Things were pretty grim in the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War. One woman needed money, and the only item she had to spare was an old patchwork rug whose wool was still bright and strong. It consisted of twenty-five knitted squares, two of each colour and one spare, so she set about pulling apart the wool of two of the squares, from which she knitted a pair of bed socks. Now, where to find a buyer? Going door to door, she located one woman who was only too eager to purchase them. So she went back, unravelled another couple of squares, and knitted another pair of socks. The woman bought them as well. In fact, she was happy to purchase all the socks she produced, even the single sock knitted from the last square
After the war, both independently migrated to Australia, and one day they happened to meet in the main street of Hobart, Tasmania, and the sock maker finally learnt what the second woman had done with those socks. She had meticulously pulled them apart, and used the wool to make a patchwork rug!
Source: Dianne J Taylor (2025), Anna's War, Rivetpress Press. This is a novel for teenagers. However, in the notes at the back the author explained that the incident was based on a true story she had heard on a walking holiday in Tasmania thirty years before.
