Many knitters don't bother with tension squares, but here at Simply Knitting we make loads! We also knit squares in various pretty patterns for our stitch library, and in a range of colourful yarns for our monthly yarn reviews. All in all, this adds up to a lot of squares – all about 4in by 4in (10cm by 10cm) of course – which are carefully knitted, lovingly photographed and then, having served their purpose, discarded.
We don't like to waste anything but as many of the yarns aren't machine washable and as they're all of varying weights and colours, there aren't very many charities who will take them. But we always find a good home for them in the end, and we've just had a lovely email from Jill at the Alzheimer's Society in Doncaster which included this photo of our swatches in action.
Jill and her team of volunteers have been making blankets for Alzheimer's patients and last year raised over £700 with their sponsored knit and crochet! They're still looking for more squares, so if you've got a swatch or two you can spare, why not email Jill or pop them in the post to: Jill, Alzheimer’s Society, 1st Floor, 58 Balby Road, Balby, Doncaster DN4 0JL and who knows, you might spot them in her next blanket!
We've already spotted the Grid Stitch sample from our stitch library in issue 36 and the Rico Carmen swatch from our yarn reviews in issue 33! It's great to see they've found a good home.
Posted by Claire (127.0.0.1) on September 25, 2008 at 07:14 PM BST
Website: http://www.claireannals.wordpress.com #