Cambodia Knits

Fun Knitting Pattern for Sale

Monika — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 04:18:06 +0000

Introducing our first ever knitting pattern: Twitter.

Designer Thelma Egberts contacted us a few month ago and offered us this pattern to sell and raise money for Cambodia Knits. Thelma is known in the knitting world for her very popular Dead Fish Hat, which was featured on Knitty and which you can find here. You can also visit her website here, for more wonderful patterns.

By buying this pattern, not only do you get to make this funky hat, but you are also supporting CK’s work in bringing employment to communities. Funds raised from pattern sales go into our training program, enabling us to train more knitters and provide more jobs.

It’s a win-win situation! Buy the pattern today for only 4USD.

Click on the PayPal button at bottom of the screen to make your purchase.

A funky hat for your loved ones

Make it for someone special

To buy this very fun Twitter knitting patterns, click on the PayPal link. Once your payment is processed, we’ll email you the pdf.

Magnet Dolls

Monika — Wed, 25 May 2011 04:07:59 +0000

Last year, our friend and supporter, Veronica Sherman, asked us to re-design our monkeys to include long legs and magnetic arms. With her guidance, we developed the long leg monkeys which were only available for sale with bags, also of her design. The magnet monkeys proved to be very popular and she’s since given us permission to sell them independent of the bags. And we’ve also tried a few other animals in a similar style.

Welcome to the family, the Magnet Dolls:

I think we need a better name than ‘Magnet Dolls’ and we’re open to your suggestions. Post a comment and also tell us what you think about these little guys.

Onabee in Melbourne

Monika — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 08:00:36 +0000

We haven’t posted this earlier, but since February, CK finger puppets have been available in Melbourne. The wonderful Fiona Burnes visited our workshop back in January and gave a crochet lesson to our staff. She loved the finger puppets she decided to stock them at her cute store in Kensington. Have a look at her website or if you’re in Melbourne visit her store.

At Onabee you can buy locally made Yarn for knitting crocheting and felting, hand printed fabric and locally handmade things. We also stock haberdashery and run craft classes
Inspired by all the creativity and design of local people, Onabee brings it all into the one place to inspire you.

Products Include:
Heirloom yarns, needles & patterns
Woolganics yarn
Pear Tree Yarn, wool tops & patterns
Birch Haberdashery
Ink & Spindle fabric
Pippijoe fabric
Yardage Melbourne fabric
Victoria Mason Jewellery
Loope knitted goods
Love
Sandra Bowkett jewellery
Ron D Swan bags
The Rabbit & The Duck
Silk Screens

…….Plus lots more products… including Cambodia Knits!!

Another new shop for CK

Monika — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:58:03 +0000

For all of you in Phnom Penh who like taking a walk along the Riverside, we now have a store selling CK products just there. Welcome to the CK family V Silk. The shop sells a variety of silks and other made in Cambodia products. It’s at House #221 on Sisowath Quay, about 4 blocks north of the FCC. Go and have a visit!

Happy Silk

Monika — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:32:30 +0000

Announcing a new sales locations for CK goodies: Happy Silk.

Happy Silk is located on Street 178, just down from the Riverside and around the corner from the FCC. So you can get yourself a handful of finger puppets before heading upstairs for a drink while watching the sunset and playing with your new friends.

Congratulations to one of our knitters

Monika — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:39:03 +0000

Last week I visited the Kilometer 7 community where four of our very first knitters live. Since the week before, Rony and Tyna have been working from home and we wanted to assess what their working conditions were like at home. I was particularly worried about lighting and wanted to see how we can help them to improve this. While there, we met with Rony, who had stopped knitting a few weeks back due to the arrival of a new bundle of joy:

She is gorgeous! And mom is looking very healthy. You can see in the photo that Rony has cotton stuffed in her ears… this is because Khmer women believe that women are more susceptible to catching a cold after having a baby. And these colds are caught when cool air enters through the ears. Another person told me it is to reduce the stress of a new mother. If she hears too much of the daily world around it, it decreases her focus on the baby. Some women are discouraged from watching TV or reading for the same reason.

After spending some time with the knitters and talking about electricity costs, I realized that supplementing their electricity bills would not be a solution to poor lighting. We’re now looking into solar lights for them that they can use during the day and at night. We’ll buy the equipment for them, but they can contribute to the cost over time. We’ll check the prices and quality of the locally available solar packs next week.

Happy Pre Schoolers!

Monika — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:41:59 +0000

Last year, a friend who had visited the workshop, showed our finger puppets to the director of the pre school where she worked in Australia. The school director decided to buy a CK finger puppet for every student in the school as a present. Below are a couple photo of one happy and very satisfied customer, Leo, enjoying his new Piggy friend.

Monika — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:35:45 +0000

We ordered more than 100 finger puppets for Christmas presents for our preschool students. Leo was absolutely delighted to unwrap the pig from Santa as you can see! I have had many families tell me how wonderful the puppets are, and how happy they were to receive a present that helped families in Cambodia.

The Knitting Accountant

Monika — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 05:21:11 +0000

I was very surprised upon my return from holidays in Canada to find our accountant, Vandet, knitting. Not only knitting, but knitting a monster, in the round, and with great skill. I asked him what was going on and what compelled him to learn how to knit. He told me the knitters in the office told him he couldn’t do it. In my own life, this is the exact reason I have gone and done something: riding a dirt bike, playing guitar, learning kanji. It’s a great feeling proving someone who doubts your ability to learn wrong. Not that the knitters were being mean as the atmosphere at the CK workshop is very fun and supportive.

And Vandet has certainly proven them wrong! His stitches are nice and even. He’s figured out decreases in the round. He can manipulate 5 needles. Sure he’s slow and time will only tell if he actually becomes and active knitter, but he is a poster child for “anyone who wants, can learn”.

Vandet with expert teacher, Rofi.

CK featured in Phnom Penh’s Post 7 Day Lifestyle pullout!

Monika — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 05:03:44 +0000

Upon my return to Cambodia, I was interviewed by Jemma Galvin of the Phnom Penh Post. She wrote up a wonderful article about Cambodia Knits for the weekly Lifestyle section, 7 days. You can download and read a pdf version of the article here.