I've been making some things for charity over the last few weeks. It started with a call for premie hats from the yarn store where I was shopping. (British, on-line) I thought it sounded like a good idea, a way to use the cool left over yarn I have on hand. After all I use the baby soft merino to knit for myself. Well, American hospitals have some weird prejudices and they can't cope with wool or the charities doing the organizing don't get it. I'm still looking for a group that appreciates wool, but in the mean time, I have emptied the ol' hope chest of it's baby clothes, as I won't be having any grand babies. I'll be sending these along with some cotton items I've made and a few wool ones for the "angels" to be buried in, (these don't have to be aggressively washed), to a wonderful lady who organizes and supplies items to hospitals and such.
Now that's an area of need that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. But it's a very real one and one that is often over looked. Parents who've had their sweet baby arrive early and pass on, aren't prepared with garments of an appropriate size for burial. And they aren't really prepared to cope with burial details of any kind. I'm very happy to help ease their grief by supplying them with something to lay their sweet one to rest in. This may become my preferred charity as the need crosses all classes of people and is often overlooked. --Sinéad