Good morning everyone!!

Is everyone getting ready for the storm this weekend? I have all kinds of projects lined up!

Quiltmaker Magazine and National Make a Blanket Day
For many years, Quiltmaker Magazine has come out with a pattern just for Project Linus National Make a Blanket Day in February. The pattern for 2010 is available on their web site, and will be in their Jan/Feb issue...Kite 'n Kaboodle! This is a really cute paper pieced pattern rated 'Easy'. The web link to the pattern is
http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=10533.
National Make a Blanket Day is February 20, 2010.


December Blanket Day
Our next blanket day will be Saturday, December 12, 10:30-2:30 at the Moose Lodge in Black Eagle. We will be celebrating the holidays with a pot luck luncheon as well. I haven't received very many responses to the invitation. Please let me know if you'll be coming.

Riverside Youth Correctional Facility
We now have some of the girls at the Riverside YCF in Boulder creating blankets for us. We provided some yarn and fleece prepared for crocheting. I've gotten the first blankets back and they are wonderful! We'll get more supplies to them soon. Thanks to these girls for all their efforts!

Blankets for Law Enforcement Officers
At the last blanket day, Cindy told me they had an officer speak to the Peace Lutheran Quilters. He mentioned that they could use more blankets. I got the contact info from her and have sent an email to him to find out what they can use. Thanks, Cindy, for helping to get this going!

Bereavement Blankets for St. Petes
I received a call from a counselor at St. Petes in Helena who would like some small blankets for the parents who lose a baby...something that they will keep and hold and remember the child. I will be sending her one or two soon so she can decide if she would like it bigger, smaller, etc. She t told me she could use 15 to 20 a year.

She has told me a story of a teenager with CP she gave a blanket. She said she was so thrilled with it and snuggled it the whole time she was there. She could not speak more highly of all the work you ladies have done and how beautiful the blankets are that you create!

I think that's all for now! Take care and I hope to see you the 12th!
gina

Hi everyone and happy week before Thanksgiving!!!

I love fall and I love the holidays! Even with the busy schedules and chaos, I love it! I only wish it didn't fly by so quickly!!!

We had the Herberger's sale and the Blanket Bee both last Saturday. What a wonderfully crazy day! It was such a joy to sell 51 coupon books and take in 51 blankets all in one day!! I'm not kidding... what do you think the odds are of that happening?!?!?

Holiday Pot Luck and Blanket Bee
We've gotten permission from the Moose Lodge to have a Pot Luck luncheon during our December Blanket Bee. I've sent everyone an invitation, and there is even a place on the invitation to indicate what you'll bring for the Pot Luck. You can choose from a hot dish, side dish, salad or dessert. If anyone thinks of a category I've forgotten, please let me know, I'll add that to the list. The lists have a designated numbers of items... and as people sign up for them, the list will be reduced. Kindof cool, I thought!! I'm hoping some of you from Helena will come up and join us!

Challenge Quilts
I've gotten the first entry for the challenge blanket! Thanks, Sharon! I still have pieces of the challenge fabric left, so let me know if you want to participate. The blankets are due by December 15 (I think that was the date)... and there will be prizes!!

Mystery Quilts
I've also gotten one of the Mystery Quilts!!! Very cute, Cindy! Several folks said they didn't get the templates for the flowers or the hearts. The hearts on the pattern are the swished heart in the Project Linus logo, though Cindy's are simple hearts and are just adorable! The flowers are just 5-petaled flowers with round centers.

Premmies
My supplies of premmie sized blankets has gotten low. Ann has risen to the challenge and gotten me 5 or 6 already! If anyone would like to make a premmie, remember the size limit for the Benefis NICU is no bigger than 18" by 24".

Riverside
I heard from Colette that the girls at Riverside in Boulder truly enjoyed crocheting the fleece blankets! Nora picked them up to drop off at The Sewing Palace. They're ready to do some more! I've heard several ladies say they have too much yarn... we could use some for these girls if you'd like to share! I'll be getting some fleece soon to get them started on some more.

Weekend off!
Well, for the first time since I can't remember, I don't have anything scheduled this weekend! I am looking forward to playing with some quilts, labeling some blankets and who knows what else. I hope everyone has a very happy weekend and I look forward to seeing you all soon!!

