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The Summer of Woolly Love, 2018!

June 30, 2018 woollyhugs

Welcome to the Summer of Woolly Love, 2018!

We are hoping to make as many 6 and 12 inch squares over the summer holidays focussing on adding to Snugs, Kinship’s Traditional and Classic palettes, plus Candy’s Hugs and hope you will be able to help us. So a little summer holiday project if we may, a perfect lightweight portable activity, perfect for sofa, park, beach, plane or car, 6 or 12 inch squares in the colours below – we can help there, just message us if you need yarn to be able to take part, this is an inclusive project, but please only take yarn if you will be able to use it, fundraising is a constant worry for us, and we need to be sure folk’s money is spent carefully!

All these squares will go to very much needed blankets for individuals, very much in need of a cosy comforting Woolly Hug.

The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK. Just this please for consistency, and in these colours…
Squares to be 12 inch or 6 inch, crochet or knitted equally welcome, please use 4mm hook or needles. No blocking necessary and please sew in ends, and make sure any colour changes are firmly knotted.
All crafting abilities genuinely welcome, squares made by beginner or expert will be equally cherished. Simple, complex, single colour, mixed colour. It really is the love and thought that counts.

Important re finishing off squares!

We want to be able to use all squares, and need for them to be sturdy and built to last. Finishing off is key here and very easily done. So once finished (or changing colour)

Securely double knot off
Leaving about 6 inches of yarn cut the end off.
Then using a needle, sew in the ‘pesky” end so that it disappears in the edge of your square.
All squares must have their ends sewn in please.

The palettes

Please make sure your squares fit in to one of these…

The Vibrant Riot palette for Candy’s Hugs.

If you would like to learn how to knit or crochet in 2018, crack on! We are on hand to help talk you through.. YouTube has lots of tutorials, you WILL find one that suits! 🙂

If you feel ambitious and would like to make a whole blanket, then that is wonderful, we are aiming for blankets approx 48 inches by 60 inches, certainly no smaller.

Squares to be sent to us from September 16th, do say in your note they are from this event! Address will be Teddington, do message us if you need it.

We are on Facebook – Woolly Hugs and Twitter too @Woolly_Hugs both are good ways to keep in touch.

Thank you so much x

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The Blanket for WatcherOfTheNight

June 25, 2018 woollyhugs

Absolutely speechless,it is beyond beautiful !
Thank you ,thank you ,thank you !
And for the lovely cards enclosed also.
I have it laid out over me on the bed & keep finding more details I hadn’t noticed.
It’s been a particularly difficult week & this has given me the boost I need to get through the next few days .

Sending love to you all ,lovely Woolly huggers ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

I know I will need the blanket tonight as I’m off to see Ed Sheeran ,my daughter bought tickets before she died & because he meant a lot to her I have decided I will still go.
He is singing some of the songs played at her funeral & I know it is going to be a difficult evening but I will come home & wrap myself up in my Woolly Hug 💜

Our original thread is here…

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Help Father Frost! The Woolly Hugs’ Christmas Stocking Project 2018

June 16, 2018 woollyhugs

Help Father Frost! The Christmas Stocking Project 2018

Our deadline will be last posting on Monday 22nd October. Address for sending will be Teddington.

Our wonderful friends at the Mid Suffolk Chernobyl Children’s Life line run a fantastic Christmas project and in addition to sending them our summer blankets, we would love to help this group to help even more children. This is a fabulous idea which very much appeals to us, we hope it will do you too!

In the run up to Christmas, they personally take filled stockings to Belarus, to very sick children in hospitals and also to the homes 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.

Would you like to help us?!!

We are looking for home made ( knit, crochet or sewn) stockings, OR shop bought stockings, we found some today (June) on Ebay and Amazon but PLEASE as close to the size below as possible. These can be sent full, all guidance below, or empty for them to fill. We need both. You can also just contribute little gifts/sweets if you prefer. There are very specific guidelines for these Christmas stockings, you will appreciate lovely Elizabeth Parker and her group have to get them over to Belarus in their own luggage, so please make sure you read carefully.

Here’s how to help…

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.
Empty stockings are very useful, but if you would like to fill one please read on…
The stockings can contain anything that would be considered a Christmas present but for this project, no utility items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste
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!
The gifts inside the stockings should not be wrapped in Christmas paper as this makes it easier if they are stopped at customs.
They aim to take stockings for children from birth to 16 years . Most people want to give to young children so some for older teenagers would be appreciated, but whichever age range you go for they are very grateful. Aim for one of these… 0-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-8. 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 14-16, and decide boy or girl.
VERY IMPORTANT – Completed stockings should weigh no more than 650 grams please and need to be able to lie as flat as possible for travelling purposes.
Just decide your age group and make sure it all fits in the weight.
Reiterating the 650g weight limit!

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

Liquids may not be sent neither should toy guns, knives or other weapons etc be sent to boys as some parents might object to these.
A small soft toy
Small ornaments (all children love dogs and cats)
A “Barbie” or Action Man type Doll
temporary tattoos
lip balm
flavoured chapsticks
Magic Gloves
Hair slides, bobble, elastics etc for girls, colourful, sparkly items are really liked.
Girls love all things pink and “blingy” !
Wrist bands for boys
Fridge Magnets are a big favourite
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.
Spinner toys
Bracelets and necklaces for girls
Balsa wood models
Polystyrene plane kits
Small cars or other models
Small windup toys
Marbles – quite heavy but a few would be ok and the children really love them
Stickers – all the children seem to collect these
Yo yo
Harmonica
Funny socks and slipper socks are liked very much, particularly if they are “Character “ones.
Warm tights for girls – they like bright colors
Small notebook – pretty ones for girls
Pens, pencils – biros should be blue not black please
colouring pencils
Small coin purses
Pretty notebooks
Pencil case
Any toys with LED lights – particularly the stretchy/squishy ones
Small packets of sweets
Folding shopping bags (older girls)
Keyrings
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 We need to fill in a spreadsheet which helps with customs and this will mean we wont have to empty each one! We will add a numbered sticker to your bag which will help as the group try to get a photo of each stocking with their recipient where possible. Buy in your tissues in readiness!

