MEMBERS of a Nowra knitting group are weaving plenty of good humour and warmth into the wraps they’re creating to turn cold into cosy.
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Nowra Wrap With Love meets each week and while to an outsider it appears as a women’s group dedicated to tea, bickies and chatting they’re actually helping traumatised people around the world caught up in wars and natural disasters.
The concept of knitters creating wraps for victims of disasters and those in need started in the early 1990s.
Nowra Wrap With Love officially started this year and has already knitted 35 wraps.
Rae Watson, who has been involved since 1994, said she loved the fact that she can use her knitting skills to help people in need.
“It keeps my fingers and brain busy, no money changes hands, we’re recycling leftover wool and helping people around the world,” she said.
Beautiful handmade wraps have been lovingly crafted by more than 25,000 volunteers throughout Australia and more than 157,000 wraps have been sent to people in more than 75 countries, including Australia.
In 2006 22,737 wraps were despatched around the world.
Many of Nowra Wrap With Love’s members were careful not to give any clues to their age, but indicated they had been knitting for well over 21 years, with one member sharing memories of knitting for World War II pilots.
Mrs Watson said to create each wrap the group sews 28 knitted squares together.
“We meet in the library meeting room on the first Tuesday of the month, anyone is welcome and we never say no to donations of wool or knitting yarn,” she said.
