Ukraine Winter Warmers Appeal!

Winter has arrived in Ukraine with snow already fallen, and with temperatures dropping to well below zero for the next few months, it is expected to be one of the hardest winters that the Ukrainian people have encountered since the Second World War. Keeping wrapped up and warm is absolutely essential, but for many of their people who are without heating and electricity this is going to be a huge challenge.

As lovers of yarn, most of us have huge stashes which probably sit in cupboards, bags and drawers untouched for many months, if not years. So we thought that if we could haul some of this together we can help the Ukranian people by providing them with yarn to knit up clothes and accessories and ready-made knitted items that can be used straightaway.

So as from today we are launching our Ukranine Winter Warmers Appeal and are calling on our wonderful community of knitters and crocheters to help us out.

We have started the ball rolling at Debbie Abrahams by donating a large amount of Debbie's 2022 Mystery Blanket bespoke yarn to a Ukrainian knitting group in Peterborough run by an amazing Hungarian lady called Katya. Sue met Katya through the children’s nursery that she works at, and she told Sue about the voluntary work she does to help special-needs families in Ukraine escape from the war zones to resettle in western Ukraine and abroad. Katya with the help of some of her lovely ladies has also been fundraising for the field medics serving on the Ukraine front line.

With Christmas approaching it was the perfect time for the yarn to be used to make socks, scarfs and cute angels and snowmen to sell at local Christmas fairs to raise funds. These are some of the lovely items made by Rymma (in the orange scarf) and Taitiana. Some of the socks and scarfs will be shipped to Ukraine to keep the soldiers warm. Don’t you just love those cute angels and snowman!?!

As there was so much yarn Katya donated the rest to St Olga's Ukraininian church in Peterborough for the local parishioners to knit clothes for the babies of Ukraine. In Katya's words, "do rest assured that your very soft yarn will keep those babies warm and cozy through the winter! "

After learning how much demand there was for yarn and handknitted items, we were inspired to see what else we could do to help. So this is why we are reaching out to you for any donations of yarn or handknitted accessories you can make to help our Ukraine Winter Warmers Appeal.

If you are able to donate any yarn (we are asking for half or full balls of 4-ply, double-knitting or aran weight in any colours or fibre) and/or a small handmade garment or accessory to keep the soldiers, elderly, children and babies of Ukraine warm this winter, please send your donations to:

Debbie Abrahams

c/o Sue Stowe

1 Mount Pleasant 

Spaldwick 

Cambs

PE28 0TG

You may belong to a knitting/crochet group that can help by knitting squares and putting together blankets. If you’ve been a Mystery Blanket or Mystery Cushion member you may have some left over yarn from those projects that can be donated or made into blankets.

We appreciate it's a busy time of year so if you don't have the time to make an item, any small amount of yarn from your stash would be appreciated which we will pass on to knitters and crocheters who will make items to sell to raise money.

Thanks to Katya's friends in London who take cargo to Ukraine twice a month, she will be able to ship all items directly to the families and soldiers that need them. Katya will ensure that the items made for children and babies are sent to Ukraine's children's homes and hospitals to help keep them warm.

Debbie and I would like to say a huge thank you to Katya for organising this and big thanks also to Rymma and Taitiana for allowing us to post pictures of their craft items made with the donated yarn. They are absolutely lovely and we wish them every success at the Christmas craft fairs.

And we would like to thank you in advance for any support you can give to our Ukranine Winter Warmers Appeal. You will find all the details about it on our website which we will update with any news or pictures that Katya sends us about the items that are made. Hopefully our combined efforts will help those in need and provide them with some essential warmth and comfort this winter.

Debbie, Sue and Steve x x x