As I celebrate two years of existence of Blankets of Love South Bay, I am humbled and amazed at where ‘we’ are today.  Conceived in April of 2016 and formalized in July of the same year,  I had no idea it would be this successful and so many milestones and goals would be reached in two short years.

The very humble beginnings meant that for the first few gatherings, it was either me by myself, or me with one or maybe two people, knitting and crocheting and I thought, “this is never going to work”.  It will take 100 years to produce a dozen blankets.

Fast forward to August of 2016, when the Beach Reporter did a section in it’s paper called “Kindness” and they called me and asked if Blankets of Love South Bay could be included in the article.  COULD they?  You betcha!  I had to convince friends of mine to come in that day, one of which could not even knit or crochet, to make us a group of about 8 people so that the photos looked like something BIG was happening.

From that article, things began to change.  People came.  People knitted and crocheted.  People told other people.  Recognition came.  More articles appeared.  Blankets started pouring in.

And here I find myself at two years with over 1,000 blankets made and some 900 donated to worthy causes around the Los Angeles area.  Wonderful charities like Baby2Baby, Good+ Foundation, County USC hospital, Martin Luther King Jr Hospital, The Pregnancy Center, and a few other church and unwed mother’s groups have benefitted from these lovely handmade baby blankets.  All of them “made with love, donated in hope”.  (www.blanketsoflovesouthbay.com)

As I look back I know, without a doubt, if not for the amazing blanket creators, BOL-SB would be nothing.  I owe them everything and their continued support, loyalty, and involvement is the core of this amazing group.  Somehow BOL-SB has touched a nerve – maybe people are tired of simply giving money and want to produce something tangible?  Maybe frustrated knitters/crocheters want an outlet for their creations?  Maybe they are just kind and loving people who want to make a difference?  Maybe all three?

As BOL-SB moves forward and explores new ideas, I reflect again on the simple beginnings.  It was borne because of my son, Justin’s, untimely passing on January 25, 2016, from drug addiction.  He loved his baby blanket and so I wanted to remember him and give hope to babies in need.  Now that Justin has been gone for two and 1/2 years I come to yet another crossroads in BOL-SB by realizing that now, BOL-SB is not so much about Justin anymore.  It’s about those babies that need help.  It’s about wanting to produce something for someone who has nothing.  It’s about a cause bigger than us.  And finally, it’s about love.

And Justin?  He is soaring with the angels and he is smiling.