Today is the start of International Year of Natural Fibres as determined by the United Nations. I thought it was a perfect way to share with anyone who reads this blog for knitting information about my latest projects and urge you to pick up a skein of yarn made of natural fibres (I've used wool and soy based yarn) and knit for our troops who need helmetliners, scarves, watch caps and neck gaiters to stay warm this winter.
A coworker of mine and Jane's has a son who enlisted with the Marines and before Christmas he was sent to Afghanistan. She shared with us some of the hardships he and others in his group were dealing with, including the bitter cold. They don't have the furnaces and washing machines that we take for granted. These are 18, 19 and 20 year old men and in some cases women who are serving our country.
I remembered having done research on the internet about knitting a neck gaiter (a knitted tube that slides down over the head and is worn around the neck without the excess of a scarf) and had read about knitting helmetliners for members of the armed forces. I mentioned this to Jane and she got her needles out and in a short time she had a helmet liner done. It was shipped off to Afghanistan and gratefully received by our coworker's son. While it was too big to wear as a helmet liner, he was able to wear it when he slept and he reported back that the first night wearing it was the first night of good sleep he'd had. Till then it had been too cold to sleep well.
Jane immediately got to work to knit more for the other men in his group. I've just completed one and we were able to send several more over. I'll admit for a knitter of my limited skill level, it's not an easy pattern, but with practice it gets better. Also, as we learned, even if because of size issues the headpiece doesn't work as a helmetliner, it still provides our soldiers with comfort and warmth when they sleep in areas where they don't have much more to use. We're excited too, because more people in our office are interested in learning how to knit so they can also make items to send.
I've copied and pasted several links here for those people who are interested in knitting for the troops. There are requirements that wool be used and there are color requirements to follow as well. I found some Paton's SWS (a blend of mostly wool with some soy fibers) on sale in an olive green that made for a warm and softer helmetliner. Three skeins were enough for one liner and at least one neck gaiter following the pattern given on the http://www.citizensam.org/ website. That website is also featured in an article in the Winter 2008/2009 KnitSimple Magazine on newsstands now. We didn't get any pictures of the last bunch we sent over, but there are pictures on the various sites of how a finished helmetliner looks.There are lots of causes and people that need help... the soldiers, knitting preemie caps for Save the Children, knitting blankets for the homeless (Warm-Up America) and for sick children (Project Linus) among so many others. If you've got yarn and some time, making one item means so much to someone else and it's an amazing feeling to know that you've had a positive impact on someone else.
http://www.citizensam.org/
http://www.citizensam.org/
http://www.usmcmuseum.com/
http://www.tropicalyarns.com/
http://www.packagesfromhome.
http://www.stitchforsenate.us/
This site has a nice picture of finished helmetliners: http://gottoknit.blogspot.com/