Deadline…

Deadline will be last posting on Monday 22nd October. Address forsending will be Teddington. Thank you so much for even reading this far!

If you have any questions please do message us! Thank you so much

Our first collection, leaving with the advance party in August!

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Surely not Chernobyl 2019?! – Yes! It’s for the KEEN EARLY BIRDS!

May 9, 2018 woollyhugs

Welcome to those lovely crafters looking to make an early start to our Chernobyl 2019 project! We have slimmed down the colour palette again, please do double check, and this includes joining yarn too if making a whole blanket. Having just done the 2018 blanket kit sort we found some colours harder to fit in than others. Finished blanket size remains the same at 48inches by 60 inches, and we ask that if you are contemplating making a whole blanket for 2019 please contact us so we have an idea of numbers, it does make it easier, thank you. If looking to make squares, we will need 12 inch or 6 inch please, as simple or complex as you like, single colour, multi colour. If sizing is a challenge with your pattern/tension, we prefer them just under sized rather than over!

SO IMPORTANT! Please ensure you knot off every end/colour change very very securely, leave approx a 6 inch tail end and use a needle to sew in. These blankets have to be super sturdy as there is no way back to fix them if squares collapse.

The 2019 Palette

Aspen
Aster
Bluebell
Boysenberry
Bright pink
Candy floss
Citron
Claret
Cloud blue
Cypress
Denim
Duck egg
Emperor
Empire
Fondant
Fuchsia pink
Grape
Grass green
Kelly green
Lapis
Lavender
Lime
Lipstick
Lobelia
Magenta
Meadow
Mustard
Pale Rose
Parchment
Petrol
Pistachio
Plum
Pomegranate
Raspberry
Saffron
Sage
Sherbert
Shrimp
Spice
Storm blue
Teal
Tomato
Turquoise
Violet

Crafting info… Important stuff!

Yarn is Stylecraft Special DK – just this please, inc for any embellishments.
Squares to be 12 inch ideally, or 6 inch if that is too much.
Knit and crochet equally welcome. Beginner or more experienced crafters also equally welcomed.
Please use a 4mm hook or needles.
No blocking please, and please ensure you are knotting off very thoroughly when colour changing or finishing, leave a 6 inch end and use a needle to sew it in.
We are asking folk to avoid using a magic ring (crochet) to start as find that these don’t seem to always stand up to the pressures of wash and wear.
Please read the list of colours in our palette carefully.
Squares to be single colour, multi colour, textured, but not too lacy, they need to be sturdy!
If you’d like to make a whole blanket, please use these colours too, makes thing easier at the giving stage! Ideally make any whole blankets gender neutral is it is so much easier for us to know what we have coming when sorting kits. Whole blankets need to be 48 inches by 60 inches with some kind of border please.
NO POSTING please before January 2019! We will confirm the address just before.

We will be collecting ice cream funds, Hugs for Heads (hats) and extras but just need to talk to the groups first to see what they would like. Again posting for these will be next year!

Aiming for 120 blankets minimum in 2019!

About the Project

For the last few years we have been making warm, comforting Little Hugs for Belarusian teenagers and children visiting the UK for recuperative holidays during the summer with the fabulous charity the Chernobyl Children’s Project and Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline. Photos from the Leeds group can be seen here.. and our finished blankets from last year here…

Each year these marvellous charities bring children who live in the most contaminated area near the Chernobyl reactor over to the UK. In summer, when the dust causes radiation levels to rise, it becomes even more important for as many children as possible to leave their contaminated homeland for a few weeks of fresh air and clean food. The rates of childhood cancer are incredibly high; the most common cancers being thyroid and leukaemia. Coming to the UK for a four week break increases their immunity against the awful disease by up to 3 years when they return home. Often these children are in remission. Sadly though there is a high chance of these children falling ill again. They all suffer living in such difficult conditions and with very little.

This project has grown in epic proportions, we started making for the Leeds group visiting, that was 14, we then expanded to include Portsmouth (35) then we shot up to 120, making blankets for various groups around the country!

Not all groups host every year, but groups we have helped so far to date!

Leeds
Gloucester
Portsmouth
Isle of Wight
Swindon
Bristol
Fife
Aberdeen
Ayrshire
Helpston, Northamptonshire
Norfolk
Mid Suffolk
Liverpool

Thank you so much, if you need further clarification, please message us. x

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The Blanket for CatThiefKeith’s family

May 3, 2018 woollyhugs

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have taken time out of their lives to make this blanket in memory of CTK..
Myself and CTK’s family are forever grateful for the love and support you guys have shown in making sure she will not be forgotten. CTK packed a huge amount into her life and I know she never regretted a single thing. Her stories and jokes have been told far and wide and depicted in this very blanket.
We will treasure it forever..
Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means.. Especially to DD who now has a constant keepsake to remind her of mummy..
thank you

“Funny is not always nice but funny is always funny”

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Our original thread is here…