The cat mat project was, as my mother would say, “a job well done.” But there are other knitting and crocheting jobs out there that knitters and crocheters can dive into to benefit the common good – people, this time.

First of all, those of you who want to keep knitting squares are encouraged to do so. Sew six together to form cat bedding, or more for dog bedding, and donate them to pet shelters in your hometown areas. Before you do that, check with the shelter to be sure your handiwork is wanted and needed.

It’s also a good idea before donating handmade items to local agencies to call first to find out whether there are guidelines that need to be followed, such as yarn type, size, colors or other criteria.

Melissa Hayward, director of volunteer services at the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor, said there is always a need at the center for handmade scarves, mittens and hats, which can be sold in the center’s boutique or given directly to patients. Call her at 941-4023 to obtain more information.

The Holy Stitchers at All Souls Church is seeking those who want to make and donate baby blankets which will be distributed in Honduras when the church youth group visits that country in 2009. Blankets may be knit, crocheted, sewn, quilted or purchased. To learn more about the project and how to participate in person or from afar, call Lynn White at 862-6847 or the church office at 942-7354.

The Linus Project, which provides handmade blankets to children undergoing treatment for various kinds of trauma, also would like your handiwork. Drop-off points for quilts, afghans and blankets are Jo-Ann Fabric in Bangor, Marden’s in Brewer, Sandy’s Quilt Shop in Stillwater, The Fabric Garden in Madison and The Fabric Inn in Farmington.

Linus Project coordinators are:

. Merlene Sanborn, Piscataquis, Penobscot and Somerset counties, mainelinus@panax.com or 965-8005.

. Sue Kirk, York, Cumberland, Oxford, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties, Portland.ME@projectlinus.org or 839-2275.

. Kim Hazlett, Aroostook County, kquilts@pwless.net or 532-1550.

. Phyllis Shea, Hancock and Washington counties, Pmshea1970@yahoo.com or 667-4989.

. Dyna-Kaye Curtis, Kennebec, Franklin, Waldo and Knox counties, Ryno23@uninet.net or 437-2203.

The Eastern Area Agency on Aging Warm Hands Project accepts hand-knit children’s mittens and distributes them to schools so that mittens are always available if a child forgets or loses them. Mittens may be dropped off or mailed to: Eastern Agency on Aging, Warm Hands Project, 450 Essex St., Bangor ME 04401. For information, call Rob at 941-2865.

Check with local churches to see whether they sponsor a shawl ministry program in which knitters and crocheters meet prayerfully to create shawls that are blessed and given to congregation members who are celebrating a life milestone or facing rumble strips in their lives. This Web site, www.dailyknitter.com/charity.html, is the place to find a list of charity knitting projects across the United States and around the world. Links include Afghans for Afghans, Hats for the Homeless, Mother Bear Project, the Snuggle Project, Socks for Soldiers, The Preemie Project, Warm Up America and Warmth Around the World.

Snippets

For more than 20 years, a woman in Kansas has been researching the magazines published by P.O. Vickery and John F. Hill in Augusta. To complete her work for publication, she would like to acquire about 122 more specific issues of Farm and Hearth (1888-1889), Hearth and Home (1889-1912), Vickery’s Fireside Visitor (1898-1907), and Good Stories (1899-1910 plus July 1934). E-mail her at ChloeQCumber@aol.com for her list of specific months and years needed for each title. For the same project, she also is interested in a few specific issues of Needlecraft Magazine (1909-1942) from the same publisher.

ahamlin@bangordailynews.net

990-8153