Actually, you were exactly right the first time. I learned to knit from my mother, and over the years made many sweaters for friends and family. But as part of trauma-recovery, knitting offers special benefits -- continuation, a rhythmic meditative activity, a way of connecting to others. If you follow the link to Mother Bear, you'll see the faces of the children receiving the bears. It's such a miracle that I can be part of that. These kids will know that someone named Deborah (the bears have tags with the knitter's name) cared enough to make them a bear and send it all the way from America.

There is so much bad in the world that I cannot do anything about, so it is indeed a gift to me to be able to bring a smile to a child's face or keep an Afghan baby warm with a thick wool blanket (through afghans4Afghans).