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Help Father Frost! The Christmas Stocking Project 2020

Stocking are made very early as due to transporting them over to Belarus goes, they leave when the summer visitors go back and go into safe storage! They will be given to the children around the time of the orthodox Christmas early January 2021.

Please read carefully as things are different.

• We have been given a list of children, names and ages as at the time they will receive their stocking. Initially we have 31.
• If you would like to take part, message or email us and we will allocate a child to you. How lovely is this??!! You then make a stocking just for them!
• Let’s say no more than 2 children per person, but if you are prepared to make for more, let us know and we can always come back to you. No extras needed this year, just personalised stockings for these children. If we have more donors than children we will take your names in case we get more.

So last posting is Friday 23rd May 2020.

Elizabeth Parker (Mid Suffolk Chernobyl Children’s Life line link)and her team personally take filled stockings to Belarus, to the homes/schools of very disadvantaged children. Their aim is to give the children a real Christmas present and those they give to have most likely never received a Christmas present before.  It is very important to note this is absolutely not one of those shoe box appeals, so these stockings do not include functional toothpaste/brush type items, and there are no strings attached. It is just a wonderful thing to be able to do for some of the most disavanted and sick children.

So message/email for a child’s details, then once you have these please read on! Should anything change and you can’t make the stocking PLEASE PLEASE let us know so that we can sort things out. This is so important, we don’t want any child to be left out.

Even if you took part last year, please do read the instructions, they are absolutely vital to making this work. We are grateful to you, this is a wonderful project. Thank you.

We are looking for home made fabric only please stockings, OR shop bought stockings, we found some  on Ebay and Amazon but PLEASE as close to the size below as possible.  Then fit it with age appropriate treasure and get it as close to the weight as possible!

Here’s how to help…

1. Whether it is home made or shop bought, stockings need to be as close to 18cm by 40cm  (approx 7” x 16) which seems to be average standard size of shop bought ones.
2. The stockings can contain anything that would be considered a Christmas present but for this project, no utility items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste
3. A list of suggested items is below but these are by no means the only items to be included, feel free to add anything you want!
4. The gifts inside the stockings must not be wrapped in Christmas paper as this makes it easier if they are stopped at customs.
5. VERY IMPORTANT – Completed stockings must weigh no more than 650 grams please and need to be able to lie as flat as possible for travelling purposes.
6. Reiterating the 650g weight limit!
7. Please send any filled stockings to us wrapped in a carrier bag with a list of the contents jotted down on a bit of paper and the weight in grammes, PLUS THE CHILD”S NAME AND NUMBER

What to put in to a stocking…The items listed are only some suggestions, please feel free to add your own items

1. Liquids may not be sent neither should toy guns, sharps, knives or other weapons etc be sent as some parents might object to these.
2. No sweets (as the stockings will be in storage in Minsk for a good while, they go over in June, and they can’t guarantee they mightn’t get hot)
3. A small soft toy
4. Small ornaments (all children love dogs and cats)
5. A “Barbie” or Action Man type Doll
6. temporary tattoos
7. lip balm
8. flavoured chapsticks
9. Magic Gloves
10. Hair slides, bobble, elastics etc for girls, colourful, sparkly items are really liked.
11. Girls love all things pink and “blingy” !
12. Wrist bands for boys
13. Fridge Magnets are a big favourite
14. Small logic puzzles, i.e. the ones we use to get where you had to roll a few small balls around and get
    them in the right place.
15. Spinner toys
16. Bracelets and necklaces for girls
17. Balsa wood models
18. Polystyrene plane kits
19. Small cars or other models
20. Small windup toys
21. Marbles – quite heavy but a few would be ok and the children really love them
22. Stickers – all the children seem to collect these
23. Yo yo
24. Harmonica
25. Funny socks and slipper socks are liked very much, particularly if they are “Character “ones.
26. Warm tights for girls – they like bright colors
27. Small notebook – pretty ones for girls
28. Pens, pencils – biros should be blue not black please, this is for school use, highlighters
29. colouring pencils
30. Small coin purses
31. Pretty notebooks
32. Pencil case
33. Any toys with LED lights – particularly the stretchy/squishy ones
34. Folding shopping bags (older girls)
35. Keyrings
36. Slipper socks

We will have quite a bit of admin this end, so please send any filled stockings to us wrapped in a carrier bag with a list of the contents jotted down on a bit of paper and the weight in grammes. Do make sure you include your child’s name and number which will all help make sure the right stocking goes to the right child! All hail the folk who get these out in Belarus! 

