Merry Boxing Day

I do hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the holiday season. For me, the preparation is always crazy, then..... nothing. And for a day, nothing is quite wonderful!

How the Blankets Add Up

I spent some time prepping some blankets for delivery over the weekend. I went through a lot and did some counting as I went. What I found was that of all the quilts....

• 10 were large, teen sized
• 18 were medium, 8-10 year olds sized
• 44 were small, sized for 5 year olds or younger...and most small enough they would have to go to 3 year olds or younger.
• 6 were NICU sized (18" x 24" or smaller)

 70-80 percent were definitely girl quilts.

With this in mind, I'll add that one of my delivery points needed 6 teen sized blankets, 6 for toddlers 5 and younger, and 6 medium sized ones for 6-10 year olds. Of these, 11 of the kids were boys, 7 were girls.

Perhaps you can imagine my challenge when I have specific goals to meet.

So...... I'm throwing down the gauntlet! I am challenging everyone to create a simple, scrappy teen sized quilt, appropriate for either a boy or girl, before our January Blanket Bee! Think of the jelly roll quilt, or just some 8-inch squares sewn together. It doesn't need to be fancy, or color coordinated. Try to avoid using a lot of fabrics with flowers so it can be used as either a boy or girl quilt. Something close to a 54" x 72" size would be perfect.

I can't wait to see what everyone creates!!!!!

A Thank You Note

Many of you know we sent a few blankets to Illinois recently to be given to kids affected by the tornados. I received this Thank You via email last week....

Dear Gina, 

Blessings to you and your friends in your chapter of Project Linus.  This is a picture of my six year old, Pierce, with his new blanket.  It was created with love by your friend Helen M.  Will you send this pic on to her too?  Pierce has been struggling since the tornado hit our town of Washington, Il in November.  Nights have been rough.  Since he received the new blanket nights are easier as he sleeps with it every night. 

 

Thanks to you all!

God bless!

Love,

Jessica 

Yarn!

We are almost completely out of yarn!  I can buy some, but it would be too expensive to try to keep up with our current demand. If any of you know of some knitters or crocheters that have a stash they would like to downsize, please let them know about us...we could certainly use a donation!

January's Blanket Bee

For those who are quilters, January will be a surprise block... one that is going to be new and out of the box for some of you. I won't tell you what it is, but I will say you will need....
12 10-inch neutral colored blocks
12 10-inch brightly colored blocks
Small, sharp scissors
The rest .... a surprise!!!

Resolutions

Making a commitment to improve your health in the coming year? Don't forget about the Mary-thon. I have found this works for me - I don't know why, but it does. I always make an effort to get in at least 30 minutes of some type of exercise most days of the week. There are a couple different registration levels, and all participants will have access to Hannah's Online Gym. Hannah has so many great workouts for you to try, including a Lazy Day Workout (yes, we all have them :) ) This year, they've added in a 10,000 Step Workout that can meet the daily requirement. And don't forget...$10 of the registration will go to our chapter of Project Linus - just designate us on the registration form to make that happen. All the details for the Mary-thon, including registration forms, can be found at www.mary-thon.net.

Stella Lighting

Stella Lighting has pledged to donate $100,000 to Project Linus during 2014! That's HUGE!!! As the story on the Stella Lighting website describes...

We had the opportunity to meet the Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA chapter head of Project Linus Mrs. Jodene Cook at the 2012 Pacific Northwest Quilting Expo. It became instantly evident to me that Jodene had a servant’s heart, a gracious attitude and commitment to what she had a passion for. Needless to say, both Jodene and her cause quickly inspired me. Jodene and her team of volunteers, were sewing fabric scraps into quilt blocks, preparing them to be made into quilts for children. During the show we noticed how dark it was surrounding the sewing machines that were being used. We felt it was appropriate to drop off a few lights to provide some auxiliary illumination for the machines and the volunteers. Upon delivery and set up of the lights, I was met with outspoken appreciation. Upon the shows end, we had established a new friendship and foundation between the companies. Over the past couple years, our paths have crossed and my admiration for Jodene and Project Linus has grown.

This is a very generous gift to our organization, and I know PLHQ and all the coordinators are very grateful for this support! To learn more, visit the Stella website at http://stellalighting.com/project-linus/project-linus-3/


Well, I think that's all for now. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season. We'll see you all in January, I hope!
gina

Something to Blog About

Hello everyone, and happy cold, winter evening!

It's been a busy few weeks, so I thought I do a little sharing!

