Community Spotlight on the Loose Ends Project: Preserving Crafters’ Legacies

In our recent Community Spotlight on Gary Sligh, he mentioned working with the Loose Ends Project, an organization dedicated to connecting crafters with unfinished projects. The Loose Ends Project has crossed our social media feeds several times and we’ve long admired their work, so we were delighted to sit down with Loose Ends Project Co-Founder Jen Simonic to learn more about the organization. If you’ve ever stumbled across an unfinished work left by a beloved family member, and wondered how to honor their memory and their craftsmanship, you’ll want to learn more about the Loose Ends Project! They provide a valuable service connecting the crafting community and restoring, finishing, and preserving heritage pieces.

How did the Loose Ends Project start? What was the first project that started it all?

The Loose Ends project kicked off in 2022 when Masey and I were heading to a friend’s house for a gathering. Our friend Patty had just lost her mother and had a bunch of things she wanted to give away. In the knitting community, it’s pretty common for people to pass on a loved one’s craft supplies after they’ve passed. They usually look for fellow crafters who might appreciate the items, but not everyone is up for it since we all have our own stuff to manage. I bet this happens in the embroidery community, too!

So, we were sorting through all the needles and yarn when we came across two unfinished blankets. Patty mentioned that her mom had been working on these for her two brothers but hadn’t been able to finish them. In that moment, I thought, “Well, I guess we’re going to finish these!” Helping friends out is just what you do, right?

That’s when Masey chimed in, saying she had been toying with this idea: what if we reached out to other crafters to help finish projects left behind? She thought we could get some volunteers for it. So, we took the blankets and started asking around online for volunteers. Masey designed a website, flyers, and we hit the ground running putting up the flyers anywhere we thought we could find help and projects—it was a real grassroots effort! Before we knew it, about a month later, we had around 60 people interested in helping finish projects.

What kinds of projects does the Loose Ends Project accept? What are the requirements to submit to Loose Ends?

The Loose Ends project takes on projects that someone can’t finish due to illness or loss, like if they’ve lost their sight or can’t craft anymore because of arthritis. We’re here to help finish those meaningful pieces. However, if someone just got bored with a project or feels like they lack the skill to complete it, that’s not really what we focus on. If we did, I’d have a ton of finished projects of my own!

Are there any projects that Loose Ends cannot take?

We don’t accept any projects that someone doesn’t want back. For example, if you have quilts or blankets made by a family member but no one in the family wants them, we won’t take those on. A big part of this project is about the joy for the finisher in knowing they’re helping someone remember their loved ones. Just making something and giving it away doesn’t carry the same feeling.

Also we unfortunately can’t take stash donations at this time. But we do have a list of places and organizations that love donations of craft supplies and tools. Visit our donations page for more information: looseends.org/donate

How many projects has the Loose Ends Project finished?

That’s a great question! We’ve finished somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 projects. It’s not that we can’t count; it’s just that sometimes a finisher gets a project and discovers it’s not just a blanket—it might turn out to be a sweater, some socks, and mittens instead! We’ve even had a quilter who thought they were working on one project and found out it was really eight lap quilts, and they finished every single one.

We’ve seen all kinds of creative situations, like when someone has extra materials and decides to make more items. For example, if a baby hat and sweater were in progress, they might use the rest of the yarn to whip up booties or even a blanket. It’s not required, but it really shows the generosity of these crafters!

The Loose Ends Project invites volunteer crafters to join the effort as “finishers.” What are the requirements to become a finisher? How many finishers do you currently have?

We love inviting as many people as possible to sign up, and we’d especially love to see more folks who do embroidery and needlework join us as finishers! To become a finisher, you need to really enjoy your craft and have some proficiency in it. It’s also important to be responsive when someone reaches out and be willing to communicate with the person who owns the project.

Not everyone needs to be an expert, though! We match people based on their location, skill level, and the type of craft they want to work on. After all, not everyone who leaves behind a craft is an expert—there are plenty of beginner projects that still need to be finished for their families. Right now, we have over 28,000 finishers, including more than 6,000 embroiderers!

How long does it take to connect a finisher with a project?

That’s the tricky part! We have 28,000 finishers and around 2,000 projects, which means there’s at least 12 people per project. But the great thing is, the more finishers we have, the easier it is to find someone local. Building that local connection is really special. When we match someone nearby, it opens up the chance for community and friendship. Often, we’re connecting people who live just a few blocks apart but have never met before, and now they have the chance to become friends!

With so many finishers, you might sign up and not get a project right away, or you could sign up tomorrow and land one immediately—it’s hard to predict your path. But we’re thrilled to have as many finishers as possible because it helps us connect people with the right skills to get those projects done.

I like to think of this as the Red Cross for crafters. In a past life, I taught CPR and probably trained around a thousand people. I hope none of them ever had to use those skills, but it’s comforting to know they’re ready to help if needed. That’s what’s so remarkable about the Loose Ends project—so many people have raised their hands and said, “I want to help! I’m here, and I’m ready when you need me.”

What is the process of connecting projects to crafters? Does it just involve sending a project to the finisher in the mail?

