Grenfell's "Knit, Natter and Nibble" ladies are part of an army of Australians who knit and crochet ten inch squares throughout the year to make wraps for distribution by the Wrap With Love charity to people here and overseas who need a little extra warmth. During the month of July for the last seven years they have met in the library every Wednesday morning to work on squares and enjoy a friendly 'natter' and morning tea. Numbers have fluctuated but a core of interested people have returned every year, with our unofficial patron being Dot Lamkin.
Wrap With Love began in 1992 when Sonia Gidley-King was moved by the plight of Mozambiquan refugees portrayed in a TV documentary to use up old wool in making blankets to provide warmth for 'cold humanity'. She and her friends sent thirty-eight wraps that first year. 2017 is the 25th anniversary of that first consignment and now some 400,000 wraps in total have been distributed. In 2016 28,587 wraps and 37,415 squares were received and wraps were sent to Syria, Cambodia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Australia. A particular size and shape has been chosen as being the most practical to give warmth to an adult.
Public libraries have long been associated with Wrap With Love, firstly as collection points and later as knitting locations. This library was first involved in 2010. In 2011 440 squares including five completed wraps were sent away. In 2012 this climbed to 638 squares including nine completed wraps and in 2013 741 square equivalents including seventeen completed wraps. By now the tradition of having Brooke Daniels, breakfast presenter with radio 2CR, as special guest on the last morning was well established, ABC radio also being a strong supporter of Wrap With Love. Brooke also took the wraps and squares back to Orange for us.
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One of the 2016's colourful wraps displayed by Jenny, Lola,
Jeanie, Dot, Shirley and Roma |
2014 was our peak year with 884 square equivalents including thirty-two completed wraps. This dropped slightly in 2015 to 853 and 28 respectively. In 2016 illness prevented Brooke from attending the final session so the output was not taken to Orange until well into August and also the decision was taken to no longer send unjoined squares so direct comparison with previous years is not possible, but at the final 'Knit, Natter and Nibble' session 522 square equivalents were noted including thirteen completed wraps. The late Nancy Jones deserves special mention for her incredible 140 squares.
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Week 3, 2017, and Sandra, Sonia, Jan, Virginia, Cathy, Jenny
and Roma displaying two different styles of wrap. |
At this morning's final session for 2017 there were twenty-six completed wraps and a myriad of squares - well over a hundred - awaiting assembly. ( A special thank you to Jenny Wells and Pat Verney who both brought in six completed crochet wraps.) So there is a lot of people who will be the warmer for our efforts and at the same time we have been left with a warm feeling from having done something to help other people. Even one contributed square helps make a wrap when combined with others and those who have donated wool over the years have also made a great contribution.
Congratulations to all who have been involved. It is expected that "Knit, Natter and Nibble" will continue next year in some form so the knitting needles and crochet hooks certainly won't go into retirement!!
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| That's what twenty-six completed wraps look like! |
