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Robert and Mavis Schwanke give the gift of warmth this winter season
Submitted by Kay Johnson on November 16, 2009 - 6:18pm.
While most people fill their display cases with their collectibles, Robert and Mavis Schwanke of Hutchinson use their extra space for storage.
Cabinets, drawers, plastic totes and cardboard boxes are filled with colorful skeins and spools of yarn — hundreds of them.
For the past four years, they’ve used all of this yarn — and a lot more — to knit winter scarves. Three years ago, they added caps to their production.
To date, the husband-and-wife team have produced a total of 11,000 items.
“I do all the knitting,” said Robert, “and she does a lot of the finishing in between household responsibilities.”
The couple likes to work in their four-season porch, where large windows invite the outdoors in.
“This past year, we averaged 80 pieces a week,” Robert said.
Most of the hats go to K-through-8 schools in Minneapolis. Scarves go to the People Serving People Homeless Shelter, also in Minneapolis. Extras are distributed to other shelters in the metro area. They also give items locally to Common Cup Ministry and to Crow River Habitat for Humanity.
To read the complete story, see the print edition for Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009.
(Kay Johnson is a staff writer at the Leader. She can be reached at johnson@hutchinsonleader.com.)
