Why Warm Up America?
I stumbled across Warm Up America! via the Craft Yarn Council’s Instagram feed. I’d been looking for a good project for all my scrap yarn, preferably something worked in small pieces but that wouldn’t require me to sew them together in the end. Enter Warm Up America!, which distributes afghans to local shelters, hospitals, and other charity organizations around the country.
What makes them different?
Knitters (and crocheters) can make as many 7×9 inch blocks as they want and send them in, where they’re joined with blocks from other crafters to make afghans in sizes from baby (20 blocks) to adult (49). (They do encourage volunteers to sew the blocks together and donate the afghans locally, but either way works — you can download their brochure from their website for full instructions.)
(Warm Up America! also accepts other knitted donations – check out their website for more info.)
Since I’m going to be knitting these afghan blocks, I decided to share them with you. Follow along with me, try some new stitch patterns, and share some love in the process!
*I’m not affiliated with Warm Up America! in any way, I just think their charity’s great!*
For each of these blocks, I used:
- Worsted weight acrylic yarn – This is the recommended yarn specified by WUA! so that all blocks donated will be the same weight, while also being machine washable.
- Size 8 needles – My gauge is about 4.25-4.5 stitches per inch.
The blocks:
If you’re interested in Tunisian crochet, you can see my two Tunisian crochet blocks using two easy beginner stitches here: Simple Stitch and Double Seed Stitch.
