Brock's knitting group has made an afghan to raffle off for the United Way. With the afghan, from left, are Koreen McCullough from ESL Services; Marianne Vessel, budget officer for the Faculty of Business; Jo Stewart, administrative officer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Barbara Bucknall, a French professor who retired in 1993.
Brock's knitting group has made an afghan to raffle off for the United Way. With the afghan, from left, are Koreen McCullough from ESL Services; Marianne Vessel, budget officer for the Faculty of Business; Jo Stewart, administrative officer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Barbara Bucknall, a French professor who retired in 1993.
When it comes to knitting for charitable causes, the Needle Knockers are at it again.
The informal Brock knitting group that meets on campus twice a month has made dolls and toys for children in Swaziland. Its members make shawls and sweaters for friends and family. Now the group is raffling a knitted afghan and pillow, and the proceeds will go to Brock’s United Way campaign.
The afghan is 1.2 by 1.5 metres (four feet by five feet). About 10 Needle Knockers participated, knitting 20 squares. The result is a comfortable and intricate afghan that took some of the knitters to new horizons.
The afghan has challenging patterns ordinarily considered to be for an advanced knitter, said Jo Stewart, group organizer and administrative officer for the Faculty of Social Sciences. But new members stepped up to the challenge.
One such new knitter is Koreen McCullough, special group and project co-ordinator for ESL Services.
“I must have pulled it out over 100 times,” McCullough said. “Then I buckled down over August. It was very challenging but very rewarding. I’ve taken on another project because of this.”
The afghan represents hundreds of hours of work by Brock knitters. The border alone took at least 30 hours to do.
Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. They can be purchased in Market Hall and the Schmon Tower lobby starting later this week, or by emailing jo.stewart@brocku.ca. The winning ticket will be drawn at 1 p.m. on Nov. 24 in the Schmon Tower lobby.
Administrative staff on the 13th floor are also fundraising. There will be a gold party in the 13th floor board room on Thursday, Nov. 3 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Gold Party Princess will be assessing and buying gold and donate 15 per cent of the proceeds to the United Way. It will also make a $50 donation. For more information, or to book a 10-minute appointment, contact Barb at 905-688-5550 x3333 or bchatwin@brocku.ca
Brock’s United Way campaign had an official launch on Oct. 18. This year’s fundraising goal is $115,000.
