Blankets for Haiti

Like a lot of people, I have been watching the news coverage of the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake and wishing that there was some way that I could help. Hearing the stories of the orphanages that were destroyed and of the little children living out of tents tugs at my heartstrings.

Then just this last week, I got an email from a sister in our ward who has been working on collecting supplies to send to Haiti. They were collecting children's clothing, blankets, and tents for the orphanages. I really felt like this was something I wanted to help with. So I gave myself a budget and went to Joann to shop for fabric. I only had one day to do as much as I could, so I opted to go with the fast and easy route of making fleece blankets. Fleece is great because it is warm and the edges don't fray, so you don't have to sew it.

One of the employees at Joann helped me find 12 fleece remnants that were big enough for blankets. Since they sell remnants for 50% off, I got 12 pieces for about $3.50 each. Then I settled in for a long day on the couch, cutting and tying blankets. If you've never made this type of blanket before, it is really easy. All you have to do is cut strips on each end of the blanket. The strips are about 1/2 inch wide and 2-3 inches deep. Then you tie each strip into a knot, which creates a nice fringe-effect.

With some help from my friend Tammy, I was able to get all 12 finished on Saturday... and put in about 6 hours work in all. By the end, my hands hurt so bad that I could barely tie the knots. Dave tried to help with the tying, but he quickly decided his fingers were not made for that kind of work. Instead, he spent a good portion of the day keeping Eddie away. Eddie was only happy if I was not holding any of the blankies. He would take them from me, then leave them on the floor and forget them until I took them back.

Since he liked them all so much, I let him pose with them for the photo:

And here is the stack, ready to deliver:

The blankets, along with the other items collected by the group, will be leaving for Haiti on Thursday.