Charity of the month
Nine-year-old Callum Harland is doing what he loves to help a good cause; dyeing yarn.
All about Mummy and Me socks.
Who would have thought that a sock catwalk (yes, that’s a thing!) would lead to a trend-topping knitting kit that raises money for a really deserving cause? You might have spotted the popular Mummy and Me Socks online recently, or at Wool@J13 in May, and if you haven’t, head to www.fortheloveofyarn.co.uk to pick up your very own box.
Each sock kit contains a 100g skein of hand-dyed yarn inspired by the colours of the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), a matching 50g skein, a 50g semi-solid skein and patterns to knit adult and child-sized socks. Plus, all the proceeds go to helping CLDF.
LIFE CHANGING
“I’ve never liked the saying ‘charity begins at home’, it gives me a bad feeling,” admits the wonderful Lisa Harland, from For the Love of Yarn, on her blog. “It’s like a get-out clause for ignoring other people’s needs.”
Lisa has always held the belief that if you are in the fortunate position to be able to help others, then you should! However, when her son Callum was just six years old, her whole world (and this firm belief) was shaken to its core.
After taking Callum to see a specialist, Lisa was given the devastating news that he had primary sclerosing cholangitis (a chronic, lifelong liver disease), ulcerative colitis and auto immune hepatitis.
Ever the little trooper, however, Callum has not been deterred by his diagnosis. With the love of his family and the support of CLDF, he is determined to raise money for others any way he can. The way he has chosen? Dyeing yarn, of course!
“He asked to dye yarn and sell it for charity,” says Lisa. “CLDF came to mind and the Cherubs Collection was born.” Callum (now 9) and his two siblings, Kayla-May (7) and Isabella (3), have always played an active role in their mum’s work. They accompany Lisa to her studio on a regular basis to watch her dye yarn, occasionally having a go themselves. “They pick the colours, the technique and then they dye a small batch as and when they can,” says Lisa. “This makes up the Cherubs Collection.”
“The best part about designing my own yarn is all the colours I can choose and helping mummy...”
GIVING BACK
After hearing about CLDF’s support of Callum, brilliant Wool@J13 organiser Ingrid Wagner began incorporating the charity into the show. She started by challenging dyers to create funky sock yarn for a catwalk and Callum more than rose to the occasion. He immediately incorporated the main colours of the CLDF logo into his yarn, as well as speckling the middle of the skein to “make them funky”, as he puts it.
As soon as his yarn dried, it was sent off to their fabulous friend Ginnie, AKA ‘the sock lady’, to create a special pair of Callum Socks. “Callum being Callum, he decided to take his socks a step further,” says Lisa. “He asked me if my friend could make me a pair too so we could match.”
Ì was like a lightbulb flicked on. Why not make packs to sell at the show and donate the money to CLDF? With Callum (eagerly) on board, they set to work creating the now readily-available kits. Callum has no plans to stop fundraising anytime soon and says, “The best part about designing my own yarn is all the colours I can choose and helping mummy because she has a lot of work to do.”
It’s OK, our hearts just melted too.