Guest post by Sarah Guenther, Craft Yarn Council
You may have heard of the Craft Yarn Council, but have you heard of Warm Up America!? WUA! is the Craft Yarn Council’s partner charity and collects handmade items that are knitted and crocheted by people all over the country for people in need.
Warm Up America! is based out of Carrollton, Texas (near Dallas) and has warmed people’s lives since 1991. It started in Wisconsin when founder Evie Rosen conceived of having volunteers knit or crochet small pieces which were then joined together by other volunteers. It didn’t take long for that idea to spread. These days, Warm Up America! distributes not only afghans, but hats, scarves and other items to tens of thousands of people, thanks to the generosity of knitters and crocheters around the country.
Warm Up America! was at Stitches Texas a few weeks ago collecting completed afghans to send to people in south Texas affected by Hurricane Harvey and inviting attendees to sit down and knit/crochet a square or two to be joined later. There was a good turnout; several afghans were donated and participants worked on knitting and crocheting sections throughout the weekend.
The Hurricane Harvey campaign is an ongoing initiative and the goal is to assemble as many youth and adult afghans as possible. Warm Up America! is looking for knitted or crocheted afghans but also accepts 7” by 9” sections too, which local volunteers assemble. You can send completed afghans and sections to the WUA! office, located at 3740 N Josey Ln,, Suite #102, Carrollton, TX 75007.
Want to learn more about WUA! and how you can help? Visit their website and current needs page to learn more.
Learn more about Stitches Events for fiber fans. Edie will be teaching at Stitches West in February 2018.