No, we don’t just send projects to finishers in the mail and hope for the best! We really want to foster connections between people in their neighborhoods. When we receive a project submission, we look at three key factors: location, skill, and preferences.

Here’s how it works: when someone submits a project, they tell us what it is and how they’d like it finished. We gather that info and use our app to find someone in the area with the right skills. Then, we reach out to that person via email to see if they’re interested in taking on the project. They can say yes, no, or ask questions. If they don’t reply, we simply move on to the next person. Saying no doesn’t take them out of the running; it just means that specific project wasn’t the right fit for them.

The only way a finisher won’t get future projects is if they consistently don’t respond, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your emails! Once a finisher accepts a project, we connect them with the project owner so they can arrange to meet and transfer the project. We check in periodically to make sure everything’s going smoothly and ask for updates along the way. And when the project is finished, we love to get a photo or a video to share with our audience, showcasing all the hard work the finisher put in!

We know sometimes projects remain unfinished because of health-related issues. Does Loose Ends accept unfinished projects from crafters with arthritis and other issues? If so, do the crafters get their projects back?

We do accept projects from people who are still alive but can’t craft anymore due to health issues. For example, someone might start a project but then develop arthritis and find it hard to pick up the needle again, or they might lose their eyesight and can’t work with small stitches anymore. We’ve had all kinds of projects like this come through.

When a crafter submits a project like this, and someone finishes it, it goes back to that crafter or their family. We believe in returning the completed projects to the people they belong to, so we don’t take on projects that we don’t give back.

Do you have a favorite Loose Ends Project story?

There are just too many amazing embroidery projects to choose from! We’ve seen so many beautiful items come through, like Christmas stockings and decorative pillows. There are also smaller projects, like a nameplate someone was making for their grandchild that just didn’t get finished.

And then there are the big projects, too! For example, we have a needlepoint project in progress that’s a Torah cover for a synagogue—it’s a huge undertaking that will probably take about two years to complete. It’s incredible to see all the wonderful stories unfolding through these projects!

Latonia’s Alphabet

“Years ago, I joined a family. When I came along, they were grieving the loss of Latonia – wife, mother, daughter. Her time on earth was too short. She developed brain cancer and passed away. I never met her but I never grow tired of hearing the memories.

When John and I married and combined households, I found a bag with a cross-stitch project. John told me that Latonia had taken up cross stitch while doing chemo as a way to keep her hands busy, she planned to create a piece for a grandchild. Latonia was not able to finish that project before dying. It went into a box saved for “later”.
What a precious gift, created by her hands. But what to do with it? I couldn’t frame it, that would just highlight unfinished work from an unfinished life. I couldn’t finish it, that just seemed wrong. So, I cared for it through all the moves and many years.

Until I learned about two women who created Loose Ends, you have never seen someone drive faster to get home. I emailed, received a response and got connected with our finisher, Isaiah. John was hesitant to hand off such a precious item to strangers, but we were reassured by their presence and care.

Over the ensuing months, we got updated photos every Sunday. Finally, after 100 hours of work, it was done. We met for the handoff.

I can’t begin to describe the emotions that flooded us, as we beheld that incredible piece of fabric that had come to represent so much sadness and pain, now complete, full of such promise and love. Her grandchildren, my grandchildren, will never meet her, but they will know they are loved by her.

There is still some sadness, of course, that Latonia is gone, and that will never go away. But finally having this project completed, and in such an amazing way by such an amazing person, has been such a blessing for the family. That project started so many years ago, by a woman who only wanted to live long enough to meet her grandchildren, has now been completed, and they will know her by her love.” — Laura

Do you ever receive unfinished works-in-progress that don’t have the original instructions included. How would you instruct a finisher to approach a project like that?

Yes, sometimes we do get projects without patterns. If a project has been around for a long time, it’s possible that the materials got separated from the original pattern. In those cases, we check with the finisher to see if they’re comfortable working without a pattern. If they are, they’ll collaborate with the project owner to ensure everything is going in the right direction.

In fact, we currently have a cross-stitch project in the works that’s a great example of this! It was the cover of the Sweeney Todd PlayBill but the pattern was lost. We had a finisher design a pattern using tools she had and then we passed that pattern to another finisher who started the project.

Another project that had no instructions was this cross stitch started for a 50 anniversary celebration. We had to find a group of six designers to make a plan for the last squares that had not been finished. Once the designers came up with a plan a stitcher came in and finished the job.

Have you learned anything surprising while working on the Loose Ends Project?

One of the beautiful things about the Loose Ends project is that it really brings people together, no matter what their belief systems are or what political party they belong to. Crafting and experiencing grief can unite anyone. We’ve seen people who might not be friends in other circumstances come together to support each other in such meaningful ways during someone else’s time of loss.

It just shows how genuinely good people can be and how much they want to help others. All we need to do is create opportunities for that to happen, and I feel like Loose Ends is doing just that—giving people a chance to do something good.

Thank you to Jen and the Loose Ends Project for inviting us into their process, creating strong craft community connections, and providing a service that helps preserve the legacies of our loved ones. Learn more about the Loose Ends Project: https://looseends.org/