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Tech Squares Blanket Shop

June 12, 2007

By Bill Lohmann

In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, the outpouring of compassion from around the nation made it readily apparent that, at some level, everyone's a Hokie.

It turns out many of them also knit or crochet.

More than 5,000 knitted and crocheted squares, mostly 8-by-8-inches and in Hokie colors of maroon and burnt orange, have landed in Blacksburg's Mosaic Yarn Shop in the past few weeks, a store spokeswoman said yesterday. Mosaic is where the idea originated to stitch together blankets for families of the shooting victims.

"Mind-boggling is the only way to describe it," said Belinda Ierardi, a Mosaic employee keeping track of the incoming squares.

Mosaic needed about 2,000 squares to make 32 blankets, one each for the families for each of the victims of the April 16 attack. With more than twice that received already, Ierardi said the shop hopes to oversee the making of blankets for the injured and the children of the slain.

"We can take it as far as we want it go to," said Ierardi.

Squares came from nearly every state and 15 foreign countries, word traveling fast through online chat groups and blogs. The Richmond area was particularly well-represented, said shop owner Gina Bonomo.

"We got boxes and boxes from Richmond," she said.

A May 22 story in The Times-Dispatch ("Square by Square, blankets for Tech families take shape") noted that numerous knitters and crocheters in central Virginia were making squares for the project. From the Heart, a volunteer organization whose members make hand-stitched items for those in need, sent more than 360 squares to Blacksburg, said Lois Moore, founder of the group.

A sewing party is planned for Saturday, in Blacksburg, at which the 32 blankets for the victims' families will be stitched together. Volunteers are needed. The event, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech, will feature sewing, food, games and a silent auction to raise money to pay for shipping the blankets to the families.

After the blankets are made, Bonomo said they will be displayed on campus for a week and then delivered to the families.

Contact Bill Lohmann at wlohmann@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6639.