Oklahoma

Last night, I sat on the couch constantly checking the radar. Summer storms were starting to bear down on St. Louis, and my stomach was in knots. I watched as the red and pink masses headed straight towards Belleville, veering off at the last second. We only received thunder and lightning. Others were not so lucky.

We're all keeping our eyes peeled on Oklahoma. The damage done is heart-breaking. A town is leveled, and people are still missing. Others are forever lost.

But with tragedy, there is always a great hope. We'll watch as the nation pulls together. People with hardly anything will give what they have. Strangers will lend hands, and Moore, Oklahoma will rise back up from the devastating rubble, but it will take time, and it will take work.

At this time, I want CHA to be involved in the healing process. We'll have a crafting day within the next few weeks and start on projects for those who lost everything. In the meantime, I want to start up a crochet project, and I want all the help I can get.

In order to get as many afghans completed as possible, I'll be collecting granny squares to stitch together. It's an easy task for even novice crocheters, and it's a great way to get rid of the excess yarn you have sitting around. You can get the pattern here.

To keep the afghans a little structure, I will have just a few suggestions:

1) The ideal yarn would be acrylic, size 4 yarn (I highly advise Hobby Lobby's brand, I Love This Yarn).
2) Please gauge yarn according to package directions.
3) Please make each granny square with four rounds.
4) Please use white for the outside border (That one is a little picky, but otherwise, it would look really chaotic).

Please mail completed squares to:
1100 Prairie Ave
Belleville, IL 62220.

Also, please consider sharing this post. The awesome thing about this project is that you don't have to be in the St. Louis area to participate.

Thank you,

Lindsay Fickas