Meet Hazel:
The Thusk™ knitwear story

Tell us the Thusk™ story.
Our four sons have grown up seeing my grandmother, my mother, and me busy with either a knitting or sewing project in our hands. Our second son, who is always looking for ways to make our lives fun and interesting, came up with the idea of knitting a brand, Thusk™.

As I approach working retirement age, knitting could become a mutual benefit project to add a bit to my interest in keeping involved in a project a bit bigger than sitting at home, but still at home in my own time.

How has it grown from conception to production?
The project is still relatively new. One of the ideas is to involve other grandmothers in a similar helping to “make ends meet” situation in their homes. The Midlands of KZN has a high percentage of elderly people across the spectrum of income groups. The first thing was to find a small group of women who would find the project interesting and had the time, inclination, and skill to knit quality pieces.

Why is this project special?
My mother’s knitting days were ended earlier than she would have wished, with a health issue that left her left arm and leg paralysed and her vision impaired. She made a few valiant attempts at ‘one-hand knitting’ with my father as “chief of dropped stitches” until a truce was called and the role of family knitter was passed on to me. The other silver lining over many years was their Zulu carer, Ethel Dlamini, who lives close by in a small township in Howick. Ethel really became more of a friend and “sister” to me over the years and so, when the Thusk™ idea was being born, I approached her. She belongs to a small group of women through their church. They are friends, meet regularly for prayer meetings, and live in the same area and are all grandmothers at home. The leader of the group knits really beautifully and was prepared to mentor the other members in the patterns we chose.

How many hours a week do you spend knitting?
I haven’t counted, but most evenings or odd times during the day. It is the one activity I find that helps me to keep calm after a busy day. I have also started listening to audio books while I knit which adds an excuse to knit.

Where are some of the out-of-the-ordinary locations you have knitted Thusk™ products?
Our son has widened that range recently with his product-testing expeditions. Sitting under the trees on the banks of the Kafue River in Zambia, on the banks of the Luangwa River, South Luangwa on the deck watching the giraffe watch a soccer game, in a camp on the Mtentu River in Pondoland on a family trip, camping at Bonamanzi in Zululand. My knitting goes wherever I go.

What makes products knitted by grandmothers extra special?
I suppose that you can name the person who spent the time knitting the beanie, scarf, or snood for you. This creates a “one-on-one” relationship we look for in the age of mass production. The grandmothers really enjoy being included in a group project.

Tell us briefly about each of the knitters.

All of the knitters are pensioners and are the grandmothers in their households.

Ethel is a 60-plus year old mother and grandmother who worked in a domestic and carer position for her working life. She is now “the granny” at home who also cares for her elderly mother who lives nearby. It is through Ethel that I met her group of friends.

Ottilia worked for years as a domestic worker for a woman who taught her to knit to a very high standard. She lives with some family members and keeps house for them. She is the natural leader of their church group and is respected in the community as a resourceful, wise person.

Florence is a gentle, dignified woman who lives nearby. She is charming and has a quiet sense of humour too.

Grace has her challenges with her health and her eyesight but enjoys knitting when she is able to and is a regular member of the group.

Norah is a church friend of Ethel’s and has recently joined the group in our second season of knitting.