As received from the ladies:
The ladies at the Bellville IT Building has teamed up to volunteer their creative skills in aid of the Nelson Mandela blanket drive.
We are a team of dedicated women, aimed at making our contribution to giving someone a warmer, snugger and cosier winter by finding themselves wrapped up in a colourful and diverse blanket knitted by women from all cultures. The diversity can be seen when you take a close look at each square on this blanket. You will see different patterns, different knitting-tension, different styles, different sizes and then the most obvious, different colours, just as our president and father Madiba intended this beautiful country to be… a rainbow nation… one joined at the seams creating a blanket of warmth and love for each and every one of its citizens.
So this is stage 1 of our knitting quest. We gathered during our lunch time to spend some time together knitting … and as it goes with women. Being multi-tasked (or so we believe we are)… we are not sure if we knitted more than we nattered.. but we had the most vibrant conversation ranging from careers at Telkom (the most talked about topic in our company), to men, music, some serious lady stuff and lots of giggles and laughing at our philosophies.
Kind Regards
Samantha Brink (SA)
We all work in the Bellville (WC) office and get together lunch times to work on our blankets. Volunteering on this Madiba charity project is rewarding for us and we hope the blankets warm many children this coming winter. Being women working in IT, we are not used to knitting and having the opportunity to do something traditionally feminine is a chance to show our versatility and a reminder that a woman can do anything she sets her mind on!
Regards
Rene Johannes
67 Blankets 2016
As Carolyn Steyn (Founder: 67 Blankets) said in an interview on Expresso in 2014 we are continuing the legacy in every stitch we make, making a difference with our own two hands. Madiba said: “It is now in your hands” and doing this crocheting and knitting stich by stitch we are making a difference to keep people warm this winter.
It is so therapeutic and relaxing, there is a warmth of inspiration in the building.
This project has brought back some treasured memories of loved ones that are not with us, those that that have taught us to knit or crotchet or while they were knitting or crocheting we were watching them or got taught how to knit or crotchet . Many of us had worn jerseys made by our moms or oumas/grans or they had made our children booties or jerseys with wool.
For some doing this project it is a “giving back initiative” - doing our deed to keep someone warm and cozy in the old winter days and nights. For others it is for Mr Mandela – for everything he has done for our nation.
For some it is doing something new - something they have not done since primary school. Others are rather familiar with the crocheting and for them it is keeping them busy while watching TV at night.
There is a new language being spoken now –“plain and purl”, cast on and cast off, knit one – drop two, slip stitch to make a chain stich pattern etc. The passage is buzzing with these words and everyone wants to know how far each one with their squares. It would have been easier to go out and buy a blanket was some of the first comments but now that the employees have started with this project they are enjoying this and seeing the pleasure of their knitting and crocheting the squares and the colours jelling together and when the squares are done and the blanket is going to be put together the beauty will be more visible and the inputs and efforts will so much rewarding.
What started out in Port Elizabeth as a slow project with not too many volunteers as grown into a big project. All the ladies and even some of the gentlemen’s wives and mothers are helping us with the squares. As we said there is no I in team and together we can do this and wool do this. Those ladies that cannot knit or crotchet are motivating and supporting the ones that are doing this project so together we are all involved in this worthy initiative. There is laughter again in lunch time and groups of ladies sitting and showing each other how to knit or crotchet. There is comradeship amongst the ladies and even some ideas are been swopped. Those that can knit (even if only plain stitch) are wanting to learn to crotchet and vice versa.
As knitting needles were not provided – we went to the Hospice Charity Shop to buy needles there and then we also went to the Methodist Church’s Charity Shop in Newton Park Port Elizabeth and when we told them we are doing the 67 Blankets Project they gave us knitting needles for free and even offered to teach those who wanted to learn how to knit. While we were there the ladies were knitting squares for GVI Oncology Centre in Langenhoven Drive Port Elizabeth and this gave us an idea – when we are finished with the 67 Blankets Projects let’s do a blanket or two for GVI Oncology Centre too. All of us know someone who has been affected with Cancer and what better way to show our support.
Mellanie
We want to thank Telkom for supporting this worthy initiative – Southern Region
We at Vereeniging are a team of two ladies, each having their own stories.
Martha Sethosa: I have decided to be part of the blanket knitting team in order to give back to society my 67 minutes as a token of appreciation of what Utata Madiba has sacrificed for South Africa at large, with the believe that the blanket will provide comfort to those who have fought against apartheid and we’re incarcerated at Drankenstein prison, and also provide warmth to the needy once in different charity organisations.
Pretty Khumalo: The minute I reared about this initiative tears started rolling down my face, as I know the pain of not having the comfort, whoever is going to wear the blanket that I have knitted, please know that it was made with love, as growing up my granny not having money to buy me a jersey she bought wool and knitted a brown jersey for me what I noticed was that when she was making it she was praying. On the 27th of April 1994 she woke up early in the morning to go vote and she said ” I am going to vote for Mandela, I am doing this for you” today even though she is I am thankful and we at Vereeniging are doing this for Madiba