craft hope {a project for little warriors}
I really like making things with my hands.
I really like finding ways to help others.
I really, really, really like when those two things come together.
I’ve posted about Craft Hope several times over the past few years. I don’t always participate in every project, but when I do I am so grateful for the opportunity. Last spring when FireCracker spent all that time in the hospital we made bracelets for a Craft Hope project. Back then I wrote about how our daughter’s middle name means “fair warrior” and how we hope she grows to be just that…a warrior for others. I wrote, “in the years to come when she hears the story (of her hospital stay), I want there to be something more than a broken bone for her to associate with this time.” I wanted her to hear about the beauty of how friends and family gathered around her hospital bed making bracelets for orphans and laughing as she filled her arms with them. You can read more about that day by clicking here.
This picture is from Easter Sunday 2011. She and I sat in that hospital bed making bracelets. I felt so powerless to do anything while we were there. She was on her back for 19 days…for an active one year old that is rough. In those 19 days, I only left the hospital once ~ to get bracelet fabric and go on a date with my son.
These are my grandpa’s hands making one.
Bracelets and stickers were her favorite thing in the hospital. The more we made, the more she put on her arms.
This picture sums up our time together in the hospital. She was a rockstar. I was a mess. She probably comforted me more than I comforted her.
Around the second week there, we got permission to roll her crib around the floor to go on walks. She was on the pediatric oncology floor. We would roll past rooms with tiny bald heads fighting like warriors. She simply had a broken femur. She did not have cancer. She was not fighting for her life. But….so many were. As much as I hurt for my daughter, a great deal of perspective is gained when you walk the halls of the pediatric oncology floor.
Craft Hope recently announced its most recent project: collecting handmade hats/beanies and bags for pediatric oncology patients. I don’t know how to knit or crochet, but there are other ways to make hats. There are tons of ways to make bags. Below you can find some links to posts related to this project and tutorials for how to make hats/beanies & bags. This is a great project to do with kids…or teenagers…or other adults.
FireCracker was smothered in love while she healed from a broken leg. Every visit and little gift brought her pure delight. How amazing to be able to do that for little warriors fighting cancer? What a gift it is to bring others joy!
Click on the red type below to be taken to those links:
More information on this Craft Hope Project
Extra details and info found on the Craft Hope facebook page
The 20 minute tote by Purl Bee
Messenger bag from cargo pants tutorial by Noodlehead
Polar fleece hat tutorials by Martha Stewart
Tutorial for a no sew fleece hat by Creative Jewish Mom
A quick search on Pinterest will bring up a TON of tutorial options for tote bags and hats
Update: The Craft Hope site works fine from my computer, but I had trouble getting it to open correctly on my phone. If you have trouble getting it to open, please leave a comment to let us know how you are trying to open it.