The Dallas Stand Down is This Month

Published: October 19, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. The Dallas VA is one of our longest standing partners and host one of the largest Stand Downs that we are proud to serve. Their Stand Down is taking place this month and we need you, our crafters and donors, to help us reach our goals and accomplish our mission. We need more hats, scarves, mittens, and cotton soap savers. Additionally we need more yarn. The Lion Brand Pound of Love in any of the darker colors are ideal as our staff at T.H.R.I.V.E. HQ can easily make 6 double-thick hats per skein. Please help us reach our goal to provide 400 hand crafted gifts for the veteran community who will be attending this Stand Down.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, or other handcrafted garment to our cause, please remember that the dear veterans and their dependents prefer dark colors, e.g. blue, black, green, grey, and all-time favorite, camouflage. If you would like to knit, crochet, or sew a garment in a brighter color, red or deep purple are always popular bright colors. We cannot emphasize this important point enough: please do not use sparkly or overly decorative yarns and fabrics. While they have their place, they are simply inappropriate for the veterans and their dependents (including children because of potential choking hazards). 

If you are not a crafter, but would like to help, there are still many ways to support our cause! Please consider donating materials and/or making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead.

If you have donations within Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can send your donations to us at:

Care of: Victoria Walker at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association
900 E Fayette St #1583
Baltimore, MD 21233

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).

Thank You, WV & KY! Next Stop: TX!

Published: October 12, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We had such a wonderful time serving the homeless military veteran communities at their respective Stand Downs in West Virginia and Kentucky. We still have the Dallas, TX Stand Down coming up this month. It’s one of the largest Stand Downs that we serve and, like West Virginia, is one of our longest partnerships. Please keep those hats, scarves, and mittens coming in; they really do make a huge impact on the morale and comfort of the veterans and their dependents who attend.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, or other handcrafted garment to our cause, please remember that the dear veterans and their dependents prefer dark colors, e.g. blue, black, green, grey, and all-time favorite, camouflage. If you would like to knit, crochet, or sew a garment in a brighter color, red or deep purple are always popular bright colors. We cannot emphasize this important point enough: please do not use sparkly or overly decorative yarns and fabrics. While they have their place, they are simply inappropriate for the veterans and their dependents (including children because of potential choking hazards). 

If you are not a crafter, but would like to help, there are still many ways to support our cause! Please consider donating materials and/or making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead.

If you have donations within Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can send your donations to us at:

Care of: Victoria Walker at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association
900 E Fayette St #1583
Baltimore, MD 21233

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).

Pro Tip: For the All-Important Cast On Row

Published: October 5, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Have you ever noticed that hats that you’ve made in the past have squeezed your head at the cast on row but fit perfectly well everywhere else? Likewise, have you made scarves or other garments where the cast on row puckers or is noticeably tighter than the rest of the garment? If you find yourself having tight cast ons, but knit/crochet true to gauge for the rest of the garment, this simple yet highly effective pro tip could be just the ticket!

For tight cast ons, try moving up a needle/crochet hook size for the cast on row. For example, if your chosen garment pattern calls for a size U.S. 8 knitting needle, try using a size U.S. 9 just for the cast on, and then change back to the requested size U.S. 8 knitting needle and continue knitting the rest of the garment. This highly effective technique is the simplest solution to tight cast ons. It keeps the cast on row looking neat and tidy while also providing some much-needed stretch to the garment.

Additional Pro Tip: You can use this same technique for the cast off row if you find that to be a tricky area, too.

We Need Your Support

Published: September 28, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! It’s that time of year when our larger partners’ Stand Downs are being held. They have larger homeless veteran communities that they serve, all of whom need our lovingly handcrafted gifts to see them through the colder temperatures. Getting the gifts to their destinations comes dear and we need your monetary support to help us to accomplish our mission. Please consider making a one-time or monthly monetary donation to support our mission. All monetary donations are tax deductible and directly help to cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead. Check out our web-shop where you can show your T.H.R.I.V.E. pride with our branded stress footballs, t-shirts, and popular wristbands! No donation is too small, as every dollar goes to help further our mission of providing our great nation’s underprivileged military veterans and their dependents with lovingly handmade garments as they continue on their road to recovery from homelessness.

Keep the Donations Coming!

Published: September 21, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We’d like to thank all of our wonderful donors for all of your generous donations! We still need more hats, scarves, mittens, and lap blankets for the vulnerable community that we serve. Please keep those beautifully handcrafted donations coming; we can’t do this without you!

If you are able, please make a monetary donation to support our cause. All donations are tax-deductible and every cent will be used to further our mission to end homelessness among our nations’ veterans and their dependents. You can also donate yarn to our cause. Lion Brand Pound of Love is a favorite and we can easily make 6 double-thick hats with just a single skein! Our veterans and their dependents prefer darker colors, like blues, blacks, greens, grays, reds, royal purple, and camouflage.

Goal: 700 Hats and Scarves

Published: September 14, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. There are several very large Stand Downs that T.H.R.I.V.E. Association proudly supports that are coming up in quick succession in the upcoming months. Please help us reach our goal of 700 handmade hats and scarves to meet the needs of the homeless military veterans and their dependents who are expected to attend these Stand Downs.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, or other handcrafted garment to our cause, please remember that the dear veterans and their dependents prefer dark colors, e.g. blue, black, green, grey, and all-time favorite, camouflage. If you would like to knit, crochet, or sew a garment in a brighter color, red or deep purple are always popular bright colors. We cannot emphasize this important point enough: please do not use sparkly or overly decorative yarns and fabrics. While they have their place, they are simply inappropriate for the veterans and their dependents (including children because of potential choking hazards). 

If you are not a crafter, but would like to help, there are still many ways to support our cause! Please consider donating materials and/or making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead.

If you have donations within Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can send your donations to us at:

Care of: Victoria Walker at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association
900 E Fayette St #1583
Baltimore, MD 21233

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).

Labor Day 2026

Published: September 7, 2026  ~   0

Happy Labor Day, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 and is meant to pay tribute to the American workforce. We hope you all have a safe and joyous holiday!

Thank You, DFW Fiber Fest!

Published: August 31, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We’d like to extend a big thanks to DFW Fiber Fest for once again allowing us to share our mission with our wonderful DFW crafting community! We always look forward to making it to this amazing event every year and we had a great time meeting with you all and collecting your generous donations. Every beautifully handcrafted gift will be cherished by our veteran community and every dollar given will go towards accomplishing our mission nationwide. We are truly grateful to you all!

DFW Fiber Fest is this Weekend!

Published: August 24, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! The DFW Fiber Fest in Texas is going down this weekend at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas and we’re going to have a booth there on August 29-30, 2026! We’re there to spread word of our mission and we’re also collecting your donations of handcrafted hats, scarves, etc. It is always a lot of fun and we look forward to seeing you there!

Meet Us at DFW Fiber Fest 2026!

Published: August 17, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We’ll be at DFW Fiber Fest on August 29-30! The event is being held on August 28-30 at the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas. For those unfamiliar, the event is a great opportunity to meet fellow crafters, learn valuable crafting skills, shop unique materials and tools, and also to meet with your local non-profits, like us at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association! We’ll have a booth set up to share our mission of benefiting our nation’s underprivileged military veterans and their dependents with our local crafting community and we will also be collecting your beautifully handcrafted hats, scarves, mittens, etc. and yarn for the upcoming Stand Downs! Come on down and check us out!