Love

Published: January 30, 2021  ~   0

One of the key components of all of T.H.R.I.V.E.’s handcrafted goods is love. We’d like to thank our wonderful donors whose generous contributions, hard work, and love are crucial in helping us to accomplish our mission.

Although several of the Stand Downs that we support have been postponed or have had to be altered to keep our communities safe in this current pandemic, we are still collecting goods that will be sent to the various V.A.s throughout the year so please, please keep crafting! 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 need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us to make arrangements. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Memories and Rules on Color

Published: January 23, 2021  ~   0

As T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is preparing to send our annual parcels of donated handcrafted goods to the various Stand Downs across our great nation, we find ourselves remembering all of the wonderful veterans and their dependents that we have served in the previous years. Casting our minds back to a time when we were able to attend Stand Downs in person, we remember the many faces of the noble men and women whom we serve. They were all such wonderful people.

Please remember that many of these individuals are veterans (many of whom have served in theaters of war) who are keen to preserve their dignity – which they are wholly entitled to. Although pink and sparkly yarn might be fun to work with, it is not the preference of either the male or female veterans or their dependents whom we serve. We ask our volunteers and donors to please keep that in mind as they are crafting for our cause. Many of our brave veterans and their dependents prefer darker colors (e.g. black, blue, green, grey, brown, camouflage). The only exceptions that we have found to that rule are the deeper reds and sports teams colors.

Although several of the Stand Downs that we support have been postponed or have had to be altered to keep our communities safe in this current pandemic, we are still collecting goods that will be sent to the various V.A.s throughout the year so please, please keep crafting! 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 need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us to make arrangements. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Happy National Hat Day!

Published: January 15, 2021  ~   0

Happy National Hat Day!


Although several of the Stand Downs that we support have been postponed or have had to be altered to keep our communities safe in this current pandemic, we are still collecting goods that will be sent to the various V.A.s throughout the year so please, please keep crafting! 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 need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us to make arrangements. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Red Heart Ribbed Knit Beanie

Published: January 8, 2021  ~   0

Happy New Year to our wonderful T.H.R.I.V.E. community! To kick off the new year, here is a free pattern from Yarnspirations – the Red Heart Ribbed Knit Beanie. The pattern is available at: 

Red Heart Ribbed Knit Beanie

Simply click the “download free pattern” button on the right and it will open a pdf of the pattern in a new tab. 

At first glance, this pattern might look a little challenging, but it is in truth a great pattern for most knitters who are looking for something new, or maybe just for something to challenge them. The 1×1 rib creates a beautiful texture that stretches well and the crown looks so very unique while being relatively easy to accomplish. The pattern calls for the hat to be knit on size U.S. 6 (4 mm) needles which creates a nice tight weave. Despite the photo given in the actual pattern (which could be a little misleading), the hat does stretch quite well to accommodate most, if not all, adult heads. And, as many of our supporters know, our garments are going as far north as Alaska, where a nice tight weave is really the only way to go.

Like many patterns from Yarnspirations/Red Heart, this pattern lends itself quite nicely to yarn substitution. We substituted the recommended Heat Wave yarn with Red Heart Camouflage worsted weight (4) yarn that had been graciously donated by one of our awesome supporters. Camouflage is a big favorite among the community that we serve! After all, part of the fun of making and giving handcrafted garments is knowing that the recipient will love it and be proud to wear their new gift(s). We do aim to please our veterans and their dependents who absolutely love our handcrafted camouflage goods. 

Pro tip: if you have a jog at the cast on round when you join, cast on an extra stitch (e.g. the pattern calls for you to cast on 96 stitches, instead cast on 97). When you are ready to join in the round, (first, make sure not to twist your stitches) slip the first stitch on your left needle to the right needle. Now pass the extra stitch that you cast on (the 97th one) over the first stitch. Then, move the first stitch back to the left needle and knit as usual. You should now have the original cast on number of stitches (e.g. 96 stitches). This creates a nice and tidy cast on round, especially when the cuff is turned up.

Although several of the Stand Downs that we support have been postponed or have had to be altered to keep our communities safe in this current pandemic, we are still collecting goods that will be sent to the various V.A.s throughout the year so please, please keep crafting! 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 need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us to make arrangements. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Last Call for Washington State Stand Down

Published: October 13, 2020  ~   0

Tomorrow, 10/14/20, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association will be sending a package of our lovely handcrafted goods to the wonderful veterans in Washington State. We are still accepting donations for this shipment. So, if you live in the DFW area and have last minute donations that you would like to turn in for this upcoming Washington Stand Down, please call our office at (469) 427-9654 or email us at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org to arrange for a pickup.

