Crafting for a cause

Hi everyone... the Spring market is oh so close! Our 'sneak peeks' will start next week and we have some great sellers to show you.

We'll also be doing a couple of other special things this market, namely jewellery workshops! We'll do a full post next week with all the details you'll need, including session times and cost so stay tuned.

Secondly we're inviting you all to do some knitting or crochet for a wonderful, wonderful cause. All you need to do is knit or crochet a square and drop it off on market day Sat Sept 17th! The squares will be put together and made into blankets for women at the  Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia run by Dr. Catherine Hamlin. 

Your squares need to be knitted or crocheted to 25cm square and made from 8ply wool. If you're knitting please do your square/s in garter stitch. If you're feeling ambitious, feel free to do a whole blanket to the size of 1.4m square or 2m x 1m. In terms of colour, the brighter the better!

Knitters - if you use 4.5 to 5.5mm needles you'll need to cast on approx 45 - 50 stitches to get to 25cm, dependent of course of your tension. Do a few rows, have a measure up and see how you're going.

A bit of history on this... for the last couple of years I (Belinda here) have donated some of my wares to the lovely Amanda in Melbourne who organised a market stall to raise money for the Hamlin Foundation which works to support the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. Essentially the hospital provides medical support to women who suffer from a horrendous complication during childbirth which leaves them with a still-born child, incontinence and ongoing medical problems. While the condition is treatable in developed countries, in Ethiopia these women are shamed and outcast from their families and communities.

We are really happy to help out with this project for the hospital. Please tell your crafty friends or family, spread the word and hopefully we'll get together a big bundle of handmade love to send! Just bring your squares to the market, we'll get them to Amanda and help with the postage cost to Ethiopia too. 

EDIT 5th Sept: If you aren't a crafty type, we'll also have a donation box so you can pop in a couple of dollars to help with postage. Alternately, feel free to drop a ball of wool off to contribute to the blanket, please ensure it is 8 ply wool. 

If you are unable to be in Bendigo on our market weekend, you can post your donations to us at The Square, PO Box 242, Bendigo Central, VIC, 3552, Australia.

Many thanks, we so appreciate your support.

The girls @ The Square

Comments

[jennxo]

what a great cause, have to see what i can do...

[June Connolly]

Heard your ad on the radio coming home from Queensland. I see you want squares by 17 September - too late but will you want more squares in the future?

[The Square]

Hi June - you can certainly post any squares to us up until the end of September at PO Box 242, Bendigo Central, 3552. I believe the hospital in Ethiopia always welcomes blankets though, the information is on their website so you could send directly to them.
Many thanks.