Mary Karuzas, of Aurora, is 20 hours deep into knitting her second shawl for women in Sudan. Her lap is covered in a lush pile of brown, gold, green, and red yarn.
"I saw pictures of women from Sudan. Their eyes looked like they had hard lives," says Karuzas, her own eyes revealing what this personally means to her.
She and 30 other women of Aurora's
New Dawn Church (
www.scienceofmind.org)have joined together in a new project called
STRAND to knit, crochet, weave, or sew shawls for women locally and globally. "STRAND has a grand vision to supply our sisters around the world with shawls of warmth, compassion, love and blessings," says
Sissy Alverson, also a passionate participant.
"We don't have time or give ourselves time to commune with women or to just be together. We can make the world a better place - and at the same time, make our lives better for us," says Karuzas. "We'll wear them, then pass the love in the shawl."
Each woman can knit on her own time and/or join fellow knitters. Skill is not a requirement. About half of the group is new to knitting. Those with more knowledge are teaching the beginners.
STRAND's first shawls will be donated to the Women for Women/Knitting for Peace project started by
Susan McKee of Denver. In late December, Susan will go to Sudan to personally deliver these shawls and those made by 200 other women in the US and Canada. McKee's project requests that the number 3 be incorporated "as a symbol for women of the three Abrahamic faith traditions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim)." Three colors, fringes with three yarns, or triangles can represent the three beliefs. There are no restrictions on the creativity.
The STRAND group is open to anyone (including men) in the Denver area interested in the project regardless of spiritual belief. (Monday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. or on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to noon at 1680 S. Chambers Rd., Aurora.)
"Long range, STRAND would like to respond to local, national and world crises with shipments of shawls and children's items," says Alverson. For more information, call Sissy at (303)695-1988, tcalverson@hotmail.com or Mary 303-880-1458, lovtoqult@aol.com.