Project Linus Northeastern NC

It's a New Year

2012-01-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

And we have a new Coordinator! Carol Cooper has stepped into the role and I know you enjoy working with her.

I have loved my time getting to know the blanketeers and the facilitators and occasionally having the privledge meeting one of "our" children. It's been the best work I have ever done.

Carol has been involved with the chapter for many years. She will be bringing some fresh ideas and new energy to our projects. Her first Make a Blanket Day is coming up on February 18th and will be in a new location. Be sure to check the info on the side bar about it.

It's been a great pleasure working with you all. So, I'll see you at MABD and other Linus events.

Thank YOU

2011-09-06T19:12:00.000-04:00

A big THANK YOU to Pat McKeever who took all the photos of the ice cream social this year and allowed us to share them.

It was so nice to have so many of our blanketeers together. We enjoyed being together and was especially nice to hear from some of our guests about how our blankets are being used. There were many heartwarming stories making all the blanketeers glad that they made the blankets.

I hope everyone fared well during the recent earthquake followed by Hurricane Irene! The end of the summer has certainly been exciting around here.

Thank you to all those who make the blankets and who help deliver the blankets and to the team that put our social together and to Colonial Quilt Lovers for being such great hosts!

Appreciation Day 2011

2011-09-06T19:00:00.000-04:00

All Blanketeers & Service Facilities Are Invited!

2011-07-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

Please join us for our
2011 Linus Appreciation Day
Ice Cream Social

August 13, 2011
1:30 – 3:30
Camden Senior Center

RSVP by August 1, 2011: 331.1699 northeastern.nc@projectlinus.org

And the days fly by -

2011-06-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

After Make a Blanket Day way back in February, things got really busy. First there was the Colonial Quilt Lovers 2nd bi-annual quilt show at Knobbs Creek on the first weekend in April. Project Linus was there with our opportunity quilt and many of the items that were made last year for the appreciation social challenge. It was a whole lot of fun! April also included a nice visit with the Love Ladies from Arrowhead Beach. That is always a treat as they provide lots of love and blankets and good things to EAT! We were also blessed to receive a large donation of yarn from them this year and that was passed on to the knitter’s group. The Velvet Stitch agreed to become our newest drop-off location. In May, we had our opportunity quilt at the Downtown Market in Elizabeth City and we will be back there on June 25th too. Simply Divine had our opportunity quilt during the last two weeks and Project Linus has been featured in their window display all during this time! During July we will be preparing for our annual Appreciation Social. Please reserve the second Saturday in August for this special annual event.
All through the first half of the year we have been able to provide blankets and quilts to the children in the Albemarle who are most in need of a special hug. Our blanketeers and sponsors have been faithful and busy! Every single one is appreciated. We hope to see you soon!

Make A Blanket Day 2011 - The Movie

2011-02-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

Hooray, Hooray - Make a Blanket Day !!

2011-02-20T18:36:00.000-05:00

I've heard lots of positive comments about our local gathering yesterday. About 90 blankets were made ready for delivery. There were quite a few tops finished, kits went home with many of the participants and I know we will see these coming back over the next few months. A great big Thank YOU is due to everyone who came and joined in and another special thank you is due to the committee members who did all the set up and take down and making it happen. Another thank you is due to the Colonial Quilt Lovers who also pitched in to help anywhere and everywhere. The best part - all of the smiles and laughter and the sounds of busy machines. Lordy, I shouldn't forget to thank Dottie Ferrel, Rita Etheridge, Jeanette Alexander and Kaye "Holli" Hollifield who did us the great favor of demonstrating techniques and toys. It was also great fun to have Anita Beard and Tammy Sapp from Custom Created Quilts onsite to keep us in inspiration and stitches. CCQ donated quite a few of the door prizes. I hope I did not leave out anyone. There was so much to do and see all day - I had a GREAT time. Our photos are by Jim Schmus - our friend and supporter. Oh - our wonderful location at City Road United Methodist Church - simply splendid! Thank you ALL! Enjoy the movie!

