Knitting

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Loose Ends Helps Finish Unfinished Projects

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I’ve been meaning to write about Loose Ends for a while, but they’re getting more attention thanks to a recent story from NPR.

Loose Ends is a group of volunteers that helps to finish projects left behind by people who have died or that the crafter is unable to complete because of age or illness. It was founded by friends and knitters Masey Kaplan and Jen Simonic, who both spent some time in 2022 finishing projects for friends who’d lost their mothers. Looking online for a service that did such work, they didn’t find one, so they started it.

In about 10 months the group has completed more than 600 knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing and other projects.

As you can imagine, knowing how generous crafters can be, there are a lot more people who have volunteered to help with projects than there has been need for helpers at this stage. The founders have been overwhelmed by the response and, as they are still doing all the matchmaking themselves, they’ve formed a board and applied for tax-exempt status in the hope they can raise money to hire staff.

According to the Loose Ends website, they accept most kinds of craft work as long as the project had been started and cannot be completed by the original maker because of illness, disability or death. Exceptions include items that are moldy or have moth holes, or a strong smell of moth balls. (Items that smell of cigarette smoke can be paired with a crafter who doesn’t mind the smell.) They also do not accept long-arm or large hand-quilting projects, though they can do piecing, binding and finishing of small projects like baby blankets or wall hangings.

You can apply to become a finisher on their website and let them know your geographic location, what crafts you do, your skill level and the kinds of projects you like to work on. They do their best to match people who live relatively close together and to give finishers projects that match their skills and interests.

I just love this so much and the idea of all those projects getting finished makes me so happy!

[Photo: Loose Ends]

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.