A group of avid knitters is pulling together to comfort the students at Sandy Hook Elementary School, one adorable stuffed monster toy at a time.
Less than a day after the Newton, Conn. shooting which left 28 dead, knitters and crocheters on the popular website Ravelry formed the group “600 Monsters Strong for Connecticut.”
Founded by colorfulsheep, a member of the popular knitting and crocheting social network Ravelry, the group’s goal is to create enough monsters to send to every child who attended the school so that they’ll each have a handmade stuffed animal to hug and call their own.
Photo via heath3r/Ravelry
Colorfulsheep and the other moderators set a few guidelines that knitters should follow if they want to create a monster to send to the children at Sandy Hook Elementary. The toys should be washable, stuffed with polyester fiberfill, between 9-12 inches, avoid red if possible and the toys should be received in Ohio by Jan. 31, 2013 so that colorfulsheep can deliver them sometime in the spring.
Otherwise, knitters and crocheters can let their creative side run wild.
“[A]bove all – we want these monsters to be huggable,” colorfulsheep wrote.
Over 1,100 people joined the group in a matter of days, and their Facebook page already has 423 likes. Some of the group members have already finished their monsters and are using the discussion threads to post their progress and show off their work for the children.
“Here is mixtro the monster, one of the approved crochet ones. He was so much fun. I hope some kid loves to cuddle with him,” Ravelry user goldmoonjd wrote about her creation, a multi-striped creature with big eyes and a grin.
Photo via goldmoonjd/Ravelry
The group has received some criticism regarding the use of the word “monster,” but colorfulsheep, who says that she is in contact with people connected to Newtown, assures people that if a contact has issue with the word, she will stop using it.
“We don’t use the term ‘monster’ for any specific reason, other than those are the patterns we are using,” colorfulsheep wrote. “I chose monsters for this project because they are simple, colorful, fun, and easy to make a wide variety while still retaining some ‘uniform’ qualities.”
Many of the group members are even using the group to help each other process the tragedy and people want to help however they can.
“I like to think that we are knitting up some protection for these children,” Tivity wrote.
Many have already expressed their wish to help the children who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School, including the K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs, who arrived in Newtown, Conn. last Saturday.
Photo via danirobins/Ravelry