Unraveled

This week, I took a look at projects that Ravelers have crated for charity so far in 2015, an Eye Candy theme suggested by cindylen – thank you so much for the great idea, Cindy! I was truly blown away by the beautiful projects that Ravelers have made to donate, auction, and generally make lives better (and a little warmer and more colorful) around the world. The project notes and reasons for all these crafts are really moving, so this post is a bit wordier than usual in order to share the stories behind the projects.

Above left is the adorable Bundles of Joy Sweater Set 63 made by caitysmom for the OB ward at the Pine Ridge Reservation. It’s one of many beautiful layettes that she and the other crafters in the Bundles of Joy Ravelry group have made for the little babies at Pine Ridge. On the right is CorrineMB‘s “It’s Snowing… Again” Sunday Shawl, crocheted for one of her local nursing homes, and shared with the Ravelry group Charity Knitting.

Next we have two giant piles of handmade awesomeness! At left, lartemis‘ 94 days in the NICU hats was made for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where her daughter-in-law is the parent liason. She chose to crochet 94 (!!!) preemie and micropreemie hats because her grandsons (who are healthy and doing great!) spent 94 days in the NICU, helped by the wonderful staff as well as the March of Dimes. To the right is schneggart‘s Bolivien 2015, a gorgeous pile of socks knit for people in Bolivia – one of many charitable crafting efforts that German Ravelers in which the busy Handarbeiten Fur Caritative Einrichtungen Ravelry group participate.

Next up, we have two crochet projects! First, theemuts‘ Plentiful Sunshine, above left, was a collaborative charity blanket. She, along with, Ravelers jessiebonbon, Joyce28, wilfi, Craftylucyloo, Modelwidow, Liztelf, Annha, and pippas45, crocheted squares for this charming blanket that was donated to Zorghuis Oostende, a care house in Belgium for single cancer patients. Theemuts coordinated this project through the Ravelry group SIBOL (Sunshine International Blankets of Love), which is focused on bringing people together to make collaborative blankets to donate to care homes around the world. DarleneHopkins crocheted the charming Bears for Team Lewis, April 2015, last month. Team Lewis is an organization in the UK that provides entertainment and care in various ways for children whose siblings are receiving hospital care.

Our final two projects were both made in honor of veterans. On the left, KiriWren‘s Remembrance is a group of handknit poppies donated to the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum in New Zealand for the 5,000 poppies display in honor of the Anzac Day centenary. The full display is pictured on her projects page – both sobering and beautiful. On the right, KnitHappyDesigns made Warmth for Warriors Hats, participating in an ongoing drive in the Warmth for Warriors Ravelry group for wool hats and other special handknit and crocheted items for both active soldiers and veterans.

These wonderful projects are just a fraction of the beautiful handmade charity items made by Ravelers so far this year. If you are interested in making items for charity or to donate and aren’t sure where to start, check out the many groups in the charity crafting category in our group search! There are so many welcoming, active groups focusing on both specific needs and general charitable efforts. It’s truly a beautiful thing to communicate with Ravelers using their time and talents to help others in so many ways!