When Hurricane Sandy hit on October 29th, the entire state of New Jersey was crippled for weeks by power outages, gas shortages, downed trees, and destroyed homes. Most of us are fortunate that our lives got back to normal after a few weeks. Unfortunately, my dad and stepmother were not as fortunate.

They live year round, down the shore, on a beach block in a town called Ortley Beach. His house was always a work in progress and delighted adults and children alike when they would walk by on their way to and from the beach. Most would ask to take pictures, and my dad always jumped at the opportunity to show off his labor of love (and his life-sized pirates).

Even with all of the warnings, no one thought that Hurricane Sandy would do the amount of damage it did to Ortley Beach. It hit the beach blocks with so much force, it’s a miracle that their house is still standing. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for most of their neighbors, whose homes were either shifted off of their foundations, or completely destroyed when the storm surge hit. As of today, it’s been 101 days since Sandy tore the beach, boardwalk, homes, and treasured belongings away from Fielder Ave’s residents, and they still do not have basic utilities. They spend all of their free time doing what they can to prepare for the day when they finally get the utilities that they need restored so that they can begin rebuilding the first floor of the home they haven’t been able to live in since October.

While seeing it in person is really the only way to really absorb just how devastated Fielder Ave actually is, these pictures still break my heart every time I look at them.

This pattern is a cowl that I created to let people know that the devastation from Hurricane Sandy is still affecting people fourteen weeks later. It’s worked in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, with two strands held together, so it is super soft and cushy. A couple of hours is all you need to work up this cowl.

100% of all sales of this pattern will go to helping my father restore his little slice of paradise on Fielder Ave in Ortley Beach, NJ.