CHARITY KNITTING CIRCLES ARE USEFUL & FUN.

I can remember a time a few decades ago when women formed circles for all kinds of activities. It was a way of strengthening relationships among women, most of whom were unrelated by blood or marriage. And it gave them an excuse to meet regularly as friends and neighbors and work for special purposes. My own mother was part of a circle for decades. They called themselves the "Safety Pin Club" because they all had babies and small children at around the same time. When they got started, their main purpose was to offer each other emotional support and useful hints on how to care for the young ones. The group was diverse and included Catholics, Protestants, and Greek Orthodox from several different national backgrounds. They forged long-term friendships and were still meeting as a group when they had grown children and grandchildren. Most of the time their activities were social but they also got involved in a few charitable activities over the years.

In the last part of the 20th century, what with more freedom for women and their incorporation in the workplace, fewer women seemed to have the need or time for social or charitable circles. Nowadays, many young women don't even consider the need for such a thing. But, for others, both young and old, there are still good reasons to organize themselves and meet - just as women.

Knitters often form circles to reach out other knitters. Whether wanting to learn new stitches or pass on needlework skills, the warm companionship of a knitting group enriches their love of knitting and comes to be an important part of social life. Members of the group also do more than sit around knitting. They share details of their lives, talk about their husbands, children, pets, favorite recipes and so on. Many circles are neighborhood clubs, while others are linked with churches, or workplaces. Some groups meet to knit while watching movies. Others are for mothers with small children. Men who knit sometimes join these circles. Whatever brings them together, everyone contributes to the conversation and shares knitting magazines, patterns and stitchery know-how. 

Recently, a number of women's circles have formed related to charity. And one of the most popular charities involves knitting and crocheting clothing or blankets and donating them to the homeless or the sick. These groups answer a desire to help those in need, but in a way that means more to them than just giving or collecting money for needy causes. And, for some, it's probably the best way to be charitable because they are using their time and  talents when they don't have much extra money to donate to needy causes.

Charity circles tend to be more open than those belonging to particular churches or formal clubs.They are more egalitarian because their primary focus is on helping others in need in the community and secondly, on making new friends who love to do some of the same things. They tend to be informal and free clubs - some meet weekly, others bi-monthly or monthly and welcome members of all ages.

Obviously, these circles respond to a real need to help. At the same time, they give women a sense of satisfaction by being part of a group involved in a common effort. While no group, small or large, can ever begin to do enough, it's the spiritual principle that counts here. Each knitted cap or scarf or blanket can mean the difference of a homeless person surviving a cold winter night, just as meals served to the hungry are really gifts from God. Those who get involved in these kinds of charities consider themselves blessed by being able to help in delivering those gifts. When they do things with other people's welfare in mind, from knitting a prayer shawl for a friend to making a blanket for a homeless person, they see themselves as using their loving concern to contribute to  social justice and peace.

Interested in doing something like this? Well, don't wait. Get involved right away. If you don't find a knitting group in your area, start out by seeking information at a local knitting shop, signing up for charity knitting newsletters and reading columns in knitting magazines. They are also a number of websites that give information on knitting groups nationwide. Some are done as online communities where people never meet face-to-face, but, instead, send in their contributions to a central place which takes care of the distribution to places and people in need. They keep in touch through photos and comments on these websites.

If you want to learn more about charity knitting, you can read a book or books on the subject. One good book, written by Betty Christiansen, is titled: Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time.

The overall goal of charity knitting groups is to bring comfort and a smiles to recipients and let them know that someone is thinking of them - oftentimes someone they'll never meet. But the people invoved in these activites see their work as more than just a way of supporting those who need cheering up because of illness or social vulnerability. They also consider it to be a spiritual activity just as much as prayer and meditation are. It's a particular way of showing love for others and commitment to a better world - one that is pledged to making and sharing beautiful and useful things. It's all part of a new spirit of living the abundant life and making the world a kinder place.

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"HELLO, HELLO. ARE YOU THERE?"
REDEFINE YOUR PRIORITIES, REMAKE YOUR LIFE
KNIT A TRIANGULAR PRAYER SHAWL
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THE STRANGE CASE OF THE SOMETIMES PINK GERANIUMS.

