Our Mission is to bring the Arts of Knitting and Crocheting to women who are dealing with substance abuse issues, mental illness, and lives impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and family trauma. We use knitting and crocheting to achieve our ultimate goal of finding ways to Heal ourselves, find Hope, create s sense of Happiness and Joy, and ultimately raise our Spirits, Skill Sets and Quality of Life.
At Knitting in Recovery, all of our gracious donors mean the world to us. They make what we do possible, so we wanted to take the time to highlight them and share our deepest gratitude.
Today we are spotlighting Deb Thompson.
Like many of us, Deb learned to knit from her mother when she was young. She mostly put her needles down until she walked into Anacapa Fine Yarns and was suddenly inspired to knit again! (Who can ever resist gorgeous yarn?!) Deb has also taken up weaving, in part as a means to use up scrap yarn, and has even ventured into spinning her own yarn. She is part of the Ventura Weavers and Spinners Guild.
Deb made a generous donation of vibrant wool yarn, including some that she had spun herself. We are honored to receive this labor of love.
Deb’s hand-spun yarn.
Thank you, Deb, for helping our program succeed in helping other women in our community.
At Knitting in Recovery, all of our gracious donors mean the world to us. They make what we do possible, so we wanted to take the time to highlight them and share our deepest gratitude.
Today we are spotlighting Celeste Matesevac, Marcia Doty, and BookEnds Bookstore. BookEnds has hosted our Worldwide Knit in Public Day celebrations for several years now and has also hosted a number of community scarf baskets. We asked Celeste and Marcia to share a little bit about themselves, the shop, and how they got involved with Knitting in Recovery. Thank you, Celeste, Marcia, and BookEnds, for helping our program succeed in helping other women in our community:
BookEnds Bookstore & Curiosities is located in Meiners Oaks, the unincorporated area just outside of Ojai. BookEnds is run by Marcia Doty and Celeste Matesevac. Marcia began selling Antiquarian Spiritual books years ago and always dreamed of having a bookstore in a church. Celeste had a career of working for non-profits in Ojai until retiring in 2017 from 14 years with the Search Dog Foundation of Santa Paula, CA. The pair have run several businesses together over the years, but this one is by far their favorite, as they love meeting new people and sharing not only their books but also the town’s incredible history.
BookEnds’ mission is to keep the printed word alive through our “lightly read” treasures of mainly non-fiction books. The bookstore is a literary escapade, as you can browse in the church/bookstore to discover the History of Ideas, Fine Arts, Children’s Literature and especially the Spiritual Traditions. Or go outside to Addendum 1, a retrofitted 1961 Airstream, to explore Travel, Adventure, the Great Outdoors. It’s a bookshop on wheels that stays in one place. Directly behind the Airstream is Addendum 2-Do, a homey hideaway tiny-house shed featuring Crafts, Hobbies, Gardening and inspired Everyday Living.
Addendum 1, located in a refurbished airstream
The shop also features vintage bookends throughout the store, vintage cameras, and has a case of Vaseline Glass for sale.
Vaseline glass on display at BookEnds
Fun fact: BookEnds is located in a 75 year old Church of Christ, built by George Biggers who was Ojai Valley’s bee/honey provider for years. He built the church, became the minister, was the Ojai Valley’s main honey provider, and traveled around becoming “famous” in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as the only person that could make a beard out of bees!
Inside the old church.
Each year the knitting world, internationally, created one “Knit in Public Day” in June. Lise Solvang had become a good friend of the bookstore, and as Marcia and Celeste got to know her, Lise shared her passion for Knitting in Recovery. Three years ago, Lise asked if BookEnds outside garden area would host a Knit in Public Day. BookEnds has hosted every year since. What began as the only Knit in Public Day in Ventura County with a handful of knitters is now an annual event hosting over 100 people throughout the day.
Worldwide Knit in Public Day!
BookEnds has so many wonderful new friends from that first day that continue to spread the word about the bookstore.
At Knitting in Recovery, all of our gracious donors mean the world to us. They make what we do possible, so we wanted to take the time to highlight them and share our deepest gratitude.
Today we are spotlighting Terri Nigro. Terri has given generous yarn donations that we have spotlighted in the past. Not only that, but she has gotten other friends involved in donating to Knitting in Recovery as well. We asked Terri to share a little bit about herself, her passion for knitting, and how she got involved with Knitting in Recovery. Thank you, Terri, for helping our program succeed in helping other women in our community:
I first learned to knit at a class at Sears when I was 10 years old. Our project was a sweater (yikes!) that I made for my mother (who, bless her heart, wore it underneath her winter coat on a few occasions). After that, I didn’t knit again until I was in my forties. I had, however, cross-stitched for many years and enjoyed it very much.
One day, my cross-stitch friends went on a trip to a yarn store, and I went along. I saw so many pretty samples and beautiful yarns, and I caught the fever. I bought some fancy eyelash yarn that was all the rage and brought it home. I looked up knitting on the Internet, and re-taught myself to knit. I garter-stitched a scarf, and I was on my way with two new hobbies: knitting and collecting yarn. After 30 scarves, I started to branch out to other items and stitches. I’ve learned to do socks and sweaters and everything in between.
