By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
If it’s October at the Yarn It! shop in Cobourg, it’s charity knitting month.
In fact, October 2026 marked the ninth annual charity knitting month that owner Cathy Witlox has declared. And as a result, nearly 1,000 items created by local knitters and crocheters were donated to charity.
Interviewed recently in the in-store lounge, where clients meet to knit and crochet together at her shop at 9 Elgin St. E., Witlox shared photos of this year’s crop.
Yarn It! Opened its doors at 513 Division St. on Nov. 8, 2017 (later to move to Elgin Street), and the idea of charity knitting really took flight soon afterwards when she bought up the yarn inventory of Legacy Toys (also at 9 Elgin St.. E,), when they closed their doors.
It was from the store’s owner Betty Legacy that she learned of Care4ucreations, a project of retired health-unit nurses Janet Leadbeater and Shelley White that actually began as an outlet to distribute knitted goods to community organizations (that can then distribute them to their clients).
“Janet and I met and it was, ‘Absolutely! 100%! I would like to do that too,’” Witlox recalled.
When the Yarn It! doors first opened, Witlox had two bins by the door – one for donations of yarn and one for charity knitting to be distributed through Care4ucreations.
“Then COVID happened,” she said.
The hygienic requirements of the time meant collecting yarn donations was not such a good idea. But donations of knitted goods continued, as they could be packed away immediately.
“That’s kind of the way it evolved,” Witlox explained,
“We still collect year-round, but have a big drive every October – which is when the need is most.”
And by the time Leadbeater collects the goods at the end of that month, she will have researched where they are to go. It might be whimsical hats that go to the Giving Tree collection for Christmas, or colorful lap blankets for the Golden Plough Lodge or Streamway Villa, or warm mittens to offer to the clients at the Cobourg and Port Hope Fare Share food banks.
“She basically finds out who needs what, and sorts it all to make sure the donations go to places where they are needed – not just sitting around. She makes sure they go where they are actually valued and needed,” Witlox said.
“I loved that she put so much effort into it. She’s been a great partner to have.”
The annual tallies of what charity knitting has been donated show steady growth year by year, It’s always been in the hundreds – 700 last year, 916 this year – so it’s safe to say thousands of pieces have been donated over the years.
“I even have a client, a person who knits for charity year-round and donates a lot,” she said.
“The time people put into this amazes me, and it’s just such a wonderful thing for them to do with their time.”
It always inspires Witlox to see what the local community has produced. This year, for example, there were 51 blankets of assorted sizes, from lap robes to afghans.
“Hats are probably the number-one item people make,” Witlox said.
“This year there were a lot of mittens, which is great, because they are so badly needed.”
And it was a wonderful conclusion to another year’s collection of charity knitting, as Leadbeater pulled her truck up to the door and carted away two full loads.
Author: Cecilia Nasmith
