Look closely at a swatch of stockinette stitch, and you'll see that the stitches look like rows of little hearts. It's no coincidence -- knitting comes from our hearts as much as our hands, and that shows up in all kinds of ways.

Henry Schmidt found that out firsthand Monday, when Cheri Clark from

arrived with a huge haul of donations sent by crafters from all over the country, who were horrified by

and touched by the compassion he showed the woman accused of leaving him to die. "She's a human being, too," Henry said at the time. "I never like to see a person fall."

Cheri and a few friends had heard about the crash and had decided to put together a care package. When they went public with the project, people reacted immediately. "Portland knitters were crazy generous, and local donations were huge," Cheri says. "But I've received calls and packages from all over the country. Florida, New York, Chicago, California, Washington . . . "

Helping Henry

In person:

The Naked Sheep Knit Shop will take donations

until Monday, Sept. 30

. Any purchases for Henry are

15 percent off

. He prefers earth tones and has no fiber allergies.

By mail:

The Naked Sheep's mailing address is 2142 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217

Online:

A family friend has set up an online account for Henry. Donate at

The gifts were many, Cheri says. "Tons of top-notch yarn," plus a Dreamz interchangeable needle set, double-pointed needles sizes 2-10, books, patterns, knitting accessories and more.

donated baskets, a bag and supplies.

came through with yarn and books. And it just kept -- and continues to keep -- coming.

Henry, for his part, was "blown away." "To a certain extent, I understood the scope of the drive, having heard that people as far away as Florida and Massachusetts were getting involved," he says. "That being said, to unpack those baskets ... was to really understand the sympathy people felt for the situation. Those things were

heavy

; I'd never seen so much yarn off the shelf."

Cheri estimates the value of the donations so far tops $1,000. "A lot of what was donated was brand new, and chosen specially with Henry in mind, " she says. "Knitters might be using this as a time to clean out their stash, but [they're] definitely not sending 'what they don't want.' I feel like people are sending their best. It's very touching."

Henry's on the mend, and still trying to process the knitting community's reaction.

"I can't begin to tell you how surprised I was," he says. "All I had to do was mention I was a knitter and all of a sudden you'd think everyone was responding to close family in peril, the reactions were so prompt and heartfelt. I'm just some knitter and all I did was get hit by a car. How in the world do I deserve all this?"

He started knitting in high school, when a friend taught him the knit stitch. Later, in college, another friend helped his interest bloom. "She walked me through my first pair of socks, and from there, I just started knitting like crazy," he says. "Socks really teach you almost everything you need to know, or at least help you prove to yourself that you can figure most things out by that point."

He's since added hats and fingerless gloves to his list of completed projects, and last year he made his first sweater. "It took me way too long to finish," he says, "but I've never felt so accomplished." When he's up to it, he'd like to make himself a new hat. "I also love wearing ties, and I've been eyeballing two skeins that I think would make great wool ties," he says. "We'll see."

As he heals, Cheri continues to collect donations. "We just made the delivery on Monday, and I've received four boxes already (Tuesday) from Washington, California and Florida," she says. "The owner of Alchemy Yarns has a daughter at Lewis & Clark College who became friends with Henry early in their freshman year when they realized they shared a love for knitting. They sent two books and and 18 skeins of amazing yarn in a fun tote bag for Henry."

And Henry's plans for it extend beyond himself. While he'll definitely knit some of the yarn for himself, "I've been really into the idea of paying forward all of the caring and generosity I've received since the accident," he says. "I was planning on trying to teach some friends to knit, and then knitting some soft, warm garments together for the hospital or another willing recipient."

And in that, really, you have the soul of knitting: Tiny hearts in the work; huge ones behind it. Pull out a dictionary and look up "knit." The second definition in mine? "Verb. To become united."

-- Mary Mooney