I have white geraniums in my front yard. Have had them for about 3 years. I found them in a cracked pot - apparently one that fell off a truck that carried some one's belongings in a move from one house to another.

They’ve flowered beautifully in my yard these past 2 years after I finally got them out of their large cracked pot. They managed to stay alive over the short winter freeze in our area but stopped flowering at the end of December to begin again at the end of February. At first, I was covering them at night but later as I saw their impressive growth rate, I gave up taking that precaution.

So, you might say. Well, that’s nice but hardly remarkable – a lot of people have pretty geraniums. But I want to tell you something surprising about my flowers.

One day last December, the first wintering that these flowers did in my yard, I noticed a difference in their blooms. They were still mostly white but, from one day to the next, I saw them with a decidedly pink center on almost all the blooms. I was enchanted to see the change and thanked the flowers for such a beautiful color. Another rather strange change was the addition of some fine golden lines that look a bit like sunbeams in each bloom.  I wasn’t sure why they had a different December color but thought that perhaps they knew that they wouldn’t be flowering for a few months and wanted to put on a “good show.”

In January, the few remaining blooms disappeared with the cold weather. And at the end of February, they returned in full force and all blooms were totally white – just like they had been before.

This past week, at the end of November, my flowers made their annual move – from white to white with pink and tiny golden lines. I pointed it out to my husband. At first, he didn’t believe me because he had been in the yard the day before and remembered that the blooms were uniformly white. He was really surprised with the change and, also, with my story about the same thing occurring one year ago. He said I should take some photos – which I did. (They show some of the pink, but not as nicely as can be seen directly.)

The blooms had, in fact, turned partially pink, the very day after praying the rosary for Our Lady of Guadalupe. This was part of a neighborhood rosary chain, honoring Our Lady through a particular old image of Her (Una Virgen Peregrina), 60 or more years old.  The image is a long resident in our city that was carried by her current owner/caretaker to a home in our neighborhood. (Of course, at this time of the year, rosary chains are being enacted everywhere throughout Mexico and in US Mexican American neighborhoods.)

According to this particular tradition, the image of Our Lady stays in 45 neighborhood homes, 24 hours in each house, for 45 days and arrives along with a small group of neighbors who stop over to pray the rosary. This begins on Oct. 28 and finishes Dec. 11. On the 46th day - Dec. 12 - she returns to her permanent home for the final Anniversary Rosary. That night there's a huge celebration and even more neighbors attend.

I mentioned the association of the rosary to my husband and the possibility that the pinkish flowers actually were honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pink is a favorite color for flowers that adorn images of Our Lady. (I noticed the same pink color change one year ago - also after the rosary prayers at our house, but I can't remember if it actually happened right afterwards or several days later.)

My husband was a bit doubtful about the association of the pink blooms with the rosary of Our Lady of Guadalupe but wanted to offer some kind of explanation of the strange occurrence. He said the energy must, somehow, be different at that time of year around our home.  Just why there would be different energy, but he couldn’t think up any particular reason.

So, who’s to say? Whatever the reason, the bright pink blooms with tiny golden lines are a winter gift of our geraniums to us and to the neighborhood where we live.

Update on Grandma Susan's sometimes pink geraniums (1-20-13).  Grandma's geraniums lived through several night time frosts with blossoms and all. All January blooms are only white just like they were before December.



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WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON YOUR ECO-SABBATH?

A lot of us don’t keep much of a Sabbath. If we go to church on Sunday morning, we feel that we did our religious duty for that day. But, most everyone knows that the Sabbath is supposed to be, according to the Bible, a day of rest. Maybe, like many people, you don't feel like that Sunday is a special day, set apart from the other six days. But, wait! Here is a chance to celebrate an eco-Sabbath. It’s another way that we could be motivated to make one day of the week, a real day of rest. The eco-Sabbath can be a special time for you, alone or accompanied by friends and family, to thank God for another day of life and, at the same time, demonstrate your Earth-friendly convictions.

Now, most of us own-up to having a sizeable carbon footprint, which, sadly, amounts to having done our share of damage to the Earth. What’s more, we would like to see an end to the ghastly level of carbon emissions that we've all created. The question is: How can we go about doing something like that? Probably, you're not ready for a “no-impact” life or even a “no-impact” year, as was done and documented by Colin Beavan. But some of us should be able to try out a “no-impact”, 24-hour day.

