Fort Worth Mom Crochets 500 Scarves to Comfort Military Mothers Nationwide

Denise Bush, a Fort Worth woman seeking solace through crocheting, has crafted over 500 scarves for fellow military moms, forging a supportive community that now stretches from Utah to Alaska to Tulsa. Every scarf costs the recipient nothing but postage. The labor, the yarn, and the love are all on Denise.

It dawned on her one day that perhaps there were other moms who are worried sick just like she is, and maybe in need of a stitch of sanity, too. "I feel like God said, hey, I want you to make scarves for all the Navy moms who want one." The spark came from her youngest son's enlistment in the U.S. Navy. "Denise admits that she was so scared and nervous when she heard that her youngest boy wanted to join the military, specifically the U.S. Navy." As she told WFAA: "I was devastated. I mean, unable to function almost. All I did was cry and be scared. I was a nervous wreck."

One day Denise thought maybe there were other moms that were just as worried as she was and maybe they needed something to comfort them. That idea led Denise to a Facebook group for military moms and she offered to crochet personalized scarves for free, only asking recipients to pay for postage for the scarves with the name of whichever military branch their service member serves in. While the project began with Navy moms in mind, her Facebook page, called "Scarf Lady for Navy Moms and More," signals that she serves mothers from across every branch. "This is your mission. You do this for them," she said of her sudden calling. "Because they all feel exactly like you do, whether you know it or not."

The scarves have reached women across the country. "Denise, I adore you," said Shelly Petty, sending her thanks from Utah. "Miss Denise, you are a blessing," added Janice Henry from Alaska. "Just like what she's weaving here, she's connecting us," said Dori Matthews in Tulsa. One recipient put it plainly: "Wearing this just reminds me every day that no matter how hard my day is, there are so many other moms going through the same thing."

What makes Denise's commitment all the more remarkable is what she is carrying while she crochets. Denise has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, yet she continues to crochet to help others. She works most days from an easy chair in her Fort Worth home, crochet hooks in hand, with her pug Mr. Wednesday snoring on a well-worn leather armrest beside her. "I crochet every day," she said. "It's helped me get out of my head all the time. It's helped me not worry as much. I tell you what, it is doing its keeping me sane."

"I feel so blessed that they like them," Denise said. "It's more of a blessing to me than it is to them."

In that corner of a small house in Fort Worth, with a sometimes snoring pug keeping guard, Denise Bush says she will keep crocheting and connecting a family of military moms while also mending the frayed pieces of her own life. Military moms who want a scarf personalized with their service member's branch can reach Denise through her "Scarf Lady for Navy Moms and More" Facebook page.