2011-02-10T14:55:00.002-05:00

It’s time again for our annual Make a Blanket Day. I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to create something with friends. It seems to make the work go faster and it is always good to spend a day with those who share your love of a craft or cause.
We start at 9AM on Saturday February 19 at City Road United Methodist Church, 511 North Road Street in Elizabeth City. Quilters bring your machines and basic sewing supplies. Crocheters, knitters and fleece workers are welcomed. Please bring your project and supplies.
There will be demonstrations beginning at 9 am with hand quilting. Machine quilting demo begins at ten am and how to finish the edges on fleece blankets will be demonstrated at 11.
Custom Created Quilts will be on hand to provide any necessary supplies quilters may have forgotten and perhaps a few unnecessary supplies that are too irresistible to leave behind. You can shop guilt free as a percentage of sales will be donated to Project Linus.

There will be fabulous Door Prizes! There will be an adorable opportunity quilt that you could win.
We hope you will join us for a fun day of working together to create comfort for our kids.

Merry Christmas to all

2010-12-24T14:47:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve. I've been as good as I can manage and I'm as happy and contented as anyone could hope to be. Our lives have been richly blessed with love and abundance and now with our sweet Bella. I hope that your holiday will be everything your heart desires and then a little more for added sweetness.

God bless you every one.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

Even though I'm not turning out to be the most faithful blogger, good things are happening with the local chapter. We recently received a large donation of blankets, quilts and afgans from the Women's Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The collection is a wonderful array of colorful, kid friendly creativity that is sure to bring comfort to our kids. Thank you ladies. I understand they worked on this project for a year. It's so nice to be included in their efforts and I know "our" kids will be glad to get these blankets.

We are glad to be particpating in the Albemarle Area Association of Realtor's Christmas project too. They are working through Hopeline to provide Christmas for 12 families from our region who would not otherwise have Christmas this year. Project Linus has donated a blanket for each child which we hope will help to warm their hearts this holiday season.

Be sure to reserve the date for the next Make a Blanket Day which will again be at City Road United Methodist Church. Watch this space for details.

And in the meantime, best wishes to each of you during this holiday season and may you all have a Happy New Year too.

Fall Already?

2010-10-01T14:27:00.000-04:00

Today I had a nice conversation with a new blanketeer. I asked her how she heard about us and she told me that she met someone at her doctor's office who was crocheting a blanket for us. You just never know when you are going to make a new friend when you open your heart to Project Linus. That reminds me of something I recently read in an email intended for PL Coordinators. I'll share it with you here. Jennifer writes:

"We have a new blanketeer that just joined our Solano County, CA Chapter. I have been working with her to coordinate her first-ever donation of blankets and she shared with me the following, which I just had to pass on:

"Just fyi - I made these baby blankets in memory of a very good friend of mine from Tucson, Arizona. She was my tennis partner for the first five years I was learning to play tennis until I moved away due to a military move. She remained my friend for over 20 years. She died from ovarian cancer in Oct. 2009. I didn't know about it until Jan 2010. I started knitting blankets in Jan. because during the last conversation I had with her, she told me how much she was enjoying making blankets for Project Linus in Tucson, and that if I could find a chapter here, she knew I would love it. Her name was Mary Helen Dimercurio. She was a great lady who made a difference in others lives including mine. And boy, did we have some fun together."

I got chills when I read it...what a wonderful tribute to Mary Helen and I really hope the Tucson Chapter Coordinator can share this with her group."

Thank you ALL for all you do for Project Linus. It is a great way to give back to the community and to keep hearts warm too.

Appreciation Social Photos

2010-08-16T21:01:00.001-04:00

I hope that you enjoy the photos. Please feel free to add your own or if you have others you would like to share on the blog, please email them to me and I'll post them for you. Thanks to Kitty Nixon for taking these shots for us!

Enjoy!

