The Helen Root Scarf Project

she likes to create the crafts! She had started a few projects with the thought that one day she would get to them—once the kids were older, once the kids moved out, once she retired, once she had more time, once she felt a little better. Unfortunately, that day never came for her, and it made me very sad! All these projects and supplies that never got to become anything!! That’s when I gathered all the yarn she had—well, all the yarn that fit in our car for the ride home—and made a promise to myself that I would crochet 100 scarves within the next year to be donated to Harvest Ministries Food Pantry. They could be ready just in time for the holidays! So, I became a crocheting fool—always having a skein of yarn and a hook with me just in case there was a free minute to crochet—even if it was only a few stitches here and there. If you had seen me that year, you probably witnessed me crocheting at one point or another! Before church, in between my pantry duties, while at work, watching TV at night, before I left for work in the morning, in the car (as a passenger of course!)—any time there was a free moment. After awhile I became aware that this GIANT yarn pile was dwindling away quickly, and yarn is pretty expensive! That is when I started begging people for their spare yarn and raiding my mom’s and granmom’s stashes. I had many friends empty their yarn piles and I was good for a few more weeks, so I was very happy. Then came the saddest day ever—I found out AC Moore was closing!! My almost daily trips to check out the yarn sales would come to an end. But it was bittersweet because I scored some super sweet deals on awesome yarn! Then along came the pandemic, and I had some extra time on my hands while I wasn’t working. I asked my church family if they had any spare yarn they didn’t need and would want to donate to a really good cause. I was excited to receive so much yarn from a bunch of people, and once again I was good for quite some time. Then Delores and Sarah—both members of my church—reached out to me. Dolores Uncapher, Delores & Sarah’s mom/grandmom, had passed away in 2019, and she had spent most of her time knitting and crocheting hats to donate to pretty much organization you could think of. Dolores had an extensive yarn stash, and I’ve been told there is even much more! I was so excited to get a lot of her yarn though, because I know she would have been thrilled to know that I was making scarves for people that would also appreciate them. Shortly after that, my friend Bette stopped by the pantry on a Tuesday morning with her friends from Wilson Senior Center. They had BAGS of yarn and completed scarves, gloves and hats! They had seen my plea for yarn, and since they were shut-in from the pandemic had decided to start knitting and crocheting too!! It was overwhelming that these ladies I had never even met wanted to help me with my project! How AWESOME was that?? So, my best friend Tricia likes to crochet too, and makes crocheted masks. You’ve probably seen either me or my husband Bryan wearing them—he likes to wear the ones with the tongues sticking out!! Anyway, he was wearing one of those fun masks one day when he stopped at Philly Pretzel Factory before work. A gentleman in line asked about his mask, and the next thing we knew this man had a story of his OWN to tell. It seems that every few months he would head over to the Bensalem Senior Center with a giant box of all types of yarn. He liked to donate something to them that they could have some fun with—and we all know old ladies love to create with yarn! Due to the pandemic, however, they were closed down and he didn’t know what to do with all of this yarn. Well, THAT was Divine Intervention! The box he gave us was so big it barely fit in my car, and it was filled with great colors and styles of yarn—it was simply meant to be!! Well as you’ve read so far, this scarf project has taken on a life of it’s own. These scarves have so much love and life stitched into each one. From dreams of what could have been, to sales racks, to new friends, to car trunks—the yarn has been through quite a lot just to keep you warm and loved. Keep the scarf for yourself or give it to someone—just please know that the scarf you picked was meant for YOU. Oh, and if you were wondering if I hit my goal of 100 scarves, I stopped counting at 75—and that was just 4 months in!! WAY too many to keep track, since I’m too busy counting stitches and rows….stitches and rows…. 😊 Jenni