When Sandra Tobin told her Lake Cathie craft group her idea to create 700 blankets for the people of Eugowra, they thought she was joking. "They were just killing themselves laughing," she said. "But 10 minutes later we had it all calculated out." "Once they stopped laughing, we just got down to the nitty gritty." The 'Circle of Hope' project was an idea that came to Mrs Tobin in the early hours of the morning. She had been watching the news coverage of the small community in Eugowra who had been left devastated by recent flooding and wanted to help. "I thought, that's something we could do as a group," she said. "A blanket is something that is a bit personal so I thought, we can do that [and] there's not too many people that live in the town. Piece of cake!" After doing the math, the women of the Lake Cathie craft group calculated that they needed to knit or crochet 'only' 28,000 squares to make the blankets hopefully by the end of January. Mrs Tobin's 3am idea has now grown into a full production line of women knitting and crocheting at the Lake Cathie Community Centre. But it hasn't just been the craft group that have committed to the cause. After making an appeal to Facebook, members of the community have donated the required 15cm crochet squares, blankets and acrylic yarn. The project has only existed for 2 weeks but through the women's dedication and community donations, they already have roughly 25 blankets. "It's been really wonderful," Mrs Tobin said. "I've had a lot of people responding and people from all over so it's been really really good." The crochet square for the blankets all include a circle with circles added to donated or knitted blankets to fit with the project's name 'Circle of Hope'. "I don't know why I chose that," Mrs Tobin said. "We just put a circle on so that it's part of the group but it's mainly to let people know they're not forgotten." Many Eugowra residents have been left with their homes and belongings destroyed after November's devastating flash flood. The small NSW town is over 700 kilometres away from Lake Cathie, but Mrs Tobin wants the residents to know that people are thinking of them. "These people have lost everything," she said. "Once people stop reporting about what's gone on, everyone forgets about them and [they're] just out there...trying to recover." "Country people usually... get out there and do everything for everyone and I think it's about time we give back to them because they've been going through tough times." The hands-on project has gotten every member of the group involved including those don't knit or crochet. Members can still help sew and assemble the squares with less confident crocheters learning more about the craft. Mrs Tobin used to describe herself as a 'closet crocheter' until recently. "I was never going to show anyone my crochet because I was a bit hesitant about it," she said. "This has turned into the thing I like the best. I've found I've really really enjoyed it much more than I thought so I think that I finally... found my little niche." Craft member Fay Payne, who has been crocheting since she was 12 years old, has helped other members with their crochet circles and squares. "Once they start, they love it," she said. "The whole group has taken it on so it's good." The' Circle of Hope' has also proven to be beneficial to the craft group who have come together for the project. Mrs Payne said that the project has been fun to do. "It's the first time since I've been in the group that we've had a project. I don't know that we will reach the target but we're certainly going to try." Mrs Tobin is determined to complete the job with even small donations from the community welcomed. "You can just donate a couple [of crochet squares]," she said. "One or two could make a difference. "It's just trying to get it happening." Donations can be made to the Lake Cathie Community Hall from Tuesday to Thursday between 9am and noon or picked up if arranged through the 'Circle of Hope Lake Cathie' Facebook page. IN OTHER NEWS: