Happy Sunday to all of you! I hope to kick your week off with a touch of inspiration….
There is a book that I personally feel every knitter should own, Anne L. Macdonald’s No Idle Hands : The Social History of American Knitting. This book changed my life by inspiring me to knit for those in need. I had always loved to knit but once I began reading this book I couldn’t put it down. When I finished and closed the book, I was inspired to do something to make a difference. Taken from diaries, letters and memoirs, this book takes you on a trip through time….knitting in the Wester frontier through current times.
I was particlarly inspired by the chapter entitled “Oh Say Can You Knit – for Sammy?” which describes America’s efforts to provide warm socks, mufflers, helmets, vests, sweaters and scarves to our boys fighting the war.
This passage was enough to get me to grab my needles. If they could do it – I could do it. The call for knitted items during War time urged every Amercian, woman,man and child, to knit.
“Seventy-two-year-old Mrs. Mitt Osgood, who lived on a Montana cattle ranch eighty miles from a railroad, knit 18 pairs of socks in twenty days and completed 120 pairs between February and September, 1918.”
“Two other speed knitters, seventy-eight and eighty-four years old, each knit 124 pairs of socks. “Grandma Parker” completed 27 pairs of socks, three sweaters, two helmes ad seven pairs of wristlets.”
“Niney-one year old Hannah Eilenberger knit 11 pairs of socks and complained that the twelfth pair was unfinished because her dislocated shoulder slowed her down.”
These are just a few of the endless inspiring memoirs of knitting through hard times.
I highly recommend a visit to Knit Your Bit, a great site! Be prepared to spend a lot of time exploring on this site.
For further history, as well as war time patterns, visit the American Red Cross Museum website.
In today’s times there is still, unfortunately, a great need to knit our bit for our troops fighting the War on Terror overseas.
I urge you all to also remember them in your knitting and please consider donating to them as well. We are doing everything we can to knit for the homeless and those in need but pease do not forget that our soldiers need our knitting also.
Groups to consider joining include
The Ships Project
Socks for Soldiers
If you know of any other knitting groups for our troops that we should let everyone know about please do not hesitate to comment and let us know!
I wish you all flying fingers on this Sunday afternoon!
Our first donation will be October 15th, so please send in an item! No donation is ever too small and will make a huge difference to someone in need!
Dear Knitters & Givers,
