Leper Bandage Campus Project
As promised earlier, an update on the Leper Bandage Project:
A few weeks ago, Ryan posted a link to instructions for making bandages for lepers -- the Latter-Day Saints are collecting them and sending them off to places in South America, Asia, and Indonesia, where they are, I am told, of great use.
Well, I was quite taken by this project, and several of the graduate students were, too, so we started knitting leper bandages. (There are several reasons, I think, that we were so enchanted by the project: 1) it sounds vaguely medieval, 2) the uses of it are clear and compelling, 3) it is an easy project for beginners, and 4) we are all going to look like the March girls, who spend much of Little Women sitting around in groups looking fetching whilst knitting socks for the Union soldiers.) I said that I would collect the bandages and send them off myself to the Latter-Day Saints, as a present from the university.
And then I thought, well, you know, the English department's one thing, but what if we get more people involved? So I printed out instructions, and went around campus. The volunteer coordinator liked the project, the head of the dorms liked the project, the ministry center liked the project. (As could be predicted -- what were they going to say? "No! We scorn your leper bandages! Take them out of our sight, you dreadful charitable person!" Not likely.)
So now I'm waiting.
I'm not giving knitting lessons -- I don't have the time to teach the entire campus to knit -- I'm just waiting to see what happens. I say in the instructions I handed out that whatever bandages I receive by December 2, I'll mail off -- after that, everybody has to send them off themselves.
(I warned the department about this project at a meeting -- I figured that if the office started looking like the Red Cross, it would cause people to feel alienated if they didn't know what was going on. Best to give notice.)
Every once in a while I hear about progress in bandages, or about some little group that's knitting them -- but I've got no idea, really, how small or large this project is. We'll see.
I'm making two, myself -- one ball of Knit-Cro-Sheen makes two, and that's it for me. But the bandages are lovely -- strong, soft, and boilable. Can be recycled.
And very easy to carry around and knit on in odd moments. Quite satisfying project.
So, Ryan, there you are. Told ya. Many thanks -- we never know what will happen to the links we post.
A few weeks ago, Ryan posted a link to instructions for making bandages for lepers -- the Latter-Day Saints are collecting them and sending them off to places in South America, Asia, and Indonesia, where they are, I am told, of great use.
Well, I was quite taken by this project, and several of the graduate students were, too, so we started knitting leper bandages. (There are several reasons, I think, that we were so enchanted by the project: 1) it sounds vaguely medieval, 2) the uses of it are clear and compelling, 3) it is an easy project for beginners, and 4) we are all going to look like the March girls, who spend much of Little Women sitting around in groups looking fetching whilst knitting socks for the Union soldiers.) I said that I would collect the bandages and send them off myself to the Latter-Day Saints, as a present from the university.
And then I thought, well, you know, the English department's one thing, but what if we get more people involved? So I printed out instructions, and went around campus. The volunteer coordinator liked the project, the head of the dorms liked the project, the ministry center liked the project. (As could be predicted -- what were they going to say? "No! We scorn your leper bandages! Take them out of our sight, you dreadful charitable person!" Not likely.)
So now I'm waiting.
I'm not giving knitting lessons -- I don't have the time to teach the entire campus to knit -- I'm just waiting to see what happens. I say in the instructions I handed out that whatever bandages I receive by December 2, I'll mail off -- after that, everybody has to send them off themselves.
(I warned the department about this project at a meeting -- I figured that if the office started looking like the Red Cross, it would cause people to feel alienated if they didn't know what was going on. Best to give notice.)
Every once in a while I hear about progress in bandages, or about some little group that's knitting them -- but I've got no idea, really, how small or large this project is. We'll see.
I'm making two, myself -- one ball of Knit-Cro-Sheen makes two, and that's it for me. But the bandages are lovely -- strong, soft, and boilable. Can be recycled.
And very easy to carry around and knit on in odd moments. Quite satisfying project.
So, Ryan, there you are. Told ya. Many thanks -- we never know what will happen to the links we post.
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