Today I would like to share something very special with you. Recently, I was contacted by a lady called Emma who works for a very special organisation – the North West and North Wales Paediatric Transport service (NWTS).

The North West and North Wales Paediatric Transport Service transports critically ill children from their local hospitals to regional Paediatric Intensive Care Units for ongoing care. During Covid, when they were unable to have parents traveling in the ambulances with their children, they asked knitters to make matching hearts for the children and their families. 

The team carry sets of three hearts – one for the child and one for each parent. The child receives their heart while the team stabilises them before the transfer, and the parents are encouraged to hold their hearts during this time. Before the transfer, the hearts are swapped over, so that each family member holds the other’s heart. 

Emma explained that although this may seem like a little thing, it helps families feel connected at such a stressful time. The NWTS team has the goal of having 3 hearts to give to each family they work with, so their hearts remain together even if they cannot physically be together during the hospital transfer.

Currently, NWTS’s supply of hearts is running low and they are asking for help to boost their supply of yarny hearts. Emma contacted me to ask if she could share my amigurumi heart pattern for crocheters to use, naturally I said yes and asked if she would like me to spread the word about the appeal. 

So here we go, if you have the time to hook up a trio (or multiple trios) of matching hearts for this very special cause, please do! You can find my little amigurumi heart pattern here. It’s a pretty small pattern which is perfect for using up little odds and ends of yarn and a teeny bit of toy filling to make it nice and plump. It works up very quickly, so you will have your hearts made in a jiffy! Also, if you are going to be joining me with my Summer Craft Challenge this year, these little hearts are the perfect palate cleanser mini project to slot in between your other wips. 

“We would be incredibly grateful for help from anyone who enjoys crocheting, to create matched hearts for the children and their families. Our team carries sets of three hearts – one for the child and one for each parent. Right now, our supplies are running extremely low, and any contribution – no matter how small – would be deeply appreciated. The goal is to provide three hearts for each family: one for the child and one for each parent, so their hearts remain linked even if they cannot be together during the transfer” – North West & North Wales Paediatric Transport

When you have made your hearts, please send them to this address:

NWTS, Room 005, Newton House, Birchwood Park, Faraday Street, Risley, Warrington, WA3 6FW, United Kingdom.

If you do decided to make some hearts for NWTS, and you share them on social media, please use the hashtag #Hearts4NWTS so we can see all the beautiful hearts as they appear. 

I would be so grateful if you would please help me spread the word about this yarny heart campaign to help make a very difficult time a little bit easier for poorly children and their parents.

Thank you,

Lindsay x