We are delighted to anounce that the wonderful Susan Pandorf has donated another of her exquisite beaded lace patterns to p/hop. The Hydrangea Scarf is now available to download here and is sure to keep your fingers busy throughout spring/autumn*.

*Depending on which hemisphere you live in.

The response to the Haitian Earthquake tragedy by the knitting community over the last few days has been heart-warmingly inspiring.

On the social knitworking site Ravelry.com, knitters, crocheters and other fibre fans leaped into action, asking where they could donate money and if they couldn’t afford a monetary donation thinking of alternative ways to raise money for Haitian relief efforts.

The Yarn Harlot, famous knitter, writer. blogger extraordinaire and founder of Knitters Without Borders/Tricoteuses Sans Frontières lit the “knit signal” and the word to help Haiti and raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) spread like wild fire throughout the knitting twitterverse and blogasphere.

The p/hop ravelry group has been busy with lots of yarn swaps for donations to MSF. Please take a look if you fancy some new yarn or books or if you need to downsize your stash. Someone is bound to want your unloved yarn in return for a donation to p/hop and MSF.

The Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Swap Group on Ravelry has hosted a very successful auction which some beautiful handmade items as well as yarn being auctioned to raise money for relief agencies, including MSF.

A rather notorious Ravelry group (ahem, LSG) have roused their members into donating and have kept a running total which is currently over US$ 32 000 for various aid agencies.

A specific Haitian Humanitarian Aid group has been set up which is consolidating ways of helping both in the short and long term.

Several designers are donating a percentage of their pattern sales to help Haiti.

I’ve been inundated with enquiries about p/hop and our number of twitter followers has doubled since last Wednesday. I’d like to give a big thank you to anyone who has helped spread the word about p/hop and MSF.

We’ve got lots of new patterns in the pipeline thanks to the generosity of some wonderful designers. It’s worth reiterating that 100% of p/hop donations go to MSF and no one profits from them. The only people who benefit from p/hop are the people MSF helps.

Photo from MSF UK. Starting to unload the boxes to set MSF’s inflatable hospital on site in a football field in Port-au-Prince. Monday, Jan 18th 2010. Photo by Julie Remy/MSF

The problems the Haitian people are facing right now will continue for some time so please keep spreading the word and doing what you can. Let’s not forget that MSF continues to help people suffering in less “newsworthy” places such as Eastern Congo so please remember we are here all year round.

As always, p/hop is not the product of a few individuals but a community. If you’ve helped out in any way you can allow yourself a glow of humanitarian happiness knowing you’ve helped lessen people’s suffering.

If you’d like to help or have any ideas or suggestions for p/hop please get in touch.

Thank you and happy knitting.

Clare

PS If I’ve missed out anything you’ve done to help Haiti please leave us a comment below telling us about what you’ve done.

p/hop is now on twitter. You can follow us at msf_phop for all the latest p/hop news. Don’t worry if you’re not a tweeter, we’ll still have all the news and updates here on the p/hop blog.

PS. Here’s a clue as to what Pete, Natalie and I are up to at the moment…

It’s my second day at the MSF-UK headquarters in London as p/hop’s new co-ordinator. I’m sitting at my desk while someone is on the phone to the Congo. In the corner of the room there is a discrete copy of the Nobel Peace Prize which MSF won in 1999. I’m in awe of how knitting really can make a difference to people’s lives and feeling privileged that we can help in such a fun way.

Anyway, enough of my misty eyed ramblings. I’ve hit the ground running and am busy organising a press release for p/hops first birthday at the end of November. We will have more news on that and how you can help next week. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all better and seeing what projects both knitting and fund-raising you are up to. We welcome any ideas and suggestions. Please do get in touch either via the p/hop ravelry group, the comments section below or by email, p-hop@london.msf.org

I’m sending out a big thank you to my predecessor Louise for doing such a great job in p/hops first year. I’ve got a lot to live up to.

About me, I’ve been knitting with a vengance since my best friend had her first baby in 2005 when I made my first pullover, albeit a teeny tiny newborn pullover. Since then my stash has outgrown my flat and I like to dream we can solve all the world’s problems through knitting which again brings me back to p/hop. I’ve travelled and volunteered in developing countries and have seen first hand how just a small amount of cash can make a huge difference. I think p/hop is brilliant, combining a love of fibre arts with a passion to change lives in the often forgotten corners of the world.

I’m in the office one day a week where I’ll be nagging encouraging Pete to finish his scarf, meeting other members of the MSF team and pulling together fund-raising ideas.  There are also the tentative beginnings of an MSF knitting group…

Happy knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, felting, braiding and any other fibre art I may have neglected to mention.

Clare

PS. Pete really has thrown me in at the deep end and made me make a video. I now understand how actors feel when they can’t watch themselves back. Anyway, I hope you enjoy watching it.

