Knitting in the News: Knitting Healthier than Smoking

A woman in Staffordshire used knitting to help her kick the smoking habit and made an amazing contribution to helping kids in Tibet in the process. Julie Molineux has knit a staggering 101 baby hats for the Save the Children drive to warm children's heads in Tibet. She says she mostly made the hats from "bits of spare wool." How's that for working with your stash?

In other charity hat knitting news, patrons of the Knit World store in Palmerston North (New Zealand) have knit up a storm of their own, providing 430 hats that will go to kids in need around the country. In all, the shops will donate more than 15,000 hats to 70 different schools.

As knitters we know that green knitting has nothing to do with the color of yarn we're using, and the Kansas City Star recently looked at the evolution of eco-friendly yarn. Shop manager Cindy Craig says many companies have gotten more innovative when it comes to providing greener yarns, whether that means organic fiber or using natural colors instead of chemical dyes. And it provides more options for us, which is always a good thing.

And though it maybe hasn't been in the news, don't forget that this Saturday is Worldwide Knit in Public Day. If you don't know of an event happening where you live, check the site and then start one yourself if you want!