Hi all-
Well, I just noticed that the last post was January 19. January! Where has the time gone??? Let's see... Disney Give A Day Get A Day program, Herberger's Community Day Coupon Book sales, Haiti Earthquake Relief blanket days with labeling, boxing and shipping, regular blanket days, fabric donations that need sorting, the Komfort Kids Quilt Challenge, work, home.... Okay, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised I didn't have time to update the blog.
The Disney Give A Day Get A Day program turned out great! We got about 160 blankets as a result of the program. That's nowhere near what other chapters took in, especially those in Florida and southern California areas...they took in thousands. Literally, thousands. I'm very grateful the response here was not that enthusiastic...I had my hands full keeping up with the commitments I did get. The blankets are all well done - most did the latigo braid fringed fleece. There were also a few quilts which were absolutely adorable! All in all, it was well worth the time, and we may get more blankets from a few of these folks as a result. Almost everyone said they truly had fun doing the blankets, and many said it was a great family time activity. I have only a few blankets left to receive and we'll be done with Disney. They reached their 1 million passes a couple of weeks ago, so it's just wrapping up stuff now.
The Community Day Sale was again a great success. I believe we were among the top earners for coupon book sales prior to sale day. I put in about 6 hours during the sale as well. The money will be great to help buy fleece and other materials. We have several organizations who want to do this type blanket, either fringed or crocheted, but the cost can be prohibitive even on sale.
The Haiti Relief project was absolutely overwhelming!!! The turnout for the blanket days, the drop-offs, the contributions for postage... I never expected anything like the response we received. In the end, we (our chapter alone) sent over 300 blankets!! I haven't heard latest numbers for the whole organization, but last I heard it was up around 40,000! That's HUGE!! I can't possibly thank everyone who helped, but I'm trying. I still have between 50 and 100 blankets I can send off, I just need to find an avenue to do it.
So, between Disney and Haiti, my house has been swimming in blankets. I have always said my husband is very patient, and he has certainly been so with all this. He's also been a great help getting the boxes ready to ship. We put the blankets in large bags in boxes, then vacuumed out the air. You then really have to seal the end up...twist, rubber bands, etc. It takes the volume down to 1/2 to 1/3 the original, and we were able to get 40-55 blankets in a box. Really saved some on shipping that way, and still, it came to over $300. Luckily, we had the contributions to cover it.
Through all the press, we got some marvelous fabric donations. The Bernina Silver Thimble in Great Falls (10th Ave South) donated 50 pretty darned full bolts of fabric for our first Haiti blanket making day. Then a couple of weeks ago, they gave us another 46!!! Nearly 100 bolts of wonderful quilting cotton!! Please show them your gratitude, and stop by their store. In addition to Bernina machines (my personal favorite), they also have lots of machine embroidery supplies, sewing supplies, quilting supplies, patterns and, of course, fabric!
We also got a some huge 'estate' fabric donations. One of the problems with a couple of these was that the fabric was infused with cigarette smoke, and some of the fabric just wasn't appropriate for making blankets.
The Komfort Kids Quilt Challenge sponsored by our long time supported Big Sky Quilts resulted in some adorable quilts. The 16 submissions are hanging in the Great Falls Public Library. I thought they would be there through the end of March, but they will be there until the end of April! Stop by and give them a look - they're hanging from the 2nd bannister above the entryway. Again, kids are the judges for this challenge...whatever they like will be what wins.
One of the changes Project Linus is making this year for coordinators is with their Coordinator's Conference. This has always been a yearly event. Last year, they decided they would make these bi-annual events...so there won't be one this year. Instead, those years when there isn't a national conference, chapters will host regional conferences. This year, the Vancouver Chapter and the Kansas City Chapter will each host regional conferences. The difference is that volunteers are invited to these conferences! I have some info for the one in Vancouver which, if I remember, will be in September. Let me know if you're interested and I'll forward the info to you.
Well, my house and a pile of blankets is calling. I will post some pictures from the quilt challenge to the website soon.
Have a great Easter week!
gina
