one of two gatherings at Yummy Goods in November:
- Wednesday, November 11, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm It went great! thank you!!
- Friday, November 20, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Beginners are welcome, and registrants will be notified about what type of materials to bring along if you need guidance. (Feel free to bring your own projects if not a beginner.) Relaxed and inclusive instruction will be provided.
Click here to register for any aspect of Handmade for the Holidays, whether as a crafter/creator, a donor of materials (thank you, we have tons of yarn now!) , or to attend the grand finale — the public open house at Yummy Goods on Friday, December 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. We’d love to have you!
For more detailed info and to join the conversation, please look at the posts below.
Craft Circle #1: handmade awesomeness
Beth and I hosted our first Craft Circle at Yummy Goods on Wednesday, November 11.
It was awesome!
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"I got teary eyed leaving your shop last night! I was so happy to share time with crafters and it was so nice!!!!!"
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It was the day after we were featured in the Cape Cod Times and there was a lot of excitement and energy in the room!
So great to have a mix of people there, old friends, new friends, customers--- some family, even!
I suppose it wasn't a Craft Circle, exactly. More like Craft Pockets. I had rearranged the shop a bit to make room for little tables here and there, places where a few crafters could gather and sip and nibble and knit. There were about 5 or 6 little clusters and I really liked it!
It was very organic and relaxed. We had the twinkle lights on, cider in the crock pot and cookies made by our friend (new)Cindy.
I don't usually organize things or have parties, it makes me wicked nervous. And to organize a gift drive? We had no idea if people would respond or not.
You never know, you know?
I mean, Beth and I came up with the idea for Handmade for the Holidays just a couple of weeks ago while we were on the treadmills at the Y.
Within days, we had partnered with WeCan, started receiving donations of yarn and handmade items, were covered in the times (with a gi-huge photo of me on the front of the business section!).
People are really taking us up on this, and we couldn't be more pleased.
Here are some participants decorating blank cards, in which we will handwrite some loving words to accompany each handmade gift:
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"I enjoyed myself so much tonight. Was nice to sit and chat and giggle and watch all the crafters....your little shop was the PERFECT place to hold this craft circle. The atmosphere is so homey and welcoming. I was very comfortable.....and I am NOT a crowd person. Thank you for holding this. I'm so glad I was able to attend Only wish I lived closer so I could attend them all. "
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Chatting, knitting, appliquing, crocheting:
Gathered around for the door prizes (donated by a friend of mine from Random House- thanks, Kris!):
Not only door prizes, the fabulous Alison Gordon from The Sampler made the trip to the Cape so she could hand out her awesome Samplers to our volunteers, too!
Yay! Who doesn't love prizes and goodies?
If you are an indie crafter, you need to know about the sampler! It's a great way to promote your biz!
Alison, telling a little bit about what the Sampler is:
Alison is also co-organizer of the Boston Bazaar Bizarre, which I am hoping to make it to this year.
Of course, everyone was psyched to dive into these goodie bags which was fun for Alison to see, since she usually mails them out!
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"Fab folks in such a warmly creative environment for fab cause! Great time! "
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Beth and I hope you will join us for the next Craft Circle!
Friday, November 20 from 1-4pm
Since it will be during buisiness hours, we will gather in my studio in the back of the shop, ok?
Please email if you have any questions at all!
melissa@yummygoods.com
xo, m
melissa
3 Comments
Q+A: Can I donate something that is not handmade?
Q. I love your project but don't have the time to make anything right now. Can I donate books or manufactured toys to Handmade for the Holidays?
A. Yay! Thank you for wanting to contribute! At this time, we are focusing on collecting only handmade items.
But don't fret, there might still be a way that you can help out! (and we love that you want to help.)
If you are a publisher and would like to donate craft books to be used as door prizes for the volunteers, well that would be awesome! Thank you!
Back in a jif while I figure out how else you can help! Remember, I'm new at this!
gift tags
I wanted to let you all know that I will be creating gift tags on which each crafter is invited to write a personal message and attach it to your handmade gift.
What you write could simply be your name, or it could be a favorite quote. It could be a prayer or a wish for the recipient. It could be a drawing or a single word that has meaning for you in hard times.
This is about more than collecting items for the needy.
Handmade for the Holidays is about sending someone hope, comfort and love. All in the in the shape of a cozy handknit hat.
Or scarf. Or whatever you like to make.
:o)
Q+A: How can non-locals get involved?
I've been hearing this a lot in the couple of days since we announced the project:
I don't live on Cape Cod but I'd still like to be involved, what can I do?
Yay! Thank you so much!
We will be sad that we can't hang out with you at the craft circles or the open house, but we understand that not everybody who hears about Handmade for the Holidays will be able to come to the events. But you may certainly donate materials or a handmade item! Of course!
First, please register here so we can keep track of all of this stuff!
If you would like to donate materials, we would like to have those as soon as possible, of course, so that our volunteers may have time to work their magic with them! You may send knitting supplies or fabric to:
Handmade for the Holidays
c/o Yummy Goods
2455 Meetinghouse Way
West Barnstable, MA 02668
If you would like to donate a handmade gift, you may send it to the same address. We would need to receive it by December 4, so please allow for shipping time.
Thank you so much!
Please register so we can keep track !!
Many of you have RSVP'd through the Yummy Goods Facebook Fan Page, which is awesome!That tells us, "Hey, I'm interested in this project!" (If you are not on Facebook, the stuff below still pertains to you!)
The next step is for you to tell us how you'd like to be involved. There are a few options:
1. Would you like to donate a handmade item to the drive?
2. Would you like to donate materials for local crafters to use for the project?
3. Would you like to come to the Open House on December 4 at Yummy Goods?
4. Would you like to attend the craft circle on November 11 (Wednesday evening) at Yummy Goods?
5. Would you like to attend the craft circle on November 20 (Friday afternoon) at Yummy Goods?
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about Handmade For The Holidays! Now you can translate that excitement into action by registering right here.
yay!