A bit of history
One of our family members, born in Ukraine, remembered the Soviet Union occupying Western Ukraine in 1939, followed by Germany in 1941. The Germans came to the village to take away the Jews and then the Armenians. Finally, they took Ukrainian teenagers to Germany to work as slave labour. After the war, those forced to work in Germany had to return to Ukraine, which was now part of the Soviet Union. However, on their return, many were treated as traitors. On hearing this, those still in German displaced person camps chose to go to the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. Consequently, there is a large Ukrainian diaspora around the world.
There is a lot to process there. Ukrainians have passed these and other tragic histories of the Soviet era to their children and grandchildren, which is why they resist the Russian invasion.
The current situation
At least 12 million Ukrainians are thought to have fled their homes: some are in safer regions of Ukraine, and others are in other countries. As long as the war continues, these refugees will need support. So, I am donating profits from my latest design, Sunflower Fields, to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal via the Disasters Emergency Committee. I have thought about the best way to do this and decided not to charge for my time to produce the pattern to keep things simple. Therefore, the profits will be pattern sales less Ravelry and PayPal fees.
Sunflower Fields motif pattern
The pattern for my Sunflower Fields motif is now available as a digital download from my Ravelry store; it costs £2.50. I made the larger one using DK cotton and a second smaller one using cotton Perle embroidery thread. If you make it using DK cotton, it will be big enough to use as a coaster; if you make it using a Perle embroidery thread, you could use it as a broach. Or you could make several and turn them into a garland.
The Sunflower Fields pattern includes charts and written instructions. It is available in four versions:
- UK terms for crocheting left-handed.
- UK terms for crocheting right-handed.
- US terms for crocheting left-handed.
- US terms for crocheting right-handed.
