The Hottie Project 2014

Dudes and dudettes, The Hottie Project is under way again in 2014. I took part in it last year and will be doing so again this time. For those new to the concept, the idea is to make as many snuggly hot water bottle covers as possible before 30 June. These will then be distributed, along with hot water bottles donated by KidsCan, to needy children of Christchurch. Many of these children continue to live in cold, damp and damaged houses over three years after the catastrophic earthquakes. They are a hardy, resilient bunch down there but the gesture of a practical gift would be welcomed.

Will you support this initiative too? The covers can be made in any mode you wish and you can make as many or as few covers as you like. The only requirement is that whatever you make is something that you yourself would be happy to gift to a loved one. All you need to do is register your interest and the information will be emailed to you. Patterns for crochet, knitted and quilted covers are provided by some really clever and inspirational Kiwi bloggers, as well as a handy generic sewing template created by the generous and caring instigator of this project, Lisa from Big Little.

Today, I sat by my toasty fire and cut out some covers from an old terry bathrobe. It is a good chance for me to use up some of my fabric scraps and to practice some appliqué and embroidery, techniques I quite enjoy but have not done for a few months. Be warned, making these covers is quite addictive; I think I will run out of terry fabric before I run out of enthusiasm. Next week, I will show you how they turned out.

I hope you will join me. Even if you do not consider yourself to be particularly creative, perhaps you could help by promoting the cause on your own blog or other social media pages. Any role you play, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, will be greatly appreciated.

* Photo used with permission of Big Little.