Knit a Plushie for a Kid with Epilepsy

Vickie Howell recently started the Purple Stitch Project, which asks knitters, crocheters and sewers to create purple items to donate to children with epilepsy. The project is Howell’s way of supporting and helping to build a community for kids with epilepsy because her son has the disorder.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder after stroke and Alzheimer’s, and is thought to affect about 300,000 kids in the United States. The project aims to raise awareness of the disorder and support kids through donations of hand-crafted items.

Just days after the launch of the project Howell came up with a specific need: producing 40-plus plushies for the kids who will attend Camp Brainstorm, a five-day camp for children ages 8 to 18 who have seizure disorders. The project has sample patterns in knitting, crochet and sewing, but any animal, robot or other small toy made in purple yarn (purple being the color of epilepsy awareness) or fabric will be accepted.

If you want to help you need to get your needles going, because the deadline to get the finished plushies to Howell is July 20. Good thing little dolls are quick projects.

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Once you get past the rush of the holidays, it’s time to focus on yourself and your home and what’s going to make you feel good for the rest of winter. For me, that’s having a homemade blanket in every room. I’m currently working on a granny stitch crochet blanket, but I wanted to share some cozy knit blanket patterns with you in case you’re on the lookout for something great to knit yourself or someone you love.

I have really been enjoying log cabin projects lately because they’re a great way to use stash and I love the connections between knitting and quilting. This log cabin scrap blanket pattern is free from Very Pink, and it includes a video tutorial if you haven’t done log cabin knitting before. It’s worked in garter stitch and has blocks that are connected by borders in a single color.

Speaking of scrap busting (since that’s on my mind all the time, but particularly when New Year’s resolution time rolls around), the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence is worked in a huge array of colors in garter stitch mitered squares. The pattern has options for working with sport weight or worsted weight yarn, and the blanket is worked in quarters and then sewn together, but the individual squares in each section are worked off each other for minimal finishing. Get the pattern from Knit Picks.

If you’re looking for an easy pattern that has a lot of texture, this quilted knit throw from Mama in a Stitch is a great choice. It uses chunky yarn in a single color to make a simple knit and purl pattern that looks like diamonds. The designer notes that a lighter colored yarn is helpful for making the stitch pattern stand out, but you can try whatever color you like.

Or go even simpler with the Bella Vita blanket from Christaco Design. This one uses super bulky yarn (or make it a stash buster by holding two strands of worsted weight yarn together). The pattern has a seed stitch border and allover knit and purl pattern, and includes sizes from baby blanket to California king.

If instead you want a project that will challenge you and occupy your mind as well as your needles, try the Aran texture cable afghan knitting pattern from Pattern Professionals. This gorgeous design features panels of cables and other textured stitches, and the pattern is originally form the 1970s. It uses worsted weight yarn and each pattern strip is worked individually and sewn together (though you could combine them into one big panel if you’d rather).

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