Friday 17 March 2017

Irish Jig



Knitted goods from the Aran Islands of Ireland are famous the world over. Aran knitwear has graced the high fashion catwalks of Paris, Milan and New York City. But a few months ago a very special truckload of Aran woolens traveled 1,512 miles to an orphanage just outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus. All last year, residents of Inis Oírr (don’t ask me to pronounce any of this), the smallest of the Aran Islands, from the nonagenarians right down to the four-year-old girls and boys in naíonra, (that's kindergarten), wielded their bioráin cniotála (knitting needles) to produce scarves, gloves, sweaters, hats and socks for orphans and disabled children they will never meet. In December the final stitch was made and the needles were put down. Some 400 colorful and cozy items were shipped in time for Christmas Day to Belarus, where the temperature can drop to -20 degrees (Celsius, of course).

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