Reader's Digest New Zealand - August/September 2025

DANIELLE VILLASANA A Tight-Knit Community the math department at University of Houston Downtown, sold her mother’s place in favor of something smaller. While packing up, she found three knit sweaters in various stages of construction. She knew exactly who they were intended for: The first, a blue and white garment, was for her mother; the second, all purple, was for Blumberg; and the third, a cardi- gan coming to life from a homespun pattern, was for Blumberg’s daughter. She brought them to a local knitting store to be finished. The employees there, in turn, put her in contact with another shop, where a worker asked her: “Have you ever heard of Loose Ends?” Blumberg, who never took to crafting like her mother, hadn’t. B onnie Blumberg has always known her mother was creative and kind. When she was grow- ing up in the ’60s and ’70s, her mom, Janice Goldstein, always volunteered to sew costumes for the class plays. And not just her daughter’s costume: Goldstein would make them for the entire class, sewing and knitting into the wee hours. Goldstein’s dedication to her craft was something Blumberg took as a given. Then came the 40 ministrokes. And the three massive strokes. In 2017, Goldstein lost the use of the right side of her body and be- gan using a wheelchair. Two years ago, Blumberg, a senior lecturer in BY Maggie Gordon from houston landing A nationwide group of crafters pick up their needles and finish projects for those who can’t 12 reader ’ s digest World of Good EVERYDAY HEROES AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2025 | READERSDIGEST.CO.NZ