PUTNAM, Conn. _ Fourteen women gathered around a table in the rectory of St. Mary's Church, on Aug. 30.
Piles of knitted 9-inch by 7-inch rectangles created a kaleidoscope of colors on the table. At one end were 23 finished shawls and seven lap robes ready to go to new homes.
Anita Willard presided over the gathering known as the Prayer Shawl Group. Most of the 20 members come from four different churches _ St. Mary's, St. Joseph's in North Grosvenordale, St. Stephen's in Quinebaug, and Holy Trinity in Pomfret. They have been meeting and knitting for four years, making shawls, lap robes, mittens, and hats that they then give away.
The items have been given away at churches, through DayKimball Healthcare's various programs, women's shelters, and through the American Red Cross. They have gone to residents of nursing homes, hospital patients, veterans, and children. And the women have contributed items to Warm Up America, a charity that sends knitted and crocheted items to those in need.
The first order of business was a prayer. Willard led them in a prayer that paid particular attention to the gifts of hands and hearts that produced the shawls.
"Hands are the instruments of our craft and what we give is a blessing," Willard said.
Maureen Desilets, Doris Johnson, and JoAnne Beauvais kept their hands busy knitting, their eyes never leaving the work at hand.
Willard needed a count of all the rectangles on the table. The group would bag them 50 at a time and ship them to Warm Up America. The pieces were a summer project that the Putnam group planned to contribute to WUA's afghan-making cause.
Pauline Puhacz came in a few minutes late and dropped a bag of 33 rectangles on the table.
Peggy Wilson added her own to the pile.
"I only did 10," she said.
In the scheme of things, they didn't seem like much. An adult-size afghan requires 49 pieces; a child's 36, a baby's 20. But these are women who start each session with prayer.
"We'll do what we can," said one woman. "The Lord will multiply them."
And so they got to work counting. There were more than 200 rectangles, enough to make four adult blankets.
"People appreciate shawls," Willard said. "A lot of people think of them as an old lady thing, but they're not."
Willard said the shawls are meant to be warm and comforting. They aren't just for the elderly or sick. They are for people who are grieving, hurting, or feeling alone. And they are for boys as well as girls.
"We want people to be comforted with God's love," she said.
Before the session was over, Deacon Pierre Desilets blessed the pile of yarn and shawls. He sprinkled holy water, splashing some of the women.
"You ought to know to wear your raincoats," he said with a laugh.
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For more information on the shawls, or to join the group, contact Willard at 302-200-2900. Donations of yarn can be dropped off at St. Mary's rectory, on Providence Street in Putnam, Conn.