Be well~
gina

Komfort Kids fabric at Big Sky Quilts!

Good morning everyone!

I was in Big Sky Quilts, 101 Central Ave in Great Falls, a couple days ago and saw they have 8 or 9 of the new Komfort Kids fabrics in!! The Komfort Kids fabric was designed by Patrick Lose and produced by Avlyn Fabrics as a fund raiser for Project Linus. With this partnership, Avlyn donates 8% of the sales of this fabric collection back to Project Linus.

Patrick Lose, well-known fabric designer, designed this collection exclusively for Project Linus. He is well known for his trademarked marbleized solids that are an industry trendsetter. The featured design is titled “Sweet Dreams.” Four other designs--“Sweethearts,” “Heart Toss,” “Twinkle Stars,” and “Bubbles”--all complement “Sweet Dreams.” You can see samples of the fabrics at http://www.projectlinus.org/fabrics.html.

Thanks to Joyce for carrying this fabric! She ordered the entire line so more may be coming in soon. Please stop in at Big Sky Quilts and take a look!

Have a great day!
gina

Busy, busy,busy!!!

Hi all-

Wow... what a long time it's been!! Every time I think things will slow down a bit and I'll have a chance to catch up, I end up being horribly wrong!

We are once again using the Herberger's Community Day sale as a fund raiser. Sales haven't been quite a strong as previous autumn events, but I'm doing okay. The sale will be November 14 with pre-sales the 8th through the 13th. If anyone would like to buy a coupon book ($5), I will be at the south door from 4 to 6 tomorrow (Thursday, 10/29) and on Saturday 10 to 2. If anyone would like to take a few to sell to friends, that would be great too! This time for the $5, you get on coupon worth $10 off almost any item $10 or more (always some exceptions!), an up to 30% off early bird coupon (used before 9 a.m.) and 6 10% to 20% off coupons (depends on what you buy). They have, I think, 5 different bonus buys that day as well. It's a huge sale, and a good time to get some holiday shopping done!

I will post part 5, the final part of the Mystery Quilt tonight. I am anxious to see all the finished ones! I got another quilt made from the embroidered squares today... thanks, Sharon! They are all so adorable!

Oh yeah! Another big project! I'm in the process of moving our PL web page. The orgsites is a bit time consuming to do anything beyond the simplest things. The new site is http://projectlinusgreatfalls.giving.officelive.com. Give it a look and let me know what you think. I'm always open to suggestions. It will be much easier to post photos and I hope to get some up soon.

Our next Blanket Bee will be November 14th.... yes, the same day as the Herberger's sale. I don't know when I'll be working the day of the sale, but I've asked Marsha to take the reins for the blanket day if I'm not able to be there right away, so it will work out fine. I am thinking the December one might be a good time for another pot luck! Any 'yea's' or 'nay's'?

Well, I think that's the short and sweet of it. I'm working on getting a delivery ready for Benefis. I'm going to let my husband make those for a while since, being an EMT, he 'qualified' for the H1N1 vaccine.

Everyone stay well and stay warm!!
gina

Mystery Quilt - Part 4

Hi everyone!!

Well, Part 4 of the Mystery Quilt is posted... sortof. I don't have one of the parts as a computer file...and I may not be able to get it until this weekend... so that is missing but the rest is there! This is only a 5 step quilt, so you're almost done!!

You can find the file to download at...
http://groups.google.com/group/projectlinus_greatfallshelena/files?hl=en

I'm thinking about who I'm using to host our webpage. The orgsites page is free, but very limiting. I'm thinking about Yahoo! and GoDaddy. Has anyone ever used either of these? They aren't free, but they aren't horribly expensive. Let me know if you've used either of these with either good or bad results.

In case you missed all the emails this morning, the next Blanket Bee will be this Saturday, October 10, at the Moose Lodge in Great Falls...10:30 to 2:30. You'll be getting an evite soon! Hope to see you then!

Enjoy the quilting weather!
gina

A Thank You!

Hi everyone~

Found a great Thank You note in the mail today, and want to share it with you.

Great Falls Chapter of Project Linus,

My daughter was recently hospitalized at Benefis East for twelve days. During her stay, we were given a beautiful handmade quilt from your foundation. She absolutely loved it, and it brought her a great deal of comfort.

