Tartans Weave Through Loose Ends Project's Success

Unraveling the origins of Loose Ends Project reveals a common thread — Carnegie Mellon University.

The nonprofit, which matches volunteer crafters with people who have unfinished pieces of knitting or other fiber art after someone dies or is unable to continue to work, was founded by Carnegie Mellon alumnus Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan.

The idea began at a reunion of Tartan friends and has captured attention from national media and corporate sponsors. Several social media posts about their work have gone viral.

In July of 2022, Patricia Gardner, a 1992 graduate of Carnegie Mellon's School of Architecture, hosted a weekend gathering of Carnegie Mellon friends from across the country.

"We had a really strong class of great friends, and we've all kept in touch with each other," Gardner said.

Among the guests were Simonic, who graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in biological sciences and is married to 1992 architecture graduate Spencer Welton; and Masey Kaplan, wife of 1991 architecture graduate Philippe Kaplan. After dinner one night, Gardner pulled the two women — both knitters — aside. Her mother, Phyllis Gardner was a lifelong crafter. A few years before, she made Patricia Gardner a beautiful blanket using double crochet stitches.

"When she was going through chemotherapy, she wanted my brothers each to have one," said Patricia Gardner. "She would work on one and then the other, at the same time, until she could not continue."

When her mother died in February of 2022, Gardner relocated the unfinished blankets, the yarn to complete them and the rest of her mother's crafting supplies to her home in Portland, Oregon, where they stayed until Simonic and Kaplan visited.

"We went into my library, and I asked, 'What can I do with this?'" Gardner said. "Masey and Jen said they would figure it out."

Both had finished projects for friends before. Instead of doing the work themselves this time, Kaplan suggested another approach. A veteran of nonprofits, she asked Simonic if she wanted to help set up a website to match crafters with people who needed help finishing projects.

Using grassroots efforts over a year and a half, Simonic and Kaplan stitched together an army of 19,000 volunteer crafters in 64 countries to complete projects for families. Volunteers are matched based on location and skill. Any fiber arts handwork is eligible to be finished — knit, crochet, sewing, quilting, mending, Tunisian crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, needlepoint, weaving, etc.

The Gardner blankets were among the first projects finished. One was completed by a volunteer 20 minutes from Portland, Oregon, and the other was completed by a volunteer in Rhode Island, the home of one of Gardner's brothers.

"I was able to meet both of the finishers, which was terrific," she said. "Getting those completed helped me feel at peace. Loose Ends made feel like everything that my mother wanted to get done could get done."

Simonic said wrapping up projects is a balm for the soul.

"We are making people feel better and giving some closure," she said. "There are so many problems in the world, and this is just one of those little things you can do that can mean a lot for somebody."

Simonic's grandmother taught her to knit when she was 6 years old.

"At Carnegie Mellon, I would knit during my classes to be able to pay attention to what was going on," she said. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, I would knit during work meetings on Zoom. I use knitting as a way to keep calm and show people that I love them. It's something very meaningful." 

A former high school biology teacher who earned her master's in education from the University of Pittsburgh, Simonic spent years as a director of communications and sales for tech companies. She said that the female role models she had in Carnegie Mellon's Department of Biological Sciences showed her how to be a strong leader and advocate for herself and others.

"In the '80s, we had Dr. Susan Henry. We had Dr. Beth Jones, they were amazing. Linda Kauffman ran the biology lab. Had I stayed in academics, it would have been because I had great leaders like them," she said. "One of the things I learned at Carnegie Mellon, and from them, that I've taken into all of the jobs I've had is standing up for myself and being confident in my knowledge."

Tartans were among the early volunteers and promoters. Eric Snider, who graduated in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in computer science, helped spread awareness of the organization. Shobana Albrecht, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon with both bachelor's and master's degrees from the Tepper School of Business in 1989 and 1990, respectively, was the 11th person to sign up as a volunteer and is a member of the board of directors as is Robert Bethge, who graduated from Tepper in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in industrial management.

"I crochet and quilt a little, but I'm not as good as some of the finishers that were joining," Albrecht said. "But in my work life, I spend a lot of time with spreadsheets and realized I could help with Google sheets, which is what Jen and Masey were using."

Albrecht works in the field of business development and helps with the backend management of matching projects and volunteers as well as providing advice.

"At some level, we all need sounding boards and our friends to stand with us when we do something," she said. "You have to have those people who you trust to talk to. Even before I was a board member, I was talking through questions with them about what they wanted their legacy to be."

Lauren Kaplow, who graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in policy and management, is another Tartan volunteer. Having learned to knit from her grandmother, she returned to the craft later in life. She signed up quickly to help out when she learned about the opportunity. Simonic matched Kaplow to finish a baby blanket just 15 minutes from her New Jersey home.

"It felt really good to help someone out and be able to knit," Kaplow said.

The nonprofit has completed about 1,200 projects so far with more matches happening every day. Sometimes a person will submit one project, and then when the volunteer meets with them, they mention five more additional incomplete items.

Masey and Simonic are looking toward the future. For example, instead of continuing to work in Google sheets, the team has volunteers who made a web app to make matching by location easier. They're also looking at ways to support the community of volunteers, who may someday leave their own projects unfinished.

"At some point, all of the finishers could effectively be project donators. What are some of the resources we could put into place to help them?" Albrecht said.

Sewing and fabrics giant JOANN recently announced a partnership with the nonprofit. Project Finishers will receive discounts and in-kind product donations as well as serve as designated meet up spots for loved ones and finishers to swap projects. During the month of February 2024, stores will have a point-of-sale campaign where customers can donate to benefit the mission of the Loose Ends Project..

"JOANN has always been deeply committed to our communities and there is nothing more inspiring than seeing the connections between our creative customers, their crafts, and the projects they give to those they love," said Chris DiTullio, chief customer officer and interim Office of the CEO. "JOANN is proud to partner with Loose Ends to continue connecting crafts left behind with finishers around the world, so loved ones can cherish the creator's memory in the way they intended."

Simonic and Masey are just getting warmed up, and the goodwill that they've generated has been exponential. They don't see the need for help slowing down anytime soon.

"It's really been a gift," Simonic said. "People are craving connections, and they're craving a way to help. We give people a chance to use their crafting a very meaningful way that promotes community and kindness."