Knit Sweaters for Penguins!

[ducttapeninja.livejournal.com]

Hey Craftgrrls! I'm normally a lurker, but I wanted to get this out there.

A couple of groups I watch on Facebook have been forwarding this around, and I thought this would be really neat for any of the knitters here who might be interested in doing something that's equal parts fun, silly, and adorable!

There was an oil spill in New Zealand, and now there's a "Knit-For-A-Penguin" campaign starting to knit little woolly jumpers for all of the oil-soaked penguins to wear until they're well enough to be cleaned and prevent them from nibbling oil off their feathers and getting even more sick.

It sounds really silly, and at first I thought it had to be fake, but it turns out, this is a real thing, and the organization gathering the sweaters has already gotten over a thousand of them, and are looking to take on 2,000 more for the penguins.

Text from the article, as well as some pictures of some of these penguins sporting the sweaters they've received is under the cut!

Now is the time for all good knitters to come to the aid of some penguins. The New Zealand oil spill has left the little guys in need of some warmth and protection, and a Kiwi yarn store has posted patterns for how to knit "penguin jumpers" and instructions on where to send them. 

This is not the first time there's been a call out for penguin sweaters, and the response in the past has been disproportionate. It's a genuine request -- the woolens keep oil-soaked birds warm until they're well enough to be cleaned, and prevent them from nibbling oil off their feathers. But the concept is so gosh-darn charming that crafters go a little nuts trying to help out. In 2001, the Tasmanian Conservation Trust decided to bank some penguin jumpers in the event of future oil spills, but after the request went viral they blew past their goal of 100 stockpiled sweaters, and currently have 10 times that amount. 

Still, there really is a need for penguin sweaters, especially in light of this new oil spill. And they don't really have a shelf life, so even if your creation languishes for a while, it will go to some needy bird eventually. 

Even if you don't think you can do one for this fund, the pattern could still be nifty to hold onto, and could be modified for stuffed animals you may have around your house, too! :D

As well, a few sources say that the folks collecting these sweaters require them to be wool, because they need the insulation. (The second link is from January, but is talking about the same group doing this current drive-- This isn't the first time they've done sweaters for penguins, apparently.)

(X-Posted to knitting)

::EDIT::   Nevermind, it looks like they have enough sweaters for now. My bad! ^^;