Stay in Touch
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
Sign in
‎01-06-2020 11:04 PM - last edited on ‎01-06-2020 11:22 PM by Beth-QVC
I've seen a couple knitters recently post their creations.
@I am still oxox...thought you might be interested...đź’›
Jan 6 (Reuters) -
Knitting needles are clicking furiously around the world to create hundreds of protective pouches and blankets for native wildlife made homeless by Australian wildfires that have razed large swathes of bushland.
The Animal Rescue Craft Guild said on Monday it has been deluged with offers of help after putting out a call for volunteers to make bat wraps, joey pouches, birds nests, possum boxes, koala mittens and other snuggly homes for marsupials.
Donations to the volunteer-run group have come in from as far afield as the United States, Britain, Hong Kong, France and Germany.
“It’s been going crazy,” Belinda Orellana, a founding member of the guild, told Reuters. “The response has been amazing.”
Blazes across Australia in recent weeks have scorched through 8 million hectares of bushland, an area the size of Austria.
Some experts estimates put the number of animals, including domestic pets and livestock, killed as high as half a billion, with potentially hundreds of thousands of injured and displaced native wildlife.
“It’s the poor little souls that survived where we come in,” said Orellana. “Our group creates and supplies items to rescue groups and carers around the country who take in and care for the wildlife.”
Orellana said the guild supplied thousands of rescue groups around the country and demand was growing, adding there was an urgent need for fabric donations.
Originally formed a few months ago to make dog and cat beds and coats for animal pounds, the guild’s Facebook page has 75,000 members. Many of the crafters have crocheted, knitted and sewed a range of items including koala mittens for burned paws and pouches for infant “joey” kangaroos who have lost their mothers.
Lara Mackay, a new volunteer who lives in New Zealand, has just made her first makeshift joey pouch, which she enlisted her cat to test out at home.
“I’m planning to make as many as possible and am asking fabric outlets for fabric donations to sew,” Mackay told Reuters.
In Singapore, Leslie Kok was working on her fourth joey pouch and meeting up with other volunteers to share materials and tips.
“I will knit as long as there is a need for the pouches,” Kok said.
Closer to the fires, Simone Watts in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, saw the plea for help and set to work turning pillow cases into beds for bats or flying foxes.
“I looked at the list of what is most needed versus my fairly basic sewing capability and decided I could contribute the bat wraps,” Watts said.
‎01-06-2020 11:08 PM
‎01-06-2020 11:10 PM
‎01-06-2020 11:20 PM
@lovesrecess wrote:
I just saw on the news that it is raining in Australia. Prayers are being answered. They have also arrested 12 people who are being charged with arson. They apparently started the fires that are causing so much devastation. I hope they are brought to justice.
It's a Catch-22....the rain is good, but the tail-end of the storm
on the east side of Australia could kick up more than they want.
Fingers crossed the rain/dip in temperatures will help the firefighters.
‎01-07-2020 12:09 AM
Praying for the firefighters, and people caught in all the devastation. Praying the storm is more of a blessing than hindrance. 🙏🏻
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
*You're signing up to receive QVC promotional email.
Find recent orders, do a return or exchange, create a Wish List & more.
Privacy StatementGeneral Terms of Use
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites.
© 1995-2024 QVC, Inc. All rights reserved.  | QVC, Q and the Q logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. 888-345-5788