Wool4Health Awards promotes wellness one stitch at a time
As we kickoff the New Year it is typical to make resolutions for healthier habits. What if your resolution promoted personal wellness, helped others and is educational? What if this resolution has nothing to do with a gym membership, but instead promotes your favourite fiber craft? Perhaps you’d be interested in participating in the 2025 Wool4Health Awards.
The 2024 Wool4Health Awards was a partnership event organized by the IAIA Association and the European Wool Exchange (EWE) Foundation. The IAIA Association (pronounced yaya which is an affectionate nickname for grandmother in Spanish) is a non-profit organization whose members knit, crochet, felt, and weave for others in need. The association is run by a small team of twenty volunteers and the association’s mission is to focus on health, education, and humanitarian initiatives by crafting with fiber.
IAIA Association president, Concha Rey, is proud of the work their small team accomplishes. They provide fiber to different centers across Spain that house the elderly, individuals with mental health conditions or with learning disabilities. These individuals are introduced to crafting and supplied with the materials to create blankets, baby clothes and lovingly made accessories for people in need. IAIA Association collects these handmade creations and ships the items to those who would benefit.
The association’s website states that they “want to achieve active ageing and the integration of vulnerable groups into community activities, thus reducing global, social, and economic inequalities.”
“IAIA started in 2013,” says Rey. “We celebrated our ten year [anniversary in 2024]; we have sent 10,000 garments to others.” This is heartwarming math.
The EWE Foundation promotes using 100% European wool and strives to make fiber connections across Europe through various activities and educational initiatives. Rey is the founder of the EWE Foundation, so the partnership between EWE and IAIA was easily established. Three years ago, the EWE Foundation organized the European Twiddle Muff Awards in partnership with another association. This motivated EWE and IAIA to repeat a similar event in 2024, with the caveat of promoting natural fibers and changing the competition’s name to Wool4Health Awards.
The EWE Foundation and IAIA Association decided to focus their attention on therapeutic knitting. They partnered to create a friendly crafting competition, culminating in an awards ceremony. This event is called the Wool4Health Awards. The EWE Foundation’s influence was to promote further education around using natural European wool as farmers in Spain—as throughout Europe—discard most of their wool due to insufficient infrastructure to process their wool. The IAIA Association reached out to their already crafty network, encouraging them to participate.
“IAIA Association works mostly with donated, synthetic fibers, which we know is not good for the environment” says Rey. “One of the reasons we joined the Wool4Health Awards was to make people conscious of what they have in their hands.”
Together, the EWE Foundation and IAIA association decided to focus on two unique therapeutic tools for the Wool4Health awards: a sensory sleeve and a sensory mat.
The sensory sleeve is textured tube (like a sleeve) that encourages the recipient to twiddle and fiddle. These kinds of tools—whether a sleeve or a mat—benefits everyone but with a special focus paid to individuals with dementia or autism.
Colourful yarns, interesting textures, and changes in shape provides the recipient with a woven landscape to explore with their hands. This textured, tactile exploration soothes some of the anxieties that often overwhelm those with dementia, autism or other health conditions. It also gives the recipient a place to return to or to focus on when their environment feels erratic. The sensory sleeve can be made into a shorter, cuff-length or a longer half-sleeve; the longer design can also be helpful when in a hospital to cover Intravenous connections that can be unintentionally fiddled with and accidentally disconnected. The sensory mat is crafted exactly like the sleeve except it is not stitched together; it is typically laid across the recipient’s lap or placed in arms reach, such as on a side table.
A sensory sleeve or mat gives the gift of activity, comfort, and connection long before it is donated. Members of the IAIA Association and those participating in the Wool4Health Awards are not immune to the daily challenges and struggles of life.
“They communicate with each other,” says Rey of the participants. “They have something useful to do, and it helps fight against loneliness.”
The 2024 Wool4Health Awards saw varied submissions across Europe and winners were celebrated on October 10th 2024 at the Costume Museum in Madrid, Spain.
“October 10th is the international day for mental health,” reflects Rey, “so for our association it is a very important day.”
The public and specially appointed jury both voted on favourites. The three main categories included short and long sensory sleeve and sensory mat with subcategories within each group. Notably, the youngest entrant was a 13 year old boy and the oldest participant 92 years old; the most active country was Greece (Συγχαρητήρια!).
Participants were also encouraged to create a sensory sleeve or mat made from 100% European wool—a special award category was even created. Natural fibers of any kind are also warmly embraced except for fine fibers such as mohair which can shed and cause discomfort.
Rey warns that sensory tools with beads, glass, wood or pompoms are not safe and should not be included on a sleeve or mat. This does not mean that the creativity is stifled: reviewing the submissions from the 2024 Wool4Health Awards delights your eyes and imagination. A sensory sleeve submission is trimmed with fun fringe, another sleeve ripples with ruffles and is dotted with crocheted, warm orange coloured flowers. A sensory mat is covered with perfect, ripe cherries and another mat unfolds with farm animals and a delicious spread of fruit making you feel as though you are stepping into the perfect picnic. Pictures of the winning sensory tools can be seen on the EWE Foundation website.
The 2024 Wool4Health Awards was a success. We are looking forward to a similar event in 2025, planned in partnership with a different organisation from Montenegro—more information to be announced at the upcoming European Wool Day. Resolve to participate in the friendly competition, roll up your sleeves and start knitting, crocheting, felting or weaving your sensory tool. Forget the gym as your New Year’s resolution and instead encourage your imagination to run and exercise your creativity. Wishing you a crafty new year filled with wonderful wool.
Commentaires