What s special group of people you are to provide such a service =- we couldn't be more grateful!

Sincerely,
Mike and Ann B.
Helena, MT

Helena Make a Blanket Day and Quilt Challenge

Hi everyone~

Just a quick reminder... we'll be having a Make A Blanket Day on Sunday, September 27, from noon until 4 p.m. at The Sewing Palace Bernina in Helena. I am hoping for a great turnout! I'll bring some fabric, fleece, etc. You should bring your sewing machine and any supplies you like to use. If you have a special PL project you're working on, feel free to bring that to work on!

Also... I'm thinking of having a quilt challenge. I had a large donation ... several yards of fabric of Noah's Ark panels. They're about 18" x 18" and I have around 30. I think it would be such fun to have these all taken to see what kinds of blankets everyone thinks to create with them. If you'd like to have one of these panels, let me know. I'll give them out until they're gone. Let's put a completion of December 15 on the challenge.

Hope to see many of you on Sunday!
gina

More blankets to St. Pete's today

Hi everyone and happy Friday!

I took 24 blankets to St Pete's today. Many of these were ones that were created by the Helena Quilt Guild volunteers at the Last Chance Stampede and Fair. They were thrilled to get them and asked me to tell you all how wonderful you are for making these blankets. You ARE wonderful!!

I got to visit the NICU while there. To be honest, for a long time I didn't even know they had an NICU. Thanks to Lisa W for letting me know they do have one! The receiving blankets they have are about 34" x 34"... but they were folded to fit. So anything up to 34" x 34" will work for them.

The Jo-Anns discount cards arrived! If any of you who attended the Blanket Bee in Great Falls last weekend would like one, I can mail it to you. Otherwise, I will just distribute at the next one... second Saturday in October at the Moose Lodge...10:30 to 3.

Remember, we also have a Blanket Day set up for September 27, Sunday, noon to 4 at the Sewing Palace in Helena. For those of you in Great Falls, The Sewing Palace Bernina is a wonderful quilt shop... come help make blankets and maybe do a little shopping at the same time!!

At the last two Linus Coordinators Conferences, they've had Kirk Weisler as a speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed him both times, and am on his daily emailing T4D (Thought for the Day.) I thought I would share today's with all of you... it is below. You are all lighting the candle!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
gina

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER-

I WOULD HAVE TALKED LESS AND LISTENED MORE, I WOULD HAVE INVITED FRIENDS OVER FOR DINNER EVEN THOUGH THE CARPET WAS STAINED AND THE SOFA WAS FADED. I WOULD HAVE BURNED THE PINK CANDLE SHAPED LIKE A ROSE BEFORE IT MELTED IN STORAGE. I WOULD HAVE CRIED AND LAUGHED LESS WHILE WATCHING TELEVISION AND DONE MORE WHILE WATCHING LIFE.

BUT MOSTLY, GIVEN ANOTHER SHOT AT LIFE, I WOULD SEIZE EACH MOMENT, EACH OPPORTUNITY, LOOK AT IT AND REALLY LIVE IT, AND NEVER GIVE IT BACK. - Erma Bombeck

Well we don’t have our lives to live over… but we do have them to live now. And might I suggest that living lives to make ourselves happy won’t bring nearly has much happiness as living our lives to help others experience happiness will. So as you live your life, and sieze your moments and opportunities… do all you can to ensure that they are moments and opportunities of service to your fellow man, your family and your friends. The people you serve and light your candle for will light up your life in a way that will never grow dim.

Enjoy your Weekend… and light the candle.

This will work!

Hi everyone~

Well, our first Blanket Bee is behind us... and a big 'Thanks!' to everyone who came or stopped by!

It was our first at the Moose Lodge, and, I have to say, I think it was great!!! The room is huge. Tables and chairs are plentiful! Outlets are easy to access. The lighting is bright. We can use it the second Saturday of every month. I don't know that there are any drawbacks. It's a little out of the way, but, really not that much. I was very pleased with the facility. To top it off, they may be able to give us a closet to keep some supplies so I'm not constantly hauling everything back and forth.

Our next event will be at The Sewing Palace in Helena on Sunday, September 27... noon to 4 p.m. Bring your sewing supplies!!

