Woolly Hugs. Chernobyl 2018 is HERE!!!

[KnottyAndPistey]

We are delighted to be launching our Chernobyl Project 2018!

For the last four years we have been making warm, comforting Little Hugs for Belarusian teenagers and children visiting the UK for recuperative holidays during the summer with the fabulous charity the Chernobyl Children’s Project and Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline.

Each year these marvellous charities bring children who live in the most contaminated area near the Chernobyl reactor over to the UK. In summer, when the dust causes radiation levels to rise, 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 incredibly high the most common cancers being thyroid and leukaemia. Coming to the UK for a four week break increases their immunity against the awful disease when they return home. Often these children are in remission. Sadly though there is a high chance of these children falling ill again. They all suffer living in such difficult conditions combined with chronic poverty.

We have spoken to all the groups we sent to last year, some are still confirming their funding etc and not all host every year, but already confirmed are…

Isle of Wight
Peterborough/Helpston
Bristol
Gloucester/Leeds
And we are chuffed to be introducing the Ayrshire group this year too!

There are other groups we can contact, but will just wait to hear from last year first. So this year we look like we are aiming for approx 115 blankets but this may change. It is a good place to start with!

The last posting date for squares and blankets made by individuals for our Chernobyl 2018 project will be Saturday 7th April, to the Teddington address, message if you need it!

No later please as we have to get on and sort very soon after. Thank you.

Please do join us, here’s how..

• Yarn is Stylecraft Special DK – ONLY this please, inc for any embellishments.
• Squares to be 12 inch ideally, or 6 inch if that is too much.
• Knit and crochet equally welcome. Beginner or more experienced crafters also equally welcomed.
• Please use a 4mm hook or needles. No blocking please, and please ensure you are knotting off very thoroughly when colour changing or finishing, leave a 6cm end and use a needle to sew it in.
• We are asking folk to avoid using a magic ring (crochet) to start as find that these don’t seem to always stand up to the pressures of wash and wear.
• Squares to be single colour, multi colour, textured, whatever you like, they will be wonderful, thank you.
• If you’d like to make a whole blanket, please use these colours too, makes thing easier at the giving stage! Whole blankets need to be 48 inches by 60 inches with some kind of border please.

Supporting with funds
If anyone would like to donate 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. We are grateful for every single penny.

The Palette
Aspen
Aster
Bluebell
Blush
Boysenberry
Bright pink
Burgundy
Candy floss
Citron
Claret
Cloud blue
Cypress
Denim
Duck egg
Emperor
Empire
Fondant
Fuchsia pink
Grape
Grass green
Kelly green
Lapis
Lavender
Lime
Lincoln
Lipstick
Lobelia
Magenta
Meadow
Mustard
Pale Rose
Parchment
Petrol
Pistachio
Plum
Pomegranate
Raspberry
Saffron
Sage
Sherbert
Shrimp
Spice
Storm blue
Teal
Tomato
Turquoise
Violet

To find out what about things we are collecting read more here....

Hugs for Heads
After the success of Fife last year, we thought how lovely it would be to send all children a cosy hat to take home with their blanket this year, so introduced Hugs for Heads, if you would like to knit or crochet a child’s hat size age 8 to adult (most are teens) in machine washable yarn, we would love to receive it for them. The pattern is up to you., we do have yarn available, please message us. Last posting the same as squares.

What a big ask! Good grief!
But the fabulous Woolly Hug crew never fail to amaze, last year was an astonishing team effort, we know that together we can do this.

On behalf of these children and their families, a huge THANK YOU.
Actually, thank you doesn’t really come close. xxx

(pic is the Isle of Wight group last year)

Ooh, thank you book , I've been having a bit of a blitz on my stash by doing a job load of mini squares, and was really struggling to find a way to join and show the join (I want it as a square border if that makes sense). Your link looks perfect.

Not sure what I'm doing the squares for though - I've got about 30 so far but they're in a complete mishmash of colours - maybe a Little Hug or a Billie, depending how far I get (and whether DS nicks it first!).

Bank holiday plus DC on a sleepover at PILs' equals construction time!