Appreciation Social

2010-08-16T19:32:00.000-04:00

It's so hard to believe that more than a month has passed since I last shared any Linus news. I'll have to plead summer time and some unforeseen events as excuses. Enough of that and onto reports of the festivities!

First off, we had a fantastic speaker! Ms. Sheena Parker from Pride in NC shared some of her personal history and told us how her company uses our blankets. Her talk was not only informative, I don't think there was a dry eye in the house when she finished. Her positivity and enthusiasm just makes me want to do much, much more to help. Here is Sheena during her presentation.

It was great to see so many of our Linus friends all gathered in one place. Individual blanketeers were there along with members of Colonial Quilt Lovers, City Road UMC, the L.O.V.E. Ladies from Chowan, our friends from Sue Allen's knitters group and the Library ladies too. Some of you who couldn't make it were missed but we appreciate you anyway and hope you can join us next year.

I'm happy to say that the Orphan Challenge was a great success! I was very impressed with both the quality and quantity of projects that were brought in. It was a wonderful little show. The quilts that were made will go to area children just like regular PL quilts and the other fabulous items will be available for purchase at the Linus booth when Colonial Quilt Lovers has their quilt show on April 1st & 2nd of next year. Come early for best selection. :-)

I'll get some photos of the winners of the viewer's choice with the projects they made soon. In the meantime, I want to finish up here and try to remember how to do a photo album that you all can see.

Thank you to everyone who made the year successful for our chapter and another thank you to CQL for hosting such a fine event for us.

Orphan Challenge

2010-07-07T15:09:00.000-04:00

We have been blessed with many orphan blocks. These are blocks that someone made for another quilt or a class or in the learning process and for whatever reason, have decided to pass on to benefit a good cause. We decided to have some fun with these in conjunction with our Apprciation Social which is coming up in just a few more weeks.

Adopt one of our packages of donated orphan blocks and give it a home in a quilt, quilt top or something that can be sold during the Colonial Quilt Lovers 2011 quilt show for Project Linus. Some ideas include purses, wall hangings, tote bags, place mats, table runners or whatever YOU feel inspired to create. You are limited only by your own imagination.

Items will be displayed and voted on at the Appreciation Event August 14, 2010. Prizes will be awarded for the top three vote getters and at least one lucky participant drawn at random from the remaining entrants.

You may add fabrics and materials as needed to complete your project. It’s OKAY to make more than one project from your orphans.

Items for the contest are due on August 14th. Have FUN. Any items not completed by the time of the Social can still be turned in but they won't be eligible for the voting.

All items submitted become the property of the Northeastern NC Chapter of Project Linus. Quilts will be given to area children in crisis. Other items will be sold at the Colonial Quilt Lovers Quilt show in April 2011 to benefit the Project Linus chapter in on-going blanket making projects.

If you would like to have a package of "orphans", please give me a call. This is going to be something you won't want to miss!

Any Elm Creek Book Fans?

2010-06-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Jennifer Chiaverini is teaming up with Project Linus to offer Elm Creek Readers the chance to decide whether Sarah's twins will be boys, girls, or one of each! Here's how to get more information and to cast your vote:
1. Download the Twin Star pattern from Jennifer's website: http://www.elmcreek.net/

2. If you'd like Sarah to have two boys, sew a Twin Star block using the dark blue/light blue color combination. If you'd like Sarah to have two girls, sew a Twin Star block using the red/pink color combination. If you'd like Sarah to have a boy and a girl, sew a Twin Star block using the dark purple/light purple color combination. Please use white, off-white, light cream, or light beige for the background fabrics.

3. Mail your block to: Elm Creek Quilts, P. O. Box 620824, Middleton WI 53562 USA. All blocks must be received by Labor Day (Monday, September 6, 2010) to be counted. You may "vote" as many times as you wish, so feel free to stuff the ballot box!

4. All blocks received will be donated to Project Linus. Each "vote" you cast will mean another block for a warm, cozy quilt that will comfort a child in need-so vote early and often!

