Get out your wallet and rush rush rush! In the week before December 1st (World AIDS Day) everybody - scarf lovers, gift hunters or simply conscious people with a good heart - can drop in at our pop up store in Stadsfeestzaal on Meir in Antwerp and choose among beautiful handknitted scarves! Yes, you will once more have the opportunity to get yourself and/or your family and friends a warm, soft handmade scarf, that contains that little bit extra: love. By buying your scarf, you're actively contributing to HIV/AIDS related projects organized by Designers against AIDS and Sensoa. This huge sale wouldn't have taken place without the support of The Pink House in Antwerp, that organizes this annual event - most of the girls and guys you'll meet at the pop-up shop are volunteering!

A great cause, that needs some great help & support: yours. Prices start at 10€ -which is next to nothing for a handmade unique piece- so don't hesitate and get the best pieces quickly.

See you at Antwerp's Stadsfeestzaal, every day until December 1st and on December 4th, from 10 AM until 6 PM!

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Knit it in Brussels!

How far can you go on a Sunday morning? I'm not talking about geographical distance, although last Sunday I did move from Antwerp. I'm talking about devoting your spare time to something unconventional and, why not, challenging. After a long 9 to 5 week everyone would be tempted to indulge in lying in their bed a bit longer (yesss!), go for a first Autumn walk - by the way these beautiful golden leaves make me too sentimental, so better stay at home - or maybe rearrange their sugar sachets collection - don't have one, sorry.
Never mind. On Sunday I took my morning train to Brussels to meet some special people, who spent their free day knitting. Yes, knitting, no kidding.

"Knitting against AIDS" is actually a very interesting project taking place at the Rainbow House, right at the heart of Brussels. The idea is to gather as many voluntary knitters as possible, who sit around with a nice cup of coffee and produce scarves. Why scarves? Well, because Winter is coming up and a scarf is a perfect idea for a warm, original gift. But if you think about it, a scarf can also remind of the red AIDS ribbon: once they are ready, these colorful scarves will be sold and the profits will be donated to DAA awareness projects!

But what exactly brings these people here, together with charity? Carolina, for example, is an Argentinean girl who works with fashion designers, so she's somehow an insider. For her it's of course a way to contribute to a good cause, but also (hear hear) an easy technique for relaxing and meditating...
Technology meets knitting, as Saar got to know about this event on Facebook: "My colleague posted it on her page, I thought it could be a nice chance to do something good and meet new people", and then she whispers to me: "It also prevents me from smoking. I like knitting so much that I wake up a bit earlier every morning to have my daily session. It's sort of an addiction" (guess much healthier than smoking).

(Yes, yes, boys can knit! But...I was talking of a cup of coffee, it THAT wine??)

Meanwhile Hilde looks at us, the workers and the intruder, with a benevolent smile, the kind of smile that only an experienced knitter like her has. How can somebody knit without looking at their hands?? That remains a big mystery to me.

With my heart full of warm, woolly impressions I get out of the Rainbow House, where the knitters keep on working hard. I'm ready to hit the capital! (hey: it's my first time in Brussels! Where's the Manneken Pis?) But the wind blows hard on this Sunday morning and I would need a scarf...

p.s.: if you feel curious about Knitting against AIDS you can read more on http://www.rainbowhouse.be/spip.php?article1132.