Yarnies541

Hello Yarnies541 network!

Some bright news in the chaos. This community is crafting good things! There is a lot to share, so buckle up and read on!

This Saturday, April 25th is LOCAL YARN STORE DAY! Come out and support our lovely local yarn stores this Saturday! Cozy and Stringfield have some great stuff cookin’ this year with trunk shows, sales, prize baskets, and fun! Wherever you are, check out the local yarn stores if you can! Please check out the websites for our local shops: stringfieldyarncollective.com and cozy-yarn.com and if you’re on social media, give them a follow for up to the minute events that day. 

Did you know that Yarnies541 has a craftivism sibling? P.A.L.S. stands for Post Apocalyptic Life Skills and is an awesome group striving to support each other and the community in showing up for change and a better, beautiful future. Recently P.A.L.S. put on a fundraiser for PIRC (Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition: https://pircoregon.org/ ) through selling the “melt the ice” resistance hats. P.A.L.S. raised over $1,800 to donate to PIRC! 

(melt the ice hat pattern by Paul S. Neary for Needle and Skein in MN.)

WAY TO GO! Please check them out! Special thank you to Stringfield Yarn Collective and Cozy for being a drop off/pick up spot for the hat sales. And an EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU SHOUT OUT to all Yarnies541 members that contributed to the making of these hats for this fundraiser. WOW! What a community! Hats are still available for purchase at a sliding scale cost. Please reach out to P.A.L.S. directly, you can message them on instagram or substack to arrange to purchase a hat.

P.A.L.S. Eugene links are on our linktree here: https://linktr.ee/yarnies541 there are even some short videos about P.A.L.S. Eugene on the Yarnies541 youtube (scroll all the way down in our linktree for the youtube link). P.A.L.S. has been busy, busy! P.A.L.S. will be tabling at the Eugene May Day International Workers’ Day celebration on Sunday, April 26th noon-5 at the Park Blocks (8th & Oak in Eugene). So check them out in person if you can!

The first annual String Fling Potluck was a good time! Gathering the Yarnies541 community for a spring potluck and this year’s Meep kickoff! We raised $165 for NAMI Lane County. Thank you to all who came out to share in the DELICIOUS food, info session about the upcoming NAMI walk on May 16th, and the ways in which our crafting group is showing up for our community this May. Along with Always Be Kind Yarn and the Sage Casey Foundation, we’ll be tabling, talking about suicide prevention, the importance of community, and handing out as many Meeps as we can! 

Laura of Always Be Kind Yarn has a team for the walk. To learn more, donate, or sign up to walk with the Always Be Kind Yarn team, visit this link: https://www.namiwalks.org/teams/83157

Learn more about NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Lane County chapter here: https://namilane.org/ and to learn about the Sage Casey Foundation, click here: https://www.sagecaseyfoundation.com/

Regarding the Meeps/pocket hugs….. We are hosting a competition! Whoever makes the most Meeps to donate to the NAMI event will receive a gift certificate to Always Be Kind Yarn AND a gift basket from Stringfield Yarn Collective & Yarnies541. Please turn in your Meeps by May 13th at any of the following:

• Yarnies541 meetups

• Stringfield Yarn Collective

• Cozy.

You can take a picture of your Meeps when you drop them off at the locations above and complete at least one of the following to be entered into the competition: (please mention the number you made)

• post it and tag @Yarnies541 on Instagram,

• post it on the Yarnies541 facebook page,

• post it on the Yarnies541 Discord under “meeps 2026”

• or even email it to Yarnies541@gmail.com

SO MANY OPTIONS!

(image from allyoumeepislove.com)

And please feel free to share your meep pictures as you make-along, they are REALLY cute! Learn more about Meeps here: All You Meep Is Love

You can access the crochet AND knit patterns on the Yarnies541 website here: meeps & pocket hugs page Yarnies541 will have patterns and some kits at the weekly meetups leading up to the NAMI walk on May 16th. You need yarn, Stuffing, safety eyes, and crochet hook or needles sized to the yarn you’re using. If you need safety eyes, WE HAVE THEM! See us at a meetup or reach out either on Discord, or email to arrange a pick up spot.

Mark your calendars for upcoming events: 

Weekly meetups continue! Tuesday at Oakshire in Eugene and Thursdays at Oakshire in Springfield. 5:30-ish.

NAMI walk (5k): Saturday, May 16th at Island Park 200 West B Street in Springfield. Event at 10am, walk begins at noon. 

Next business meeting Sunday, May 17th at 5:30pm at Stringfield Yarn Collective.

Pride Night with the Eugene Ems: Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30pm. Details coming with Stringfield Yarn Collective Stitch n Pitch fun.

Yarn In Public (YIP) Day: Saturday, June 13th. We plan to be back in Eugene this year, stay tuned!

Lane County Fair!! July 22-26 this year. The Yarnies541 theme is MUSHROOMS! I know, I know! We waffled a bunch on the themes over this last year and the vote came in at the last business meeting that Mushrooms would be fun and easily customized for craft and personality. Knit/crochet/needle felt/embroidery, whatever! We welcome all the things string. More info will be coming as fair gets closer so we can be in the loop for textile submissions!

FYI:

Did you know that a portion of 2026 paid-tier membership cost goes back into your community? Yarnies541 contributes $5 per full paid membership, per quarterly event, to local groups that support our community directly. How do we calculate the cost? When paid-tier members attend our fundraising events, we add attendance up at each event and donate to the cause of the quarter. Past examples include Food for Lane County, Civil Liberties Defense Center, and NAMI Lane County. It’s possible for a full 1/3 of your paid membership to go back into our community when you attend Yarnies541 fundraisers!

A little perk of paid-tier membership is knowing you’re also contributing to a stronger and more vibrant local community through mutual monetary support! We think that’s pretty great!

*Reminder that most of our events are free and open to everyone, paid and non-paid tier members alike.

As always, Thank you for building this great community! Please consider supporting the local businesses that support our club: stringfieldyarncollective.com and cozy-yarn.com as well as ebbandflowboutique.com and www.alwaysbekindyarn.com

Please check out our calendar on the main page of the website www.Yarnies541.org for recurring events. And please, as always, email or comment about events we may have missed! Or post them on the Yarnies541 Discord: Yarnies541 discord invite