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I am partially handicapped and cannot get around without a wheelchair, consequently, I don't get out much. I do not like to sit idly by, I like to be able to knit or crochet. I had made ponchos and hats for my granddaughters and they loved them. The patterns were from your web site.
My cousins saw them and asked me to make them for their kids. Well, before you know it, I had made about 15 sets!
Around September I thought it would be a good idea to continue on and try to find an orphanage or needy families. I finally found Mercy Center in Asbury Park and called them. They said their girls probably wouldn't receive Christmas gifts from their families because they couldn't afford any. I said we would make handmade ponchos with matching hats and scarf and hat sets for them. I asked how many girls they had and they said, 53! I called my 3 daughters up and told them we had a project to do. When they came over, I handed them knitting needles and crochet hooks and told them to "get hopping".
It took us 4 months, with my husband running back and forth to
Rag Shops, A.C. Moore and Walmart to buy yarns and trims, fun furs, foxies, etc. Hundreds of dollars later, (we solicited no free yarns) our deadline, Monday morning, Dec. 19, was approaching, fast! The girls Christmas wrapped and marked 53 packages! We all let out a woop of joy! They delivered them the next morning. This was a great family project and although our shoulders and hands hurt, we really felt great, imagining the happy faces on those children when they opened their packages.
I am 75 years old, and my "girls" are all in their fifties. I have a pump implanted in my side for pain and very bad arthritic finger joints. Yes, it hurt a lot, but the wonderful feeling it left us with more than made up for it.
Next year, God willing, we will start out in the summer.
Remembering what Christmas should be, a time of giving and helping those less fortunate. It truly was a labor of love.
Isabel, Michael, and Michelle Di Martini, Daria Justyn, and Stephanie Gullace. |
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