A good winter project arose, though I hadn’t been planning on it. But I was asked by a neighbor to come up with a possible backdrop for a program he directs, and the nature of the event made me think of afghans. This neighbor directs the Homelessness Marathon, (http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org) a nationally televised and broadcast (on radio) 14-hour effort to bring the cause of homelessness to everyone’s attention. He wanted color in the background (his tv technies told him “anything but white”); I was thinking warmth. (unfortunately, a white stripe found its way in before I heard the technie announcement. Thus another project was born. Or maybe several! (Depending on time, help from others, etc.)

The idea is to have a bunch of homemade afghans hung behind the broadcast area (this is “talk” radio, so no one’s moving much). They generally broadcast outside, so the people involved in putting the program together are as cold as everyone else on the street – and this year we’re talking Detroit in February! Jeremy will drive the afghans out to Detroit when he leaves in mid-February; then he’ll leave them with a homeless shelter to be used by people who need them. I’m thinking perhaps some fleece blankets would also be good, as a backdrop for the afghans as well as more to give away.

So the top photo is the start of a one-piece afghan; the photo to the right shows the first pieces of a “Warm Up America” style afghan – this one will need to be assembled. This project is gratefully accepting donations of 7 inch by 9 inch rectangles for afghan assembly – I’ll need these no later than January 20. Any color but white! Unfortunately, I’ve got a lot of white yarn – but that can be used for putting the pieces together.