“Until I die, I will be knitting,” Matsouka said. Her knitting needles clicked through her expert fingers, her nails painted red. “It brings me joy to share them.” Since she took up knitting in the 1990s, Matsouka has easily made over 3,000 scarves, her daughters estimate.
In the hallway by the door, shopping bags filled with her latest creations await their new home. A knitted patchwork blanket is thrown over the sofa where she spends her days.In the beginning, the scarves were gifted to friends. As stock grew, they were donated to children’s shelters across Greece. Then, through acquaintances, they reached children in Bosnia and Ukraine. The latest batch of 70 went to a refugee camp near Athens this winter, via the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.
“The fact that we give them away gives her strength,” said her daughter Angeliki.
Matsouka knits one scarf a day, now with small imperfections. Her vision is impaired and she suffers from bouts of severe facial pain, a condition known as trigeminal neuralgia.
“It’s the happiness I get from giving,” she said, sitting beside a big blue bag brimming with yarn.
HOW’S THAT FOR SOME KNITTED UP LOVE. . .
KNOWING YOUR
W H Y
AT ANY AGE
IS THE GREATEST SECRET
TO NOT JUST GROWING OLD
BUT GROWING FOREVER
…just sayin’