See you then!
gina

It's Blanket Bee Season!

Hi everyone!

Well, tomorrow is the big day... our first Blanket Bee of the season! As I've said, it will be at the Moose Lodge in Black Eagle. You'll need to bring all your own sewing supplies...machine, scissors, bobbins, etc. I'm really hoping this works out well... I think we might be able to have them there consistently if it does.

I've posted Part 3 of our Mystery Quilt on the Google Groups site...
http://groups.google.com/group/projectlinus_greatfallshelena
I hope many of you are putting one together.

I'm still trying to wrap up my summer... the garden still has a bunch of veggies to do something with... but I've had 2 frosts already!

I hope to see many of you tomorrow!!
gina

JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts discount card!

Hi everyone and happy Labor Day weekend!

We have good news from Joann Fabric stores. They have created a special discount card specifically for Project Linus blanketeers. It is worth 10% off anything in the stores and is good until August of 2010. The best part is that unlike their other discount cards, this one is already validated...you would not need to have them validated in the store. They are ONLY available to through PLHQ... I would order them and distribute to those who would like one. The is part of the agreement between JoAnns corporate HQ and PLHQ. Let me know soon if you would like one...I will try to get them before our blanket days in September.

Have a safe and peaceful holiday!
gina

Hi everyone and happy end of August!

Well, I spent the day starting to get ready for our blanket days. I went through the fabric donations and we have so much to work with right now!!! I kindof sorted it...mostly blues in this tote, reds in that one, holiday fabrics in another... you get the idea. I will bring as much as I can to the blanket days and I'm hoping everyone will be wanting to take some home with them to work up some blankets. There is really a lot of wonderful fabric to choose from... and I am running out of space to keep it all!!

I spoke with the Peace Quilters at Peace Lutheran this past Thursday. Cindy and Lyla have been joining us for our blanket days for some time. The group has donated many wonderful blankets and one in their group has donated many wonderful pieces of fabric and even some surprises! Cindy also brought the quilts she worked up over the summer using the embroidery squares everyone worked with in May. They are so beautiful! Monkeys and mice and flowers and a St Pats/Celtic one. She (and the Peace Quilters who did the tying) did just a wonderful job!! It was a tremendous afternoon with them!

So, get those sewing machines ready, and a bag of sewing supplies ready to go. See you soon!!
gina

Great Blanket Bee news!!

Hello all!

I am happy to report that we have a place to do our September 12 Blanket Bee! We will be meeting at the Moose Lodge in Black Eagle in the bingo room from 10 to 3. That's not all... we can meet there routinely on the 2nd Saturday of the month! This is a great weight off me. Big Sky Quilts was a wonderful place to start, and I am very grateful for all Joyce did to help us get started. The Extension Office was gracious enough to step in and offer their wonderful, large rooms, but they have many other groups and meetings they have to accommodate as well. I am hoping the Moose Lodge will work out well for us... and I am thrilled to say we can meet at the same time, the same weekend in the same location for at least the next several months.

So... for the Great Falls folks... Saturday, September 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Moose Lodge in Black Eagle
For the Helena folks...Sunday, September 27, noon to 4 p.m. - The Sewing Palace Bernina

I am so looking forward to seeing everyone again!!!!!
gina

September Blanket Days

Hi all-

For all those in the Helena area, I have set up a Blanket Day to be held at The Sewing Palace on Sunday, September 27...noon to 4 pm.

For all those in Great Falls, from the few responses I got back, I've determined that the second Saturday of the month is the best weekend for our Blanket Bees. You might remember that I tentatively set a date for September 19 at Westgate Mall. As it turns out, I have some family obligations and will be out of town that weekend, so that is cancelled. The Extension Office meeting room is taken on Saturday the 12th, and Big Sky Quilts has a class that day. I am trying to find another location for the 12th, but have not had any luck so far. If I can't find a suitable location, I will cancel the Great Falls Blanket Bee for September.

gina

Which Saturday?

Hi everyone!

I have tentatively signed us up for the 3rd Saturday in September at the Cascade County Extension Office room at Westgate Mall. I haven't heard back from anyone on which Saturday would be best. How does the 3rd Saturday of the month work for you? Please let me know...either post a comment on this page or send me an email.
Thanks!
gina

Found 'em!!

