A Belgian woman from the village of Tihange in Huy (Liège province) has made a name for herself by distributing hand-knitted dolls to her neighbours as good luck charms, L'Avenir reports.
Former nanny Marie-Thérèse Tange (71) ran a knitting workshop in her home before Covid-19, and now spends most of her time making small, knitted dolls as good luck charms for her neighbours.
"I make little caterpillars and dragonflies from recycled cotton and beads, with little heads that I buy in the shops. Then I post them in letterboxes around the village to bring people a bit of happiness. Maybe because I haven't always had an easy life, having been widowed at a very young age," Tange told L'Avenir.
"Most of the time, [I drop them off] wherever my dog stops when I go for a walk. But I'm starting to get requests from people as far away as Les Golettes, on the outskirts of Tihange. I never thought it would get this big."
After watching a tutorial on knitting, she was inspired by the concept that originated in France, which is also beginning to develop in Belgium.
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"I've received a lot of thanks in return. People have also dropped off chocolates. You know, I'm doing this for free, even if it costs me a bit. I'm happy to accept cotton wool donations if people are throwing them out; they can contact me on my Facebook page."
Since mid-October, Marie Tange has distributed 160 butterflies and dragonflies. "The latter are the most popular. People hang them on bags, pencil boxes, school bags, in the car... I don't know when I'm going to stop. I don't intend to go any further than Tihange."
