Lion Brand Notebook ®
Recently, I read a great article on the Madison Daily Leader‘s website about a woman named Shirley Harrington-Moore, who just knitted her 100th shawl for charity. As I have stated in previous blog posts, knitting and crocheting for charities is near and dear to my heart, so I am always thrilled when I see these type of stories in the news. In the article, Shirley discusses how her passion for knitting shawls comes from her desire to provide people who live in nursing homes with a form of comfort and warmth. She also says that it takes “approximately 15 hours to create one of her shawls and usually produces one per week.” I think that is pretty impressive for someone to take that much time out of their personal time to create something so comforting for those in need.
Shirley mentions that Lion Brand is her brand of choice for these shawls, and the picture on the front page of the article even features her modeling one of her latest shawls, which is made from the pattern that is featured on the inside of the Homespun label. We are so proud to have such loyal consumers, and we are inspired by all of your hard work and creativity!
To read the original article and see a photo of Shirley, click here.
For prayer & comfort shawl patterns, click here.
Visit our Charity Connection for local and international organizations that knit & crochet for others.
What charity projects do you contribute to? Why is it an important part of your yarncrafting life? Share your thoughts by commenting!
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pat
With little spare time and two grandchildren to crochet for I do what I can. I am using leftover yarn for baby blankets for the newborns. Someone gave me yarn they had leftover and I am doing squares for Warm Up America. I’llbe retiring in a few years and then I plan to decimate my yarn stash. I’d love to see a prayer shawl ministry in my church and participate in that. It keeps my hands functioning to crochet as I am developing arthritis.
Ruth Ann
I try to make at least every other project I knit a charity project. I have knitted quite a few shawls for a local nursing home. I have a pattern that allows me to use up lots of stash. It’s triangular, and you start by casting on three stitches, and just keep increasing each row. The beauty of this pattern is that you can use a variety of yarns by weight and by color. If I’m using sport or baby weight yarn, I hold two strands together. You can even knit a few rows with eyelash yarn and it looks cute. You can use yarn with glitter, ribbon yarn, anything. Several rows of Lion Brand Homespun between several rows of Vanna’s Choice looks great. The shawls are always very cute, colorful and unique.
But more than anything, I knit chemo caps for two local cancer centers. I can usually knit a cap in two evenings. I knit cotton for summer and acrylic for summer. They need to be easy care.
God has blessed me with the gift of knitting, and I like to bless others in return.
Deanne
My mom and I have crocheted more than 600 prayer/comfort shawls for cancer patients across the country since 2007. All have been made using Lion Brand Homespun and are a triangle shawl pattern with a scalloped shell edging. We also make lapghans, baby items and anything else we can come up with. Our Ministry is called ‘Purls from the Heart’. We started this ministry when I quit work to stay home with my two boys. In addition to giving me something worthwhile to work for, it has helped to teach my boys the importance of helping others when times are tough.
Ceceliaknuckles
I am 72 and life has given me so much. Crocheting is just one way to give back. Right now I am making scarves for the Special Olympics, slippers and booties for the Pink Slipper Project and some craft items for a couple of church sales. What a great incentive to wake up and get started each day. Cecelia Knuckles