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‘From the Heart Stitchers’ group has free patterns on their website - some good ones.

https://fromtheheartstitchers.org/patterns/

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Glad to see this article - the author is very popular in the area so the article will get a lot of ‘play’.

Lohmann: A yarn about yarn for the pandemic
https://www.richmond.com/news/local/lohmann-a-yarn-about-yarn-for-the-pandemic/article_48d1697a-630d-5707-9565-c9c0daa551e0.html

The scene looked a little like a CIA operation or a questionable business transaction, but it was really nothing more than a way to get yarn and fabric into the hands of volunteers trying to do some good.

Ordinary grocery bags, brimming with the goods — lined up in an alley, no less — for pickup by people who would promptly exit their vehicles, snatch the bags and then drive off.

“It reminds me of when we started this thing 20 years ago,” said Lois Moore, founder of From the Heart, a volunteer organization that creates and distributes hand-stitched items to people who are sick or otherwise in need. Now, there are almost 1,800 members; then, there were just a few of her friends.

“I’d pull up to a Starbucks and open the trunk of the car and they would come from everywhere to get their yarn. People in Starbucks wondered what was going on. They’d ask me, ‘What are you selling out there?’” she said with a laugh.

Now, though, the reason for the curious scene is COVID-19.

Over the years, From the Heart volunteers have made all sorts of things: hats and blankets for cancer patients; baby blankets; hats, sweaters and booties for premature babies and newborns; teddy bears wearing hand-stitched outfits and soft hand-created toys for pediatric emergency rooms; wheelchair blankets and totes for veterans and others in hospital and hospice; and socks, scarves, mittens and even sleeping bags for the homeless.

More at the link.

I have a little great-niece who will be 4 this month. What to give her for a present? I do NOT do "junk" presents ... always try to do something educational or meaningful & try to do handmade if I can. When she was 2, I made her an "egg apron" - she loved it and still uses it. Last summer, she and her mom had a zinnia garden - they had lots of butterflies and took pictures of all the different ones. She loves flowers. I found this sweet little necklace to make for her (I'll size it down), plus I'm giving her some fancy, colored egg cartons I found, She has a little egg enterprise - accepts donations for a dozen eggs & currently has a waiting list since eggs are scarce in the stores. The colored cartons can be used for crafts or for giving eggs to special people.

So here are the patterns ... flower necklace & the egg apron.

Flower Necklace – Hawaiian Dream

An Egg-cellent Apron: Free Crochet Pattern

Note: there is a link to a child-sized apron on the above link & that is the one I made. I “did my own thing” on the waist band to make it sturdier & I was happy with the results.

Anyone here have experience growing cotton in a northern climate?

I’m experimenting with a few fiber plants in my garden this year. I even found a source for heirloom cotton seeds! I bought 3 different colors: brown, green, and white. But I know that cotton needs a long growing season, so I’m kind of winging it. The seeds are being started indoors, then will be transplanted after the danger of frost has passed. I have no idea how well cotton handles transplanting, or if starting them indoors will give them enough of a jump-start to make it to harvest.

I’m also growing a few flax plants, but I know those will grow here.

My loom arrived a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been so busy with other stuff I haven’t unboxed it yet. Planning to do that on the next rainy day.

I started a top down raglan sweater a week or so ago from a bunch of olive green Lion Brand Suede that someone gave me recently.

I’m past the underarm division and onto the body and now I’ve gotten bored. It’s just basic back and forth which is great for watching tv, but I’m tv’d out also.

I am loathe to give up ravelry because I have so much saved on there. I have a lot of organized pinterest boards also.