Knimble Knitters – knuckle down for Arthritis Care UK and win £200

Knimble Knitters is a UK-wide competition to raise funds for the arthritis support charity, while giving entrants the chance to win cash prizes and show off their needle skills.

The Theme

Knit a scarf, hat, pair of mittens or any other accessory – as long as it falls under our chosen category of Winter, and, for an entry fee of £2 per item, you can not only put your knitting skills to the test, but help people with arthritis, and potentially pocket a handy prize of £200, £50, or £25.

Fundraising Ideas 

Arthritis Care’s Knimble Knitters team – the ‘Knit Wits’ - have come up with a few fundraising ideas to help competitors get the ball rolling.

At work

● Get colleagues to sponsor you to wear different items of knitted clothing to work each day one week – and dare them to sponsor you with more cash the sillier or more outrageous your fluffy stuff is.

● Hold a sponsored ‘sprint knit’ – rope in your workmates as you race to make as much progress as possible during your lunch hour. Your ‘click-clacking clique’ could hold a sweepstake to bet the number of rows you can knit in a lunch hour.

● Hold a knitwear day at work in place of Dress-down Friday. Ask everyone in your building to don knitwear and donate £1 to your Knimble Knitter Kitty.

Deadline

All entries must be submitted by 15 February 2010 and winners will be notified in March. The winner will be featured in Arthritis News, Arthritis Care’s in-house magazine.

All the money raised will go to help fund the vital information and support services which Arthritis Care provides, such as free helplines, pain management courses, online discussion forums, and the booklets tailored to the UK’s nine million people with arthritis in the UK.

All the informationcan, rules, entry packs, etc, be found here, but you can also contact the Knimble Knitters team: 

T: 020 7380 6500

E: Knitting@arthritiscare.org.uk

W: www.arthritiscare.org.uk

PLEASE NOTE:

This competition is open to UK residents only. But they would love for people outside of the UK to become involved in the project, and help raise awareness about arthritis. They are asking people to raise sponsorship but it is not compulsory, and any donations would be very gratefully received.

Knitting and Arthritis

People sometimes believe knitting will make their arthritis worse, but ensuring that you get the balance right between rest and activity should mean that this is not the case. Here are some tips:

• Even inflamed joints need exercise. Knitting is a gentle way to keep the joints moving if you have arthritis in your hands or wrists, even during a flare-up.

• Little and often is the key. If you knit in short bursts with longer pauses in between, you should find that it helps rather than making it worse.

• If metal needles don't suit you, there are lots of options you can explore, including bamboo needles which many people with arthritis find easier to use.