By Cheryl Conway
Thanks to a kind-hearted Budd Lake woman, dozens of homeless veterans and their dogs will soon have a handmade crocheted blanket.
Mary Heddinger, 74, put her passion for crocheting to good use and donated 22 of her handmade blankets, six of which are for little dogs. Heddinger gave the blankets to Charlie Wood Uhrmann, founder of the All Veterans Memorial in Budd Lake and All Veterans Alliance on February to donate to a group of homeless veterans in Newark later this month.
Whether it is to keep them warmer, sit or lay on, or even roll up as a pillow, each blanket carries a sense of warmth from the love that went into each stitch.
“I have a soft spot for army vets,” says Heddinger tearfully as she speaks about her son Master Sergeant Daniel Heddinger who has served in the army for the past 23 years. “He’s in Germany so I don’t get to see him much.”
Heddinger, who works as a bookkeeper for Dietary Specialists, spends her free time crocheting.
“I learned it from my mother when I was in the teens,” says Heddinger. “She always crocheted as long as I can remember,” she says about her mom, Frances Novesl of Pennsylvania, who would crochet just for fun and for profit. “She could look at it and count the stitches and just figure out how to make it.”
Her mom would also make decorative items out of the yarn such as doilies and crocheted doll dresses.
“I never had that talent,” Heddinger admits. “I don’t get into anything too fancy.” She sticks to four different patterns that include shell stitch, chevron stitch, double crochet and single crochet.
“I incorporate different colors; I started off making sports colors,” she says.
When her husband got sick, she started to crochet more thinking that she would sell her blankets with the help from her daughter, Jamie Hans. But when her daughter got pregnant, the sale never happened.
“I was wanting to sell them,” says Heddinger, three years ago but there was no time for her to help me list them on eBay. “I just kept making them and never had time to sell them.”
She started to make baby blankets instead in different colors, such as red, white and black for the N.J. Devils, and red, white and blue for the N.Y. Rangers teams, since her daughter and son-in-law- Jamie and David Hans- are big fans.
She gave her daughter 14 baby blankets and then sold an afghan as a wedding present for her daughter’s co-worker’s son’s wedding.
When she saw an advertisement regarding donations to homeless veterans and their dogs, Heddinger contacted Uhrmann in December 2019 and knew she found the perfect recipients for her handmade creations.
Giving her baby blankets to dogs also holds a special place in Heddinger’s heart since her daughter spends her time training dogs to help guide others.
“I have a soft spot for both of them,” veterans and their dogs, says Heddinger.
Heddinger’s donated blankets are in all different sizes and colors She made lap blankets about 2.5 feet wide that cover the top of the lap to the floor; afghans double in size, about five to six feet long; and baby blankets 2x3 feet wide, perfect for the veterans’ dogs.
“I just piled them on the table and she took them with her [Uhrmann],” says Heddinger. She also gave her some handmade scarves with the leftover yarn to donate.
“Six are little dog blankets to sit on,” says Uhrmann. “They have flags on them. They are really made from absolute love. Mary’s blankets are absolutely beautiful.”
Uhrmann planned to deliver the blankets on March 17 to a homeless veteran community in Newark. These veterans live in a “little tent city,” and will greatly appreciate these woven creations.
“They can always use the blankets no matter what,” says Uhrmann, even when the weather gets warmer. “You can roll them up, use as a pillow. The blankets are always nice because they can lay on them.”
Uhrmann also plans to deliver 100 small string backpacks filled with necessities and first aid items.
“We have 100 because we have the supplies,” says Uhrmann. “There are so many homeless there.”
Passion For Crocheting
Depending on the size and color, Heddinger can take anywhere from three weeks to two months to complete a blanket.
“I only work on it at night when I’m done working,” says Heddinger, who says the craft relaxes her.
“It’s like therapy actually,” says Heddinger who has lived in Budd Lake for the past five years since her husband, Thomas Heddinger of Morristown, died in October 2014 from blood cancer.
“When my husband first died and I couldn’t afford a place in Morristown, I needed something to occupy my time,” says Heddinger. For two years, “I was taking care of him, so I started doing puzzles; ones that I liked, I glued and framed them,” she says, “but there is only so much wall space. So, I started crocheting again.”
With three granddaughters, the most recent born Feb. 16, Heddinger has given each their own blankets.
With four bookshelves filled with yarn, Heddinger is looking to make many more blankets.
For extra financial support, Heddinger is still looking to crochet blankets for profit. If anyone is interested, specify colors and contact Heddinger at 862-209-4241 and leave a message. Cost varies depending on blanket size.
“It keeps me off the street,” she laughs.
