I love making afghans and blankets or anything that is going to prove useful for others so always on the look out for a charity that may need a little help, after all you never know when you may some help yourself.
I subscribed to a newsletter a while back Knitting for Charity and have found lots of useful tips and information from this source.
This month ( August) I got the newsletter as usual and found out about a charity I had not heard of 'SIBOL' - Sunshine International Blankets of Love. It is a charity that knits afghans and blankets for the elderly and the newsletter contained tips for doing this and links to the charity.
Tips for knitting for the elderly
There are so many charities out there for children and babies but I have not found many for the elderly especially those based in England.
So I took a look at their blog and their group on Ravelry.
Sibol blog
Sibol on Ravelry
You will find links for both on my blog under Blogs and Charities I knit for.
Reading the newsletter and the blog I got to thinking about how we can easily overlook people who may need something a little more personal than the shop bought blankets.
Sadly many of the elderly are no longer in contact with family and many do not have any children so they do not have anyone except for those who care for them in a Nursing Home. This can mean they are alone and can feel forgotten about, this is something that can be remedied by the simple act of knitting them something.
What could be nicer than getting a hand knitted afghan just for you that is bright and cheerful and keeps you warm as well.
The beauty of this charity is they are happy with any pattern toy want to do do so long as it is not lacy. bright colours are accepted so I can use up my stash easily. You can knot or crochet perfect for me as I cannot crochet but can knit. The other thing is the size of the afghans is roughly 36 X 45 inches so not too big they are for using on the lap so big enough to keep the person warm without being cumbersome.
They add a knitted or croched butterfly to each blanket this shows it is Sibol Blanket. Again they are happy with whatever pattern you want to use for the butterfly I found this one you have to scroll down a bit to find it.
Butterfly knitting pattern
Blankets, afghans, shawls and fingerless gloves can all be sent to them but not and I stress this point not knitted squares.
So my next project will be to make an Afghan and some Fingerless gloves. So I will sort out the yarn I have and bag it up ready for my SIBOL Afghan.
Thank you so much for promoting our work. It's really very nice of you.
ReplyDeleteYou are just the sort of person we need!
I just love your Blog! Well done! x
Thank you I am in the process of sorting out yarn to start knitting
DeleteI can second that. SIBOL is very satisfying to knit/crochet for as Sue always lets you know that your parcel has arrived and then takes more photos when she delivers the blankets to the care homes. You can also make shawls which are probably a bit quicker to make than a blanket.
ReplyDeleteI want to try a lapghan and trying to srt out a suitable pattern
Delete