Woolly Hugs. Supporting the Chernobyl Children's Project. Can anyone help us?

[KnottyAndPistey]

There will need to be a quick turnaround on this but we know hope we can do it!

We have been approached and asked if we can make Little Hugs for a group of teenagers coming over to Leeds for a recuperative holiday in the summer with the fabulous charity the Chernobyl Children's Project.

Each year these marvellous folk bring children over from Belarus who live in the most contaminated area near the Chernobyl reactor. It is in the summer, when the dust causes radiation levels to rise, that 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 at 75%, 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.

This year the group in Leeds (organised by an amazing Mumsnetter) are bringing twelve children who have had cancer and are now in remission. Sadly though there is a high chance of these children falling ill again. This summer there are four boys and eight girls coming, aged between 11 and 14. They all suffer living in such difficult conditions and with very little. How perfect it would be to make them each a Little Hug.

Here's how to help with this project.....

• We would like 12” squares in bright and cheery Stylecraft Special DK colours, but please AVOID bright green, bright pink, browns, greys, citron, fiesta and jaffa. This will help squares fit together more easily. Make for a boy, girl or in a non specific colour theme. We will be happy to accept 6” squares if making a 12” one feels too much.

• Crochet or knitted, 4mm hook or needles. No blocking and please sew in pesky ends.

• We can supply all yarn for this. Let us know if we can send to you.

• Our last posting is Saturday 14th June, so we have a fighting chance of getting the blankets ready to go to the children on their arrival in the UK.

• If anyone would like to donated funds to support this, we would be so grateful. Our paypal is [email protected], cheques and cash are very welcome too, just PM for the address to send.

We know together we can do this in time! On behalf of these children, a huge THANK YOU.

Pistey and Knotty X

All done. Now just need to pick the grass seed out of it...

And probably mow the lawn.

With a scythe.

Owlcapone that is stunning! Such fun.

Ophelia and Owl they are both just fantastic, I'm amazed at how gorgeous they look when all put together, and my squares are in there!!

The colours on both of them are absolutely stunning.

They do look stunning don't they? It never fails to surprise me really because ordinarily you spend so log musing over colour palette and style but here you get a bunch of squares in different styles, tensions, colours etc and they end up looking wonderful.

Oh my they are both just gorgeous!

Do you think you could list the colour combinations just in case someone without any sense of colour might like to use them in the future

I am on my penultimate row of edging and am dealing with my peskies.

LOL.

The ball bands on most of my Stylecraft collection are long gone :)

Ooh it's arrived

I can't take credit for the lovely squares, I just hugged them together (as DD says, we also hug loom bands into bracelets)

I'm another one who has no idea what colours I've used as all the ball bands have gone missing! I think I need to order some more soon, so I'll keep a log of them all this time.

owl I loved putting them together, I spent ages shuffling squares round, taking photos (to compare different layouts), and walking round my layout before I finally decided!

I had to do my layout quickly before the dog sat on it :o

Buy a goat Owl so much easier than scything, no?

:)

That is bloody stunning! Love it BIG time. Thank you so much!!

Ophelia - layouts take forever here, and I know for Knots too, change them so many times, want them to be just perfect, little tweak here, little shuffle there, walk around, walk around, photograph, shuffle, shuffle, gin, shuffle.

Love the term hugging them together, that's just what it is!

Morning

I'm not sure the goat would get on with the dog.

I think the cat has developed hayfever from sleeping in the, ahem, meadow.

I've just got the details through of the children. Every cancer, from AML to NonHodgkins to neuroblastoma to some I have no idea what they are...

They are so young, and some only in remission a year...

Lol at shuffle shuffle gin shuffle

Oh ilove you sound so very sad, it's a wonderful thing that you are doing, sending you and hugs.

ilove I know, it is so terribly sad. It is a wonderful thung you're doing and I feel honourwd to have a small part in communicating all our our love and support to them. Thank you

Yes, as YeGods says, I feel honoured to have been allowed to be a small part in this project.

( I don't MNHQ are watching, so sending you more hugs and some gin)

oh ilove

Huge hugs ilove, it's an amazing thing you guys do xx

I agree.

You're fabulous :)

And another blanket for our Children of Chernobyl project is here. This one hooked together by the very lovely fan, huge thanks to her and all those who contributed these squares, just marvellous.

I'm finished!

Has everyone else posted their blankets Pistey? I'm not friends with the Royal Mail today after all the Panini stickers I sent to Trazzletoes DS went "missing". Should I send Recorded Delivery? Courier? Any other ideas?

There are other courier services. Check with Pistey, some of them need collection from a local shop.

It's wonderful, btw, Woolly!

Thank you YeGods

The oracle Pistey will know the best solution.