Photo courtesy Stich Club of Grande Prairie

By Erika Rolling

Handmade Donations

Over 5,000 knitted, crocheted, sewn items to be donated by Stitch Club of Grande Prairie

Sep 22, 2022 | 1:43 PM

Through the course of a year, 47 members of the Stich Club of Grande Prairie have either knitted, sewn or crocheted a plethora of items to be donated to 28 different local organizations and places.

The final count for the 2022 year was 5,305 items made.

Captain of the Stitch Club, Anne Sawchuk says they believe around 9,000 – 50 gram balls of yarn were used in making all the items.

“Most of us are little old ladies that have families who don’t want any more of our knitted stuff, or crocheted stuff, or sewn stuff… but we love to do it so we evolved over the years and kept adding people and charities.”

“Lots of them (members) during Covid especially were shut and locked inside, so that’s all they did was crochet, knit, or sew to keep themselves sane, but they just love to do it,” Sawchuk says.

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The yarn is donated, made into items, and then donated back to the community.

A breakdown of the 5,305 items is:

• 1,361 hats
• 590 dishcloths
• 519 scarves
• 495 headbands
• 490 blankets
• 442 worms (made specifically for Mackenzie Place in the hospital)
• 413 lanyards
• 368 pairs of mittens
• 266 pairs of slippers
• 129 shawls
• 75 pairs of socks
• 32 cowls
• 19 scrubbies
• 10 hoodies

Other items include doilies, doll blankets, gloves, oven towels, pot holders, and stuffed toys.

Sawchuk says the youngest stitcher in the club is 42 and the eldest is 96!

The 28 places the handcrafted items are being donated to:

• Baby’s Best Start
• Beaverlodge Family Services
• Cancer Clinic at Hospital
• Center for Young Parents
• Coats for Kids
• Crystal Park School
• Elder Care
• Friendship Centre
• Friends of the Grande Spirit Foundation
• Golden Age Centre
• GP Palliative Care Society
• Hospice
• MacKenzie Place at hospital
• Neo-Natal unit at hospital
• Northreach Society
• Oasis Church
• Odyssey House
• Pediatrics at hospital
• Pregnant Care
• Psychiatry-5^th floor at the hospital
• Rising Above
• Ronald McDonald House
• Salvation Army
• Sunrise Shelter
• St. Lawrence Center
• Wapiti House
• White Rose Program at the hospital
• Willow Place

Sawchuk says their members are so dedicated, “I’m sure some of them don’t sleep!”

Yarn donations to the Stitch Club of Grande Prairie can be made at the Golden Age Centre located at 10222-101 Avenue in Grande Prairie, cash or gift cards at the Micheals Craft Store, or by contacting Anne Sawchuk at 78-513-0601 or Cindy at 780-897-2338.