Knitting with a Serious Purpose

I haven't counted, but it must be true that Portland has more knit shops per capita than any other city on the planet.  Just the other day I ran right by yet another on E Burnside, Gossamer.  I can almost hear the needles clicking around town as I type!  Truth is I am a mediocre knitter with no patience for delayed gratification.

Not so my mother.  Just today, I opened a package from her with, I know it, the most beautiful shawl ever knitted.  And it's her birthday.  Ahhh, motherhood.  While my Mom produces gorgeous cable baby blankets for every birth I can think of (including my lucky friends), I rarely finish a project and routinely step over heaps of unused yarn in my basement.  All this to say how much I admire her skill, patience and generosity (you should see my kids' sweaters!), but also her call to share the wealth - the love, really. 

Charity Knitting.  Yes, there are plenty of knitting groups & dedicated individuals pumping out preemie hats, booties, and the like.  You go!  Knitters have a long history of creating to share: socks for the soldiers, Knitting for Victory, The Preemie Project, and the like.  Charity knitting, I gather, is the current term for a longstanding tradition.

But my Mom knits bereavement blankets for the babies who don't make it, the babies whom the parents must bury and leave behind.  These babies are swaddled in the blanket and photographed; the parents keep the blanket & the photograph.  Oh my.  This knitting must be especially emotional.  I think it can just about break your heart if you stop and think about it too long (especially after reading the recent article in The O about stillborn babies and their families).  My Mom knits all the love she has right into these blankets, and believes  - as I do - that it reaches each family, each baby.

And you?  Any Activistas busy charity knitting?  If so, any recommendations for good local programs or groups to connect with?  I imagine any one of the ever growing number of knit shops in town can likely connect you with a charity project.  And what a cool way to involve your kids in making something for others, learning a clearly useful craft. Quick baby hats, piecework blankets - doesn't get any easier.  If you're a knitty Activista, how about an urbanMamas kid charity knitting project this winter?  If you're up to it, e-mail us - we're game.

Feel the Love.  It's plain to see that charity knitting is all the rage, a perfect combination of people with much to share and those who really need it.  Isn't it nice - for a change - to be able to celebrate something so good, that is working so well, and that frequently has so many volunteers they have to 'close' charity projects?  Now if only we could knit our way to, say, a reduction in greenhouse gases or an end to war & hunger.  'Cause apparently there's a lot of power - and a lot of love - in them there needles. 

Comments

[Debby]

Dialysis patients could use nice blankets. It gets really cold during their treatments. That's the number 1 complaint of dialysis patients. It's not always possible to turn up the heat for a lot of reasons. Plus, the small amount of blood that is out of their body at one time really makes a difference. Many bring their own blankets, but some come without because of lack of resources. I don't work in dialysis anymore or I would collect blankets, but you can just look in the phone book for local clinics and call them to see if they would like blankets donated. I bet they would not say no!

[elizabeth]

I am not a knitter (although secretly I want to be so maybe this year I can actually learn?)

Last year this time my son was in the ICU for an extended stay. I came in one day and found he had a new blanket courtesy of Project Linus. It was not knitted it was fleece. But I think they accept different types of donated blankets. I am including the link below. It is a national non-profit organization.

It was nice when he was so sick to have something handmade and soft. It was also nice that it was made in order to offer up hope. He now has it for naps at school.

http://www.projectlinus.org/index.shtml

[NobleIva21]

Some time ago, I really needed to buy a house for my business but I didn't earn enough cash and could not purchase something. Thank goodness my fellow adviced to take the loans at trustworthy bank. Thence, I acted so and was happy with my term loan.