If you find yourself feeling anxious about so many unknowns during the pandemic, then channeling your mental (and physical) energy into something useful could be helpful. If you feel sad and helpless hearing all the devastating news in Nova Scotia, maybe taking up a small, meaningful project could help. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but we won’t know it until we try.
Here are a few small projects that seems to fit the occasion. The first one is purple baby hats for the IWK. I just checked with their Volunteer Resources staff, and this is the recommendation from their web page:
*If you are looking for a way to contribute knitted items to our patients and families after our restrictions lift, we encourage you to refer to our sample pattern for baby hats here:
http://www.iwk.nshealth.ca/volunteer-program/donations
Please only use the patterns suggested on their website. I am also posting the pattern links here:
The hats can be made with any colour and every baby gets a hat after their first bath. However, these are the only patterns that the Birth Unit would accept. Before the pandemic, the hats made with different patterns would be given away to families but now it is not an option.
Pandemic or not, babies are still being born everyday. And now — more than ever — parents need support in understanding that infant crying is normal and that there are strategies to deal with frustration that it might cause. The purple hats are a part of the educational package about the Period of PURPLE crying, a program that helps prevent a Shaken Baby Syndrome. The hat serves as a visual reminder, and it is also a nice little gift that keeps baby’s head warm. Since the Volunteer Resources office is closed, there are no donations coming in right now but this will change at some point.
If you choose to knit purple hats, hold onto them. The idea is that they can be washed before they are given to the babies. I will keep you updated when the IWK can accept the hats.
The second project was suggested to me a few month ago and I was waiting for a fitting occasion to publish it since it has emotional weight. In some ways it seems fitting now, as a reflection about hardship, loss, resilience, strength, support, fighting together, and the temporary nature of all things. This is also a community-supported project where many knitters can contribute their work to this cause.
Poppy Blanket Project
Looking for knitters that would like to contribute to a community poppy art project. These handmade poppies will be sewn onto a canvas to be displayed indoors or outdoors as a Remembrance display in the community for November 11th. Included are examples of displays that have already been done. For more information please call Chantal Beaulieu at 902-469-3550 or email at chanti_78@hotmail.com. Please note, these poppies will be for display only. They are not to be worn as a replacement of the legion’s poppy campaigns. We want to support our legions while honoring them through a poppy art display. Here are some examples:
Poppy Patterns:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knit-flat-no-sew-poppy
https://theknitguru.com/2018/11/11/remembrance-day-poppy-knitting-pattern
http://greatlakespoppies.blogspot.com/p/patterns.html
You can also knit a heart. And you can dedicate it to anyone, even if you can’t give it to them. I designed this pattern long time ago and thoughtful knitters where using it for all kinds of occasions. Some projects posted on Ravelry make me tear up, yet I am glad they could use the pattern to express both their love and their loss. Click on the button below to get the pattern and you can see the step-by-step instructions in this post.
Feel free to share the link with anyone. Together we are Nova Scotia Strong.
Halifax Charity Knitters 