The Woodywoof Project
Providing Children with Comfort and Warmth
How You Can Participate
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Donations
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Knitters' Guidelines
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Contact Us
How You Can Participate
Our Project:
We provide hand-knitted blankets to infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and to children and teenagers with long hospitalizations and chronic illnesses. The blankets are intended to provide comfort and warmth while the child is in the hospital and at home. The project is named in memory of a dog that served for many years as an animal-assisted therapy dog and gave great comfort and joy to everyone he touched.
Blankets:
We are making blankets in four sizes:
* 23" or 26” square
* 35" X 41”
* 50” X 60"
Sizing is approximate. Any pattern can be used that is smooth and soft. Please avoid blankets with seams or any stitches that create a bumpy texture. Finished blankets should be washed in unscented soap and blocked. They can be mailed to the address shown above or brought to one of our Volunteer Offices at either
2351 Clay Street, Room 137 or
3700 California Street, Room B560.
Please include the label from a ball of yarn and your name, address, phone number and email address (if available).
Knitting Group:
We meet every Thursday from 2-4 p.m. at California Pacific’s California Campus at 3700 California Street, Level B, Room 560 to knit our blankets. It is not mandatory to come to the group. Many of our knitters are not able to come due to other commitments, but we would enjoy meeting you and having you join our group.
Contacts:
If you have questions or comments, please email Jean Scardina or call her at 415-585-5475.
Donations
We welcome donations of cash, yarn, and completed blankets. The California Pacific Medical Center Foundation will provide written acknowledgement of donations, which are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Woodywoof Project at CPMC Foundation and sent to:
CPMC Volunteer Services
Attention: Anja Koot, Director
California Pacific Medical Center
P.O. Box 7999
San Francisco, CA 94120-7999
(415) 600-3402.
Yarn:
We are using yarns specifically chosen to meet the needs of these very fragile children. They are all machine-washable, and very, very soft. Yarn donations should be sent to the same address as is used for cash donations.
Yarns we’ve identified to date include:
Please call us if you would like to use another yarn that might be suitable.
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Knitters' Guidelines
We would like to suggest that anyone wishing to knit for the project have, at least, some knitting skills already as we are unable at this time to help beginners with instructions.
Yarn: We have identified several yarns that are soft and smooth enough to meet the needs of our recipients. See our suggestions under Yarn above and refer to "yarn requirements" in the Knitter's Guidelines.
Pattern: We can supply patterns, or you can use your own. We ask that you choose a pattern that will produce a very soft and smooth blanket. A blanket with a stockinette stitch center and a garter stitch border works perfectly. We also have generic patterns that you can use. Please refer to "blanket patterns" in the Knitter's Guidelines for suggestions.
Sizing: We’re making four sizes of blankets:
* Tiny, which are 23" square;
* Small, which are 26” square;
* Medium, which are 35” X 41”; and * Large, which are 50” X 60”.
Blanket sizes do not need to be precise.
Gauge: For most yarns, we use a larger gauge than the manufacturer suggests on their ball labels in order to achieve a softer finished blanket. We recommend that you use a needle size that will give you the gauge listed with the yarns on the blanket requirements chart.
Yardage: We have provided guidelines for yardage required for each size blanket. The yardage shown is approximate.
Joining New Balls of Yarn: When you reach about 15" to 20" before the end of a ball, overlap the end from the new ball over the old and knit with both strands together until you've almost reached the end of the old yarn. Drop the old yarn and continue with the new. When you've finished and washed the blanket, the ends that remain can be carefully cut off.
Knots in the Ball of Yarn: If the yarn already has a knot in it, please undo the knot. Undo any stitches you have knit until you have an end of about 15"-20" and then proceed as if you're adding a new ball of yarn. (See above.)
Tracking Hours: It is very helpful to CPMC to know how much time you've spent knitting a blanket. An estimate is fine. This information is used to credit the Volunteers for the hours worked and has nothing to do with how fast you knit.
Finishing: Please wash and block your blanket when it’s done. See our suggestions for washing and blocking provided above under Blankets.
Returning the Blanket: Please mail or bring the blanket to one of the Volunteer Offices:
The finished blankets may also be brought to the Thursday Knitting Group between 2 and 4 p.m.
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Contact Us
Questions? Please email Jean Scardina or call her at
415-585-5475.