Knitters share the warmth

LIFE Activities Club (LAC) Surf Coast members have used their time in lockdown productively, helping knit together a large blanket to donate to refugees.

LAC Surf Coast organises various activities for people who are retired or semi-retired.

These activities generally range from tennis and group walks, to scrabble and cinema nights.

COVID-19 restrictions prevented many events, but LAC Surf Coast president Cheryl Annetts thought of a project the group could work on while in isolation.

Ms Annetts said she knew of a group in Melbourne who had knitted a blanket for refugees and thought it was something LAC Surf Coast could replicate.

“I looked at what they did and thought ‘we could do this,’” Ms Annetts said.

“Julie Stevens is a craft guru, so I asked her how many stitches and what sort of wool we would need. She did the technical stuff and then I put the email out and got our members onboard.

“We ended up with 12 ladies who did the knitting, which worked out to about four squares each.”

Due to working on their own individual sections, it was only recently most group members were able to meet outside and admire the finished blanket.

The blanket, along with a couple of beanies the group also made will be sent to The Welcome Place, who support to people in the Geelong area who are seeking asylum.

Ms Annetts said the project had been invaluable to the group during lockdown.

“Some of the people who responded are in their eighties, and they just loved it, they just loved to have a purpose and stay part of the group.”

She said they were now eager to get started on the second blanket.

“It is going to continue from now on, this will be a new activity group for LAC. I’ve just bought the wool for another blanket so we can continue doing this kind of activity.

“We don’t hang on to things like this, it will also be donated but whoever it goes to is the decision of the knitters, and with this one it was pretty much unanimous that we would send it to a refugee family.”