Spread the warmth and knit, sew or crochet for a charity

The nights are drawing in. The cold days and nights of winter are on the horizon. It’s the time of year when knitters obey the urge to curl up with a basket of yarn and knitting needles to knit warm, fuzzy things for loved ones. It’s a peaceful, easy feeling.

But many people don’t have that peaceful, easy feeling for a variety of complicated reasons – such as working crazy hours for minimum wage, illness, homelessness or some other life-altering situation. Knitters are aware of the inconsistency of the world, and for that reason many of them knit for the common good.

Opportunities to knit for the common good and to spread the warm fuzzies around are varied and many. A quick search on the Internet will yield many Web sites devoted to creating items for charities. Here are a few:

Www.knittingforcharity.org offers needleworkers simple patterns for a garter stitch teddy bear, a hat and a baby blanket. The patterns are free.

Www.artistshelpingchildren.org can be useful to those who want to help Santa fill his pack. This Web site offers many free knit and crochet patterns for teddy bears and dolls.

Www.culturedpurls.com has a variety of free cap patterns for men, women and children. The lace-edged women’s cap is especially lovely.

Armed with a wealth of free patterns, the next step is to identify needs within one’s local community. A call to the school can ascertain whether or not classroom teachers would accept donations of hand-knit mittens for pupils who forgot to bring a pair or left them on the bus.

Call a local hospital to determine if knitted items such as chemo caps or preemie caps and clothing are needed.

Call a church to learn whether it sponsors a prayer shawl ministry group. Hand-knit shawls are blessed and given to those confronting life crises such as illness, divorce or the death of a loved one – or celebrating important landmarks, such as turning 90, entering the teenage years or giving birth.

Check to see whether local churches need donations of handmade items for fairs and bazaars.

Call a shelter for the homeless to see if it accepts donations of knitted caps, mittens, gloves, scarves and blankets.

Call a local nursing home to see whether it needs shawls, bed socks or afghans.

Keep in mind that the Linus Project accepts donations of handmade blankets and quilts. Such donations may be dropped off at the JoAnn Fabrics store in Bangor.

And as the holiday season approaches, agencies that aid the needy may want warm items to include in gift baskets.

Ask the charity you wish to knit for what fibers it prefers for the items it needs. Wool may be preferred for mittens, for example, or fine cotton for caps and blankets for preemies. Some agencies may not want wool items, and other may not want acrylic items. It’s always best to inquire first.

Once you have identified where the need is and what organization you want to create items for, ask several of your knitting friends to get together regularly to knit (or sew or crochet) for the charity you have chosen. Start an inventory of patterns to share. Pool your yarn and other materials, or chip in to buy a stash of yarn to use for the project.

Make a batch of items and deliver them all at once so that the agency has a ready supply when the need arises, but don’t overwhelm with too much stuff the agency may not have room to store.

Once you’ve done your homework, then you’re ready for the handwork and the warm, fuzzy feelings that comes with “doing for others.”

Snippets

Liane Giambalvo of Hampden e-mailed to say that a Mission trip will be going to Africa next week, and Patrick Tobin is collecting yarn to take with him. The women there are trying to become self-sufficient by starting a fine knitting business, and they are in great need of supplies. Those who would like to donate yarn, even small amounts, should drop it off at All Souls Church, 10 Broadway, Bangor, by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15. For more information or to arrange to have the yarn picked up, call Patrick or his mother. Ellen, at 947-2738.

The Web site http://librarycompany.org.HookBook/VirtualTour.htm will delight those interested in the history of needlework. The site takes viewers through “The Emergence of Crochet and Knitting in Popular Culture 1840-1876.” Some fun.

Call Ardeana Hamlin at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@

bangordailynews.net.