大象传媒

Good morning

Today is, and I kid you not, Worldwide Knit in Public Day.

Events, run by volunteers, will be celebrated in 鈥�54鈥� countries!

Now knitting, as well as other yarn crafts, had a reputation as being for grannies, once upon a time. Yet, a surge in popularity of knitting and crochet clubs, has seen a revival of these once disparaged crafts.

Today, groups will be knitting for all sorts of reasons. Some for charity 鈥� making blankets and other gifts for the homeless and for refugees. Others will be creating art installations, such as covering trees in knitted and crocheted squares. Others still will participate in all sorts of funky feats such as knitting a rocket.

But regardless of the actual projects, the theme remains the same--achieving a better world by collaboration.

I鈥檝e crocheted in public for well over twenty years. Dresses, hats, cardigans, and blankets have been made in all sorts of places. I鈥檝e crocheted in hospitals, in parks, and in museums. And I鈥檝e crocheted my way through plane, train and bus journeys.
And this tradition of crocheting wherever I go, remains with me to this day. What I most like about it, is not the beautiful things which get created, but that people stop and have a conversation with me. I often tire of being a 鈥渧isibly Muslim woman鈥� 鈥� especially as, in this day and age, that is not always a comfortable feeling. But somehow, by crocheting in public, barriers come down, and I seem to take on another identity 鈥� a crafter. People feel able to talk about what I鈥檓 making. It鈥檚 a good feeling to speak to people about something positive. It is very humanising.

O Merciful Lord聽 - Let us find ways to bring down the barriers that divide us, and let us find ways to collaborate constructively together.