GREENFIELD — Though busy hands might quiet the mind, there’s always thought and care put into the Crafty Seniors’ work.
From knitting and crocheting blankets for veterans, to preparing mittens, scarves and hats for local children, the Greenfield Senior Center’s knitting and crocheting group actively seeks to serve the community. The group’s most recent effort came in the form of a donation of comfort blankets to the Greenfield Police Department.
The idea, according to Crafty Seniors member and Senior Center volunteer Marcha Duncan, is for the police to give the blankets to children they come in contact with for them to keep.
So, on Oct. 16, Duncan and fellow Crafty Seniors member Janice Michel brought more than 10 blankets to the Greenfield Police Station, presenting them to Lt. William Gordon and Sgt. Stephen Westerling.
“They were very pleased to get them,” said Duncan, a 73-year-old Greenfield resident.
Duncan said four members of the Crafty Seniors group, which meets to knit and crochet every Wednesday afternoon, helped make the colorful set of blankets.
“Each one takes maybe a good 24 hours total,” she said of the 32-inch by 32-inch blankets. “They’re pretty large.”
Using yarn donated mostly by community members in their work, Duncan said the Crafty Seniors stay busy. Although they’ve contributed blankets for the dogs at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter before, she said Wednesday’s donation was the first, hopefully of many, to the Greenfield Police Department.
“We have a good time,” Duncan said of the weekly get-togethers.
For now, the Crafty Seniors’ next project is preparing for a pop-up shop at the Senior Center on Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Duncan said the pop-up shop will feature a variety of handcrafted clothes, with proceeds benefiting the Senior Center.
Reach Shelby Ashline at 413-772-0261, ext. 270 or sashline@recorder.com.