Retired hairstylist Jemima Nortier has knitted all her life but it never crossed her mind that one day she would be part of a Guinness World Record attempt and bring warmth to the needy. When the 60-year-old Vereeniging granny was roped into the challenge to knit or crochet 21 000 blankets for Mandela Day‚ she brought her 32-year-old daughter on board and together they started knitting up a storm.Since November‚ they have since knitted four 140x180-centimetre single bed blankets each‚ which were tied together with blankets from around the world and spread on the lawns of of Pretoria’s Union Buildings - at the feet of Nelson Mandela’s statue.The blankets‚ flown in from 35 local destinations to OR Tambo International Airport‚ courtesy of Airlink‚ together with thousands others from Singapore‚ US and Kenya‚ will be donated to the needy as part of the 67minutes Mandela Day‚ July 18‚ campaign.“It is a fantastic event to be part of. I used every chance I got in between watching television or waiting in queues to knit. The best reward is knowing that my contribution will bring warmth in someone’s life. There are patients at Sebokeng hospital who do not have blankets‚” she said.Guinness World Records’ Fortuna Burke said their official surveyor will ON Tuesday measure the square metres covered in the blankets‚ with the record to match or break at 1020 square metres.“For them to make it into the record‚ is if they match or break the record‚” she said.Each knitter fills a form with the name and information on knitting material‚ and is allocated a number that is then attached to the blanket to trace it back to the knitter.The idea was born in December 2013 when Nelson Mandela’s assistant gave the organiser‚ Carolyn Steyn‚ a challenge to knit‚ sew or crotchet 67 blankets to be distributed on Mandela Day.“I bragged about my domestic skills and she hit me with the challenge. I accepted but soon realised I could never pull it off on my own. I then created a Facebook page and the following day there were hundreds of responses from people all over the world who wanted to participate‚” she said.Steyn said the campaign brought together people from all over the world - all races and age groups - with one thing in common: goodwill.“The unifying spirit of Madiba lives on and will always keep us together. This is why we refer to this project as Good Wool Cup. It is also an aggressive stance against xenophobia‚” she said.Steyn added that they could not wait for Mandela Day to distribute the blankets because winter has set in. – The Times..