Flint Handmade hosts a social and charitable knitting and crocheting group called Yarn Brigade.
We meet at various locations in Flint and Genesee County on the Second and Fourth Friday of most months from 6-8pm. Check out our Facebook Events for more information.
If you would like to donate 10+ handmade items to any of our operations, please contact us by Facebook messenger or email. We will arrange a time for a FREE porch pickup in Genesee County. Donations are also gladly accepted at any Flint Handmade event. Thank you for your generosity!
If you would like to mail a donation, please send it to:
Flint Handmade
PO Box 13473
Flint, MI 48501
Yarn Brigade Coordinators
Our Yarn Brigade Coordinator is Hayley Randol (pictured front row, far right) of Good and Evil Studios. Our Assistant Yarn Brigade Coordinator is Liz Svoboda (pictured back row, far left). Special thanks to our previous Yarn Brigade Coordinators, Symantha Foreman and John Coleman!
StoryCorps Interview
Hayley Randol, Yarn Brigade Coordinator, and Crystal Pepperdine, Executive Director, recorded a StoryCorps Interview about Yarn Brigade. Click HERE to listen!
***
Current Operations
Operation: Warm Up Flint — All sizes and styles accepted!
We are always accepting handmade items for our annual community outreach project called Operation: Warm Up Flint. Every winter, we hang handmade hats, scarves, ear warmers, and cowls on fences and railings in Flint with small notes reading: “FREE TO A GOOD HOME! If you’re cold, please take me to warm up!”
Operation: Fiddlestuffs — All sizes and styles accepted!
Our knitters and crocheters create fiddle mats, muffs and cuffs to donate to residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia at care facilities in our community. These items keep patients’ hands and minds occupied so that they don’t hurt themselves or try to wander off. Tags are attached to the items that read “A gift for you! You are loved, respected and supported by our community.” Our Assistant Yarn Brigade Coordinator, Liz Svoboda, maintains a website of all of the “Fiddlestuffs” she has created.
Past Special Operations
2018 – Operation: Safe Slippers — Click HERE for crochet slipper pattern!
Operation: Safe Slippers provided handmade slippers for women and children staying in local shelters, especially those providing services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Tags were attached to the slippers that read “You are safe in these slippers. You are loved, respected and supported by our community.”
2019 – Operation: Mighty Mittens — Click HERE for crochet mitten pattern!
Our knitters and crocheters made mittens for local children in need, especially those in the foster care system. Tags were attached to the mittens that read “You are strong and mighty! Keep your hands warm with these Mighty Mittens!”
2020 – Operation: Fiddlestuffs — See above.
2021 – Operation: Soap Sacks — Click HERE for soap sack pattern!
Our crocheters made soap sacks for a local warming center to distribute to those in need. Tags were attached to the items that read “A gift for you! You are loved, respected and supported by our community.”
Flint Vehicle City Graphghan
“As Coordinator of the Flint Handmade Yarn Brigade, I wanted to design a corner-to-corner (c2c) graphghan that represented our great city of Flint, MI. All patterns feature Flint landmarks and themes, including Applewood, the Vernor’s Gnome, the Downtown Bricks and more. The blanket is done in mini c2c crochet and measures approximately 75” wide x 86.5” long.”
This graphghan was originally designed by Hayley Randol as a Crochet-A-Long with patterns released weekly and won a second place red ribbon in the 2018 Genesee County Fair. The complete pattern is now available for purchase as a PDF at www.goodandevilstudios.etsy.com. Email us if you are interested in displaying the Flint Vehicle City Graphghan at your location.
Crossroads Village Graphghan
The Flint Handmade Yarn Brigade was commissioned by Crossroads Village to create a graphghan for the 2018 Flint Fiber Festival. It was designed by Hayley Randol and crocheted by Abby Corcoran, Michelle Glick, Hayley Randol and Liz Svoboda. The Crossroads Graphghan can be viewed on permanent display in the Candy Shop at the Attica Hotel.
Nightmare Before Christmas Graphghan
This corner-to-corner graphghan was featured in the 2018 Festival of Quilts in Flint, Michigan and won a first place blue ribbon in the 2019 Genesee County Fair. It was designed by Hayley Randol and crocheted by Abby Corcoran, Christina Geisler, Sandy Gruber, Melissa Peterson, Hayley Randol, Liz Svoboda and Rachel Tisdale. It is available for purchase for $500. Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com for more information.
Rainbow Log Cabin Graphghan
RAINBOW LOG CABIN (2019) – NOT FOR SALE
Designed by Liz Svoboda
Crocheted by Christina Geisler, Sandy Gruber, Amber Payne, Melissa Peterson, Hayley Randol, Jessie Rose, Liz Svoboda and Rachel Tisdale
“As Assistant Coordinator of the Flint Handmade Yarn Brigade, I wanted to design a corner-to-corner (c2c) graphghan that was inspired by a traditional pattern since the project would be displayed during the 2019 Festival of Quilts.
The “log cabin” design became popular in the US during the Civil War, according to the Illinois State Museum and squares are traditionally constructed with half darker colors and the other half lighter.
I love the opportunity to use up smaller scraps of yarn left over from other projects and this quilt gave an excellent opportunity to play with so many colors of yarn that Yarn Brigade had in our stashes. I loved the group effort that is reminiscent of a quilting bee.”
This graphghan was designed by Liz Svoboda and crocheted by Christina Geisler, Sandy Gruber, Amber Payne, Melissa Peterson, Hayley Randol, Jessie Rose, Liz Svoboda and Rachel Tisdale. It is constructed out of acrylic yarn in mini c2c crochet and measures approximately 46” wide x 60” long.