Zombie and Woolly Hugs. Please join us, newcomers very welcome. Come and find out about Candy's Hugs.

[KnottyAndPistey]

Her legacy of Candy's Hugs will be one of love and strength, of coming together to show compassion, support and give and receive comfort.

Seven blankets already with women on the rocky road of cancer treatment in Candy's name. Love in every stitch we say and it really is true. Together we go on, Candy is with us every step.

For anyone joining us, and please do, this is an ongoing project, just jump right in, this explains what we are doing and all crafting info. Thank you EVERYONE! x

Just before Christmas, Zombie donated funds to Woolly Hugs and together we hatched a plan to develop an ongoing project with her, which she loved, to make comforting cosy blankets with love in every stitch for women going through treatment for breast and other cancers, and at times these may form part of palliative care.

So glad we could establish Candy's Hugs with her and thanks to you wonderful people achieve her ambition of seeing it all well underway before her death. Her legacy of Candy's Hugs will be one of love and strength, of friendship, learning and developing crafting skills, of creativity, of coming together to show compassion, support and give and receive comfort, Such a beautiful inspirational woman. How lucky we were to know her.

Anyone seeing this project for the first time, wondering about joining in, make this the day you do! This project is ongoing, and a friendlier more supportive bunch of folk you couldn’t wish to meet. We would love to have you on board, from someone who is keen to learn crochet or knitting to the more experienced, ALL are welcome here. And a lack of funds is no barrier, we have wonderful donors who want to take part and need a crafter, so we can send you yarn, needles and hooks if necessary. It is all about being inclusive and team work.

Our previous threads are the first one here and the second one here.. and third here

[[https://www.facebook.com/pg/Woolly-Hugs-349028448480855/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1339798112737212
We are keeping a photo album on our Facebook page.]] All welcome to join us over there too.

Zombie was a bright and beautiful woman so we chose a palette to reflect this which we call Vibrant Riot; it is inspired too by a blanket that was made for her to give hugs and comfort as she went through treatment. She had it with her at the end, we were so glad to know it still gave her love, big woolly hugs and comfort.

If you would like to be involved in any way, we’d love to have you on board. Please post on this thread and PM with your offers: crafting, donating, need wool, etc, we can help you with all of it.

The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK. Just this please for consistency, and in these colours...

Vibrant Riot Palette
Boysenberry
Claret
Empire
Fuchsia
Grass
Kelly green
Lavender
Lime
Lipstick
Magenta
Meadow
Petrol
Plum
Pomegranate
Saffron
Sherbet
Shrimp
Spice
Turquoise
Tomato
Violet

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.

If you would like to learn how to knit or crochet in 2017, let's do it! We have help for the complete beginner here…. And all on this thread are on hand to help talk you through as well. 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.

Candy’s Hugs will be an ongoing project, our next collection date is March 11th, then April 22nd. Do message for posting info when ready.

We are on Facebook - Woolly Hugs and Twitter too @Woolly_Hugs both are good ways to keep in touch. ALL welcome over there.

Thank you so much

Aw, fanks. And awful lot of fudging involved as I mucked up the centre and didn't twig that I'd done so until it came to square it...

It's a Stylecraft pattern - one square from a blanket pattern. I printed it, but will track the link back down...

Here: www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk/pdf/Lily%20Pond%20UK%20and%20US-%20Full%20Pattern.pdf

It was meant to be block 5. Theoretically.

evening - thanks Jux - I decided to do them in sets of colours, hoping it would help the construction crew . I like the blues more than the lavender/lime/meadow ones I started with, though they look better in the flesh than in the photos :)
I have started with a new colour combo - Shrimp/Pomegranate/Plum tonight, and a pattern that was a little lacking in detail , and only came out at 4.5", so had to do another couple of rounds , unlike the Jan Eaton ones, which I had to leave off a round!

Hi everyone!

Absolutely gorgeous squares on here - flutter, wow! I love it and now you've sent me to a pattern hook with 31 more pages to try out!

Book, I just adore your colour combinations, as always. I thought you said you weren't good at putting colours together?! Your squares are always gorgeous!

I've finished my Chernobyl squares and am frantically trying to do some squares for ZombieLad's blanket. How did April arrive so quickly?!

