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Summerset Milldale’s knitting group is sending aroha in the form of handmade slippers, rugs, blankets and hats to families affected by the crisis in Ukraine.
To make the blankets, the team worked individually on knitting rectangular strips from acrylic wool, which were later sewn together into colourfully designed blankets, knee rests, and more, with any offcuts used as doll stuffing rather than thrown away.
It takes about a week for the group to make one blanket.
This year, the club’s combined efforts have resulted in 14 blankets for donation.
One of the club’s members, June Hick, says she has been knitting for most of her life. What began as a high school hobby became handmade treasures for her kids, and now for her three grandsons.
“To get together to knit, you have to know each other,” June says. “When you come in, you don’t know anyone at first, so it gets you to talk.” Resident Kaye Brentnall, who has been a member for 10 months, introduced her close friend Val Winstrand to the club three weeks ago. Since then, the pair have spent many hours working on their knitting projects together. Both learned their skills from their mothers and later passed that knowledge on to their own children, though they still enjoy the hobby today.
Kaye’s solution to productivity is simple. “The satisfaction of knitting means you don’t have time to get bored,” she says.
Mission Without Borders volunteer Kathy McCormack collects donations from Summerset, which are then sorted, packed, and shipped overseas alongside other New Zealand contributions. The goods are distributed across six countries, including Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Estonia, where local volunteers help ensure they reach families in need.
Recently, requirements have become more specific, and the village’s acrylic-wool knitwear no longer meets the requirements of many recipients overseas, who instead ask for pure wool due to its warmth and durability. However, the club has no intention of putting down their needles any time soon. They’re about to start their next project, ANZAC poppies and are also on the lookout for charities and nonprofits who’d benefit from their winter warmers.
Activities coordinator at Summerset Milldale, Bronwyn Johnson, says the club’s efforts have been incredible. Many members of the knitting club volunteer throughout the community, and Bronwyn says the knitters dedicate much of their free time to giving back.
“We are so proud of the mahi our group has done,” she says.
Donations of acrylic or pure wool can be transformed into blankets, rugs, dolls, socks, and more for those in need, and are warmly appreciated at Summerset Milldale’s reception any time.
