It was Contributing Cardie Teresa Bender who brought her childhood friend Margaret into the fold. Not able to visit Margaret in New Zealand, she sent a dozen Meanings of Life knitting cards to her. “I love the knitting card and the words are perfect,” Margaret emailed us directly. “Teresa sent them to me for my fellow members of The Nattering Knitters, a group of 10 ladies who gather here in Nelson once a month for the love of knitting.
“I don’t think anyone has ever counted, but it would be thousands of items our little group has knitted over the years. We used to knit little jerseys and hats for a children’s home in Mongolia, but had to stop as the political situation became a big problem. The orphanage had to pay lots of tax to receive our sacks of wool knitting. They couldn’t pay the amounts and we were not allowed to send them money. That was very sad as they were so grateful.
“For the past two years, lots of our knitting has gone through interdenominational churches in shipping containers to Eastern Europe. Called Operation Cover Up, the program is well-sponsored and desperately-needed as their winters are very cold.
“Our most recent efforts are for refugee children who arrived in New Zealand late last year; they’ll need warmer clothing for our winter weather June-September. At Teresa’s request, I’ve attached a photo of sweater sets I just finished for three sisters whose family escaped from Afghanistan. At four, five and six, they’ll start school this week.”
“All towns and cities in NZ have volunteers trained by our Red Cross and they give wrap-around help to refugee families for up to three months, or more if required,” Margaret explained. “These families come from Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar, Thailand. Some children are very traumatized and need so much care. Nelson is a small city and is becoming a multinational place. I think it’s just lovely but, unfortunately, some don’t appreciate the changes.
“I’m not sure how long The Nattering Knitters will continue since we are all getting to our twilight years. I will still be knitting as it’s my favourite pastime. It’s such a good feeling to still be able to help worldwide regardless of being in our older years.”
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