So, what might our eco-Sabbath look like? It would clearly be a quiet day. On that day, we would make no purchases, not use any machines or anything electric, including computers, TVs or cell phones. That also means no cooking, either (unless it’s with a solar oven). And no transportation methods other than walking or biking. And we'd use as little water as possible - that being only the necessary for maintaining good health and minimal hygiene. How much water might that be? Well, I suppose each participant would need a gallon or so to drink and another gallon or so to wash up. (You notice I didn’t say shower.) And, maybe, we’d need two gallons of water for rinsing out dishes and another few gallons for toilet flushing (and that only when plainly needed).

O.K. That was the negative part – what we won’t be doing on our eco-Sabbath. So, what’s to be gained by going through all this? First of all, it's a perfect way to take some time from day-to-day work and other kinds of responsibilities and to rekindle your religious faith, while, simultaneously, giving our planet a break. By not using any resources for 24 hours, we can cut our carbon impact for the year by 1/365 or 0. 03%. Now, that may not sound like very much. But once we learn how to do this, there’s always a fair chance that it could be repeated. If we did this for one day a week for the whole year, our personal carbon emission would be reduced by some 14%. And, second and equally important, these hours, taken out from our normal routines, can help us think about ways to make our lives more Earth-friendly on a full-time basis.

And, here’s more of the positive part. There are many good things that a person can do well and thoroughly appreciate on an eco-Sabbath. You may remember a simpler time from your youth when on Sunday you went to church and spent the rest of the day visiting with family and friends, eating an unhurried "Sunday dinner", playing games, and singing songs around the piano. Back then, there was enough time to do things on Sundays that were totally different from our regular routines. How did so many of us lose that perspective on Sundays? An eco-Sabbath can be a reason to enjoy some of the same enjoyable (and low carbon-impact) activities with friends and family.

Beyond that, from my own viewpoint, I’ll try out my first eco-Sabbath in good weather. That way I’ll not need any home heating or fans. Also, the good weather should allow for plenty of sunlight, and I’ll be able to carry out all my activities with daylight. Oh, and there won’t be any electric usage for the refrigerator either. I’ll do my "no-impact" day just before I do my weekly grocery shopping and, so, it won’t be difficult to put the remaining items in an ice chest. (This will be a perfect time for me to clean the empty refrigerator, a task that I dislike and am known to put off.)

I can reduce my carbon footprint a bit more on eco-Sabbath by not using any products other than hand soap, dish soap or a laundry bar soap for washing out a clothing item or a towel. That also means no use of paper (other than toilet paper) and, certainly, no plastic products. I’ll probably use olive oil instead of my all-purpose skin cream. Olive oil works as well or better than most commercial skin creams – the only drawback to it is the cost – as price of olive oil has increased a lot lately. My food won’t be heated, but I can eat it cooled - directly from the ice chest - or at room temperature, picnic style.

For my part, I’m pretty sure that I can carry out an eco-Sabbath at least one day a month (that’s 3% of the year) without any suffering at all. On such days, I would be able to enjoy a leisurely conversation at the kitchen table with my husband and take a nice long walk, alone or with my husband (or with my dogs). I could also do some inspirational reading, draw or paint, work in my small garden, write in my journal, do needlework or yoga. I would surely benefit from getting up with the sun in the morning and going to bed early, allowing me at least 10 hours of sleep time. And that would be a really healthy start to the rest of my week.

Now, I've told you some of my ideas about how I'd celebrate a "no-impact" (or "low-carbon impact") Sabbath. What would your eco-Sabbath look like?

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KNIT A TRIANGULAR PRAYER SHAWL

Why knit a prayer shawl?
Persons of many religions, including Christians, Jews, and Buddhists, wear prayer shawls. They are special wraps draped over the shoulders or head when praying or attending religious services. Prayer shawls help to focus the wearer on prayer, serving to mentally seal off outside influences and promoting a sense of calm and purposefulness during prayer. Sometimes prayer shawls are knitted for other people who need special support as they face illnesses or other serious problems in life.