June Library Meeting Cancelled

2010-05-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

I will miss all the regulars that first Wednesday in June when we will not be getting together at the Library. It will be a happy day for me though as I will be departing with friends to attend the NC Quilting Symposium which will be held in Charlotte this year. I've been lucky enough to attend every year since 2002 and it is something I really look forward to each year. You can find out more about this year's symposium by following the links here: www.ncqsi.org.

We should be back on schedule for July but if you need anything in the meantime, let me know and I will be glad to work with you.

DRUMROLL Please!

2010-04-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

It is my pleasure and privilege to announce our newest drop-off site, Simply Divine Fabrics and Things which is located at 115 South Water Street in Elizabeth City. The shop features many kid friendly fabrics and spring and summer prints are arriving weekly. They also stock some fleece and have patterns and notions as well. Please stop by and see for yourself and be sure to thank them for their support of Project Linus!

Sugar and Spice

2010-04-21T17:26:00.000-04:00

I’d like to introduce my granddaughter Bella Marie Bossio, born April 9, 2010. She weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 inches long. I’ve been spending as much time with her as her mom and dad will allow and I can say with some certainty that Bella is a very good baby. Can you tell I’m a proud Grammie? We all feel very blessed. This photo is of two day old Bella. Soon I will be able to add photos of a happy, healthy and smiling little girl. We hope that she will never need a Linus blanket but if she does, we are glad to be in a caring community where one will be available.

2010-04-04T18:18:00.000-04:00

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! It was my privilege to visit with the LOVE Ladies again last month and look who was there to greet me! I’ve been saving this as a special treat to share with all of you. Isn’t my friend cute?

The LOVE Ladies had more than cake to share though. Blanketeer Mary McFarland and I filled the trunk of my car with 22 beautiful blankets from this special group. As of the members said, they are not a big group but they are a busy group!

The chapter would also like to extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery to blanketeer Sue Allen. Sue took a tumble and something broke. Sue, you will be in our thoughts and prayers.

In the first quarter of the year, the chapter took in 185 blankets and gave out 149. I’ll be bringing approximately 45 to the Library bee for labels and I have another 30 all bagged up and ready for the surgical unit at Albemarle Health.

Thanks to our busy blanketeers, we have a good start to the year. Thanks so much for all your help.

Spring!

2010-03-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

Daffodils, Easter, soft breezes, new flowers, new leaves, new grasses and the Belk Charity Sale! Our chapter will be participating in this event again this spring. Basically, you buy a $5 ticket to a private sale. We get to keep the $5 and YOU get your $5 when you go to the sale. Plus the first 100 customers on sale day get a gift card worth between $5 and $1,000.

We use our chapter money to buy blanket supplies like fabrics, batting and notions and we use some of it to fund our Make a Blanket Day event and our annual Appreciation Social. We can use YOUR help with the Charity Day fundraiser. Let me know if you can sell a few tickets for us or spend some time at the store selling tickets for us prior to the sale. Hours are very flexible. Just give me a call and I’ll set it up for you, answer any questions and remain profoundly grateful for your help and your time

Pictures?

2010-02-22T20:32:00.000-05:00

I have no idea how I posted the photos from the appreciation social but I think if you click here Make a Blanket Day that maybe, just maybe you might be able to click on something on that page and see the pictures.

My apologies if it doesn't work. I have high quality photos so if you see something you like, let me know and I'll email it to you. It was a GREAT day and any errors with the photos are mine and not the photographer's. He did a good job. :-)

I just can't seem to get my brain back to fully functional (if it ever was). I'm optimistic though. Anyone with good advice about the photo links, please help! Thanks.

Success

2010-02-21T19:20:00.000-05:00

For all of those who participated in Make a Blanket Day - THANK YOU! It was a wonderful day with lots of smiles and laughter and some good work too. 72 blankets were made ready for delivery. Kits were checked out, sewing machines were whirring, fingers were flashing and people were getting to know each other better.

