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Sunday, November 9, 2014

67 BLANKETS ATTEMPTING WORLD RECORD



(One of the yarn-bombed trees in Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg)

The 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day ‘knit-wits’ are knitting away with the aim of producing 9,000 handmade blankets for an awareness drive and world record breaking attempt.

“We aim to make 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day a household name by displaying our woollen wares at the feet of the Nelson Mandela statue at the Union Buildings in April 2015. An aerial photo of a sea of blankets around the feet of the Madiba statue is bound to cause an international stir and attract even more supporters to the cause. The thousands of blankets made around South Africa will be transported to Gauteng by Airlink and then returned to their creators to be distributed to those in need when the cold strikes in 2015,” says Carolyn Steyn, founder of the movement.

A few weeks ago, the “knit-wits” took up the offer from the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton of increasing the profile of the project by creating an awareness over the Christmas period. The Square is dominated by a massive statue of Nelson Mandela and the surrounding trees have now been yarn-bombed with knitted or crocheted strips. When the festive season is over, these will be taken down, cleaned and joined up into blankets for distribution.

If you happen to be in the Sandton area during November, a Knitathon will be held every Sunday in the Nelson Mandela Square from 11h00 until 14h00.

For more information on the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day initiative, visit www.67blankets.co.za or find 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day (South Africa) on Facebook.