East London knitters and crocheters have been asked to come out in droves to help make a giant handmade “portrait” of Nelson Mandela for the national 67 blankets for Nelson Mandela challenge.
Once completed, the massive piece will be made up of 1764 blankets in the specific colours of red, grey, black, yellow, blue and green and measure 4515m².
The pixel effect means Madiba’s face will only be visible from the sky.
So far only a few squares have been knitted in East London and the ambassador of the city’s chapter of the campaign, Emily Bouwer, has appealed to knitters to spend a morning creating squares in the beautiful gardens of the Ann Bryant Gallery on Saturday November 19 between 9am and noon.
Bouwer, who is passionate about crochet, said she heard about the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela when she saw founder Carolyn Steyn on TV last year.
“We have about 15 women called knitwits and happy hookers who make squares and blankets for us and we have donated many of these to educares in Mdantsane, West Bank and Orange Grove, but we also take part in the national challenges and want to get going with the Madiba portrait blankets.”
Dubbed a “knitting revolution for Mandela”, the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela campaign was started by Gauteng philanthropist and actor Steyn and launched at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in January 2014 as a challenge to knit, sew or crochet 67 blankets which would be distributed to the needy on Mandela Day.
Nine months later the initiative won campaign of the year at the South African of the year awards and smashed the Guinness world record for the largest crochet blanket in the world, measuring 3377m².
The astounding record-breaking blanket was spread out over the Union Buildings in Pretoria before individual blankets were donated to recipients countrywide.
The campaign, which has become known as a “movement”, is now being used in South African prisons as a means of rehabilitation and community help.
Bouwer said the Mandela blanket portrait challenge required specific colour-coded double knit wool, but that local knitwits and happy hookers lacked the money to purchase it.
“Most of our ladies are pensioners and can’t afford to pay for wool. We have a raffle to raise money, but also hope people buy wool for us so we can make the squares before April.”
Bouwer said the Ann Bryant gathering next Saturday morning would be an opportunity for people to join the knitwits and contribute to the Madiba blanket. “Bring a picnic basket and enjoy the morning with us,” she said. “We can also teach people to knit and crochet if they bring needles and wool.”
lFor more information about wool colour codes, square dimensions and needle sizes, please call Emily Bouwer at 084-744-7304. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Time to hook up again
Once completed, the massive piece will be made up of 1764 blankets in the specific colours of red, grey, black, yellow, blue and green and measure 4515m².
The pixel effect means Madiba’s face will only be visible from the sky.
So far only a few squares have been knitted in East London and the ambassador of the city’s chapter of the campaign, Emily Bouwer, has appealed to knitters to spend a morning creating squares in the beautiful gardens of the Ann Bryant Gallery on Saturday November 19 between 9am and noon.
Bouwer, who is passionate about crochet, said she heard about the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela when she saw founder Carolyn Steyn on TV last year.
“We have about 15 women called knitwits and happy hookers who make squares and blankets for us and we have donated many of these to educares in Mdantsane, West Bank and Orange Grove, but we also take part in the national challenges and want to get going with the Madiba portrait blankets.”
Dubbed a “knitting revolution for Mandela”, the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela campaign was started by Gauteng philanthropist and actor Steyn and launched at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in January 2014 as a challenge to knit, sew or crochet 67 blankets which would be distributed to the needy on Mandela Day.
Nine months later the initiative won campaign of the year at the South African of the year awards and smashed the Guinness world record for the largest crochet blanket in the world, measuring 3377m².
The astounding record-breaking blanket was spread out over the Union Buildings in Pretoria before individual blankets were donated to recipients countrywide.
The campaign, which has become known as a “movement”, is now being used in South African prisons as a means of rehabilitation and community help.
Bouwer said the Mandela blanket portrait challenge required specific colour-coded double knit wool, but that local knitwits and happy hookers lacked the money to purchase it.
“Most of our ladies are pensioners and can’t afford to pay for wool. We have a raffle to raise money, but also hope people buy wool for us so we can make the squares before April.”
Bouwer said the Ann Bryant gathering next Saturday morning would be an opportunity for people to join the knitwits and contribute to the Madiba blanket. “Bring a picnic basket and enjoy the morning with us,” she said. “We can also teach people to knit and crochet if they bring needles and wool.”
lFor more information about wool colour codes, square dimensions and needle sizes, please call Emily Bouwer at 084-744-7304. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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