Pictured: Dorothy, Patricia and Raice from The Laurels Chat and Craft Group.
A group of Mount Barker retirees have been busy making large rugs for Ukrainian and Afghani refugees who have recently arrived in Adelaide.
About a dozen women at The Laurels Retirement Village have knitted 35 rugs, which were recently donated to the refugees to help keep them warm in the winter months.
The rugs are designed to fit a single-size bed and are made up of 28 squares, each measuring 10 inches, usually including one kangaroo square and a small label stating: “A gift from Wrap With Love Australia”.
Knitting for a good cause
The colourful creations were made by members of The Laurels Chat and Craft group, which has been meeting weekly for the past 12 years.
Organiser Dorothy Heath said the group enjoyed putting their knitting, sewing and crocheting skills to help those in need.
“Our rugs are currently going to the refugees who have recently arrived in Adelaide, which I think is lovely,” Dorothy said.
While the Chat and Craft group only started donating the rugs to refugees this year, they have been knitting for a good cause for a long time.
Over the past 12 years the Chat and Craft group has made and donated more than 500 rugs to Wrap With Love, a Sydney-based charity which distributes warm wraps to more than 30,000 people in need across Australia and in other countries each year.
Dorothy said the group started knitting rugs in 2009 after she read a short article in the Mount Barker Courier.
“The article was about Wrap With Love and what they did, so I made some phone calls locally to get some more information,” Dorothy explained.
“I contacted a lady who came and spoke to our group about Wrap With Love. I thought there must be a lot of people like myself who had knitted in their earlier years and would like the opportunity to knit for a great cause, so I suggested this to a group here at The Laurels and the group agreed.”
Helping those in the local community
For many years, Susan Crouch of Uraidla has been collecting the rugs from The Laurels Chat and Craft group and others around the Adelaide Hills and organised for them to be transported to Sydney by truck. However that mode of transport became unavailable last year, so the decision was made to distribute the rugs in Adelaide.
Dorothy got in touch with a migrant agent, whom she had met through the Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide, to help.
“The migrant agent has been assisting recently arrived refugees in Adelaide, many of whom have been coming from Afghanistan and the Ukraine,” Dorothy explained.
“She has been happy to accept our rugs, and those which Susan has collected from other Adelaide Hills groups and distribute them to recently arrived refugees in the Adelaide area.”
So far, The Laurels Chat and Craft group has proudly donated 35 rugs to the refugees and are busy knitting more.
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