2025. Very much an ongoing project. Please post when you are ready, to Teddington.Thank you x

Our Angel Hug project began back in 2012 with a request to make blankets for newborn or very young babies who devastatingly have not survived. At an intensely bleak and dark time there is still something very positive that we can do for the baby and their family. Our blankets are always handmade with love and compassion and so are perfect. We can help care for the whole family at this time by making the baby comfortable and snuggled up whilst sending love and a hug to the parents and wider family. We have been supporting Glasgow Maternity wards and are able to support SANDS if needed.

We have recently had a request from the wonderful Haven House Children’s Hospice in Woodford Green, Essex to support their bereaved families too. With your love and support we will be so glad to help more families going through absolute hell.

We know that we have many crafters and donors who have first hand experience of such devastating loss. We understand that this is a very difficult request, but if you can join with us, and are able to help, then we would love to have you on board. From speaking to some of you, we know how incredibly important blankets like these are to those who receive them.

Angel Hugs is as always an ongoing project. Traditionally we have sent plain white Angel Hugs to Glasgow and will continue with this.  Haven House would like us to use the palette below which will tie in with the big Billie’s Butterfly blankets we have made for their post bereavement room and may well be in use for families at this incredibly difficult time.

If making an Angel Hug for Haven House Hospice

• Single colours only please, using Stylecraft Special DK in these colours only…Duck egg, grape, sage, pale rose, cloud blue
• Minimum size : 24 inches square, going up to a maximum of approx. 30 inches square.
• At the bottom of this page is a copy of the SANDS knitted pattern if this helps you

If making an Angel Hug for Glasgow Maternity

• Angel Hugs are to be all white and can be knitted or crocheted in any wool suitable for a baby blanket, so 4ply, DK, just as long as it feels soft and cosy. The design is up to you, but it should be kept simple. Angel Hugs can also be sewn using pure cotton and good quality fleece, again white please and in a simple design.
• Minimum size : 24 inches square, going up to a maximum of approx. 30 inches square.
• At the bottom of this page is a copy of the SANDS knitted pattern if this helps you.
• Please make sure when you post that you label your blanket as an Angel Hug, we don’t want to get them muddled with Little Hugs.

If you need help to be able to take part

• If you would like to take part in this project but feel you can’t due to the costs involved, please message us and we’ll try to help you with materials

If you’d like to donate funds for others to craft on this project

• We would be very grateful for support from anyone who would like to donate funds to help with this. You can either donate via Paypal admin@woollyhugs.com but please add a message so we know who to thank and which project it is for. If you don’t have Paypal, please message us as we have other ways that you can donate. We are so grateful to all our donors, without you, these projects could not function.

It is a very sad request we are making, and yet there is something very positive here too, and we know the Blanketeers have big hearts. Sometimes thank you doesn’t seem enough, but thank you once again.

The SANDS pattern

Please note this is only a suggestion.

If you are intending to make a blanket with the lace edging, then please knit the basic blanket no larger than a 20 inch square.

Easy Baby Blanket with Lace Option This lace border makes the easy blanket very special but we are happy for you to knit to the basic pattern. (You can use any white wool and needles to suit, to give a soft drape). The basic pattern knit to approx a 24” square. It will always come square.

BASIC BLANKET 200gm of Double Knit Wool and 4mm needles.

Cast on 1 stitch Next row:- Make the one stitch into two stitches.

Next row:- Knit 1, into the next stitch make another, 3 stitches on needle.

Continue to knit, ALWAYS knit the first stitch and into the 2 nd stitch make another. Only increase this way at the BEGINNING of a row. Continue until you have almost come to the end of the 100gm ball. Knit 1 row plain.

Next row:- Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit to end of row.

Continue this way, always knit the 1 st stitch then decrease into the next stitch by knitting 2 together until 1 stitch remains.

You should now have a neat square.

LACE EDGING

Using Double Knit and size 8 (UK) needles Cast on 8 stitches

Row 1 (Wrong side) Slip 1, Knit 1, (Yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice, Yarn fwd, Knit 2 (9 sts)

Rows 2, 3, and 6. Slip 1 Knit to the end.

Row 3. Slip 1, knit 2 (yarn fwd knit 1 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 1 (10 sts)

Row 5. Slip 1, knt 3 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (11 sts)

Row 7. Slip 1, knit 4 (yarn fwd kni t 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (12 sts)

Row 8. Slip 1, Knit 11 sts Row 9. Cast off 4 sts. Knit to the end (8 sts)

Row 10. Slip 1, knit to the end (8 sts)

These 10 rows form the pattern.

Continue in pattern until it is long enough to fit all around. Sew o nto the blanket. Thank you so much.