So, I am sitting in the MSF UK HQ as usual. BUT, today there is a difference…

Behind me sits p/hop’s newest recruit. She will will be, at various times, a blogger, manager, inspirer, organiser, contact for all sorts of weird and wonderful queries and *gasp* a knitter. p/hop is a demanding mistress.

“Who is it?”, I hear you ask, your body atingle with expectation…

Well, says I, wait and see, for next week all shall be revealed…….

NOTE: Closing date for CVs for the p/hop intern/voluntary position is Thursday (24th Sept)!

So, I am advertising for a new Lou… It’s got to be someone who loves MSF (obviously), thinks p/hop is the coolest project around (who wouldn’t) and has the imagination and organisation to carry p/hop to even greater heights.

Also, it would be great if it was someone who enjoyed writing. Oh yeah, and if they knitted it would be a bonus!

If you know anyone like that who would be willing to give a day a week or so of their time, please give them my details.

There is a full job description available on the MSF website, although it is a little vague as p/hop tends to throw the unexpected at us. Please feel free to send it to whoever might be interested…..

Thanks

Pete

Louise Salkeld has left the building!

Known as louisesalkeld on Ravelry (complicated one that) Lou has been the driving force behind p/hop in MSF HQ for the last ten months… She has been an intern the whole time, meaning that p/hop and MSF have benefitted from her enthusiasm, professionalism, organisation and creativity for free for all that time.

I will miss working with her and p/hop will miss her terribly and I just wanted to wish her all the best of luck back in Oz on the p/hop blog as it’s as much hers as anyone else’s…

Big thanks to you Lou, you’re a legend.

Note scarf in the pic below. lou finished this, her first ever knitted item at FibreFest. I think it looks great and fitting that all these things came to a conclusion at the same time.

She came, she saw, she knitted.

Big cheer for Rooknits for completing her hour on the plinth. Dressed in a Wolverhampton Wanderers top (unfortunate but p/hop is open to everyone and we musn’t discriminate , she rose rode the big yellow cherry picker, spread out her banner and afghan squares and knit away, nearly completing a square within an hour (a three week task for me). Brilliantly, £75 was donated to p/hop inspired by Rooknits’ efforts, so thanks to all who donated!!

Here you can find exclusive pre and post-plinth interviews. The BBC actually asked Ruth for the exclusives but she chose p/hop TV…

A big thanks also to those who came to support and those who supported from afar via text and phone while following on the live stream.

Ruth on the plinth

Check out Jane’s review here as well for more pics! And read about Ruth’s experience in her own words here…

Rooknits rules!

Rooknits will be up on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square this Saturday, the 15th of August from 9am to 10am as part of Antony Gormley’s One & Other project.

Come along and support Roo as she knits for p/hop. She will be working on some squares for the p/hop Afghan and sewing them into one of the blankets that will be raffled at the I Knit weekender in September.

The weather forecast is sunny and 27 degrees. No excuses for sleeping in!

If you can’t make it on Saturday go to http://www.oneandother.co.uk/ for a live stream of Roo’s adventures on the plinth.

Goodluck Roo and thanks for dedicating your hour of glory to p/hop!

Photo by Wymworld on Flickr

Hi all,

I have just come back from a lovely sunny holiday in Egypt. As promised to Pete before I left, I took my knitting along.

This pic was taken in front of the amazing Abu Simbel temple. We had a 3.30am departure in order to travel the 290km out to the temple, so trying very hard to look awake! 

There are many exciting p/hop activities underway at the moment. The knitting festivals are quickly approaching and the list is growing -

UK Ravelry Day 6 June,

Woolfest 26-27 June

Fiberfest 22-23 August

Iknit 11-12 September

I will be at UK Ravelry Day in a few weeks time, along with Ann (colleague and knitter) and Mike (returned field volunteer). If you are attending please drop by, pick up a free pattern and find out more about MSF’s work in the field. It will be great to finally meet some p/hoppers! 

John and Juliet from Fibrefest have kindly offered to let us host the Multicoloured Fibre Swap Shop and Knitting Emporium. So bring along your unwanted textile related items (yarn, craft equipment, books etc) and swap it for someone elses goodie. The Knitting Emporium is going to be an area to sit, relax, knit, share ideas and try some free patterns.

If you have any ideas for these festivals or general p/hop activities, I would love to hear from you. Cybil on Ravelry has come up with a fantastic idea of doing an Afghan for p/hop (pictured below). For more details click here.

Pete is rallying together troops on Ravelry to enter the One & Other draw, to knit on the fourth empty plinth in Trafalgar Square for an hour. To sign up click here.

Hilltopkatie has designed a wonderful sock pattern which will be up on the blog shortly.

Happy knitting!