Illinois Tornadoes

As you already know, November brought some horrific weather to the Midwest and particularly Illinois. Several tornadoes went through the area, and one, very large, EF4 tornado went through Washington, IL...the backyard of Project Linus National Headquarters. It took a few days to determine what the need for blankets was going to be, and in the end they were looking for 2000. They were looking for larger blankets, good for kids big or small, so we weren't able to send quite as many as we often do, but we were able to help them meet their goal. We received a very nice Thank You in return...

Dear Gina,

On behalf of the children and their families affected by the tornado that hit Washington Il.  A very BIG THANK YOU to you and your chapter for the  generous donation of  blankets that I received today.

Thank you so much
Barbara
Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford Co’s IL  

Another Thank You

Just yesterday I received another Thank You from a mom...

Good morning, 

I just wanted to say thank you! My 13 year old C. had surgery last week at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls. When he came around and was out of pain he noticed the blanket at the foot of his bed. It had ducks flying and was blue and brown and tan. I didn't know what he would think of it being so "old"...you know 13 is a tough age. But he loved it! When we got home and he got in bed he wanted to make sure I kept putting that over his blankets on his bed. Your beautiful quilt meant a lot to him and made him feel secure. As a Project Linus blanket that makes perfect sense! 

Thank you from our home to yours, and may God bless the hands that created that wonderful quilt. As a young wildlife enthusiast, wanting to be a field biologist it was perfect! As a patient hurting and scared, it was warm and welcoming. As a mom, it was nice to know how much you care and think about the kids on the pediatric floor. So thank you very much!

KM & CM

2014 Mary-thon
Are you ready to make a $10 donation to Project Linus from your Mary-thon registration and get healthy, fit and Change Your Lifestyle in the process?  Many of us have been there - we've set fitness or weight loss goals year after year after year and have never finished.  So - think about it - do you have a goal related to health and fitness that you'd like to accomplish in 2014? Or are you ready to make a positive Change to Your Lifestyle?  The 2014 Moving Forward Mary-thon is a GREAT option. No running required (unless you want to) - just regular exercise. The Mary-thon provides accountability, support and encouragement from Mary Balagna (PL National VP) and fellow Mary-thoners - what an amazing group! Project Linus gets $10 for every registration - be sure to designate the Great Falls Chapter! Please go to read about the 2014 Mary-thon www.mary-thon.net and to register.

 

Fundraiser for another chapter

For the sixth consecutive year, charities in the Lubbock and South Plains, Texas area can secure "rewards" ranging from $10,000 to $3,000 by participating in the Community Rewards program sponsored by City Bank Texas. City Bank will make available a total of $50,000 to be awarded to 10 local nonprofits to assist them in carrying out their missions of hope and service to people in need in our city and area. The Project Linus - Lubbock Chapter is in the running to receive one of these prizes. They've been as high as 3rd place, but have dropped back to 7th place. If you have a few minutes, would you please go to http://www.citybankonline.com/community-rewards/community-rewards.html and vote for them? You can vote every day until Monday, December 16. I know they would appreciated all the help we can give them!

 

Quiltmaker's Free Pattern for National Make a Blanket Day

For the fifteenth year, Quiltmaker Magazine has published a free pattern in support of Project Linus! This year's pattern is foundation pieced Fancy Fishies. You can find it at http://www.quiltmaker.com/ content_downloads/QM_FancyFishies.pdf.
Cute, isn't it???

Should we have a quilt challenge to see what everyone can do with this pattern before our February 2014 Blanket Bee??? :)

 

Blankets! Blankets! Blankets!

Those folks in Helena have sure been busy! Got a note from Jenny at The Sewing Palace recently that our donation box was full!  The 'box' is something like 2' x 3' x 4' tall...so not small! My sister-in-law stopped by to pick them up....3 full large bags and 1 more almost full! Thanks to all of you there! And a special Thanks to Maureen for hosting some monthly blanket days for the ladies in that area! I hope to be able to join you sometime soon!

December Blanket Day!

Our blanket day is a couple weeks out yet, but just a couple reminders. We will have a pot luck lunch. When I send out the evite, there will be a way to say what type of dish we need and what you will be bringing. This is always fun, and, of course yummy! Our block for December will be either the Disappearing 4-Patch or the Disappearing 9-Patch. For the Disappearing 4-Patch, you'll want to use bigger blocks....10 inches works well. For the Disappearing 9-Patch you can use almost any size. I wouldn't go smaller than 4 inches though....and not bigger than 8 inches. We are in need of some bigger blankets, so I'm hoping you'll make lots of blocks!

I think that's it for now. I know the holidays are busy for everyone, and I am so very grateful for all of you who still manage to find some time to help. It is so appreciated!!!!

See you in a couple weeks!

gina