By Sister Kathleen Kull

Many of us, I imagine, track life since 2020 in terms of “pre-pandemic – pandemic – post-pandemic.” Those days, months and years are full of images, conversations, realities, and experiences never before envisioned.

For me, I never imagined that the huge supply of yarn I ordered for St. John’s Bread and Life in the fall of 2019 would remain untouched until the fall of 2022. Truly unbelievable!

Our congregation has consistently and generously provided financial support to SJBL through the Ministry Fund and from donations of individual sisters, local communities and associates. Some of these funds are used to supply yarn for SJBL’s “Bread and Thread” crocheting and knitting group. With 15-20 participants receiving one skein of yarn each week, the yarn moved rather quickly – until it didn’t!

The Wellesley Connection! When the “Bread and Thread” group met on March 4, 2020 I told SJBL’s Associate Executive Director Sister Marie Sorenson I would not be at the March 11 group, but at the ESR/Marillac Boards of Directors meeting. My plan: sort that November 2019 huge order of yarn before the March 18 group.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history! The pandemic arrived – everything immediately shut down. Guests are still unable to come inside SJBL for meals, groups, and some other services. However, throughout the pandemic and since, food has been provided to some of NYC’s most impoverished communities in Brooklyn and Queens.

When I finally sorted the yarn this fall, I wondered how it could be used. It’s unknown if the “Bread and Thread” group will resume. Meanwhile, a new population of guests arrived at SJBL – migrants from the US-Mexican border. Among their needs – baby blankets – a perfect match for the yarn.

Again, the Wellesley Connection! Sister Anne Power said sisters there might want to join this endeavor. Before Sister Marie and I could pursue this, Sister Anne had another great suggestion – use some of the yarn to respond to a request Wellesley received to make hats and scarves for homeless women.

The rest, once again, is history! Mary Gregory, Marillac Director of Activities, gratefully received yarn for the homeless project and said sisters may also want to be part of the blanket endeavor. I gave Mary the first “trunk full” of 115 skeins of yarn on January 10. When I returned with another “trunk full” of 145 skeins on February 6, Mary greeted me with 11 beautiful baby blankets. As of February 27, 9 more have been completed. How many blankets will I be greeted with in March?

“It is pure potential. Every ball or skein of yarn holds something inside it, and the great mystery of what that might be can be almost spiritual.” (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee: Knitting Rules! The Yarn Harlot Unravels the  Mysteries of Swatching, Stashing, Ribbing & Rolling to Free Your Inner Knitter)

You may wonder how many skeins were in that huge supply of yarn mentioned at the outset: 400 from that November 2019 order, plus what we already had at SJBL as well as some from another donation – somewhere between 500 and 600 skeins! What’s the potential of that many skeins of yarn?