I’m not going to add fuel to the fire here but I think most knitters and crocheters will have seen requests for hearts to donate to Intensive Care Units up and down the country. Apart from the questionable logic of sending items into critical care areas during a pandemic, and the suspiciously similar wording which to me screams ‘scam’ it dawned on me that there are surely some more practical and tangible uses we could put our needles to right now.

Rainbows have become a real symbol of positivity and hope during this crisis and many people are placing them in their windows for children and others to spot on their daily walks. I’ve seen lovely chalked rainbows on pavements, kids drawings on sheets of craft paper and some brilliant knitted and crocheted ones.

And for the knitters - there is a knit version by the very talented Sincerely Louise - which can be found on her blog

And if you are looking to make things now, to save for future donations how about:

Premature baby hats

Hats for the homeless

Mitts or gloves

NICU baby blankets

At such a difficult time we all want to do things that help our fellow humans and the feeling of helplessness in the face of a constant barrage of awful news is very real. I’m not trying to be trite here but to sincerely suggest some projects that might help with that awful ‘I must do something’ feeling - but yet won’t risk overwhelming services that are already stretched to breaking point.

Please craft responsibly