Friday, April 28, 2006

Scrap Yarns from Around the World Needed!!!

Last night I took a wonderful knitting with wire and beads class at Unraveled, a local yarn shop. The class was great, the women were a treat, and I just love my new wire and bead bracelet! But the very best part of the evening was falling in love with a "scrap afghan" that was lying across a chair in the shop. It was made with bits of what looked like hundreds of different yarns. From cotton, to mohair, to eyelash, to chenille, to ribbon... in every color and color combination in the rainbow. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Although I was at the shop for a totally different purpose, I keep going back to the afghan. Suddenly I realized that they would be perfect for the retreat! First of all, they're absolutly gorgeous. No two are exactly alike because the yarns are all different and they are joined in a totally random manner. Ann from the shop said that she even throws the "not so pretty" yarns in there too, because you need those to make the beautiful ones shine. Looking at the afghan while she explained the process reminded me of what life among the body of Christ is like... So many different colors, textures, backgrounds... together they create an incredibly beautiful mosaic that is so much bigger than the sum of all the parts.

So, I've committed to knitting 8 for the retreat (enough for each of the 6 guests to use one while they're there and 2 extras). To really make this work, I want to incorporate as many different yarns as I possibly can, from around the world! So, please please please, don't toss out those scraps of yarn left over from your knitting projects. Pieces as small as one yard can be used. Gather up your scraps as you finish projects, go through your stash and get rid of yarn that you'll probably never use, by sending them to me at the following address:

Sydney Thomas
Soulful Knitting Ministries
c/o Grace Bay Publishing
PO Box 383
Sutherland VA 23885

Please include a little note to let me know where you're sending the yarn from. I think these afghans are going to be an amazing testimony to the power and the beauty of teamwork!


1 comment:

Mary said...

I always fondle that scrap afghan when I'm in there -- it is just beautiful!

I have a bag of scrap yarns which I can give you next time I see you, or else maybe I'll keep them to make my own scrap afghan/shawl to donate! ;-)