UPDATE: Sadly CFA Head Quarters has issued a statement saying that they are unable to use the cool ties.
Any that have already been made and donated will find another home once Amy and Di and Michelle come up with alternatives.
Thank you for anyone who has made some!
ORIGINAL: Amy Kallissa has created a pattern in conjunction with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) here in Victoria to help keep their firefighters cool …. hence the hashtag #coolthefireys
Cool Ties wrap around their necks or wrists or heads with water soaked beads inside to help keep them cool.
The pattern is free (click here to download or click on the image above) and you can sew them up using quilting weight cotton and Water Storage Crystals (Amy recommends the Hortico brand she bought from the garden section of the local hardware store )
The CFA need about 10,000 of these for all their firefighters, so this will give us something to do whilst we are feeling helpless watching the news coverage and aching for our fellow Australians in the midst of this disaster.
This initiative has been started by Di (@verandah_crafts), Michelle (@michmade) and Amy (@amykallissa) so head over to instagram and follow them to keep up to date and give them some love.
There will be some local collection points (Alice at Fabricland is one of them).
And here is to hoping the situations all around Australia improve soon.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3369440396430704&substory_index=0&id=213865715321537
Amy, could you respond please to what you are going to do with the next ties when made, now that the CFA has come out and said that they are not approved. So sad. Do you have a back up plan please. We made 150 last Sunday with a group of 12 women. They are coming again this weekend. They are now asking questions. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you so much Jillan! Yes, it is such a pity. Amy, Di and Michelle have been working on alternatives to where they can be put to use. I’ll update this blog post and my Instagram with the options as they are determined.