Train Socks and other charity knitting

Some years ago I found a baby sock pattern and read the story about them. This year the pensioners in Järvenpää have a campaign to knit a pair of these socks for every new baby born in the town. The estimate is 400 babies, so a few helping hands are needed. My favourite yarn shop and knitting café  the Flying Mitten or Lentävä Lapanen collects the socks knitted by non-members.

 

 

Are you interested to hear the story? During the Winter War, in January 1940, one of the coldest winters of the century, a young mother with her little baby was travelling by train. The train stopped for a long time because the tracks were damaged. A retired handicraft teacher was sitting opposite to the mother and her baby, and she felt pity because the baby had no booties. She unravelled her hand knitted cardigan and with that yarn she knitted socks like this for the baby while the tracks were repaired. The sister of that baby still has the original pair, and her mother has used the pattern to knit many more socks to keep little toes warm.

 

I knitted the train socks with the rest of the yarn I used for these socks for a certain young lady:

 

I hope the flat lace pattern is not tickly. The colour is right in the top photo.

 

This other pair has white toes - I used all the pink yarn left over from the rose socks and it was not quite enough. They are also for someone special, someone who loves pink.

 

 

A pair of my socks has already ended up at Lentävä Lapanen for another charity project. A big handicrafts magazine has challenged knitters to knit socks and mittens for the Finnish Red Cross in January.  They will send the socks and mittens to cold countries where help is needed. The knitting café will act as a collecting point, and knitters can easily buy new yarns for more socks when they bring their creations to the shop. Knitting is apparently a more natural way for us to help than making quilts: during my quilting years I have only once found a Finnish challenge to make quilts for charity, but there is always a challenge or more to choose from if you are interested in knitting or crocheting.

 

 

The sun doesn't get very high these days, this was taken at 1.15 pm today. The hint of snow we have makes all the difference. The days seem so much brighter with it. While the cold weather lasts, knitting by the fire is the best thing to do.