Phew!! At long last, I have found the little quilt and the rotary cutters! They were all in a tote I didn't remember even using. I'm so glad... I thought I was starting to lose it!

Helena blanket day - update...

Well, drat. It seems August 15 might not be such a good idea. I found out I'm scheduled to work that afternoon...and I work in Great Falls. We might be able to back it up a week if we want to do a Saturday... otherwise... let's look at some Sundays in September. My apologies if I've caused any confusion in plans.

Today is fair day!!! I'm really looking forward to it! I have lots of kits and fleece ready to go (Thanks again Marsha for making those up!!) New rotary cutters and crochet hooks as well!

Have a great weekend!
gina

Another Helena Blanket Day?

This is for all the Helenans...

I've been asked when we'll be having another blanket day in Helena. Well, as I've mentioned we have the fair this weekend. After that though, there are a couple of options.

The Sewing Palace could let us meet Saturday, August 15. I know this is kindof on the heels of the fair event. If you would prefer to meet later... September, October or November... we could meet at The Sewing Palace on a Sunday. If neither of these work, we would have to come up with another location, and I would need ideas. The choice is yours... so please let me know your preference soon.

Thanks!
gina

Two days and counting...

Hi everyone!

Well, I'm busy making sure I've got everything I need for the Stampede demo day. For those who aren't already busy that day, we'll be making some blankets in the quilting department from 11 to 5 on Saturday, July 25. I hope you'll find some time to join us. I have quilt kits, fleece, yarn, fringe template, skip stitch blade and batting(!)... but I can't find my rotary cutters. I've no idea where they ended up. I lost a small baby quilt I started too. I'm wondering if I left a bag or box at our last Blanket Bee at Westgate Mall.

I took 22 more blankets to Benefis pediatrics this week... plus a few to the ER. For those who haven't had reason to go to Benefis... boy, has it changed!! The front doors are now over by the ER doors. Parking is in the lot across the street and they have a little shuttle... which I would have used if it had been nearby since I was lugging 3 bags of blankets! I did get some help from a security guard once I got near the door, and I employeed a nice trick offered by the folks at St Pete's...use a wheelchair!!! What a great help!

Thanks to Marsha, I've found everyone didn't get added to the Google Groups list. If you haven't gotten an email saying you've been added to the list, let me know and I'll add you to it. I did post the instructions for Part 1 of the Mystery Quilt last week on the Google Groups site. It is a cute little quilt, and relatively easy to do, so I hope many of you will try it. If there is anything in the instructions that don't make sense, just let me know... I'll try to clarify.

I think that's it for now. Now I'm off to finish preparations for the fair. If you see a little quilt and some rotary cutters laying around... let me know!

Stay cool.... =}
gina

Past the half-way point.....

Happy Saturday morning everyone!

Well, unbelievably, another week has gone by already! I think that is the worst part of summer... I wait all winter for it, then there is so much going on, it goes by in such a flash! We did get our hay this week, and that is always the first step in getting ready for winter. We're also now on the side of the year where we're getting ready for the holidays rather than still needing to clean up after last year. So if that wreath is still hanging... just leave it!! =}
I just don't know where all the time goes.

I got a few blankets to Benefis this week, but not as many as I wanted. I will have to catch up next in the next few days. I've been told I've got more to be donated from the ladies up around Conrad, Cut Bank, Shelby and the Triangle Squares Guild -- thanks to you ALL!!!

We finally got some interest in other chapters for the batting!! Diane from Snohomish County (north of Seattle) and Jodene from the Portland are both taking about a third. That still leaves a third for us and that is still a lot!! Diane got hers yesterday and we stuffed the back of the pickup and the small area behind the cab seats. She ended up with 5 bolts 200 yds long, 11 bolts 30-40 yds long and a wider bolt 25 yds long! She was thrilled. She also brought me some fabric for a nominal charge. After I saw how much it was, I may not have given her enough for it, in fact. They have fabric stores and quilt shops that hold fabric drives for them. What a great idea! Then they use the fabric for a big blanket making day a few weeks later. We'll have to think about something like this.

