THE NINTH MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE - Knitting for AIDS babies

The "Jumpers and Jazz Festival" in Queensland's country town of 'Warwick, features a winter wonderland with naked trees dressed up for warmth against the winter chills. This past month has shown some of the delightful tree-artwork presented by local residents who have adorned their streets with colour and a sense of warmth.

Guest of the Month - Susan     
                                                                                        Susan is an avid knitter 
                                        with a special purpose as her knitting needles click away. 
 She can often be found in a sunny corner of her nursing home, knitting tiny jumpers. 

I have knitted many tiny striped jumpers for AIDS babies over recent years. I knit in bright colours, sometimes in 5 or 6 colours to hide the dirt, as these jumpers may never be washed. 

The poor little newborn African AIDS babies are often sent home from hospital wrapped in newspaper for warmth. When I was young, I loved to open up our Friday fish-and-chips wrapped in newspaper- but to think of a new baby wrapped in newspaper is a picture of grief. 

As I knit, I think of the little babies who will wear the jumpers and I say a prayer for them.

AIDS BABY JUMPERS KNITTING PATTERN

(Australian wool and needle sizes)

Knitted all in one.
8ply
5mm needles (tight knitters)
4.5mm (loose knitters)

Cast on 44 stitches, work 18 rows in K2, P2 rib.
Work 3 rows stocking stitch.
Cast on 12 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows, at same time change to K2, P2 (for sleeves).  Rib 22 rows.
Next row: Rib 21, cast off 26 stitches, Rib 21.
Next row: Rib 21, cast on 26 stitches, Rib 21.
Work 22 rows in K2, P2 rib.
Cast off 12 stitches at beginning of the next 2 rows.
Work 30 rows stocking stitch.
Work 18 rows K2, P2 rib.
Cast off.

Please stick to pattern as it is proven to work. 

Stripes and bright colours are fine.

http://www.teddiesfortragedies.org.uk/AIDSJumper.pdf

The AIDS  babies  knitting  project  was started in 2006 by an Australian couple,  Ken and Lyn Begley,  who responded to an appeal by Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated seeking donations of wool and knitters to make little jumpers that could be sent to Africa. Ken and Lyn had been moved to pity when they heard that AIDS babies in Africa were being sent home from the hospital wrapped in newspaper for warmth.

There are more than 10 million AIDS orphans in Africa, children who've lost one or both of their parents to the AIDS pandemic and in some cases are also struggling to live with HIV/AIDS themselves.

The knitted jumpers are being sent to Malawi, a landlocked country in southeast Africa that borders the larger nations of Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with around three quarters of the population living on less than two dollars a day.

Dorise’s goal is to get as many people knitting as possible in Acworth so she can gather 1,000 jumpers to send off to Malawi next year.

http://www.acworthian.org/Acworth_Knitting_Group.html

May we each create a space in our lives for serving others.  

from Robyn