Black Friday Knit-a-thon

Yes, it’s not even Halloween yet, but we crafters always have to be looking ahead. Most of us are hand-making gifts, you know.

The holiday season is a time of year where we especially look out for our neighbors, and we have a great organization that does that here at home. The Johnson County Christmas Bureau runs a holiday shop in December to “provide warmth and support to low-income Johnson County, Kansas families.” They make sure these families have food for holiday meals, gifts for the whole family, and warm things for the kids to wear through the winter season.

That’s where local crafters come in. Many of us have donated handmade warm things for these kids, and this year, we want to make sure there’s plenty to go around.

Kristin Ragsdale, of Kristinistic Designs, and I are hosting a Knit-a-Thon to benefit the Bureau on Black Friday this year. Because our general philosophy is “go big or go home,” we’re doing it for 24 hours: 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 29, to 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30. Someone will be knitting at all times during that 24 hours, and to keep us honest, we’re hoping to stream it live. We could do it just the two of us, but it would be more fun if you joined us!

Come for the whole 24 hours, come for 15 minutes, or any time in-between. You can knit, crochet, or do any other craft that make hats, scarves, or mitts. If you’re in the Kansas City area and want to join us in giving local kids warm things to wear, we’d love to have you. Let us know that you’re coming here.

If you’re unable to join us but still want to help out, we’d love that support, too! We’ve set up a fund for donations that would cover the yarn, snacks, and caffeine for our participants. That means that no one would have to pay to participate, if they didn’t want to. You can donate on PayPal at paypal.me/knitathon or Venmo @knitathon.

This is a cause we’re really passionate about, so we hope you’ll join us in supporting the Johnson County Christmas Bureau!