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The response to my plea for help in learning to knit helped me believe that there ARE as many as 38 million knitters in the United States, just as reported in several of the magazines passing across my stitching table every month. And that Lansing has a high per capita of knitters. Those same magazines express amazement that the majority of those knitters will, sooner or later, and with varying degrees of frequency, knit for charity. This columnist has previously written about charitable projects that Lansing needlewomen undertake. So, again, it would seem that Lansing is in the mainstream.
On Mothers Day each year, these very colorful blankets are on display in the sanctuary. Then, they are taken to “Birthright of Ithaca”, 210 Center Street in Ithaca, for distribution to needy families in the community. In 2005, the needlewomen of All Saints were able to donate 45 “very colorful” blankets to Birthright.
Carnations are sold at the Mothers Day Service and that money is also given to Birthright, which uses it to buy maternity clothes, clothing in baby and toddler sizes and other needed items.
Mrs. Haas does not even know who makes most of the items. As she puts it, “They just appear at the church on our tables and I gather them up.”
Underneath those tables are large cardboard boxes, overflowing with yarn that is available for anyone who wishes to use it. Most of the knitted items are made from a very old pattern, called “The Remsen Pattern”, that starts with only two stitches at one corner. By increasing and decreasing stitches, a knitted square is achieved. The knitters like this pattern because it works up very fast and can “use up all the colorful little scrapes of yarn we get”. That variety is what makes the All Saints blankets truly a one-of-a-kind item. “They are so colorful; I’m sure the babies love them”, explains Mrs. Haas.
Mrs. Haas told The Lansing Star Online that she started her charitable knitting while attending a non-denominational Bible Study class. Nearly everyone was a knitter and “Sometimes the clicking of knitting needles was louder than the leader!”
Their knitting projects were originally an ecumenical Lenton project for Church World Service. Members of that particular Bible Study have continued making CWS items. Eventually, though, the majority of the All Saints members sought a local focus for their largess. About ten years ago, they chose to donate their handmade items to “Birthright of Ithaca”.
The truly unique aspect of the project is that these stitchers never have a meeting. All stitching is done individually, as a singular activity. Mrs. Haas believes this is what enables many of their members, especially the older ones who no longer drive or go out after dark, to participate. “They are able to knit or crochet on their own time” and “It helps them fill their time productively and contribute to one of the church‘s projects”. Since there is no deadline, either, any blanket that is not finished in one cycle is carried over into the next.
Mother’s Day is May 14 this year and the talented needlewomen of Lansing will probably have out done themselves once again.
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