This is a standard dc join (that is, the stitching is the same) but I join squares c2c rather than in rows and columns. Will sketch schematic if of interest. MUCH easier for organisation and keeping away from cat but looks identical. I find there's a bit more stretch and flexibility in it as well.

Schematic sketch and the blanket I completed this morning.

Will WEIGH everything before going to post office this week !

ooh MrsH - someone else mentioned doing it that way - does it work with a mixture of 12" and 6" squares ?
I have one last vertical join and then bordering on my kit today. Then I have the second joint blanket ( mine and DD's) to start joining. But not until I have had DGS on a sleepover tomorrow night :)

lovely schematic! - and of course you can join up all the 6" into 12" ....

Wow MrsH that's lovely!

So what's the standard DC join? Is that the same as book linked to? That's the style I'm looking for, so there's a slight border between squares.

At the moment I'm just staring at the pile of squares, feeling slightly overwhelmed at the prospect of turning them into a blanket!

your joins look so neat ! I have a mixture of knitted and crochet squares in this kit . The top and bottoms of the knitted squares are fairly tidy
but the sides of the knitted ones always look a bit 'lumpy' when I do them

I do think knitted are harder to join than crochet in the round, yes. The way they want to move is different. I was lucky that most of this kit was crochet and all very even work.

I spend one evening making 6" squares into 12" squares and planning the layout. It requires squinting and distance as detail can be distracting, so often I just write a list e.g. "blue and green granny" "indigo lacework" and then plan from the list. Then evening two is joining and evening three is border.

And yes, use book 's link for the actual joining method, but later you might prefer to go c2c. I started using the diagonal method when I had a big mixture of 6" and 12" but now I prefer it for all blankets.

I don't have the eye for the most stylish/artistic layouts so I'm quite mathematical/geometric in how I put blankets together. I like a gradient if I've got a real mixed bag of colours, but if they're more similar then it's a matter of spacing out the detailed ones for balance.

Thank you MrsH! I am now considering the joining of squares - it's a question of weight as I'm ridiculously weak, but your diagram and explanation has given me pause for thought. I don't understand how you do the c2c for joining though, how does that go?

I think Jux that C2C means joining from corner to corner, ( rather than doing horizontal and vertical joins) using dc , using the diagram MrsH put up , rather than it being the c2c pattern IYSWIM ? - how are you, and your hands atm?

book has it - use a dc join but add squares in diagonal stripes rather than working in rows and columns. So the whole thing is built from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. It means there's a lot less manipulating of the entire blanket, if weight is an issue.

I'm not getting the joining method, I've read the tutorial but it's just not clicking for me

Is this tutorial any better?

Drop - here is a different tutorial for the same join, with pictures if it helps? HERE

It may be easier if you can watch a video. Bella Coco is usually good - try starting at 5:45.

good idea MrsH - I never found that one .... !

Oh you lovely wonderful people, thank you!

Morning all, am getting ready to send my squares. They are a bit (ahem) variable in size, so apologies for that but the smaller ones will stretch to fit. Whoops.

K&P I have posted my squares this morning! Enough for a whole blanket - I am very chuffed with myself . There will be more to come in a day or so - along with a few beanies.

Amazing work you lot! I've done 13 squares now - the first 10 or so have been posted. Will get as much done as I can and send the last of them off soon.

Hello Easter bunnies

Hi K&P number 14 nearly done. Feel like I might turn into a duck if the weather doesn't change soon!!!

Belated Happy Easter. We're away and there's no WIFi 😱😱😱. Currently in a cafe getting it for free. I'll have a few squares to send off next week - now run out of lavender . I'm trying diamantegal's use of Attic24 Hydrangea to make a square but it's going wonky. I've already frogged it once

17 squares done now - only three to go! I blame the bunny - he sulks when I crochet as he clearly feels I should be giving him attention instead. He has perfected the guilt-inducing sad face.

I sent a couple of boxes last Saturday with extras. Have they arrived? I know I sent them 2nd class and there was no post for 3 days over Easter, but would still have expected them to have arrived by now. Getting a bit worried!

I finally managed to send my blanket today. I had most of it finished by the end of January, but real life got in the way in February, so I only managed to get it finished a few weeks ago. Then it's been sat waiting to go to the Post Office for a week.