UPDATE: New Zealand Chapter

I would so love to go to New Zealand and meet Olive, she sounds truly delightful. I love the term wee tots. Also, Olive, fleece makes me overheat too! Glad to hear I'm not alone! Teresa

Morning Teresa

I now have finished my second lot of 50 bags, last one yesterday, and have already given out 2 of them already.  I have 24 now to give out to church members on sunday after our Christmas service.  Our anglicans meet at this tiny country community church twice a month so christmas eve is not our day to have the church.  We belong to a wider parish and members go to the big church on the other non Aokautere days.  we love going to the small church as we are able to mix better than in a huge church where you go and difficult to get to know people.  As such the ladies of Aokautere have formed a small craft group but we have a big heart so have been doing charity knitting and sewing to benefit the Neonatal unit and community midwives.  we have been knitting or crocheting small blanket out of pure wool for the NNU babies to keep them warm when they come out of the incubators,  edging wool blanket - we cut up large bedsize wool blankets and either hem them with a quilt type binding (that's me and one other as we are sewists, or blanket stitch or crochet the edge.  They go to new Mums who can't afford wool blankets as wool is best for the wee tots. In NZ most houses don't have central heating as it is too expensive and people in winter heat up the room they are in at the moment.  Bedrooms can be cold as temperatures in winter can go down to -1 centigrade in winter. Fleece is so cheap and pretty that the young mothers buy them and as babies don't have the same internal heat control fleece can make them overheat.  There is a slogan that the midwives are promoting- Wool for warmth- Fleece for Fun)

I digress.  I will give out one bag per family on Sunday so I should have enough with my 24, I might have a few left over to give out at random.  The picture is my mountain of folded up bags.

regards
Olive