A Call to Needles — Edited

February 15, 2008 by missscarlett

This week our small company’s accountant received some devastating news. Her 4 yr old son, Brandon, was diagnosed with Lymphoma.

He hadn’t been well and went in for some tests, they were assured he was alright etc. etc. but then this Monday morning they recieved a call saying they needed to bring him in right away, that day, to begin treatment.

We were told about this at our staff meeting on Wednesday night and all of us are stunned. He is the dearest little boy - of course he is! His mother is the kindest lady & we all know his aunty, a fellow ECE’er who has this little guy in her home daycare. We have been thinking of ways we can help and provide support. My head has been swimming with ideas and then it hit me: a Comfort Blanket.

I would dearly love to be able to give this little boy, and his identical twin brother, Denver, a Comfort Blanket. A way to share love, hope and well wishes with him and his family. I am hoping you would like to help too.

If you would like to make 4″ knit or crocheted squares in your choice of non-acrylic boyish colours please leave a note in the comments and I will contact you. I am thinking it would be really nice for his parents if you included a postcard letting them know where you are from with your square or squares.

I’ve had some questions about squares - here are some answers.

Does it have to be worsted weight? No - it can be sock, dk, bulky etc. The choice is yours. As long as it is a 4″ square!

Does it need to be superwash? No. Though something machine washable is ideal since chemotherapy makes patients quite ill.

Does it need to be wool? No. It can be any natural material that is soft to the touch. Chemotherapy causes heightened sensitivity and acrylic can be especially irritating.

*Should we receive more squares than needed we will seam up more blankets to donate to BC Children’s Hospital.*

Please post a link to this project in your own blog.

Posted in Comfort, Kids | 21 Comments

21 Responses to “A Call to Needles — Edited”

on February 15, 2008 at 9:38 am1 RobynR

I’m in
on February 15, 2008 at 9:57 am2 Jenn C.

I’d like to help.
on February 15, 2008 at 11:23 am3 Charity

I’m in. Do I take it to mean any natural fibre, not necessarily superwash?
on February 15, 2008 at 12:10 pm4 Deirdre

Count me in, too, Michelle - how devastating…
on February 15, 2008 at 11:15 pm5 Barbara

count me in. I can help sewing it together when the time comes if you need it.

Barbara aka Soccermom
on February 16, 2008 at 5:58 pm6 Pam

I’m in too. What weight yarn??
on February 17, 2008 at 12:43 am7 tiennie

What terrible news! Wishing for the best for your accountant’s son.
on February 17, 2008 at 9:59 am8 Lisa E

I’m in, a little swamped but will try my best. What is your time frame? Lisa
on February 17, 2008 at 4:42 pm9 Liz

I’m on vacation this week so I’m sure I can knit a square. Is green ok? I have a small amount of green tweed cascade 220. That’s nice and soft. Just let me know.
on February 17, 2008 at 5:39 pm10 KnitPastis

How sad. I wish the best to him and his family there in Canada. God Bless him as he goes through this. May he be strong.
on February 18, 2008 at 5:33 am11 Cindy

I guess I am a little confused by your request for non acrylic yarn…I knit chemocaps and our centers require soft acrylic yarn because wool is too scratchy for patients. Something to think about. Best wishes to the child and his family through this most difficult time.
on February 19, 2008 at 6:22 am12 Georgiana

I would love to help.
on February 19, 2008 at 12:33 pm13 Venka

I would like to participate as well.
on February 22, 2008 at 11:23 am14 Tammy

I would love to help! I just followed the link here on Charity’s blog and was delighted to see it was “you”. I always enjoy your comments on the Ravelry Lost forum.
on February 25, 2008 at 5:20 pm15 Julie

I would love to help; I also came from Charity’s blog. I had a dear friend who had Multiple Myeloma (another blood cancer) and made her a comfort blanket with squares from the knitting community. It really made a difference to her; she was so touched to see that people she had never met, from all over the world, were willing to knit her some comfort and love. She passed away in December and I miss her terribly, but thinking about the comfort blanket and her reaction to it brings me great comfort.
on February 29, 2008 at 6:03 pm16 blindpurls

I found your post via Charity’s blog and I’d love to help out with a few squares.
on March 20, 2008 at 8:16 am17 Maybe this time it’ll stick « Knittnfool

[...] In the meanwhile there has been knitting — I really will post about it soon. And squares have been rolling in: [...]
on April 28, 2008 at 12:46 pm18 Pam

I need your snail mail address again. I seem to have misplaced it.
on May 23, 2008 at 10:47 am19 Pauline

I jumped over from a Google search for a knitted Swiffer cover and noticed your side banner. I seldom pass up the chance to spread some knittin’ love.

Let me know if you’re still looking for squares, I think I can crank out a few between blankets for all my friends having babies.
on May 26, 2008 at 6:13 am20 Kathleen

Do you still need squares? Or have you reached your goal? I know this post is from February, but I didn’t see a ‘goal complete’ message in my brief search of your site. Please let me know. I’m sure I have some non-acrylic yarn that would work.
on July 11, 2008 at 9:00 am21 Pauline

I finished some squares Can you send me your address so I can ship them on up?

Thanks!