Sadly, the recent world news included a local Alaskan, Ron Schulz, a kidnap victim in Iraq. I was sobered to discover that he and I graduated from the same small-town high school in Jamestown, N.D.
Enough violence, I think to myself. How can I help to make peace in the world?
I have been pondering this question for days, and as I sit and look down at my stitches, I suddenly realize that we can change our world through the knitters. Why can't we knit the world together?
What if we didn't hold a war? What if we gave yarn and needles to everyone all over the globe? The universal craft or traditional art of knitting can be our peace offering to the world.
Most knitters know that even though we don't speak a common language, we speak to each other through universal stitches. Women and men who knit to clothe their loved ones know this universal language.
I recall a trip I made to Barcelona, Spain, more than 30 years ago. I visited a small yarn shop, hoping to purchase yarn to work with while I traveled.
Although I spoke only a few words of Spanish and the shop owner spoke no English, she and I were able to exchange ideas and patterns by demonstrating them. She would knit her idea and I would knit mine.
I left that little shop feeling as though I had a new friend.
As we knit, each stitch is infused with love and the peace each knitter knows: the peace that comes with the satisfaction of creating, the peace that comes by plying the needles back and forth, the peace that comes from the feel of the soft yarn passing through our fingers.
These vibrations of love and peace, created by millions all over the world, would surely make a difference. What a lovely image it is to see the globe all covered in stitches of love. Our knitting becomes a metaphor for the fabric of a healthier, more peaceful society and a unified world.
One organization has decided to begin this exchange of peace through knitting.
Inspired by the work done in World War II by the Red Cross, Afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian and educational project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets, sweaters, socks, hats and mittens to people in Afghanistan.
They are working in partnership with International Orphan Care and American Friends Service Committee to collect and distribute the knitted items. The Agape Foundation is the fiscal sponsor for the project and donation information is available at www. afghansforAfghans.org.
This past year, the group delivered more than 5,860 hand-knit items, including: 3,625 hats, 500 pairs of mittens, 500 pairs of socks, 700 sweaters and more than 570 blankets.
All of the items are packed in San Francisco by lots of volunteers. The items were distributed to people in the cities of Heret, Jalalabad and Kabul.
Donations of knitted or crocheted items are needed for the spring collection. Wool and wool blend yarn in medium to dark colors is best for the garments.
If you need yarn, you can enter to win a $50 gift certificate from the online yarn store YarnMarket.com, or you can check with your local yarn store for charity yarn supplies.
All items must be new and should not contain representational images or religious or national symbols.
Information about the organization, including shipping guidelines, is available at the Afghans for Afghans Web site. Your participation will help one country reach out to another with gifts of warmth and peace. We really can help to make a more peaceful world one stitch at a time.
Catherine Hollingsworth, interior designer, artist and professional knitter, has lived in Alaska for 17 years. A past president of Knitters of the North, she currently designs knitwear patters for publication. To reach her, e-mail twosicks@adnmail.com.
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