Heather Foeh

Oh, I love this new ad from the ONE campaign.

Want to join? It’s free. Visit www.one.org and sign up.

Woohoo - the September/October 07 issue of Crochet Today magazine featured a short write-up on Blankets for the Gulf and I’m happy to say that I’ve had a lot of emails in from new people who are interested in the project!

I’ve been a member/supporter of ONE.ORG for about a year now and am always impressed with their amazing ability to mobilize their members when a need arises. When there is a vote in congress that’s hanging on the balance, we all get an email and it’s painlessly easy to reply and sign the petition. Then, after the vote, we all get an email telling us the outcome (almost always positive) — which makes me want to participate again and again.

Now, ONE.ORG has launched ONE Vote 08:
    ONE voice
    ONE vote
    ONE chance every four years.
    Change the world.

They have five achievable goals that they are focusing on for the 08 campaign - check them out.

You can see Matt Damon, Bono, Rick Warren, Don Cheadle and others talk about it in this two and a half minute video.

Let’s wear the wristband and start spreading the word.

In 2005, right after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I launched a project called Blankets for the Gulf. I had an ache to do something and decided that my fellow knitters (and crocheters) around the U.S. could unite and make handmade blankets for the hurricane victims. My original goal was to collect 5000 blankets and I’m actually happy to report that I didn’t collect that many. For one thing, by the time I got to the 300 blanket milestone, I had to move my son out of his bedroom so I could use it for storage. (Thanks for sleeping on the floor, son.) I shudder to think where I would have actually put 5000 blankets… [This photo shows only 142 blankets!]

It was a very rewarding project and if you’re interested, you can read all about it on the website. We made two in-person deliveries to Cameron, Louisiana, which was leveled by Rita. (See the pictures from December 2005 and March 2006 deliveries.)

For a while last fall, I thought that the project was dead. However, an odd thing has started happening in the last few months. There has been a resurgence of people asking for blankets and (thankfully!) a reciprocal resurgence of people wanting to make blankets. It’s actually eerie how well the two sides have meshed. Every time I get a request in from a victim who wants a blanket, I then get an email from someone who has a blanket to send. Larger forces are at work here.

At the end of May, the National Weather Service released their 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook…and it’s not pretty. Apparently there is a 75% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 20% chance of a near-normal season, and a 5% chance of a below-normal season. What is “above normal”? Well, they’re predicting 13-17 named storms, 7-10 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes. If you want to geek out, you can read their whole report on the reasons they predict this (La Nina is one of them).

As the founder of Blankets for the Gulf, this prediction signifies BLANKETS to me. And in case you don’t knit or crochet let me give you a tip… it takes a long-ass time to make a blanket. Believe me, I’ve made a few for this project and I’m here to tell you that it’s not quick. So, I think it’s time to start making blankets NOW. That way, if a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast this summer, we’ll have some blankets to immediately send to people. If it doesn’t, then we can all give our blankets to other local and national charities that are completely worthwhile. Sound like a plan?

My sister has went to the dark side and she has a My Space page. She has been telling me that if I want to get blankets that I need to get a My Space page for this project. Hmmmm….I’m considering it. I can sacrifice my web design sensibilities for the sake of the greater good. Stay tuned.

If you can’t knit or crochet, you can always make a No Sew Fleece Blanket. Or, at least try to spread the word to your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and get them to start working on blankets or squares that can be combined into a blanket.