Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Katie Boyette and I'm a knitting designer, more specifically, a designer of knitted toys. My daughter, Sophia, is in 1st grade. Like most first graders, she has a vivid imagination. We often have "design time", where we sit at a table with paper and a pile of pencils, thinking of funny characters to knit. Her classmates are equally imaginative, and so I started thinking, perhaps we could harness this creativity, turn their ideas into knitting patterns, and sell the patterns to help a cause. I took my idea to Sophia's teacher, Amy Eberle, who suggested raising money for the Hunger Coalition. "Of course!", I thought. And so, the Hungry Monsters Project was born!
From the moment the idea took shape, it seemed every time I picked up a newspaper or listened to the news, they were talking about the current hunger crisis. Here in Watauga County, the statistics are saddening. 1 in 4 children under the age of 5 are in danger of going to bed hungry. Local food banks are struggling to meet the demand for food, and the story is the same across the country.
Phase One: A week ago, I visited Ms. Eberle's first grade class at Hardin Park Elementary, and presented my idea. The kids were so enthusiastic! We talked about hunger and the needs of the community. Then we talked about knitting and monsters. I brought in a few knitted monsters to pass around. And then we went straight in designing. The first day was free design. The kids could draw anything they liked, and boy were they clever! On the back of the drawings, they wrote a few characteristics, and discussed each monsters favorite food.
Phase Two: Ms. Eberle had the kids make a chart with 2 lists, "Needs vs. Wants". The kids did a great job with this exercise. We decided on an initial goal of raising $500 for the Health and Hunger Coalition. That will feed 150 people. They also created a chart to make a budget. I knew that knitting 20 different monsters would be impossible, and so I decided the pattern would be mix and match monsters, allowing the knitter to choose between different monster heads and bodies. To demonstrate this, Ms. Eberle gave the kids a blank template, and had them design a monster within the template. She then cut each picture in half, and glued them into a flip book. The monster possibilities were endless! It was very cool.
Phase Three: Ms. Eberle split the students into 3 groups. The students in each group worked together to create one monster. They gave them names, and wrote some really funny stories. 
What's next? Soon I'll post the finished monsters and stories, and then comes the real challenge, turning them into knitting patterns. I'm hoping to have the patterns for sale within 2 weeks, so I hope you'll keep checking in. Remember, all proceeds go towards fighting hunger. So spread the word to all the knitters you know. Stay tuned!
