April 1st through May 31st
That’s right! We’re doing it again! This one has some differences from our previous Event. One BIG change is that we are including quilting.
Beginning on April 1st, and going through May 31st, our yarn crafters will be making knitted or crocheted blocks, 10 by 10 inches square, to be joined into twin, full, queen and king-sized blankets, by our Mattresses In Reach Team. Our Quilters will be making 34 by 34 inch crib blankets.
These blankets will be going, with mattresses, to our clients. Each crafter will also reach out to anyone they know who might want to sponsor them, and the donations from those sponsors will go to funding Mattresses In Reach.
An example of how that works: “Hey Joe! I’m making blanket squares/crib blankets for donation. Would you like to pledge a few dollars per square/crib blanket? Your donation would go to Mattresses In Reach, getting mattresses to people who cannot get them on their own.” (You may share with them this link: https://mattressesinreach.com/ )
Your sponsors have choices as to how they pledge. Some examples of ways to pledge are
– $ amount per item.
– flat donation regardless of number of items completed.
– $ amount per time unit that you spend stitching (ex. $1 per hour spent stitching)
– other (can be specified in the “notes” box of the stitcher’s Pledge Log)
Monetary donations to Mattresses In Reach will be collected at the end of the event. Stitchers should remind their sponsors, who will then be able to go to the “donate to Mattresses In Reach” button near the bottom of the event page and make their contribution.
Your sponsors have choices in how they will be recognized. They can be anonymous or named. (Only those for whom you have checked the “named” box on your pledge log can be listed in Mattresses In Reach posts. Those for whom you do not check “named” will be counted and added to the “Anonymous contributor” category) If they choose to be named, they still get to choose whether or not their contribution amount is publicly shared (same process, no check of box equals no amount posted).
Stitchers also get to choose whether to be named or anonymous, and whether to have their total item count, and/or $ amount collected publicly shared. (This choice will be indicated by the stitcher on their pledge log when it is turned in. Up until the final results are posted, all participants will be counted as one lump sum and all will be anonymous.)
(singing up only requires a name, your email is optional. There’s no questionnaire.)
(Pledge Log is also optional, but please do look at it so you know what you will need to keep track of. If you prefer to simply write it in a notebook instead, that is absolutely fine. If you want to print the log, you can print it from the link below. If you want to fill it in on your computer or phone, you will need to “make a copy” because the one in the link is view only.)
Yarn Crafters, please use acrylic yarn. Very few people are allergic to acrylic yarn, whereas all natural yarns will be great for some people and very bad for others. We don’t know which individuals will end up with which pieces, so acrylic only please.
(The crocheted and knitted squares will be stitched together as follows:
- 10 squares by 6 squares for a twin blanket ((fits twin XL))
- 10 squares by 8 squarres for a full/queen blanket.
- 10 squarers by 10 squares for a king blanket.
So if you are wanting to do enough squares of a certain theme to make a complete blanket, make sets of 60, 80, or 100 squares. This is not AT ALL required. . . just if it would make you happy.)
Optional Stitch Together Sessions:
We will be hosting Virtual Stitch Together sessions on Thursday evenings, from 4 to 7 PM Pacific Time.
For those of us who are local, we will be hosting In Person Stitch Together sessions on Saturday afternoons, from Noon to 3PM at the Hillsboro Library on Brookwood, upstairs in the Collaboratory room.
If you would like to share photos of your work, you can send pictures through the button here:
If you would like to send updates on your progress, please do so through the button here:
Below are links to some fun knit and crochet stitches to spice up our square production.
Knitting:
Crochet:
Mattresses In Reach 