Knitters and crocheters love to make items and give them away. Around the country, an army of hobbyists are on a mission: to make blankets, hats, scarves, mittens, and more for those in homeless shelters, foster care centers, and hospitals who need them most.
Warm Up America! was started in 1991 by Evie Rosen in Wausau, Wisconsin, where she ran a yarn shop and saw that the local homeless population needed blankets during the winter. Realizing that it takes a long time to knit or crochet a whole blanket, she decided to ask people to knit or crochet blanket sections that could be stitched together later. This way, people could volunteer to make as many or as few sections as they wanted. She figured out the patterns for 7-inch by 9-inch sections to be made into full-sized adult blankets, children’s blankets, and lap blankets, and her plan got underway. Today, the organization is run by Craft Yarn Council, a nonprofit trade organization.
