Your Friday reminder that people are awesome. It’s our June newsletter!

“It makes you proud to be part of the human race. There are some good people out there.” — Sarah Psitos, Loose Ends Finisher

1. The Good Side: Turning Loose Ends into Healing

At age 75, Irma Jean Burton discovered a passion for quilting and started creating beautiful pieces of textile art. She was self-taught and loved color, mixing fabric, and telling African American stories through quilts. When she passed away, she left ten quilts behind, unfinished. Her daughter, Tamera, found them, submitted them to Loose Ends, and we matched all ten with several finishers. One of those finishers was Sarah Psitos, who completed two of the projects.

“It makes you proud to be part of the human race. There are some good people out there.”
— Sarah Psitos, Loose Ends Finisher

According to Tamera, several of the finishers working on her mom’s quilts told her, “Your mother was in the room with me.” Some heard specific messages from Irma, like “You’re on the right track.” All of the pieces have been finished and returned.

Click here to watch the whole story, published by Gray Media’s The Good Side earlier this month.

Special thanks to Debra Alfaron for this beautiful interview.

2. “I wish I’d found you sooner.”

Every day we hear, “I wish I’d found you sooner.” Sometimes folks have been carrying their loved one’s unfinished project around for years. Other times, they find us after it’s too late, and they’ve donated the bundle away, not knowing there was a path to finishing and keeping it.

Your gift ensures that more people find us when they need us. A donation allows our small team to spread awareness and connect more finishers with projects, bringing more blankets, garments, quilts, and artwork back to the family and friends they were started for.

DONATE TODAY

Give before July 1, and we will send you a small token of thanks.

Donate $25

We will send a hearty 2-inch sticker as a thank-you gift to every donor who gives $25 or more.

Donate $50

Donate $50 or more, and we'll send you an iron-on decal (black) as a small token of thanks. We’ll ask for your mailing address and for your choice of design from the two options below. Decal dimensions are approximately 7" × 5”. Iron onto a shirt or fabric you love (not provided).

3. Come by! A weekend of hands-on DIY and connection with 30 local makers, near Los Angeles

Do you live near Torrance, CA? If so, get here. It’s going to be a flipping blast, and Loose Ends was invited! Will we be there? Can we gather the makings of a booth and recruit a few LA-area volunteers with just 24 hours heads up? You’ll have to show up to find out. Details here.

4. Our Wish List!

If there is something below that you’d care to help out with, we’d love it!!

Know of a free indoor space in Greater Boston where a couple dozen volunteers could hang out for a few hours, stuff envelopes, chit-chat, and craft a bit? Please let us know!
Be the face of Loose Ends in your community. Help us spread the word! We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to give short presentations at libraries, senior centers, guilds, and community events. If that sounds like fun, join Jean for a presentation training and become a Loose Ends ambassador.
We are hoping for a crochet project submission from Scotland. Forward our info to your Scottish mates.
We’d like a knitting project submission from Alberta, Canada.
Are you an illustrator looking for a volunteer gig? We would love some help with a few small illustrations. Reach out here.

5. A Loose Ends Crossword!

We made you a crossword puzzle full of crafts, community, and Loose Ends trivia! Download & print it, sharpen your pencil (unless you’re a pen person), and bring this project across the finish line. :)

Click here to download.

And, since you’re already at the printer, consider printing a few flyers and dropping them off at your local library, community center, hospice center, or place of worship!

6. Stitch & Pitch / NY Mets

Stitch and Pitch NY Mets invited Loose Ends to come to the June 10th game and speak this year.

Although we were not able to present this time, we hope to make it happen next year!

A volunteer in the stands was able to snap some pictures for us.

7. Thank You Notes…

Thanks to Lisa Ha (@gettohookingcrochet) and Alicia Plummer (@aliciaplums) for offering free patterns last month to help us celebrate our birthday!

Thanks to Halcyon Yarn for offering two gift baskets full of crafting goodies to make Worldwide Knit In Public Day extra fun.

Thanks to Knit Movie Club, Swanson’s Fabrics, Jean, and all the crafters who showed up for an afternoon of crafting and watching A League of Their Own earlier this month. It was a rollicking great time for all, and Swanson’s went above and beyond with the freebies.

Please support our work with a donation. Any amount helps our work continue.

DONATE TODAY

You made it to the end! Thanks for reading. :) Masey

Special thanks to our craft industry sponsors. We <3 you!

“It makes you proud to be part of the human race. There are some good people out there.”
— Sarah Psitos, Loose Ends Finisher

According to Tamera, several of the finishers working on her mom’s quilts told her, “Your mother was in the room with me.” Some heard specific messages from Irma, like “You’re on the right track.” All of the pieces have been finished and returned.

Click here to watch the whole story, published by Gray Media’s The Good Side earlier this month.

Special thanks to Debra Alfaron for this beautiful interview.

Donate $25

We will send a hearty 2-inch sticker as a thank-you gift to every donor who gives $25 or more.

Know of a free indoor space in Greater Boston where a couple dozen volunteers could hang out for a few hours, stuff envelopes, chit-chat, and craft a bit? Please let us know!

Be the face of Loose Ends in your community. Help us spread the word! We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to give short presentations at libraries, senior centers, guilds, and community events. If that sounds like fun, join Jean for a presentation training and become a Loose Ends ambassador.

We are hoping for a crochet project submission from Scotland. Forward our info to your Scottish mates.

We’d like a knitting project submission from Alberta, Canada.

Are you an illustrator looking for a volunteer gig? We would love some help with a few small illustrations. Reach out here.

We made you a crossword puzzle full of crafts, community, and Loose Ends trivia! Download & print it, sharpen your pencil (unless you’re a pen person), and bring this project across the finish line. :)

Click here to download.

And, since you’re already at the printer, consider printing a few flyers and dropping them off at your local library, community center, hospice center, or place of worship!

Stitch and Pitch NY Mets invited Loose Ends to come to the June 10th game and speak this year.

Although we were not able to present this time, we hope to make it happen next year!

A volunteer in the stands was able to snap some pictures for us.

Thanks to Knit Movie Club, Swanson’s Fabrics, Jean, and all the crafters who showed up for an afternoon of crafting and watching A League of Their Own earlier this month. It was a rollicking great time for all, and Swanson’s went above and beyond with the freebies.

You made it to the end! Thanks for reading. :) Masey