The Jewish prayer shawl is usually rectangular, rather long, and made with particular symbolic colors. Christians, on the other hand, can use prayer shawls of any size, shape or color (preferably subdued colors, of course). (If it is very warm, they can be held on the lap for seated prayer or simply laid out folded and touched during prayer.)

Here’s a practical pattern for a shawl that can be made up in about a week, working a couple of hours per day. Since this is a fairly long wrap, it can be made as a prayer shawl. Of course, if you want to, this same pattern can be made to use only as a warm wrap -- and not as a prayer shawl.

As mentioned in an earlier page on needlecraft, here, I give only the most general ideas about how to go about these projects. They are not full instructions, but general guides, given to encourage you to knit or crochet simple garments and other useful things for the home. Besides, once you get motivated, you will find dozens of detailed patterns on the Internet for knitting and crocheting almost anything that you can think of.


Easy pattern for a knitted prayer shawl
The triangular shawl described here, is one that I made. It follows a very simple pattern and goes fast with thicker needles. I used size 13 circular needles and worsted weight yarn in 2 shades of medium blue, which I found in my project leftovers bag. Although I didn’t use full skeins, my best guess is that this shawl can be knitted with about 32 ounces of worsted weight yarn, worked in double strand.

My shawl turned out to be about 36 inches long and 64 inches wide. I used only knit stitch (K) throughout and yarn over (YO) for the increases. YO is the action of wrapping the yarn around the needle -- in this case in the direction of a knitted stitch ---and creating a small loop. The YO gives a finished, lace-look to the edges.

If it’s not a special garment for prayer, you can knit it in any length, color or combination of colors that you like. You can make it for yourself and it makes a great gift for a family member or friend. When it's not being worn, it can be draped over a small table or chest of drawers.

Pattern

Begin this shawl at the triangle top, casting on three stitches. K four rows, front and reverse. From there on work two increases in every other row. To do this:

K 1, then YO once and K to the next to last stitch, then YO and K the last stitch. Increases are on the front side. The reverse rows are only K stitches.

Repeat this pattern and when your shawl is almost as long and wide as you like, then K four consecutive rows and bind off the stitches. The bound edge will be the base of the triangle, and the shawl is complete.

If you like you can put a simple fringe on the edges of your shawl, made with the same or contrasting yarn. You can also crochet a decorative edge. Choose a simple edge pattern. Remember you should always crochet edges on the front side and start at the bottom of the shawl to do the edging. There are plenty of instructions for making fringes and decorative edges on the Internet.

When the edge is finished, weave in any ends of yarn. Wash the shawl in warm water, towel dry it, and block it by pinning it to a towel, laid out flat. As it dries, check it to make sure that it maintains its triangular shape.

LEAD A SIMPLE LIFE

This article has now become a part of Grandma Susan’s Almanac Calendar
(See month of June, 2010): http://grandmasusans2010almanac.yolasite.com/june.php


 
You can also reach Grandma'S Calendar by "clicking" on the tab at the top of any page.

DOING OUR CHRISTIAN DUTY (7/20/2009)

The page you tried to link to is no longer published as part of Grandma Susan's blog, but Grandma will tell you how to access a copy, if you write to her asking for the page, mentioning the title and date.

email address:
grandmasusansalmanac@gmail.com

Grandma Susan still publishes her blog with lots of good pages to read. Check out the more recently published pages now -- available on links on Grandma's Home Page.

"RISE AND SHINE" (7/5/2009)

The page you tried to link to is no longer published as part of Grandma Susan's blog, but Grandma will tell you how to access a copy, if you write to her asking for the page, mentioning the title and date.

email address:
grandmasusansalmanac@gmail.com

Grandma Susan still publishes her blog with lots of good pages to read, but now the blog includes only a selection of those pages that have been published for 30 days or more. Check out the recently published pages now -- available on any link on Grandma's Home Page.

OUR SPIRITUALTY: finding a place for your Bible

This article has now become a part of Grandma Susan’s website
(See month of March):

http://grandmasusans2010almanac.yolasite.com



Grandma Susan still publishes her blog with lots of good pages to read, but now the blog includes only recently published pages. Check out those pages now -- available on any link on Grandma's Home Page.