NEWS & BLOG
29 September, 2023 - By Margie Cheesman
Knitting knits us together
Every week we have a morning devoted to knitting, crochet, and embroidery. Volunteers and members learn the techniques, bring in their projects, and work on them together.
Sedi is an expert with these crafts. She left Iran twenty years ago, but knows exactly what it’s like adjusting to London life as a person seeking asylum. “People are tense. They may have traumas, they may have language barriers, they may be very lonely. Waiting for Home Office decisions, there is little control over where you live, what you eat, how you future will be organised.”
“But many members keep coming back to the knitting. It is a project, a sense of achievement, something to focus on over time. When your attention is on the craft and not all those other things, that gives your mind rest. And most importantly, we give our attention to each other. Knitting knits us together too.”
Do you have spare yarn or crochet needles lying around? Or a basic working sewing machine you never use? Please contact us at hello@westlondonwelcome.com if you can donate them to West London Welcome!
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Dr Margie Cheesman is an anthropologist at Kings College London and a communications volunteer at West London Welcome. She is on Twitter @margchee.
