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Prolific Alliance knitter recognized by president
By: Tonya Wieser, Staff Reporter
ALLIANCE — “I love to sit at home, knit, crochet and help people,” said Edith Weed, 79, of Alliance.
Weed enrolled as a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program member in March 1995, and to date, she has recorded 5,861 hours of knitting and crocheting.
This year, Weed along with four other volunteers were presented with the Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the office of the President of the United States.
RSVP Director Terry Grosz said over the years, Weed has produced hundreds and hundreds of stocking caps for children in need throughout the community.
Each year the stocking caps are distributed to The Head Start Program and the school systems for under privileged children, and the remainder of the caps are donated to the Christmas baskets. Along with the stocking caps, each child also receives a pair of mittens.
Weed also knits and crochets lap robes for nursing home residents and baby afghans for Western Community Health Resources designated for single mothers.
Although she does do some crocheting, most of her items are knitted.
“I feel as though I was born with knitting needles in my hand,” Weed said.
She doesn’t remember exactly when she learned to knit, but she was very young.
“Back then everyone learned to knit, crochet or embroidery,” Weed said. “Our mother taught us all. My father, brothers, myself and the whole family knitted.”
She recalls a sweater her father knitted one year that he had knitted so tight it could stand up all by itself and no one could wear it, she said.
As a child growing up in Poland, her family raised rabbits. After brushing the rabbits, her mother would collect all the hair and spin it into yarn. In addition, they often would trade knitted items for wool that their mother also spun into yarn for them.
When Weed was young, she said she was able to knit a sweater in one day while reading a book.
“I used to be really fast, but I’m not so fast anymore,” Weed said.
However, it still only takes her two hours to complete a stocking cap.
When Weed was 17, her family fled Poland for Germany because of the invasion by Russia. Survivors realized they could not build a future in their homeland and sought other places to settle.
“We only lived eight kilometers from the border, so one night we bribed the officials and left by truck in the middle of the night,” Weed said. “Because there was no room, we had to leave everything behind and had escaped with only the clothes on our back.”
After the war, they were forced to live as a family of five in a one-room house.
“Because the money was no good, we had to trade knitted items for food and used clothing,” Weed said.
At the age of 21, she left Germany for the United States. One of her brothers had done so the previous year and had landed in Alliance, so she chose to follow him. The rest of the family went to Canada.
Although knitting at that point had become just a hobby, she took several of her items to local and surrounding bazaars. Over the years, she has seen her sweaters go to at least three other countries.
As a RSVP volunteer, Weed tries to knit 200 stocking caps each year as well as numerous lap robes and baby afghans. She worked up until a year ago, so she would spend her evenings knitting while watching television in order to reach the goals she had set for herself. Over the years, yarn has gotten more expensive, so she hits garage sales during the summer months, collecting yarn of various colors.
She said she can’t read a pattern, so every item is designed by Weed as she mixes the colors she has on hand.
Grosz said the quality of Weed’s work is tremendous and each and every piece is done with excellence.
“Edith, just as the other volunteers, doesn’t do it for the recognition or require a thank you,” Grosz said. “In fact, they don’t even think what they do is great. They just do it because, as Edith, they enjoy helping others.”
Weed enrolled as a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program member in March 1995, and to date, she has recorded 5,861 hours of knitting and crocheting.
This year, Weed along with four other volunteers were presented with the Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the office of the President of the United States.
RSVP Director Terry Grosz said over the years, Weed has produced hundreds and hundreds of stocking caps for children in need throughout the community.
Each year the stocking caps are distributed to The Head Start Program and the school systems for under privileged children, and the remainder of the caps are donated to the Christmas baskets. Along with the stocking caps, each child also receives a pair of mittens.
Weed also knits and crochets lap robes for nursing home residents and baby afghans for Western Community Health Resources designated for single mothers.
Although she does do some crocheting, most of her items are knitted.
“I feel as though I was born with knitting needles in my hand,” Weed said.
She doesn’t remember exactly when she learned to knit, but she was very young.
“Back then everyone learned to knit, crochet or embroidery,” Weed said. “Our mother taught us all. My father, brothers, myself and the whole family knitted.”
She recalls a sweater her father knitted one year that he had knitted so tight it could stand up all by itself and no one could wear it, she said.
As a child growing up in Poland, her family raised rabbits. After brushing the rabbits, her mother would collect all the hair and spin it into yarn. In addition, they often would trade knitted items for wool that their mother also spun into yarn for them.
When Weed was young, she said she was able to knit a sweater in one day while reading a book.
“I used to be really fast, but I’m not so fast anymore,” Weed said.
However, it still only takes her two hours to complete a stocking cap.
When Weed was 17, her family fled Poland for Germany because of the invasion by Russia. Survivors realized they could not build a future in their homeland and sought other places to settle.
“We only lived eight kilometers from the border, so one night we bribed the officials and left by truck in the middle of the night,” Weed said. “Because there was no room, we had to leave everything behind and had escaped with only the clothes on our back.”
After the war, they were forced to live as a family of five in a one-room house.
“Because the money was no good, we had to trade knitted items for food and used clothing,” Weed said.
At the age of 21, she left Germany for the United States. One of her brothers had done so the previous year and had landed in Alliance, so she chose to follow him. The rest of the family went to Canada.
Although knitting at that point had become just a hobby, she took several of her items to local and surrounding bazaars. Over the years, she has seen her sweaters go to at least three other countries.
As a RSVP volunteer, Weed tries to knit 200 stocking caps each year as well as numerous lap robes and baby afghans. She worked up until a year ago, so she would spend her evenings knitting while watching television in order to reach the goals she had set for herself. Over the years, yarn has gotten more expensive, so she hits garage sales during the summer months, collecting yarn of various colors.
She said she can’t read a pattern, so every item is designed by Weed as she mixes the colors she has on hand.
Grosz said the quality of Weed’s work is tremendous and each and every piece is done with excellence.
“Edith, just as the other volunteers, doesn’t do it for the recognition or require a thank you,” Grosz said. “In fact, they don’t even think what they do is great. They just do it because, as Edith, they enjoy helping others.”
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