1000 Hearts…
A few weeks ago, a friend of my daughter’s introduced her to this lovely goodwill gesture created by a young woman in Hobart, Sarah, who wanted to spread kindness and compassion.
Simple little pocket hearts, stitched with ‘love and good intentions’.
Sarah, whose idea this is, says:
‘I’ve sent hearts to people impacted by the Orlando nightclub shooting, the bombing in Manchester and the Grenfell Tower inferno in London. I’ve also offered thousands of hearts to charities, services and individuals who need a bit of love.’
People are now stitching hearts and giving them away in random acts of kindness. Baskets filled with hearts have been provided to the bereaved at funerals, they have been given to patients on intensive hospital wards, to those suffering depression and anxiety, to those feeling loss and to those who might just need a hug.
My daughter and I love them and decided to stitch some compassion and kindness ourselves, to then take them to places where they may be needed and appreciated. Especially at this time of year.
We’ve acquired felt and gone through our stash of threads and stitching’s begun.
I have to say it’s filling some lovely moments – sorting colours of felt and thread, deciding what or what not to stitch because baskets of unadorned hearts look just as beautiful as those with patterns all over. Stitchers have the knack of putting tremendous colours together which can raise spirits just by looking at them.
My only problem at the moment is that the type of wool felt I’m using frays so that I wonder if an anti-fray spray might help because the felt itself (Sue Spargo felt) is beautiful quality.
I’ve used both standard DMC thread – sometimes one thread, sometimes three. It’s fine for a delicate little design but I’ve also used perle thread (Gumnuts Perle). It’s wonderful and fills a heart surface quite quickly.
I’m off to the city to buy stuffing and can’t wait to complete a couple to see what they look like. I think I know where I’d like some of those hearts to go.
If you would like to stitch pocket hearts and offer kindness in this taut, tense world in which we live, click on the 1000 Hearts website and also have a look at 1000 Hearts Etsy store where you can purchase supplies. (I’m rather keen on the Liberty hearts.)
This is such a simple, such a lovely and loving concept, it’d be wonderful to see it spread everywhere.
Happy stitching!
Beautiful
They are, Libby. I’ve just ordered some textured thread mixes from one of the embroidery experts I follow (Pintangle) and think that stitching them up with textured thread will be fun. I’ve just remembered I have a host of beads and buttons just lying around but am slightly concerned about little children with those.
What a lovely idea! They’re beautiful!
And can be done by anyone, even with no stitching experience!
What a wonderful idea, and as you say, this time of year can be difficult for some. I’m off to look at the links! Thanks for sharing.
Oh Catherine, I’d LOVE to see what hearts you come up with!
What could a person who is allergic to wool (that’s me) use)
I would like to help too
Hallo Vera. Thank you for the question. I’m only a volunteer stitcher for 1000 Hearts, so I’m not sure of the protocol with allergies. But I’m pretty sure it’s possible to purchase synthetic felts at craft supply stores. Alternatively, maybe you could make hearts from cotton fabric with frayed edges. I’m sure that if one thinks laterally, there would be ways around the problem. Maybe email sarah@1000hearts.com.au. Thank you so much for your interest.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful outlet to show love and compassion. I’m pretty much housebound. But in that house is a vast stash of fiber and thread, and I love hand work. What a tailor made way for me to send some love and compassion into the world. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon this through Pinterest and I’m going to get the information and start looking for appropriate materials today. And thank you for providing sources for green wrappers and stuffing.
It’s a pleasure, Thea. And I’m sure you’ll get as much joy as we all do from stitching the little hearts. You might like to check the 1000 Hearts Facebook page and also the Hearty Ripplers on Facebook. It’s how we all keep in touch globally.