Cheryl Agostinho has the blisters and carpal tunnel problems to prove how much she works at her craft, but none of those aches and pains can stop her from spending as much time as possible to help keep people warm with free blankets.
“I just like to do something to help other people out that are less fortunate.”
The local member of the St. Albert Quilters’ Guild has spent countless hours over the last few years knitting more than 1,000 squares for Blankets For Canada, a volunteer organization that supports homeless people in the community. People with extra wool can knit the squares and then pass them along to organizers who arrange for them to be knitted into blankets.
The charity estimates the time commitment of all of its contributors at 20,000 hours each month.
Agostinho said that she has given a lot of her time too.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours it would take to do them all,” she exclaimed. “I even take it when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office.”
She is just happy to keep her hands busy. She works so diligently that she already has about another 100 squares ready to go in.
When she isn’t working on those, she has other projects on the go with her mother. They make hats, mitts and scarves. Other members of the guild are in on the action too.
Agostinho is so keen on the work she even wants to join the charity to participate in the next stage of the process where the squares get knitted together. She knows that she’s doing the big job right now though.
“I’m doing the main part of the blanket. Just putting them together is minor compared to knitting them all. That’s okay if I’m just doing this. I’m doing tons of these.”
The other benefit is that she is making good use of what would otherwise be extra yarn from finished projects. She even collects it from her friends.
“I use a lot of my own yarn. Sometimes I buy it and just donate it. I just tell people, ‘You have any yarn you don’t need? Send it to me!’”
If you would like to find out more about the cause, visit www.blankets4canada.ca. The Quilters’ Guild meets regularly at the visual arts studios in St. Albert Place. Call Hetty Jones at 780-458-9118 for further information.
