On Charity Knitting, Cancer, and Pink Things

[neadods]

There has got to be something ironic about watching a show on hoarding while pawing through my yarn stash. However, I've found out about a second knitting charity - a group that collects scarves to give to women undergoing cancer surgery - and as it covers women who are going to the same hospital where I got my surgery, I feel obligated to chip in. So I'm going through the yarn I bought in the name of the "learn to knit" project to see what might suit to be knitted up now. (The yarn store collects all year long, so this will be a perfect ChicagoTARDIS knitting project

The mandate is that the scarves be "soft and beautiful" -- not that they must be pink.

Which leads me to this, because America is about to turn pepto-bismol pink for a month. There is more to supporting breast cancer research than buying something pink. Unless a substantial amount of that purchase is going to be donated - and it's usually ha'pennies on the sawbuck - you can do more financial good for the Cause by donating directly to your charity of choice.

That said, there is one pink thing I am going to recommend: The Better Homes and Gardens pink plaid cookbook has never given me a bad recipe. The back of my edition, bought many years ago, says what was donated as a whole to Komen out of the proceeds, although I have no idea how that relates to percentage-per-individual copy.

Comments

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

i do wish people would look into donating to the OTHER charities, and do the research on how much goes where.. but if people can at least understand that not everything pink is even contributing anything at all, thats a start... to

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I have a bit of a trope towards Komen because that's the beneficiary of the Team Wench Privateer Feast every year.

[renn.livejournal.com]

I would support people pimping breast cancer charities if said people would also support ovarian cancer charities. After all, most women who have breast cancer will live to be old ladies. Those who get ovarian cancer are lucky to live five years after the initial diagnosis.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I would support people pimping breast cancer charities if said people would also support ovarian cancer charities.

I'm never comfortable telling people what they have to support or not, especially as every health charity boils down to "people die of this." I know women who haven't lived to be old ladies after their cancer was discovered. I know a woman who is fighting hard and living in fear after a double mastectomy even after she's been told that they "got it"... this time.

Ovarian cancer research is an excellent charity. As is cervical cancer. As is Hodgkins (my aunt). And Leukemia (my grandfather). And heart disease (other grandfather, father). And Alzhemiers (grandmother), which isn't kind enough to kill.

I can't single-handedly do something for all of these, and they are all worthy and in many cases, personal.

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

It was a little odd to watch pro (American) football on Sunday and see every player and official, or nearly, wearing something dark pink for breast cancer awareness-- towels, shoes, gloves, hats, whistle lanyards, etc. Nobody actually mentioned the men's breast cancer slogan, "Save the Ta-tas"....

I don't know if any women's pro sport does that for prostate cancer, but they'd get much less publicity anyway.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

The pinkification of October was a marketing masterstroke... but unfortunately, it's leading to both a backlash and to people thinking that they've done something really impressive when they've just really donated $.00002 for whatever pink widget they've just bought.

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

Can I have some more information about that scarf-knitting charity? Which shop, or is there a website, or...?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I looked for a website specifically about the scarves and didn't find it. The yarn store is All About Yarn (http://www.allaboutyarn.com/). Confusingly, the website doesn't mention the charity; that came up in their latest email.

[cozit.livejournal.com]

They used to have something up on the website...but they are also notoriously awful about keeping out up to date. They also never mention the preemie caps, but they do collect then as well (and have a few at check out do that they get noticed

[cozit.livejournal.com]

(post is too close to the edit box on this thing) so...when did you start coming all the way up here for yarn? And not to discourage you, but there is a smallish shop in Savage Mill, on your way...half quilt shop.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I used to go up there for yarn when I worked at the APL, and am still on the mailing list. Nowadays, my LYS is down in Hyattsville... and to be catty for a moment, I really prefer both the way Tangled Skein is run as a business and the "feel" of the shop over All About Yarn. (Example: When I broke my arm and had to drop out of a AAY sock class, I was simply told to come back the next time they ran it. When I was having trouble making all of the lessons at a sock class at TS, I was cheerfully told that I could come in for 1-on-1 instruction whenever the teacher was on duty.)

The place in Savage Mill I didn't know about. What's its name?

Once upon a time when I was also into quilting, I'd haul up to that very dangerous row of shops inside the Baltimore Beltway, the one with the embroidery shop, quilt shop, and knitting store all in a row on Mellor Ave.

[cozit.livejournal.com]

That dangerous row of shops is just outside the beltway, in Catonsville... just down the road from my kids' pediatrician... making it even more dangerous (I think my kids might be more scared that they might have to go there after the doctors' than the idea of the doctor visit itself :-)

And yes, the two mothers who set up All about Yarn have a lot to learn about customer service... though once in a while I find myself liking them. They set it up more as a way to make a job their girls could handle eventually than out of love of the job, and it shows (though both do seem to enjoy the knitting, and have made some amazing pieces). I like both the girls, though one of them can get on my nerves at times - not really "her fault", I'm pretty sure it's connected to her handicap(s), so I tend to let it go easily... I know them from elsewhere, not just the shop. They do offer help, and I've seen them sit down with someone to figure something out... but because they almost always seem harried for one reason or another, it just never feels comfortable in there (the one or two times I went by and everything/one was calm, it was a pleasant shopping trip.... sadly, that's apparently rare, not just for me).

eh... they're the closest shop for me by a long shot, and when I'm looking for something specific, I'll go there. But I honestly wish that the one daughter I get along well with was still showing up where I was chatting with her before - she shows some promise in making something of it (though gets frustrated with the other three owners, so we'll see...)

Oh, yeah... Savage Mill... can't remember the name right off - it's primarily quilting, but there's a good portion of floor space that has yarn and such now - that part started off small, but between need and the fact that Columbia Sip 'n Knit (not just knitting) meets in the room around the corner once or twice a week, it's grown. *Very* helpful owner and the staff that I've talked to there. I was looking for a quilt fabric that I was fairly certain they didn't have, but rather than just confirm that, the owner gave me her primary and secondary favorite specialty fabric links on the web to check out (and yes, the first had it - though I can't remember what it was now... think it might have been the pirate stuff I was looking for that day).

[neadods.livejournal.com]

You just have to get your kids into knitting or quilting,that's all!

"It just never feels comfortable in there" is a good way of phrasing it. Their intentions are noble, but I always feel like an afterthought as the customer.

I'll have to look into the shop at Savage; if it's at the Mill it's temptingly close to work.