This site is dedicated to Heartmade Blessings' Operation Purple Heart program (OPH). The purpose of this program is to provide an afghan called a comfortghan to the families of the fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. We provide one comfortghan to the next of kin to those lost in the United States and Canada and as of January 14, 2012, we have sent 2,150 Operation Purple Heart comfortghans.
Heartmade Blessings was founded in March of 2001, to send comfortghans to those experiencing illness and bereavement. After September 11, 2001, we were able to send over 300 afghans to the families of those lost in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93. Heartmade Blessings also responded and provided comfort to the families of those lost in the Columbia shuttle.
March 20, 2003, began the multi-national invasion of Iraq, and as the United States and Canada began experiencing casualties, our Operation Purple Heart program was started to provide afghans to the immediate surviving relative of the fallen solders in Iraq and Afghanistan. These afghans are made by members of Heartmade Blessings throughout the US and Canada and consist of 12 inch granny squares assembled to form one afghan.
Heartmade Blessings wishes to express our thanks to the North Texas Patriot Guard Riders for their support, assistance and friendship.
Our Mission Statement
Comforting the grieving; honoring the fallen.
For more information on our program, please e-mail:
hb-comfortghans-owner@yahoogroups.com
And to Heartmade Blessings member, Sandi Bee, who owns the lovely site Beezone to honor the fallen and is a member of the Montana Patriot Guard Riders.
This page was last updated: January 14, 2012
Many of our afghans include a gold star square in honor of the Gold Star Families. This square was designed by Heartmade Blessings' member Chris Simon.
Oh, Canada square designed by Heartmade Blessings' member Cindy Holten. Used in the afghans sent to families of the fallen in Canada.
This is one of our comfortghans done in red/white/blue assembled and sent by member Phyllis Glaz
This is an example of the comfortghans we send to the families of the fallen Canadians. This afghan was assembled by Bernie Mihalicz-Evans.
An article about Heartmade Blessings was recently published in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Crochet Today magazine, and we have received many inquiries about how to help us comfort the families of the fallen soldiers. If you would like to become involved in our program by either contributing squares or joining us, please contact us at
hb-comfortghans-owner@yahoogroups.com. Here are the specifications for our granny squares:
-- Use 4-ply acrylic, worsted-weight yarn (no cotton, wool, 2-ply or 3-ply)
-- Squares are 12" (side to side, top to bottom)
-- Leave all ends unwoven about 6 inches. "All tails wagging." This includes the yarn at the beginning chain, any color changes, the cutting out of manufacturer's knots, and the last tail. No knots, no glue, no fray check.
-- Any pattern is welcome, including the basic granny square
-- No washing or blocking is necessary at all
The colors we use for these afghans are:
Cherry red, pure white, royal blue (solid or combination)
Cherry red, pure white, soft navy (solid or combination)
Cherry red, pure white (for Canadian afghans, solid or combination)
Amethyst, pure white (solid or combination)
-- Include a tag with your name, city/state, e-mail address (if you are comfortable doing so, as recipients sometimes like to thank each square-maker). It can be a business card, plain card stock, or scrap of paper. Tie it onto the square with a piece of yarn or string.
Here is a link to a lovely site owned by talented designer Kim Guzman. This angel square has been used in many a Heartmade Blessings' comfortghan and is easily increased to the required 12 inches. Enjoy!
Caring Hearts, touching lives, one stitch at a time.
Heartmade Blessings recently discovered a new site and quickly fell in love with the pattern entitled Never Ending Love (Copyright 2010) designed by Aurora Suominen. The link to her site and many other lovely patterns is http://myblueangels.blogspot.com/.