The fair committee is setting up for the Stampede demo day next weekend! I love fairs, and this will be my first doing anything for Project Linus. I'm sure there will be some things I learn from it... but I'm really looking forward to it. We have a few volunteers, and everyone is still welcome to come and help...July 25, 11 to 5, Helena Fairgrounds, quilting department (I think...)

I'm going to start the Project Linus Mystery Quilt Challenge today. There will be 5 sets of instructions that will be posted, and the instructions say to post a set every week... but I think that would be rushing it. I'm going to go every 2 to 4 weeks with this. I will put that on our groups site...http://groups.google.com/group/projectlinus_greatfallshelena today... as soon as I'm done with this.

Also, I'm going to start a charm program...though I guess it needs a name. I will give out charms for charm bracelets for different things. We'll do it for different milestones and special events. I will buy the charms, but I can't afford the bracelets for everyone. =( Some may already have charm bracelets they'll want to use. For others, I can do a big order and get them all at once. I'll work on that this week and get out more info soon. I'm going to start with one for those who help with the Helena Stampede... something fair related!!

We're just about ready to get going with the program at the Boulder facility. We have fleece and yarn... and another volunteer! I think this is a really great idea and can't wait to see how it goes.

Let's see, batting, Benefis, Boulder, charms, Stampede, Mystery Quilt... I think that's it!
Until next time!
gina

Didn't I say I was going to take some time off this summer?

Happy sunny Sunday morning everyone!

Last week was incredibly busy as I started trying to get back to normal from all the travel, relatives visiting, etc. I did manage to get some blankets out to Benefis, though not as many as I would have like - I left the metal detector in Helena, and I don't feel comfortable giving out sewn blankets without using that to check them for pins first. I think in all the time I've been doing this I've found only 2 or 3... but it only takes one to hurt. So I have a stack of quilts ready to check, and then they'll be on their way out as well.

We got some more fabric donations... one relatively large bag, a couple more smaller ones. I'm not sure how best to inventory/sort the fabric. I'm looking for ideas in that department.

Oh!!! I picked up a couple of blankets at Big Sky Quilts, and one was the quilt Elva P started at our last Blanket Bee in May with the embroidered cat squares! It is adorable!

I started a Google Groups site for us. The PL coordinators use a Yahoo! groups page to ask questions, share ideas, etc. etc. I've been adding names to our group...but it may take me a while to get them all in there. I'm thinking I'll start off using it for something fun... a Mystery Quilt!

I haven't yet heard from anyone who would be willing to help at our demo day July 25 at the Helena Stampede (fair) from 11 to 5. I was just going to do this much like our 'routine' blanket making days, so please, if you are going to be around that day, consider coming in to help. The blankets we make in Helena go in large part to St Pete's Pediatrics and they have been tremendously appreciated.

I will start looking at days and times for our Blanket Bees this fall. We've been doing the first Saturday of the month, but it was suggested that the first Saturday may be busy and a different one may work better. Or perhaps you'd rather do an evening? Please, send a note and let me know.

Tons and tons of batting await us. I've still not heard from other coordinators, with the exception of one, interested in taking some so it appears we may have batting to last us a very, very long time.

That's it for now. Stayed tuned for more on the Mystery Quilt!!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
gina

It looks like an avalanche!

Well, the batting is here, and it is more than I've ever seen in my life!!! There is some of almost every kind they make, I think. I have to make an inventory over the next couple of days... I'll send an update when it's done. I shudder to guess of how much this is all worth. Just the part that we brought back here is a HUGE donation... and this is only about 1/3 of the total. Greatest THANKS!!! to The Warm & Natural Company for all they do for Project Linus!!

On to the next project...we will be doing a demo day at the Last Chance Stampede in Helena ... I believe the date is July 25. I will need some volunteers to help that day and am truly hoping many of you will be available. Amy and Jeri have arranged for a free fair entry for a blanket donation so we may have a lot of blankets come our way that day! Wouldn't that be just great?!?!

We are also going to start a project working with the girls correctional facility in Boulder. A couple of our Helena volunteers will be doing a lot of the work for this one. The will be teaching them how to do the crocheted edge on the fleece. They feel this is a way to "pay it forward" for these girls, and they could earn community service hours. I got some new, fun fleece with the holiday sale at JoAnns and now just need some yarn to get this started. Does anyone have any yarn they would like to donate? The blankets we'll have them start with will be about 30x36 inches.

