Anyone who’s ever watched “Sesame Street” knows that not all monsters are bad. Monsters, in fact, can be a source of comfort and protection. A knit monster is a great symbol of love and happens to also be pretty quick and easy to knit.
That’s why monsters were chosen as the theme for a group called 600 Monsters Strong for Connecticut, the aim of which is to provide a knit or crocheted comfort item to each of the children who attends Sandy Hook Elementary School. The group formed hours after the shooting, as reported by the Huffington Post, and now has more than 1,100 followers on Facebook and more than 1,500 people are in their group on Ravelry (they’re still discussing what to do if they end up with more than 600 monsters, which seems likely at this point).
If you want to take part you can join the group in either of those places and knit up a monster of your own (check the Ravelry page for approved patterns and other guidelines) and send it to Ohio by the end of January. This is such a lovely project I’m really glad to see it doing well. People just want to be able to do something, and this small gesture will probably make a big difference to those kids.
[Photo by Alex via 600 Monsters.]
I am going to be a meanie of sorts here: this is at least the third “make a ______for a kid in CT” I’ve seen. Beanies, pillowcases, now animals. We all want to do something because it hurts so much. But remember: there are children in YOUR neighborhood who could benefit from these same things. Maybe you should reach out to them first.
donate any above and beyond 600 to local police to carry in trunk and gv to kids when they respond to violence and kids are involved