Saturday, November 11, 2006

October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month















as you look at the extraordinary artistry of the volunteers of sue rock originals EVERYONE!!!...
remember that all of this came
just for the sake
of asking......

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

VOLUNTEER FOCUS - RAMONA KEARNS

The charity had the wonderful opportunity to be featured in Calabar Magazine. If you don't know about it Calabar Imports is a magnificent business located in Brooklyn in the newly declared "Heart of Brooklyn" section - a stone's throw from the Brooklyn Museum. CALABAR Imports is a trendy, specialty retail and gift store for discerning, quality-conscious buyers of home furnishings, unique crafted jewelry, fashion and brand cosmetics sold at moderate prices.

Well back to Calabar Magazine - the fashion/culture conscious newspaper produced by Calabar Imports - they featured us in their September Socially Conscious Fashion Article by Bonny Sandy Sterling.



















The pieces featured were created by Ramona Kearns. Noted writer and poet and original member of Neema Barnette's theatre group "Live Theatre Gang", Ms. Kearn's love has always been crochet. Using intuitive crochet (the ability to create designs ideas while crocheting without patterns) she creates bold rich fashion forward designs that are appealing to every figure.

Ms. Kearns is currently on the board of Bailey's Cafe, a Crown Heights based non-profit that connects young people with senior citizens for joint work on cultural projects such as oral history, murals, and protection of community gardens.

Friday, October 20, 2006

FINALLY - I have an Apartment again!!!

YAAAAAY I AM SOOOOO HAPPY!

There were books, big books, small books, big hardcover books, small science fiction books, big splashy poetry BOOOOOOOOOOKS - from one side of my one bedroom apartment to another.....Then there were bags, bags full of clothes and bags full of hats and bags full of sweaters and bags full of ..........well ...................BAGS !!!-

but today at 3:45pm two mainenance workers from Safe Horizon's living center came and pick up everything - the van kept filling and filling and filling - until finally they asked - "is that all? - PHEW!"

at final count?
innumerable children's hats
a car coat and hat
a dress jacket
two poncho and hat sets
seven ponchos
seven adult hats
five scarves
one fuscia head wrap
and three gorgeous shrugs

add to that a box of audio books and exercise videos
a box of R&B CDs
a bag of clothing (children and adults)
and over 500 children's books from 2nd - 8th grade
and you have a brilliant tribute to Safe Horizon and
families who are making a commitment
to creating a way
out of no way........

.........with a little help :))

Thank you All!

I want to take this time to thank Sheila from Sheila Crochetz, Tamiko Beyer, Amy Griffin Otterberg, Jennifer May and the wonderful crew up in New Paltz (SUNY ROCKS!) and Lisa Mullings.

Of course I wouldn't have any peace if not for the love and patience of my husband Ifasina Akinsegun who is just as intense about creativity as I am and allows me to fill the apartment with infinite amounts of "potential" goodies with relatively little complaint ("just as long as I can get two yards of this - I mean you know how I feel about gabardine.......)

Love you all - more tomorrow when I go to the space and do the distribution

WOO HOOO!!!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006


Yep, that's an illustration of how we look now - after all that knitting and crocheting, our heads have just SWOLLEN to phenomenal proportions.....we simplly sit with our pattern books in our hands and wait for the swelling to recede.....alas!

Well with the beautiful items you have made, your heads SHOULD be swollen!!! CONGRATULATIONS!! AND THANK YOU to all the volunteers that have come through to create clothing and accessories for survivors of domestic violence for OCTOBER - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

Please come out on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 to Brooklyn - 1069 BERGEN STREET, between ROGERS AND NOSTRAND AVENUES at 3:00 PM.

(Travel Directions: Take the A or C trains to Nostrand Avenue. Exit the train to your right and walk in the direction of traffic along Nostrand Avenue to BERGEN STREET. Turn right and 1069 Bergen Street is on the left side.)

Bring the wonderful clothing you have created and any leftover yarns. We will be taking pictures, having food and sharing just how great this experience has been for all of us.The contact number in Brooklyn is (718) 771-3687

WE WILL ALSO ACCEPT YARN, FABRIC AND SEWING DONATIONS!!!

Thank you so much and see you then!!!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Sue Rock Originals gets our Safe Horizon Shelter - *********** House!

Safe Horizon has presented sue rock originals EVERYONE!!! a transitional shelter to receive our handcrafted items - ********** House has agreed to accept our donations for the third week of October (20, 21 or 22). So volunteers, we have a deadline!!

sue rock originals EVERYONE!!! will plan for a get together on October 14/15 - with a location to be decided. We will less entertainment than our last get together (those who were there know what I mean) and we will take a final count of all the donated items….

If you are wondering about the **********s, part of the contribution parameters require extreme confidentiality regarding the location of the survivors. Digesting this fact gave me great pause, gave me the depth of understanding of how great this gift really is!

Call me at 212.574-1422 if you need more yarn or tips on what to make -

I will be hearing from the director soon to get more feedback on specific items that are needed, however I do know this - There are at least 20 families - meaning at least 60 people ages baby to 48!