There are numerous other Stand Downs right after this one that we will be serving, so please keep crafting. If you need ideas, please feel free to check out our blog for free patterns.

It’s Stand Down Season

Published: September 20, 2020  ~   0

Over the past two months, we have sent out over 440 of our lovingly handcrafted goods to the wonderful veterans in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska and the great states of West Virginia and Kentucky.

There is still time to donate! We have many Stand Downs coming up, with the next one in mid-October in Washington state. We are in desperate need of scarves in particular, however hats, mittens, etc. are still needed. There are other ways to donate if you are not a crafter. Please consider making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead. If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. For those outside of the DFW area, please ship your donations to our office at:

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association

9329 Springwater Dr.

Dallas, TX 75228

Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Happy Fourth!

Published: July 4, 2020  ~   0

Although our typical 4th of July celebrations are tempered by our efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, let us all still be ever mindful of the sacrifices of those who gave so much of themselves to ensure the freedom of this great nation. As has been said so many times before, freedom does not come freely.

There are several Stand Downs fast approaching and we are still working diligently to make sure that each of our nation’s brave heroes and their dependents receive our essential goods. There is still plenty of time to donate for these events. For those who live in the DFW area, we provide residential curbside pickup service. Please call our office to make arrangements. If you live outside of the DFW area and would like to donate handcrafted goods, we do accept donations via parcel post. You can also donate monetarily to our cause through our website at thrivevets.org.

Please stay safe and have a happy Independence Day!

Scarves Needed & Curbside Pickup

Published: June 26, 2020  ~   0

Happy Friday to all of our wonderful crafters, supporters, veterans, et al! Thank you all so much for your awesome support during these difficult times. We are working tirelessly with our Community Partners to find the best way forward through the crisis at hand. T.H.R.I.V.E. Association remains vigilant in its mission to ensure that our veterans and their dependents receive our essential hand-crafted goods.

Our organization is currently gearing up to serve several upcoming Stand Downs and we greatly appreciate all of the generous donations that we have received. However, there is still a ways to go to meet the anticipated demand. Our goal for the upcoming Stand Downs is to have as many scarves as there are hats. It is important to us that each veteran and dependent is provided a complete set rather than having to chose between the two much-needed items. As the numbers stand currently, there is a need for more scarves. There are several amazing free scarf patterns available on yarnspirations.com, ravelry.com, and garnstudio.com if you would like inspiration.

For our volunteers who live in the Metroplex, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association will continue our policy of residential curbside pickup of donations until the danger of Covid-19 has passed. If you have donations that you would like to turn in, please contact our office by phone at (469) 427-9654, or send an email to thriveassociation@thrivevets.org to arrange for a pickup time and date. Mr. Torrey Mirow is normally in charge of those pickups and he will call/text you to keep you updated about arrival time, etc. Additionally, please let us know if you need any yarn or other materials to complete projects for our veterans and their dependents. These materials will be put in a sealed bag with a “check out” slip enclosed and exchanged at the residential curbside location.

Our staff is continuing to monitor the situation across the United States very closely. We know that these are trying times for everyone – especially the homeless veteran population that we serve, who were already incredibly vulnerable prior to the pandemic. We will continue to strictly observe the guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control as well as those issued by the numerous municipalities that we aid.

Memorial Day 2020

Published: May 25, 2020  ~   0

Let us never forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

Although we are amidst a crisis and thus cannot honor our fallen heroes as we have done in years past, please keep them in your thoughts. This is the land of the free because it is the home of those brave men and women.

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association Update Amid the Quarantine

Published: May 15, 2020  ~   0

We know that this is a difficult time for everyone across our great nation. Quarantine can be tough, not just for our wonderful volunteers and staff, but also for the vulnerable communities that we serve. Although we are living in difficult and uncertain times right now, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association continues to strive to meet the needs of the homeless veterans and their dependents across the United States. 

Although quarantine has changed a great deal of our daily lives, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is still going strong and collecting donations to be distributed to the veterans and their dependents via the Veterans’ Administration. If you are located in the DFW area and have any donations for T.H.R.I.V.E. Association and/or need more yarn, we would be happy to do curbside pick-up and/or drop-off additional yarn. Please call our office at (469) 427-9654 to arrange a time and location. For those located outside of the DFW area, we are still accepting donations via post as well as monetary donations through our website.

We hope to be able to knit together with our crafting groups soon. Until then, we wish you and your loved ones safety and well-being. We will continue to keep you updated and provide free patterns and information in the interim. Please feel free to contact us with any questions that you have.