Keeping Our Troops Warm
Gloria Campos reports.
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ARLINGTON - When you think of a knitting circle, you might picture a group of women making baby blankets or scarves.
But there's a group of North Texas women who are putting their skills to use helping U.S. servicemen and women far from home.
"When they told me that the military people are suffering from cold, I just had to do something," said Bertha Mallard.
She and a group of other women are making helmet liners to keep servicemen and women warm on chilly nights and on grueling missions in the Afghan mountains.
The project started when a soldier came by Yarn Heaven in Arlington, looking for a gift for a friend.
"He wanted to buy a couple of [hats]. I said, 'I'm so sorry we don't sell them,'" said Tarie Dillard-Williams. "He looked crushed. Not to embarrass the young man, he actually got tears in his eyes, and he said, 'You don't understand how bad we need these.'"
Those words spurred the women into action.
"When I heard about it, I was like oh yeah, I'll do 10, 15, however many I have to do," said one knitter.
Initially they had hoped to make 45 liners. Now, their goal has grown to 5,500.
Each one takes up to 10 hours to make - which is time-consuming - but there is a silver lining.
"It is just great to be able to feel that even one tiny little thing that might be able to make a difference to one of the guys who are over there is very heartwarming," said Suzi Mitchell.
