The Replanting Australia project

needs more blanket squares. Please help us!

Some regular readers of this blog will already know about this project but others won't. It began as "one of those" ideas in October 2019. We were having the usual post-Show meeting of the judges and stewards at  the state's Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society. The RA&HS is the body responsible for running the state's annual Show. It is the place where the farmers, market gardeners, vignerons, cattle and sheep folk get together. It also hosts a wide range of other activities and events over a ten day period. Handicrafts are an important part of the way in which everyone in the state - and beyond - can be involved.

Last year we did not have a Show - Covid19 prevented it. But there was one project we were determined to continue with if at all possible. We had started thinking about it in October 2019 and it became much more important over the summer of 2019-2020 when so many big fires devastated so much of the country. 

One of the places which was particularly hard hit was Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Island lies at the bottom of the leg that looks a little like Italy on the south coast of the map of Downunder. It has some  unique wildlife which alone would be worth saving but it also has a very, very important role to play in saving the world's bee population.  The bee population also has an absolutely vital role in saving the planet. All the discussion of climate change and how to deal with it pale into insignificance if we lose the world's bee population. Kangaroo Island's Ligurian bees need to not merely thrive but survive if we are to survive. They are sent all over the world to help restore local bee populations.

At the RA&HS meeting we tried to think of something that Handicrafts could do to help when the island was so hard hit by the fires. So much was lost and any little thing we could do might be useful. We came up with the old idea of making and raffling off a blanket and then making more blankets - if people would knit the squares. We thought we could make a competition of it to encourage people to design and make a square.

It has been my job to design and make some blanket squares because not everyone is comfortable designing their own squares. The patterns for the squares I designed (and another great square of a map of the island designed by someone else) are all to be found in the files of the Replanting Australia group on Facebook.  I've tried to get the message out there. I wrote about it here on another occasion. Bendigo Woollen Mills put it up on their FB page and it has been mentioned in other places.

But, we aren't getting much of a response. For some reason it has not captured the attention of as many people as we would like. We want a lot more squares. We want them absolutely no later than 19 August and we would ideally like them sooner than that. All the details and where to send the squares are on the Facebook page. You don't have to design a square or use any of the patterns I designed. If you can knit just a plain 30cm garter stitch square we would be more than pleased to have it. 

Please think about making one. I am happy to answer questions about the project and the patterns - and the bees will be happy too.