THANKS to the knitting skills of a group of volunteers at Mt Maria College, Petrie, more than 100 homeless people now have handmade blankets to keep them warn during winter.
The college community has been knitting or crocheting 25cm squares that are then put together to make blankets, which are donated to Petrie’s St Vincent de Paul Society conference.
Edith Quinn, who has co-ordinated the college’s Squares for Charity project for the past five years, said 100 blankets represented 2800 squares – something only dreamed about in 2004 when it all began.
“One student’s grandmother knitted squares for the blanket and sent them over from England,” she said.
Squares for Charity began as part of its outreach program when five blankets of 28 squares were created under the watchful eye of Myra Harbeck.
Ms Quinn said the largest number of blankets made in a year was in 2008 when 28 blankets were put together.
“The group is hoping to eclipse that effort this year,” she said.
“So far the count is 43 blankets, with the 100th blanket among them.”
Ms Quinn said a lot more yarn, and money to buy yarn, had been donated this year enabling nimble fingers to make more squares at much less cost.
She said although the group lost some volunteers when students graduated there was always an enthusiastic group of mothers, grandmothers, aunts and grand-aunts and even some great-grandmothers willing to fill their places.
