Knitting communities together

 

THE Clare Volunteer Centre will celebrate local communities across the county by demonstrating how a single poem can knit them together.

The centre is looking for volunteers, community groups and voluntary groups to get involved in producing the county’s first-ever knitted poem.

Sharon Meaney, manager with the Clare Volunteer Centre, explains the reason behind the call for volunteers.
“Earlier this year, we ran a poetry competition, inviting people to celebrate our local communities by writing a poem on the theme ‘Together We Can Make a Difference’.

“We had over 250 entries and the judges had a huge task in picking the eventual winner. We wanted to do something a bit different to celebrate our vibrant communities in Clare, so we decided to knit the poem, launching it on December 5, the International Day of Volunteering, under the title ‘Knitting Our Community Together’,” she said.

The poem was composed by Ciaran Collins but the title of the poem has been kept under wraps to keep up a sense of intrigue. Each person or group participating in the event is given a square with a single letter or a blank square to knit. When completed, the piece should be a bit bigger than a super-king size quilt.

Already the volunteer centre has conducted visits across the county engaging with day centres, ICA guilds, football clubs, youth clubs, the youth service, the Brothers of Charity and knitting groups to create awareness of the idea and get people on board.

A similar project was undertaken in the UK by The Poetry Society and having heard of this, the Clare Volunteer Centre decided to organise a similar undertaking, based on something that was produced in Clare and that showcased communities across the county. Ms Meaney said it is the first such undertaking in the county.

“Depending on the level of knitting, we can allocate people a letter, or if they are not that confident at knitting, they can get a pattern for the 5inch by 5inch blank squares. While they don’t have a letter, they can be patterned, so we have blank squares that have stripes, for instance,” Ms Meaney said.

While the centre is looking to community groups, businesses are also encouraged to get involved and among those knitting squares are Clare County Council and Ennis Parish Office.
The aim is that when the piece of art is launched, it will be given back to the community where it can go on display and already Ms Meaney said Kildysart Community Art Gallery is interested in showcasing it.

Already the centre has had a huge response to their request for volunteers to knit the 5in by 5in squares needed to complete the project, with groups and individuals from across the county embracing the opportunity to get involved.

“We have had contact from individual volunteers, knitting groups, community groups, day centres, family resource centres, the ICA, even the Doora Barefield Ladies Football Committee are busy knitting squares in their club colours,” she said.

Dolores O’Halloran, placement officer with the centre, advised that people don’t have to be an expert knitter to get involved.
“We need about 200 individual letters knitted but over 300 plain squares. The patterns are easy to follow and people can be as creative as they wish in the colours they choose. As well as volunteer knitters, we have a dedicated team of volunteers who are updating the new Facebook page, taking photos and giving guidance and support,” Ms O’Halloran said.

Anyone interested in getting involved, no matter what their knitting level or experience, is invited to find out more about how to get involved by contacting Sharon or Dolores on 065 6866800, emailing info@volunteerclare.ie or visiting the website at www.volunteerclare.ie.