A small storage room in Shellie Lubowitz’s needlepoint business in Denver is stuffed with cardboard boxes and plastic grocery bags filled with mittens, hats and baby clothing knitted by volunteers over the summer to keep Denver’s homeless warm this winter.
“It’s brought back the joy of knitting handmade projects,” Lubowitz said.
The Denver native began her homeless project three years ago after she drove through a Denver neighborhood and saw people who live their lives on city streets.
Lubowitz instantly thought of a way to help them by using her needlepoint business.
“I had the facility, and I had the yarn,” said the owner of Coppélia’s Needlepoint and The Shivering Sheep store at 231 Milwaukee St. in Denver.
She began by looking for volunteers who enjoyed knitting. Word about the project was placed in small ads in Denver newspapers and by word of mouth.
Soon, knitters of all ages and experience gathered at her store to knit scarves, blankets, winter hats, gloves and other items.
“When the snow flies, there are people who will have warm hats, and that’s important,” said Delores Buss of Denver, who knits stocking caps for cancer patients in Minnesota and for Denver’s homeless community.
The program has had hundreds of volunteers who have knitted more than 4,000 pieces of clothing, one stitch at a time, by using yarn or thread to make fabric by creating hoops that are interlocked.
This summer, more than 500 pieces were collected by Lubowitz.
The knitted clothing has been delivered to more than a half- dozen organizations that assist the homeless, including the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Colorado AIDS Project, Denver Children’s Home and The Gathering Place.
“This is a project we look forward to every year,” said Denver Rescue Mission spokeswoman Greta Ritchey. “They’re nice and new and are delivered when we are at the bottom of the barrel.”
The majority of the knitting volunteers are women who are widowed or married with families. Some have children who have left the nest. The youngest have been Girl Scouts and private-school students. They gather to knit colorful sweaters, scarves, blankets and hats.
“They use their imagination and creativity, and it’s pretty amazing,” Lubowitz said.
In addition to knitting, some donors have simply given yarn that has had special meaning to them.
One woman gave yarn that she had held on to for 10 years because it had belonged to a deceased aunt who loved to knit.
Another was a relative of Samuel Burrier, who was homeless and found dead in December 2003 near Civic Center after temperatures fell near zero.
“It was a real tear-jerker,” Lubowitz recalled.
Helping people isn’t a new thing for the former Colorado Ballet dancer, performer and choreographer. Lubowitz credits her parents, the late Sam and Inez Badis, who formerly owned the Saucy Noodle, an Italian restaurant on South University Boulevard, for 41 years. Sam Badis also played the piano for entertainer Danny Thomas.
The couple frequently helped or took people in who were down on their luck, Lubowitz said. Today, good deeds from warm hearts abound.
Knitters from as far away as Florida have mailed knitted teddy bears and tiny hats for premature babies. Recently, an anonymous person left 75 knitted winter hats at her business door.
“It renews my faith in people and reminds me people still care,” Lubowitz said.
For more information about the knitting project or to donate yarn or clothing, go to www.knitforthehomeless.com.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
