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Loops of Love

By: Peter Carr

For some crocheting may be a hobby or a way to make homemade gifts, but for Sidnee Fry it is a way to give back to the service men and women of the United States.

“It’s difficult to think that there is no way for me to thank the service men and women who are giving and sacrificing their life and to me this (making afghans) is a way to do that” Fry said.

Fry learned to crochet from her mother when she was in the fourth grade. Fry said that she has not always kept up with crocheting but still enjoys making handmade gifts. It was Fry’s sister that introduced her to the Handmade Afghan Project (HAP). Now Fry has more than 50 people in the Muncie community helping to make 6 by 9 squares to be part of the afghans.

How it started-

The Handmade Afghan Project was started in December 2004 by Deborah Starobin-Armstrong.  Armstrong started the organization because of her own experiences in the hospital. “Having spent some time in the hospital as a child, I know they can be cold and lonely and since I knit and crochet I also know that afghans can warm the body and soul,” Armstrong said.  “It seemed a natural combination to start making handmade afghans for those wounded in service to our country.”

Armstrong’s goal was to have as many people as possible work on each afghan. Each afghan has 49 different squares, and each represents time and effort that volunteers put into making the blanket. Attached to each afghan is a thank you note and a list of everyone who worked on the afghan.

Since that start of HAP the group has made 3,052 afghans, a number Armstrong could not dream of when it all began five years ago.  “I actually thought we would make 30 or so afghans and then folks would lose interest. People are amazingly generous,” Armstrong said.

HAP has more than 1,700 volunteers in all 50 states and several from other countries.

Indiana HAP –

Sidnee Fry has recruited members of her church and friends throughout east central Indiana. The group out Yorktown now has more than 50 members.  Fry’s group has helped create 126 afghans in the past year.

“It is wonderful how so many people like Sindee have stepped forward to take on leadership roles in HAP,” Armstrong said.

How you can help –

Fry said that she is always looking for more volunteers. “We have people that help that had never crocheted until they joined our group; we are willing to teach new volunteers,” Fry said.

Aside from volunteering Fry is looking for yarn donations, help covering the shipping cost, or even someone who drives trucks to Washington D. C. that would be willing to transport the afghans to HAP.

For more information about HAP checkout their website,  http://www.rectangle6×9.org/