Volunteers are traditionally seen as people of all ages who give their time and support to an organisation in multiple ways. Like many crafters, Project Twiddles volunteers make their twiddle creations at home, and either post their donations into the Royal Melbourne Hospital or drop them off at the reception desk or deliver them to their place of choice. There is no contact with the patients. Anecdotal feedback is that the donations are well loved and well used by patients. And what a lot of satisfaction we get from settling into making a twiddle creation knowing that we are helping to make someone’s life a little easier, whether it be the patient or medical staff or both.
The Volunteers Services at the Royal Melbourne is interested in knowing what all its volunteers do in their various roles and highlighting the breadth and depth of the work undertaken, including community volunteers like Project Twiddles. A great word to describe us, is a virtual community. The challenge for Project Twiddles crafters is to quantify the hours and commitment we put into our creations, not just the actual doing but also coming up with a concept, visualising and creating the final product.
I love a challenge! I decided to make a twiddle cuff. I recorded the time from when I started. I needed 2 rectangle pieces, one for the front and one for the backing. I made them 20cm x 15cm. I knew I would have to extend the length to fit comfortably around the wrist. But this would occur after the backing is attached to the front.
Time now to decide on yarn colour, types of twiddle attachments and begin. Knitting the bases came first, then crocheting the twiddle items. And I’m on a car trip so should be easy, no distractions and limited choice. And from that moment, once I began to knit the bases, I completely forgot to keep a record of the time taken for making each twiddle item, design aspects, selecting yarn, attaching the twiddle items and the backing to the front, and making the edgings. This happens to me on every occasion I try to discipline myself to monitor the time taken. As they say, I’m in the zone. Nothing matters.
I’ve made a twiddle twirl, heart pocket, a coral reef winds its way down and across the base piece, a twiddle twirl flower and two small flowers are made and attached. I have joined the backing piece to the front by using a single crochet stitch right around the edge. Going really well – except for recording time.
I have added 5 extra rows to the top and bottom to fit comfortably around the wrist. One row has bobbles. I joined these two ends together and finished off by adding a twirl every three stitches. The sides have a coral reef edging. Done! And no time recorded.
A new challenge ahead! What would be my best guesstimate? How would I do that?
I itemised each item.
| Base Pieces | Making & attaching | Approximate time (minutes) |
| Cuff | 2 base pieces knitted and sewn together, extra rows, a bobble row and 2 edging row of twirls and coral reef | 180 |
| Twiddle items | Making and attaching | Approximate time |
| Twiddle twirl | “ | 45 |
| Heart pocket | “ | 30 |
| A coral reef winds its way down and across the base piece | “ | 50 |
| Twiddle twirl flower | “ | 45 |
| Two small flowers | “ | 45 |
| Total | 395 | |
| 6 hours 35 minutes |
Focusing on time has been an interesting and sobering exercise for me. 6 and half hours seem such a long time. I enjoy and benefit from making twiddle creations. How much time I spend has never been a concern for me or my family. You can imagine my surprise when I started to realise the hours involved in making a twiddle creation. I hope you have enjoyed the benefits from creating the twiddle, muffs, cuffs, mats and standalone twiddle items like the octopus. Knitting, sewing and crocheting should be slow, rhythmic and calming. When we have the patience and time to create, the results will reward us many times over. We can rest and escape from the problems of the world.
Happy creating!
Sandra @ Project Twiddles