Spend a few minutes talking to me, and I’ll probably reveal some measure of my knitting obsession. Even though I don’t have much time to knit these days, I try to spend every spare moment I have thinking about what I’m going to knit next, reading about knitting, longingly petting yarn at stores, or knitting while watching TV, reading, exercising or drinking wine — all of which yield varying degrees of success.
I love meeting and writing about fellow crafters, and I have been amazed at the talent and diversity of craft efforts going on regularly across the diocese.
For instance, I recently wrote about an Irondequoit group, Angels of Mercy, which for the past year has helped to fight sex trafficking around the globe turning pillowcases into girls’ dresses. Crafty and noncrafty volunteers are needed to assemble the dresses — the group is on track to make more than 10,000 this year — and feed the small army of sewers.
Crafters of all stripes meet at parishes and schools throughout the diocese in such groups as the multisite Handiwork Ministry to make prayer shawls, lap robes, hats, mittens, scarves and many other items for a wide range of charities. For example, a group at St. Louis Parish in Pittsford each year felts discarded wool sweaters to make them into hats for the needy. Additionally, the operations of area religious congregations and School of the Holy Childhood are supported in part by the sales of handmade crafts.
Even if you don’t know your way around a thimble or a crochet hook, groups often need supply donations and volunteers to help organize their shelves. Check with your local parish or some of the above-mentioned groups to find out more.
So let’s hear it, Diocese of Rochester. What are you working on?