Special thank yous go to City Road United Methodist Church who allowed us to use their wonderful Community Building for the event, to Anita Beard of Custom Created Quilts who made it possible for us to purchase those items we needed to move our projects along, to Connie Albertson of Quilts and More who provided a generous gift for every participant and to each of our demonstrators who shared their enthusiasm and knowledge with interested Blanketeers. These included Jeanette Alexander, Robin Caruso, Rita Etheridge Diane Farmer, Dorothy Linney and Mary McFarland. Jim Schmuss was our photographer and there were many people who helped with setting up, taking down and all the in-between and behind the scene stuff that has to be done to make an event such as this successful. You know who you are and I hope you know how much you are appreciated.

And of course, we thank our BLANKETEERS! You all are the best!

Come back soon for photos!

Make a Blanket Day will be February 20th

2010-02-08T08:55:00.001-05:00

It's almost here! The details are these:

The location: City Road United Methodist Church, Community Building.
The time: Anytime between 9 and 4 but if you come at 4, you won't get much done! Come stay all day, all morning, all afternoon or just drop in and get a project to take home and complete.
What to bring: Quilters need to bring their machines and basic sewing supplies. Crocheters, knitters and fleece workers need to bring their supplies.
What else to bring: Methodist Churches are collecting personal hygiene items such as soap, toothpaste, razors, etc. for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Please bring some for the collection.
Food: We will have coffee, tea and water only. Please bring a bag lunch or plan to take a break and have lunch in the downtown area.
Demonstrations: There will be both morning and afternoon demonstrations of hand piecing, how to tie a quilt, machine quilting, binding a quilt, working with fleece and in the morning only - a special demonstration by a very talented and prolific quilter, fleece worker AND crocheter on How to Spur Your Creativity.
Vendor: If you forget something or just get inspired to do more, Anita Beard of Custom Created Quilts has agreed to bring additional supplies for your shopping pleasure. A percentage of profits from the day's sales will be donated back to Project Linus.
Door Prizes: We will have a few treats on hand to reward your hard work and generous spirits. These will be awarded at various times during the day. Must be present to win!

We hope you will be able to join us for a day of working together to benefit the children of our area. We are looking forward to seeing you! Please feel free to share this information with your friends and acquaintances. We LOVE to add Blanketeers to the Linus family!

Good News!

2010-01-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

The ladies from City Road UMC have given us ten beautiful quilts to fill our request to have enough blankets to supply all the children involved in the bus wreck. We are SO grateful for their support.

Everyone please continue any projects you may have begun in this regard because now we are completely out of any blankets suitable for anyone but a baby or toddler. Hopefully, that will soon change as Make a Blanket Day is coming right up!

Hope to see you there!

Pasquotank School Bus Accident

2010-01-27T11:41:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all of you are aware of the terrible bus accident that occurred in Pasquotank yesterday afternoon. I've counted the Linus blankets we have on hand that would be even remotely possible to give a middle or high school child. We have 32. I heard on the news that 42 children were involved. I'd like to have enough to give all of the students one at the same time before I contact the schools. I'm sure it is possible that the child who was most critically injured has siblings who might also need a blanket and the news might have even had the wrong count.

If any of you have blankets intended for Linus on hand that are suitable for kids this age, could you please let me know? I'd be happy to come get them. Also, if anyone has the time to make one or more and needs a kit or some fabric to do so, the Linus committee has both.

Please let me know if I can help you help Project Linus to get some comfort to these kids. Thanks so much for all you do.

Got Yarn?

2010-01-12T17:20:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!
We are certainly well into it and January is nearly half gone. One month is approximatly eight percent of the whole year and even though I've already let four percent of the year go by without so much as a greeting here, I've already been busy as a bee with Project Linus projects.

