An organization called KasCare is collecting 8 inch squares which are being made into warm covers for orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. They are trying to collect 55,000+ squares to make warm covers for a great many children abandoned or orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.
Not all these are homespun, but the homespun is used with more reliable commercially spun wool.
During the summer, when sweater knitting seems like folly, and is likely to lead to heat strokes, (even here) I have been cranking out these little squares from leftover small balls of yarn and homespun.
To see what wonders these people at KasCare are accomplishing, check them out here: http://www.kascare.org/. They started out with me being my Lenten discipline a couple of years ago.
I'm not telling you about this because I'm doing such a neat thing, but because such a huge task is being accomplished by person to person word of mouth, and children (and grannies) are being helped by many doing a little bit. Of course, someone had to have the vision first and spread the word. I hope they get a huge reward on the other side. (Personally, I'm happy tojust have my ugly first spinning efforts warming a child.)
What a GREAT idea!
ReplyDeleteI don't think your squares are ugly at all! I LOVE the varied texture I see in them.
Now I'm going to click over to your link to see all about the blanket project. Makes me wish I was a knitter or weaver or crocheter or even a sewer - - -
Many of my tenants take up knitting while they are waiting for a transplant (or as the caregiver of a transplant) - this might be a way they can knit something other than scarves. There's not a big call for that here in Florida. Seriously though, I'm going to mention this to my knitting friends. It sounds like a really great cause.
ReplyDeleteKristin - The Goat