Monday 20 February 2012

"There is enough wool to

start a shop!" the Senior Cat complained when he saw the four boxes which a friend brought in yesterday. My friend is going back to New Zealand to live and she had cleared out a great many odd balls of yarn. There is not enough of any one yarn to knit a garment in one colour with the exception of a salmon coloured wool that is years old but there are yarns which go together.
Some of them will make hats or mittens or gloves or socks. Others may go together and make garments for small children.  It is going to be my job to pass them on to people I think will use them. In return they will give me donations for a charitable cause in which I have a particular interest.
It is interesting to see what my friend has been knitting over the years. Her own colouring is quite different from mine. She had naturally "red" hair when younger.  Her colour choice would never be mine.
We do have many things in common however. Like me she prefers wool or another natural fibre. Although there might be a little artificial fibre mixed into the sock yarn anything else is natural and people will like it because of that. Natural fibres, it is generally agreed, are easier to knit.
There is one girl I know who knits almost nothing but hats. She experiments on these. She is always trying new patterns, new techniques, new colour combinations and new embellishments. They are a constant learning experience for her.  All sorts of people benefit from the hats she only ever gives away.
Another person I know also knits hats for charity but rarely ventures into anything new. Her hats are still welcomed and they make her feel wanted by other people.
Another friend knits socks. My father owns several pairs she has made for him. She also gives socks away, as well as vests and pullovers and cardigans. Her generosity on a pension is a lesson to everyone.
There will be other knitters I know who will benefit too. They all make different things. Some, indeed most, only follow a pattern but they still enjoy the process.
But, even more importantly, others will benefit too. Just before Christmas we raised some money for the same cause. The money went on mosquito nets to help reduce the risk of malaria in a camp for unaccompanied children in east Africa. We also helped to buy tyres for the lorry/truck which takes things in and out of the camp. 
I am wondering what this money will help to buy. Whatever it buys will have been bought one stitch at a time.

5 comments:

Old Kitty said...

I am in awe! I wish I could knit, I really truly do!

Take care
x

Nicole said...

One of my managers was into knitting. He knitted me a gorgeous scarf of beautiful soft wool that my cat just adores ;p I have to hide it from her

Anonymous said...

That's marvellous! I can't knit for peanuts but I love properly woolly things. (Still freezing here!) Anna in Canada

jeanfromcornwall said...

I love the way all this do-goodery is going on under the radar! No advertising and hoo-ha: just doing it.

JO said...

I knit! But live too far away - shame!