Ethiopia Here They Come!

I watch a lot of documentaries on Netflix.

I LOVE documentaries. LoveLoveLoveLoveLove.

And a while back I think I mentioned a particular documentary, A Walk to Beautiful, that moved me greatly. And as I was watching the movie I noticed something about all the women who had come to the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to find treatment. All these women were wrapped in what obviously were hand knit blankets.

Just simple hand knit blankets. Every woman gets one. They are a badge of honor and highly prized.

But who knit all those blankets? Well, the internet and the Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia website told me that volunteers knit all those blankets. And once I knew that then I knew I had to knit blankets.

Today the first two blankets went off to Australia and ultimately to Ethiopia where they will serve as a gigantic hug to these women who have lost so much because of something that they have no control over.

These two blankets are really a joint effort with all my Knit Sibs at Tri County Knitaholics. I knit the squares for the top blanket. Frannie knit the squares for the bottom blanket. Many of my knit sibs dug into the back of their stash closets and gave me acrylic that was lingering from bygone days. These blankets, and all future blankets, would not have come about without their help and support.

I never imagined, once I understood what “good” fiber was all about, that I would EVER again knit with acrylic yarn. But I was wrong.

I may spend the rest of my knitting life producing complicated things such as lace and socks and sweaters, but I don’t think that I have ever been quite as satisfied with anything as I am with these blankets.

I had better be because it costs more to ship these things than they are actually worth.

But it is still SO worth it.

The full video for A Walk to Beautiful can be found on YouTube or Netflix.