Subashri Natarajan: The queen of crochet

Subashri Natarajan, crowned for her inspirational craftwork initiatives, is leading a philanthropic mission with Mother India's Crochet Queens

Mother India's Crochet Queens (MICQ) is the brainchild of Subashri Natarajan, who started the group in August last year to create the world's largest blanket and donate it to needy people across India.
More than 2,400 women and children from India and 13 other countries took part in the initiative, which resulted in 8,034 blankets that measured 11,448 square metres and successfully entered the Guinness World Records on January 31 this year. The Dubai Crochet Queen team  also participated in the record-breaking event.
"It was my childhood dream to participate in the Guinness World Record and make my country proud. However, I did not know in which category I could achieve my vision. When I saw the record for the world's largest crochet blanket (3,377 square metres held by a South African group), I thought of enrolling myself for the competition," said Subashri Natarajan, Founder of MICQ.
With a strong interest in crafts, her passions lie in knitting, crochet, hand embroidery, machine embroidery and painting, to name a few. 
Now she is planning another project where knitted cotton caps will be donated to cancer patients in Mumbai. The initiative has already gathered 2,500 participants who are set to contribute their craftwork for a noble cause. The caps will be donated on January 29, 2017.
"It was an amazing experience. I started a Facebook page and in no time we saw 1,000 women joining hands. Slowly, the number multiplied and we turned into a group of 2,500 knitters. We even received requests from women outside India, but we cannot take them as per group rules. However, I am sure we will join hands with women across the globe (in the future) and spread the art of crochet and knitting," she said.
There are also plans to create knit and crochet projects for other countries. "For another four years, we will be concentrating on donations, and by 2021 we plan to go for another Guinness Record if possible," she said.
When she's not on a philanthropic mission, Subashri handles strategic marketing as the CEO in Vaigai Engineering Pvt Ltd in Chennai, manufacturers of electrical panel boards and distribution boards.
farhana@khaleejtimes.com   

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