Artists Knit and Crochet To Make a Difference in the Life of a Soldier
July 19, 2009 | By
Do you knit or crochet? If so, here's your chance to join in a project designed to support our troops and lift their morale as they spend time away from family and friends during their overseas deployment.
The Etsy CreateCrochet Team are using their creative skills to supply handmade scarves to Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that sends letters and care packages addressed to individual members of our armed forces currently serving a tour of duty overseas. The team's goal is to collect and donate 50 scarves by the end of August.
Kristin, of Kristyns Kreations on Etsy and team leader for the CreateCrochet Team, had the idea and is heading up this worthwhile endeavor, which is being enthusiastically supported by members of her team of artists. It's a relatively small team with just over 30 members, so the group is asking anyone who knits or crochets to whip up a scarf and join them in making a difference in the life of a soldier.
Participating artists are free to use their creativity in making a special scarf, handmade with love, to express their gratitude to one of the brave men and women who are making sacrifices every day as they defend our freedom. Any pattern and any type of yarn is acceptable. However, the scarves should be between 5-7 inches wide and 50 inches or less in length. It is also recommended that the colors used to create the scarf are subtle and something that would blend in with their military uniform.
As the wife of a retired military man, I know how much it means to our service members to receive tokens of appreciation from the folks back home. If you are a fiber artist, you have until the end of August to create and send in your scarf. To find out where to ship your scarf, please contact Kristin through her Etsy shop or by commenting on the Create Crochet Team’s blog, where you can also read more about this team event.
If you don’t knit or crochet but would like to learn about other ways to contribute to Operation Gratitude check out the "Operation Gratitude" website.
If you know of other organizations whose mission is to make a difference in a soldier’s life, please leave the name and link in a comment below.
Photo Courtesies:
Etsy CreateCrochet Team Members:
Top Left: Peanut and Tommy
Bottom Right: Fiddlesticks
Coco Watkin is a self-taught artisan offering heirloom quality stained glass and hand painted folk art collectibles as unique gifts and home decor. See her artwork at ByCoco on both Etsy and Artfire. Besides being a columnist for HMN.org, Coco also authors her own Blog, ByCoco: Art for Everyday Enjoyment. Send her your handmade "scoop" through a message on Artfire or a “convo” on Etsy .
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