To understand why Norah Macey knits hundreds of hedgehogs, we must return to the day when she was unexpectedly forced to buy a book on knitting socks. “I had not knitted for 25 years,” the elder recalls laughing. “I thought, ‘I guess I’ll knit socks!’ Although the first socks she made were so big her husband used them as slippers, Nora was not discouraged. “I knitted like a bath”, Nora smiles. “I knitted morning, noon and night.” She knitted countless comfortable items for her family and friends before knitting for strangers she noticed riding a bike in her neighborhood. “I would see people with cold ears,” Norah told CTV News, pointing to knitting that fits under a bicycle helmet. “I would say, ‘Look, you have these earplugs.’ When cyclists were inevitably offered to pay, Norah would always refuse to accept – something her youngest would never have imagined. “There was a time in my life when I could have used a few dollars to buy a loaf of bread for my kids,” says Nora. Nora says she initially stopped knitting when she started raising her children in poverty. “A lot of people helped me then, feeding my kids,” says Norah. “I could not survive without the kindness of the people in the neighborhood.” Nora is in a better position now. So when her stepdaughter recently suggested knitting wider items from water bottle holders or backlit leg heaters – perhaps hedgehogs – Norah was inspired. “I think it’s time to reciprocate,” says Norah. He says he has made hundreds of hedgehogs since then. They need about three days to knit and have colorful coats and smiling faces. While she used a dozen of them to decorate her Christmas tree, most have been donated to people in need or donated to charities (including the yellow and blue ones she currently makes to raise money for the Red Cross in Ukraine. ). “When they’re done I feel like I gave birth,” Nora smiles. “And then I give them away and there is so much love.” The love for the gift that Norah offers to people who receive reward whenever they can. “I do not care how much time passes, you will do something good for someone else,” says Nora, before laughing. “And then we are equal!”
