It really matters

I have been knitting for charity for several years. I have knit sweaters for Guideposts, I have made sweaters for layettes for Lutheran World Relief, I have crocheted and knit squares for AIDS orphans in African, and I have even made one toy bear for The Mother Bear Project. Invaribly, when I send these hand-knit items off, I always wonder if it really matters; now I know it does.

My last post was not knitting related, but rather a tribute to our darling Katie, a six-year old feline beauty who we loved and lost. What I did not say was that on the day she died, I visited her in the animal hospital where she lay on an striped, crocheted afghan and when we came back later that morning to say our final goodbye, she was lovingly wrapped in a beautiful brown granny-squared afghan. Some yarn woman in our community made these blankets to comfort our sweet Katie...and us. I will never forget that final image of her, beautifully encased in a work of yarn. So it really does matter, these gifts looped of yarn from our hands. I now shall add knitting for shelters and animal hospitals as yet another group to knit for.

The rest of the story is this...

As way of memorial to Katie, we went to our county chapter of PAWS the very day after Katie died. We made a contribution in her name and toured the cat wing, following a declaration that we were most assuredly not in the market for a new cat for a while. But God, who loves all creatures of the universe, had other plans. The first cat we laid eyes on was a lovely black cat, just like our Katie. We lingered...and then proceeded onto the rest of the facility. Long story/short, last night our adoption application for Hermione was approved and in six days her "forever home" will be with us. I am making Gracie, we intend to add Grace to her name, a welcoming blanket, because I now know, it really does matter.