Recently the East Coast of New Zealand was flooded by Cyclone Gabrielle. My favourite yarn stockists (and manufactuers) of really wonderful New Zealand yarn is located right slap bang in the middle of the cyclone zone. Fortunately they were able to carry on functioning, alongside helping the community. Maree at Skeinz is a legend – together with Lisa F Designs, they have put together a flood relief blanket kit (as well as earlier kits that could be purchased, that Maree delivered to the harder hit zones for people to work on themselves. I wholeheartedly see knitting and crochet as being part of a meditiative process for my mental health, so I thought this was an amazing thing.

However, I bought one of the Flood Relief Blanket kits. One of my workmates is pregnant, so as I sit here in my very sodden garden (still after all these weeks) I can work on a blanket for her wee boy. These kits have been restocked and sold out over and over again… and are again available in a beautiful range of colours.

I am working on mine in Flight Naturals Merino in Morepork. It is beautiful – and the colour of my mankey sheep that until recently was trotting around my paddock. This is not a quick knit, but it is easy and meditative. I can’t recommend it enough.

Skienz have already raised over $20,000 for the clean-up and relief efforts, sold over 1000 kits, and handed out hundreds of sponsored kits to people in need. If you are in the need of a baby blanket, this is the one I recommend right now.

This is the detail from Maree in her last email:

“The HB Flood Relief Blanket kits you have been asking for. These were wildly popular and are the perfect Winter knitting project.

They are just $69 each for the yarn and the pattern with $25 of this going directly to Hawkes Bay Flood Relief.
The colours available in Flight Merino DK are: Kiwi, Kokako, Weka, Dove, Chickadee, Heron, Wren & Dragonfly

Each Kit contains: 
100% Machine Washable Merino: 12 x 50gm balls in Flight DK 
Baby Cakes Knit and Purl Blanket Pattern – Donated by LisaF
4.00mm needles required (not provided in kit)
Cool machine wash, lay flat to dry
Completed blanket approx measures: 98cm L x 85cm W

$25 of the purchase price of this kit goes directly towards HB Flood Relief“

This is not a sponsored post, and I am not affiliated with Skeinz in any way – I just think they are a wonderful company with an amazing range of products, doing a spectacular job to help the relief effort.