“When I first signed up for Loose Ends, I was thrilled at the chance to be a finisher for a project that would bring someone else a little joy. I had no idea how much the project would move me, too.”
— G.L., Loose Ends Finisher

1. A superstar among us:

2. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit and depend on donations to do this work.

Loose Ends is fundraising to hire the staff we need to keep up with matching and to develop the tech we need to grow. Every donation directly impacts our ability to match projects and finishers. All donations are appreciated. Recurring donations of any size help us plan ahead.

3. Impact: A look back at 2024: these stats are bonkers.

Loose Ends grew significantly in 2024, thanks in large part to enthusiastic press, yarn and fabric shops sharing our mission with their customers, and folks downloading and sharing our flyers in their communities. THANKS to everyone who helps get the word out!

FINISHER COUNT: 29,886
2024 NEW FINISHER COUNT: 10,247

PROJECT SUBMISSIONS: 2373*
2024 NEW PROJECT SUBMISSIONS: 1155

DONATED HOURS REPORTED: 56,277**
2024 DONATED HOURS: 33,778 (150% increase from last year)

AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS DONATED PER PROJECT: 55

FINISHERS HAVE SIGNED UP FROM 70 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

FINISHERS BRING MORE THAN 30 DIFFERENT TEXTILE SKILLS TO THE TABLE

*Our finished project count is 30-50% higher than this number due in part to folks unknowingly submitting multiple projects, and finishers creating extra items for families with excess materials.

** Only about half of the finishers who have completed projects reported hours. We suspect this number is likely double!

4. Loose Ends on CBS News (click)

5. A Recovery Story

Marc submitted his crochet blanket back in May of 2023. He and his mom designed this together, and she worked on it until going back to law school at the age of 60. After becoming a lawyer, it fell by the wayside until Marc submitted it to Loose Ends after her death.

This project was initially accepted by a finisher who was unable to work on it, felt bad about that, and so stopped communicating with us. With the help of the DiNatale Detective Agency, we were able to contact the finisher's mother by cell and her mom got the project sent immediately back to us. We rematched the blanket to the superstar Eugenia Opuda, one of our pilot finishers, a local pro, who lovingly and skillfully completed it for Marc and returned it to him. Note: Marc's mom was left-handed, Eugenia is right-handed... she figured it out. :)

The moral of this story is, we will do everything in our power to make sure projects are finished and returned safely to their owners. While things are not always seamless (no pun intended) when they're not, we have resources and don't give up.

The other moral of the story is, If you are a finisher who accepted a project and you can't get to it, THAT'S OK - just let us know. We rematch projects often, and it's fine! 

Thank you Eugenia, and DiNatale Detective Agency - and thank you to the original finisher who inspired us to improve our safeguards:

• We have a small team of PIs at the ready.

• We now collect finishers’ emergency contacts.

• We can match locally almost all of the time now.

• Loose Ends’ small team of three checks in regularly with finishers and are always happy to rematch a project if a finisher realizes they took on more than they can handle.

6. We need programmers with experience with Ruby on Rails!

Loose Ends is able to function, in large part, due to a crackerjack team of volunteer programmers, who created the desktop app we use to identify finishers. The app is fancy and effective, but it’s not finished. For the next phase we are moving our projects out of Google Spreadsheets and into the app, and to help with this, we are asking for a handful of programmers who are willing to help as volunteers. For context, here’s a snapshot of our app at work, showing us the KNITTING finishers in Seattle, WA, sectioned out by beginner, intermediate and expert. :)

7. In Memoriam & Special Mentions

Agnes Ross, Angela Walsh, Ann Ferguson, Anne Buerkle Friend, Anne Farr, Aunt Mary and Aunt Margaret, Betty Gibbs, Carla Reagin Ousby, Carol Kest, Catherine Rotunda, Cetty Curcio (my Mom ), Charles and Alice Correia, Cindy, my mom, Elizabeth Rothgeb, Ellen R. Carlson, Ethel Ross, Evelyn Baxter, Gerda Morda, Grandma Jean & Nelli the Morkie, Grandma Root, Grandma, whose knitting supplies went to the local library, Hilda Nielsen, Honoring Gayle who finished my project this year. So happy with the results. Yay, In honor of Jackie who made my mother's hooked rug usable again. In honor of Robbie Laughlin, In memory of Dorothy Pyle Cochran Stauffer - who inspired me to love others through food and yarn, In memory of Jean Nafzinger, Jan Gessert, Jane Roberts, Jane Rube, Jane Schultz, Janet Wray Powell, Jeanette Robinson, Joanne Glavin McClatchy, Jonathan Roussos, Joshua Malone, Lana Francis Tucker, Leone Goettsch, Lorelei Davis, Lurana Reed, Marion Secker, Marisa Mihich, Mary Jane Booth, Memory of Bruce Conway, Miriam Billingers, Monica Harris, My Grandma Lenore Dangremond, who inspired me to sew, My husband who finished every project he started, lived nearly 50 years with me, who finished a few, My mama, who embodied giving and taught me to love making things with my hands, My mom, Harriett Gore, My mother - Helene Virginia Farley, My mother Grace, My mother, Albina Montione, My mother, Pauline, My sweet Mom - Tenacious M, My wife Maria, Nancy Marcus, Nancy Y, Pat McNeil, Penny Bailey, Ruth L. Price, Shirley Timpy Powell, Tony H. Vos, Vicki Schwam, Virginia H Bonner, who was an avid and lifelong needlework enthusiast in the Federal Way, Wilma “Bil” Wilson, in memory of Jane Fuller, my grandmas, Mary Thomas, Jeanette Robinson, Patricia Mansfield, Jane Rubè, my mother, Elizabeth Orr: a very talented knitter, and a very kind and generous person. Betty Gibbs, Sandra Ciocci, Melita Parker, Deborah Hardy, Virgil Sparks, With gratitude to Hollie LeBeouf, My mother, Albina Montione

AND PS: Mark your calendar for FEBRUARY 3-28, when you can round up at the register in all JOANN stores US-wide, to support Loose Ends!