Hoping to get back to Candy's shortly, although I do have that cosy stripe blanket calling to me...!

Woke up early this morning and started a 12" back-and-forth texture in ?magenta. Did over 2". Decided 14" wide was really a bit too much. Frogged it back to the end of the first row (left the chain as is - will undo that at the end). Redid the second row.

Progress?

sugning in. sent off my chernobyl squares this week and have some candys to pack up.

book, I think I'm going to take a leaf out of your book! I basically got colours I like this first time, with no thoughts of how they might go together. Looking at all the photos across however many threads (tons!) and the fb pages and the site too, I think I'll choose 3 shades of one colour and maybe a contrast (or two) next time.

Gosh, I have been busy today, and then knitted at lunchtime ( if I am not careful, at this rate the baby will be born before I get the jacket done )
Jux - it actually makes life a bit easier, rather than dithering over each square. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of having most of the colours. When Candys started, I asked if I could have a wool donation, to get started , expecting 2 or 3 balls. I think Zombie was held in such affection - I was partnered up with a donor, and I was sent 2 balls of every colour that Wool Warehouse had in stock from the palette ( 3 missing I think) I have supplemented as I have gone on . So I get all the balls of colour out, and choose 3 and away I go. I want to do justice to the best of my ability for such a generous donation :)

Hmmmm. I have not enough faith that this will become clearer once it gets going.

Oh, lace making, I used to do that, lost patience with it in the end. I found I had to have a helper to make any sense of it so I joined a lacemaking group!!

Evening!
just finished #2 in shrimp/pomegranate/plum.
Oh Spin you are clever.

I'm pretty sure 'clever' isn't the word! Stubborn, probably.

Can't wait to see what you're creating there Spin

Looking good book!

Here are my latest two, slightly misshapen, efforts. I have faith that the crew can pull them straight
Those are my first attempts at flowers and I think I'm becoming slightly obsessed with them now.

Yohoo, I'm back from Chernobyl. 😁

I just need to knock up a couple of owls and then it's off on my holidays with what I've got left of my Candy colours. I don't think it's going to last all holiday though....😔

I am the very proud recipient of a woolly hug!

Huge thanks and love to everyone who contributes here. It will be much needed and used over the coming months.

TwitterQueen I came across a thread of yours the other day and was hoping you would get one. to you too.

Madison - those are lovely - I haven't plucked up the courage for 3D flowers yet.
Witch

Twitter - I am hopeful that what we we can do will bring comfort, love and hugs to you

TwitterQueen

book trust me, they're surprisingly easy!

Witch have a lovely holiday!

Twitter, I hope it brings you comfort in troubled times 💐

Thanks Madison. 😎

Have you got your flight bag packed Witch , and did you find some little scissors? How much clothing has been ditched for wool

In all honesty, between sorting work, parents and home I haven't started packing yet! I have still got an owl to do and then I can start working it out 😥

I have found some little scissors in the back of the drawer, which I don't mind if they do get confiscated, and have dug out a mini bag for my crotchet for the flight.

It's a good job I've got all day tomorrow 😱

Hi everyone , I've been over on the Chernobyl squares thread and am planning to join this project next week.

I learned to crochet a couple of months ago ( for this project ), so have so far only done squares in the zig zag puff stitch and the Bella Coco C2C. I'd like to try some more adventurous squares and I'm also planning to do a little hug, I did try the granny square but I just couldn't get my head around it.

So I was wondering if anyone could recommend any that I could try?
Preferably a video or picture heavy tutorial (the written ones look like another language to me )
Thank you

As bookbook said up thread, Love Knitting has a sale on DK just now, with up to 25% off. There is free delivery over £25 and an extra 15% off if you spend over £30 and use code 15EXTRA. Offer finishes at midnight on 8th April i.e. TOMORROW!

That takes Stylecraft Special DK down to £1.40 per ball.

I have just laid out my stock on the bed and worked out what I need to replenish my stock!

DoubleR search for Bella Coco on you tube. She's really easy to follow and works in the English not American terms. Don't get me wrong, the first couple of squares you try to do will be frustrating and you'll be tempted to throw the lot out if the window, but you will get the hang of it