This Christmas just got a little bit warmer for children in Battlefords Early Childhood Intervention Program.
A group of local knitters have reached their goal, and then some, for hand-knit and crocheted blankets, although a few short weeks ago, knitter V. Sidebottom says they were beneath their estimates.
"We started around April and maybe about three weeks ago we had a count and we had 85 [blankets] and I thought 'my god, are we going to get them finished?'"
The group then swathed the town with posters and knitters previously unknown to the group began to stop by the usual meeting place, Crandleberry's.
"Today," Sidebottom announced, "we've got 104."
And the group expects to have 115 blankets when it's all said and done and they make the official donation to BECIP. Colleen Sabraw, executive director of BECIP, was delighted with the variety of styles and colours of the blankets and noted that each child in the program will receive a blanket.
BECIP provides instruction and programs for parents of children with developmental delay from birth until five years of age. Every year the organization gives out a Christmas present to the children registered in their program, and thanks to the 12 women in the knitting club, BECIP will supplement their gift — this year's is a book — with the group's donated handmade goods.
"Each year we give [the kids] some sort of Christmas gift," says Sabraw. "The ladies have made hats and mitts before and this year they wanted to make blankets. So [our] staff will be taking a wrapped gift tucked inside [the blanket].
"What's so cool is they can sit up on their mom and dad's knee, curl around with their blanket and read their book."
And the kids in BECIP aren't the only ones getting a blanket to curl up in this year. During the group's meet up last Tuesday, with the tables piled high with a vibrant variety of blankets, one Crandleberry's customer mistook the group's inventory for a sale. Upon hearing the customer was keen on purchasing one for his wife, the knitter of the blanket happily gave it to the man for free.
Amazed, the man remarked that the spontaneous gift was going to make his wife very happy.
"It's the Christmas season now!" he announced to the group.
