Hurricane Harvey Irma Relief

Thank you guys SO much for all the notes checking in on Puddles and I. We got a fringe storm from Irma, but came through unscathed and with no damage to our area.

This hurricane reminded me though of the one that blew threw last year causing massive tree damage to our area. In our neighbourhood alone, removing the fallen trees cost over $100,000. I can’t imagine the costs associated with these mega category hurricanes! The relief effort is going to take a long time, especially for those worst hit. Ravelry group member Andi, reported that a year after the flooding in Louisiana, there are still people in recovery mode. So keep mindful in the coming months of those rebuilding.

To that end, this blog is dedicated to 3 opportunities. I’ve long supported Samaritan’s Purse (headquartered in the next town over) – they have an excellent infrastructure in place for getting resources where they need to be. If you’d like to donate to a relief organization, it’s a great one to check out. They have teams already working in the Caribbean and Florida. If you want to see a documentary of their relief in action, check out “Facing Darkness” – a documentary on their work in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015. It’s available on netflix and amazon, as well as DVD, and will give you an insight into how they work relief as an organization. I just watched it and it was heart wrenching and amazing at the same time.

The Unique Sheep created a special colour for Hurricane Irma. Seeking a distraction from the storms, Laura came up with this bold gradient. They are such a wonderful company, they are increasing their typical 5% donation to 100% of the profits of this colorway to relief efforts. You can read about it here and find the yarn on their website here.

Loveknitting sent out an email that they are donating 100% of our US profits in September to the Houston Food Bank. So if you want your yarn budget to provide double the fiber, check out their eco yarns here! Note: they don’t have an “organic” tab so you have to pick the fiber you’re interested in and scroll through the results. “Vegan” pulls up all non-animal fibers, but does include synthetics. They also have a knit and a crochet pattern for sale for the relief effort as well.

I’m currently developing a design inspired by Irma pairing with a new to me organic cotton yarn dyer, BirdieKnits, who was also affected by Irma. As you know the design process isn’t fast, so I’ll talk more about this as once the pattern is closer to release. But I am thrilled to report that Birdie posted on her IG account that they have returned from evacuation to discover little damage to their home! She’s back up to dyeing and just awaiting the return of postal service before shipping out your orders.