One of the things I forgot to mention about conference/institute was blankets for kids with autism. We had a speaker from an autism program in Illinois speak, and an adult with autism served as her assistant. Weighted blankets seem to bring great relief, and one chapter creates these weighted blankets by sewing channels into the blankets and filling the channels with rolled sheets. I haven't had a chance to investigate what the need might be for such blankets here. Would anyone want to look into this to get us started?

Lastly, I recently spoke to an Optimist group luncheon. They were so impressed with our mission and passion that they sent us a financial contribution. What a wonderful gift!!!

That's all for tonight.
Have a save and happy 4th!
gina

Westward Ho!

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Well, the trailer is loaded 2/3 to 3/4 full with bolts and bolts of batting and he's headed home! Clint figures there are 50 bolts or more... some of them the big, 3 foot diameter ones. I haven't heard from any other chapters about wanting any yet, but I hope I do. I would really like to give some to those of you who sew Linus blankets at home. Since it was donated to Project Linus, it does have to be used for PL blankets, of course, but those of you that have been creating blankets at home in the past can certainly keep a roll at your house to do that. I would also like to give some to the groups that sew for us... the Triangle Squares Quilt Guild, Peace Lutheran, etc. These groups might be able to use the really big rolls if they have a place to keep it. Once I go through and see what all we have, I'll let you know what we have to work with.

My camera didn't work well during Conference, but I think I can get some photos from some of the others to show you the kinds of projects we completed in the classes. I'll work on that over the next few days in my 'spare' moments.

Till next time...
gina

So much going on

Hello all~

I made a delivery of 33 blankets to St Peters Pediatrics this evening. They had a 2-year old little girl they were going to find a special one for. It always surprises me how one thing can be so wonderful and so sad at the same time.

My Sweet Baboo is on his way to Illinois to pick up a trailer-load of free batting from The Warm & Natural Company. What a guy... offering to drive 1500 miles (one way!) for quilt batting. They don't come any better than that. Warm & Natural made a wonderful, huge donation to Project Linus, but it was all delivered to our HQ office. He has gone to pick up what he can for ours and surrounding chapters.

PL Conference/Institute was more than I can write about. I took classes from Gina Halladay and Patricia Pepe. I had the opportunity to visit at length with Patricia at dinner one night - she is truly a wonderful lady. The class with Gina was a giant log cabin block. Patricia's class used her X-blocks. This was incredible to me. I had tried the X-blocks before, and it turned out disastrous. Her classes made the X-block inviting again. There were a couple of other classes I took from local instructors that were great as well.

We had, I think it was the vice president, of Avlyn Fabrics speak one evening, and the chapter coordinators all got samples of their Komfort Kids fabric created with Patrick Lose specifically for Project Linus. It is bright and wonderful!! I loved hearing about their business philosophy. Fons and Porter is sponsoring a quilt contest with the fabric! Entries are due around Sept 1, I think. I've given a flyer about the fabric to the owners of several quilt shops around the state (at the Great Falls Quilt Guild show), so I'm hoping you'll be able to find some of the fabric locally soon. If you can't find any, send me an email...GreatFalls.MT@projectlinus.org

We also had Kirk Weisler speak. He has become one of my favorite motivational speakers! Mark Hyland from Handiquilter was also there. He has become a wonderful friend to Project Linus! It was truly just a wonderful 5 days, and I have so many new ideas for things our chapter can do as a result!!!

Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to the new blog for the Great Falls (and Helena) chapter of Project Linus!! Anyone who has ever done a newsletter knows how time consuming it can be to work up the layout, design, etc., etc. While I love doing all that (really, I do!), there just isn't always enough time... and by the time I actually do have time, the info I want to include may be old. Web pages are a bit better but still take some time. Blogs are, well... faster! I can just go in, type up any news, any time, and those who follow the blog will have the latest information almost as soon as I have it.

So, I'm here at the 2009 PL conference, and this year they had a booth encouraging (even helping us) set up a blog. This is the result... or the beginnings of it for our chapter. I will post a link to it on the chapter website soon. Let me know what you think... the goal is for this to be useful to YOU!!

Have a great weekend!!
gina