Getting Ready!

Hello everyone!

Well, what a summer it's been and it's almost over already! I was shocked when I learned that one of my nieces already started school.

September is just around the corner, and so are our Blanket Bees! I came back from my Project Linus Conference with SO MANY fun, maybe even exciting, ideas! The 'theme' this year will be scrappy quilts of large blocks. I have a goal of increasing the number of blankets we distribute by 100 per month this year. That's going to take some work, but I'm hearing from different organizations who would like to receive our blankets. More on one of those is a little further down.

Blanket Bees!
We will be meeting the 3rd Saturday of the month, starting in September at the Moose Lodge. We will have a planned quilt block for every month, and of course, we will have some fleece and yarn for those who don't sew. If there are four knitters out there who would like to try something new...I learned a method where 4 people knit on the same blanket at the same time! It was so cool!

For the quilters, my proposed blocks by month are below...

• September - Easy 4-Patches and/or Disappearing 4-Patches
• October - Spiderweb Block
• November - I'll Tumble for You Block
• December - 10-minute Block
• January - Surprise!
• February - Happy Hearts Block
• March - Charming Pinwheel or 3 Dimensional Pinwheel Block
• April - Sew Simple Pineapple Block
• May - Flower Patch Block

Marsha, Cindy and I are already getting things geared up, getting some kits cut for folks to take home, things like that...so we're jazzed! We hope you are as well!

A Thank You
I mentioned that there are organizations that are requesting PL blankets. One request came in a Thank You I received today. It is below.

Hello. My name is T~ and I am with the Ezekiel Foundation, based out of Helena. We are a new group that is forming to support families with newborn babies who have been diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

When our son, I~, was born two years ago, he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. We live in Lincoln and when he was three days old, we were sent to the Great Falls emergency room because he was turning purple and having trouble breathing. There we were met with much compassion and kindness as he was diagnosed with a heart condition known as an AV canal. Later that night I~ and I were life-flighted to the children's hospital in Salt Lake City UT. But before we left, my new baby was wrapped in a beautiful fleece blanket (double sided even!) donated by the Great Falls branch of Project Linus. I carried that blanket with me throughout the whole ordeal of the cardiac intensive care unit where we were away from family and friends. I can't tell you what that blanket meant to me at that time. In months that followed, it was like a badge of security and strength - something good from the hospital showing that we were survivors. We will keep that blanket for always.

Now we are working to help new families that face the many issues wrapped around having the blessing of a baby born with down syndrome. We want to put together a package that will be delivered within 24 hours to these families. The packages will include vital information about Down syndrome, doctor referrals, videos showing children and families thriving along with a hat, cocoon and blankets Our goal is to provide these for every newborn child born with Down Syndrome who is born in the state of Montana.

It has been difficult to track down the exact number of babies born with D.S. in Montana each year. There are approximately 5,000 babies born with this syndrome in the U.S. each year. We know that Montana is at the low end of the scale of those annual births. We wanted to approach your organization to see if you might be able to contribute blankets to these kits. We would like to start out with 20-25 kits put together for the upcoming year.

Please let us know your policies and procedures when asking for a donation of this type.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the future. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I said we would be happy to furnish blankets for these kits. I asked if they had any size or type requirements or preferences. When I hear back, I'll pass that info along to you.

Challenge Blocks
How are those challenge blocks and bags of fabric coming along? I still have some of the challenge fabric if anyone didn't get some and would like to make some blocks. There is a fabric for a boy quilt and another for a girl quilt. I've already received a few blocks and they are CUTE! Remember, the block should be 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" so it will finish 12" x 12".

I think that's all for now. I'm still enjoying summer but looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Hugs!
gina