In Zhejiang, there is a “sweater grandmother” named Chen Diefei, who is 69 years old. During her hospitalization for lung cancer surgery in 2018, she heard a friend’s family talk about the difficult situation of children in the mountainous areas of Guizhou. She began to treat the children while knitting sweaters for them. “If you weave one more piece, one more child will wear it. Seeing photos of them wearing clothes, my mood was particularly good, and my body also improved.”
Since then, Knitting a sweater has become her daily routine. Every morning at around 9 o’clock, Chen Diefei picks up the needle and thread after breakfast. When she gets tired, she looks out the window and goes for a walk when the sun is good. But when she goes out, she doesn’t forget to carry a basket of thread on her shoulder and is still busy in her hands. Her husband is worried that she will help twist the yarn when she gets tired. Not only does she not oppose it, but she also supports it very much: “This is also good. She has a hope in her heart and won’t think too much.” Chen Diefei’s act of knitting a sweater has spread among the neighbors. Some enthusiastic people have sent her thread materials such as wool, mohair, and kaisi cotton… Some of them have different weights and colors, and some are mixed together. Chen Diefei is not willing to waste enough thread and weaves whole pieces with less weight. She uses the remaining material to weave scarves and gloves to make the most of them. Chen Diefei also learns weaving skills through short videos, love patterns, and so on “Every sweater is designed by Chen Diefei herself, and she likes to use flat needles. ‘This is simple and durable, and you can also weave more,'” she said
Five years passed in a blink of an eye, and Chen Diefei actively cooperated with treatment without stopping to knit sweaters. Gradually, the whole family also gathered a sense of love and cooperation. She clearly remembers that so far, she has knitted a total of 201 sweaters, 64 pairs of gloves, 132 scarves, and thank you, Sweater Grandma! Wishing you a speedy recovery!
