ABC702 Sydney’s annual ‘Knit in’ filled the foyer of the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters, as hundreds of listeners gathered to knit woollen blankets and wraps for people in need and break a world record for ‘Orchestral Knitting.’ Morning show host Deborah Cameron has told radioinfo she is “still on cloud nine after the knit-in high. It was a tremendously good day!”

Deb Cameron says it’s “quite something” to have the vast, and usually vacant, lobby of the ABC Centre in Ultimo echoing to the sound of one thousand people chattering and knitting:

“The thread that connects the Knit-in is woven into every single stitch, square and rug. It ties the life of the maker to the recipient. To receive one of these lovely colourful rugs at a moment of great personal need is the sort of thing that can restore faith in human kindness. A deep sense of goodness travels with them.

“People have said that the rugs are ‘tangible love’ and I couldn’t put it better.

“Also, there was the world record for knitting. We smashed it. We logged 598 knitters in our attempt, far exceeding the previous record of 256.

“As well we set a second record for “orchestral” knitting, this involved 405 participants playing knitting needles as part of a percussion performance. Sounds mad I know, but it was fantastic fun.”

In another of ABC702’s good deeds in the past week, breakfast and drive hosts Adam Spencer and Richard Glover raised over $80,000 for cancer research in the Dry July challenge.

As part of the fundraising venture, Spencer and Glover had a friendly bet over who would raise the most money. Glover came out on top in the wager and that meant that Adam Spencer had to carry Richard around the ABC’s offices in a rickshaw, which he did on the morning of the knit in (pictured below).