Photo by Jennifer Lindquist Members of Handmade Afghans Project discuss their plans for the afghan they are making that will be used to help a service member. Deborah Starobin-Armstrong, founder of The Handmade Afghans to Thank Our Armed Forces Project, spent a year of her childhood in the hospital.

Although she has no military background, when she heard of Operation Iraqi Freedom Soldiers spending time in hospitals for battle wounds, she was determined to use her gifts of crochet and knitting to help them combat the loneliness and cold she felt as a child.

The organization started out as a small effort, with Starobin-Armstrong's Family in Philadelphia and Florida.

"I did not believe it would get this big! I sent out an e-mail and figured we would all get bored and stop. Now there are almost 900 members in all 50 states," confessed Starobin-Armstrong.

The premise is simple. Members knit or crochet six by nine rectangles with 100% acrylic yarn. Once the squares are finished, they are sent to Starobin- Armstrong and she organizes a design party. This group designates which squares will belong to which afghan. She stresses the importance of having a variety of blocks in each afghan.

"If you look at an afghan that one person has made, it doesn't have the same personality as one that lots of hands touch," she said.

Each design party yields over 100 afghans, quite a difference from the first design party which made nine.

Once the afghans are designed, they are sent to ten military hospitals including Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center to be distributed to incoming wounded warriors. HAP has distributed over 1,525 afghans. Each blanket contains a thank you note reading "Thank you for your sacrifice and for helping to keep us safe."

HAP sends a box of afghans to DDEAMC twice a month. The Fort Gordon Red Cross then distributes the blankets to patients that need them, including warriors in transition who would like them in their barracks rooms.

Starobin-Armstrong is proud of the diversity of The Handmade Afghans Project. Members range from eight years old to 100, Republican and Democrat, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, male and female. Each of the 900 members does their part to help the Soldiers. Many make squares, some take pictures, some help update the website and others make donations to help with HAP's yearly $1500 postage costs.

"Everyone comes together. It is not an issue of our beliefs and backgrounds, it is what we can do to help Soldiers and be there for them," said Starobin-Armstrong.

For additional information or to join HAP visit http://www.rectangle6x9.org/.