Love to you all for your tremendous support and commitment to this project -

HUGZ
Sue Rock

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

sue rock originals calls on volunteers for their fall crochet/knitting drive

it is amazing in New York today - grey and cool, the weather shifts to September. And so we are revving up again for October - Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Last week's get together of volunteers was really great. In planning for volunteer activities, it was really difficult finding a free location and also figuring out a way to get all of the fabric and yarns there. I finally decied to keep things simple for myself and do the get togethers at my home. However, living in New York, I have a small apartment. The lobby would have to do, and so I set up the bins of yarn in the lobby waiting patiently for volunteers to arrive. I had sent out Evites to folks throughout the New York area and was prepared to be there from 1:00 - 6:00 pm.

At 2:30 on a rainy Sunday, I began to face the daunting possibility of having to create all the items this season myself, when all of a sudden Sheila from Sheila Crochetz came, cell phone in hand, making sure she had the correct address. After that the volunteers kept coming.

All in all we have a group of eight people, knitters and crocheters alike. They used wools, wool blends, silk and cotton skeins and much more to create for the next month.

We could use more volunteers so if you are interested, please contact me at suerockoriginals@yahoo.com to come by and pick up some yarn to work on!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Mother's Day Collection for Sue Rock Originals EVERYONE!!!







These photos are a sample of the wonderful items donated to my organization. Ponchos, Handbags, Purses, Wraps and Hats all handmade by people who had the skill, ability and dedication to make someone else's life a little brighter.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Mother's Day Brings Beauty on all Fronts











Simply said - A picture is worth a thousand words

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

VERBA LYNETTE PRESENTS SUE ROCK ORIGINALS

Host Verba Lynette will present Sue Rock of sue rock originals
on her weekly Tuesday evening talk show TONITE at 9:00 pmON BCAT.
On the show, Verba will discuss with Sue how she got started, how to develop connections to African craft cooperatives and Sue's unique use of fashion in serving the community with her knitting charity which uses volunteers to design and create clothing for survivors of domestic violence. A variety of knit and crocheted items will be featured as you get an in depth look at this 21st century entrepreneur.
You can watch BCAT on Cablevision Channel 68 or Time Warner Channel 35
Or if you are outside the Brooklyn, New York area
Log on here - http://www.brooklynx.org/bcat/ and click where it says
WATCH BCAT LIVE to broadcast on your computer.
ENJOY!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

if you call them they WILL come.....

- amazing amazing amazing - this process has healed my hope for humanity. Well I just sent out a bunch of request letters to yarn stores for contributions and the first contributors have come through brilliantly!!

My first thank you goes to The Wool Gathering a wonderful store located on the upper east side in New York City. On receiving my letter, the owner called to say that this was the first time she had received a request letter she actually enjoyed responding to. Her box included not only skeins of yarn but both wooden and circular needles in abundance! Thank you Wool Gathering.

Next in our list of postive yarn companies is Brown Sheep Company, Inc. , that's right from NEBRASKA!! At 7:00 pm one evening, UPS brought to my home a box of yarn from Brown Sheep. Shall I say a HUGE box of yarn from Brown Sheep!! - their contribution invoice said 20 POUNDS! - Good Work for a good cause and thank you Brown Sheep Company. ( I am working on a circular poncho with your Roasted Coffee right now!) - oh did I mention that each and every ounce of their yarn is wool/mohair blend (YUM!)

Finally thank you's go out to Mountain Colors . A self-described "small business located in scenic Montana" their self-contained package was full to the brim with GORGEOUS hand dyed yarn.

Thanks to these wonderful businesses this work is effortless :))

Sunday, February 12, 2006

New York Knitting Olympics Invites Sue Rock Originals EVERYONE!!

Well I have to tell you, I have never had such a wonderful time!!

On Friday, February 10 at New York's Bowery Poetry Club , knitting groups Booze & Yarn and Yarn Harlot hosted the New York Knitting Olympics . If you have not been up on the happenings on Wednesday nights in New York you have been missing a rocking good time. Corrina Mantlo, hostess of Booze and Yarn has been holding a regular weekly & weekend knitting event in some of the best clubs in Lower Manhattan. A brilliant vintage knitter and accomplished costume historian, young Ms. Mantlo has a bevy of beauties knitting and pearling on the regular!! Going from person to person like an endearing school marm, she encourages new knitters and teaches complex patterns with ease. Her attendees love the comraderie as well as the attentive care and freedom they are given with their creative ventures.....

On Friday, with the 1964 Olympics playing on a nearby laptop, women came from far and wide to "cast-on" and begin their challenge - to complete an item in 16 days.

The magic came in Ms. Mantlo referring her attendees join in the sue rock originals EVERYONE!!! charity effort and pick up yarn and patterns to use as their challenge project.

I met harpists, milliners, advertising executives, elders, computer programers and just plain girls who love to "yarn over" and they all joined with enthusiasm the venture of preparing items for women in need.

Pictures to come!