I’m even better at that second hobby: stash-building. So when Lois at Anacapa Fine Yarns told me about Knitting in Recovery, I was pleased to be able to share a goodly sum of yarn to the project. I also let those knitting friends know, and Marsha Blanton, Janet Mailhot, Lou Webster, and JoAnn Zullo added to the bags as well.
I’m grateful for all the good work happening at Knitting in Recovery, and that they are able to share this fun and creative hobby with those who find it brings them peace and a smile.
-Terri
Thank you, Terri and friends!
Knitting in Recovery teachers bringing Terri’s donation to class.
Knitting in Recovery has received so many generous donations from Twist, Yarns of Intrigue that we wanted to spotlight their amazing store!
Twist storefront
Twist is based in Manhattan Beach, CA and run by Cathy Karen. Karen studied fine art in the conceptual art department at UC Irvine before realizing her love of fiber art. Karen refocused her studies and switched universities to enroll in one of the West Coast’s leading textile arts programs, and soon launched into a highly successful career in textile design and color consulting. Now she uses her 30+ years of experience in art and color consulting to run her own yarn and textile boutique.
The store boasts an impressive signature line of artisan yarns that are hand-spun and hand-dyed in-house by owner Cathy. Cathy even offers dyed-to-order custom yarns. Twist also has an amazing inventory of one-of-a-kind original yarns handmade by artisans around the world. Their yarns come in a rich array of contemporary colors and fibers including organic cottons and wool, mohair, silk, cashmere, hemp, soy, and bamboo.
Hand-dyed yarns on the drying rack.
One of the things that makes Twist stand out is their commitment to making a difference and improving the lives of people around the world. In addition to donating to Knitting in Recovery, Twist also features a line of “yarns with conscious” made by women in Calcutta, South Africa, and Bolivia, the profits of which go back into the communities from which they came. Check out their Giving Back page to view the full list of women and organizations that Twist supports.
Donations to Knitting in Recovery come from Twist (brand new yarns) as well as from customers (unused stash, leftover yarns from projects). Twist customers donate from the goodness of their hearts and receive nothing other than our thanks and heartfelt appreciation for their generosity.
Many heartfelt thanks to Cathy and Twist customers for their continued support of Knitting in Recovery.
Check out Twist for your next knitting or crochet project or to join a class at Twist and meet other crafters.
Ok, Ojai friends, you know the drill. Find this basket! We hid it somewhere around town. Once you find it, take a picture of yourself knitting the scarf and post it to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #knittinginrecovery . Be sure to follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram @knittinginrecovery to be automatically entered into a raffle for a yarn basket of your own.
Hint: We’ll be sure to keep this basket’s whereabouts anonymous.
Once the scarf is finished, it will be donated to a local charity for our less fortunate community members.
Another one for Ojai folks–find this basket! We hid it somewhere around town. Once you find it, take a picture of yourself knitting the scarf and post it to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #knittinginrecovery . Be sure to follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram @knittinginrecovery to be automatically entered into a raffle for a yarn basket of your own.
Hint: Knitting this scarf will make you feel restored, and your appointment will be a breeze.
Once the scarf is finished, it will be donated to a local charity for our less fortunate community members.
Got a case of the Mondays? Break up your routine by going on a scavenger hunt!This year, we’re expanding the Community Scarf Basket program to Ventura! This basket is at our first Ventura partner business. It’s a super cozy spot with lots of goodies for you to enjoy while you knit.Once you find it, take a picture of yourself knitting the scarf and post it to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #knittinginrecovery . Be sure to follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram @knittinginrecovery to be automatically entered into a raffle for a yarn basket of your own.Once the scarf is finished, it will be donated to a local charity for our less fortunate community members.
The basket in its location. Do you recognize the mural?
Knitting in Recovery just received yet another generous donation of tons of gorgeous, soft, and cozy yarn from Twist Yarns of Intrigue in Manhattan Beach. We are so grateful to have such selfless community members supporting our program.
Just like any knitter or crocheter, our clients love getting new yarn. Every time we bring in a donation, it’s like Christmas for them. This time, some of the yarn from the donation might just be used for Christmas and holiday presents! One of the best parts of Knitting in Recovery is that yarn donated to our clients is often used to make hats, scarves, and blankets that are then donated to others less fortunate. It really is a community-strengthening process that spreads love to all it touches.
Many thanks again to Twist Yarns of Intrigue for the donation.
Find this basket! We hid it somewhere around Ojai. Once you find it, take a picture of yourself knitting the scarf and post it to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #knittinginrecovery
Once the scarf is finished, it will be donated to a local charity for our less fortunate community members.
If you haven’t already, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @knittinginrecovery
Knitting in Recovery - One Stitch at a Time 