The new year has brought a renewed interest in all things Linus and we are happy to welcome several new Blanketeers to the chapter. One of them is a delightful lady who is 83 years young and LOVES to crochet. Mary B. won't be able to join us at the Library gatherings due to some mobility issues but she is eager to make and share her beautiful crocheted blankets for the children of the Albemarle. Mary would appreciate some donations of yarn so if you know of anyone who would like to clear out some space, please contact me. I would be so thrilled to be able to keep Mary busy.

The Make A Blanket Day project is next on the committee's agenda. We are planning a fun day with a few surprises so I hope you will come and spend the day with us on February 20th. Stay tuned here for more information as it develops. Right now I'm sure that we will have some demonstrations, some fun door prizes, some fabulous projects to inspire you and smiles all around. Let me know if you have questions or if you have something in particular you would like to demonstrate or would like to see demonstrated.

See you back here soon!

2009 isn't quite gone . . .

2009-12-30T18:57:00.000-05:00

I’ve been thinking that I would post all our totals for the year but kept finding this reason and that to put it off. I believe in serendipity. Today my two favorite ladies from Chesapeake/VA Beach turned up with another 30 blankets in hand! These two are such a treasure! These sisters have been so generous to our chapter this year. It was these two who brought me 50 + blankets in November and 50 + blankets to the Appreciation Day and well, you can see why they are so special to me – AND to a whole lot of children and teenagers in our area. Say hello to Jeanette & Rita. Thank you ladies!

This brings the total number of blankets received by our chapter to 526 for the year 2009. We started the year with seven blankets on hand. We have given out 493 this year and until today, had kept ten in reserve for donations to individuals. Now we are ending the year with 40 blankets on hand. At first I was thinking we could distribute these tomorrow but in my excitement, I almost forgot one very important thing – They need the Linus labels sewn on! No worries. This will get done at the Linus meeting coming up next week at the Library and then they will be on their way. I’ve got some of these earmarked for Pride in NC, a dedicated group that provides services for kids in foster care.

I’m excited about all the new events we will be offering in 2010. I’ll be sharing information here as it becomes available so please check back soon. Until then, thanks for all you did for kids in our area in 2009. I hope you will help us make 2010 a Happy New Year too!

Playing Catch UP

2009-12-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

Christmas is nearly upon us and I am not one of those lucky people who have the Doing All the Shopping and Wrapping & Cards early for the holiday genes. I'm scheduled for oral surgery on the 21st and I've been told that I could be "uncomfortable" for a few days. Oh my. Last time somebody told me that, I was miserable for at least a week. Okay. So now I have to finish up everything four days early. Hmmm. No worries. I do work well to deadlines.

There are several things I've been meaning to getting around to posting here and this seems like a good time to do it. Looks like it is feast or famine in my Linus blogisphere! I resolve to do better and I ask for your continued patience with me.

First off, I'm told by other Linus Coordinators that there is a very good book out called "A Quilter's Holiday" by Jennifer Chiaverini that includes Project Linus in the story. I haven’t read this one yet but I’m looking forward to it. Ms. Chiaverini is the author of The Elm Creek Quilt series.

Next I wanted to share this news from another Linus Coordinator,Susan Murphy of the Orlando/Central Florida Chapter. Susan wrote:
"Check out the current issue of Quiltmaker for the latest version of their of Project Linus quilt. It is kites in the air! You will find the pattern and instructions in the Jan-Feb issue (issue #131) at pages 34-36 (the center). The pattern is also free and available online at this location:
http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=10533. You can download a PDF file for the pattern from this page.

NOTE: Be sure to measure the dimensions of your printed pattern before making lots of copies.... I have seen the results of "squares" that do not print out properly, and it is not pretty. Measure against the instructions to be sure the finished block measures 6" (outside raw dimensions are 6.5" square)."

Carol Babbit, the National President for Project Linus has sent out word today that the are other good news items in store for Blanketeers all across the county. I'll leave it as a teaser for you for now but you will be hearing about this in the near future. I'll give you a clue to whet your appetite. It has something to do with a popular vacaton destination and volunteering. What could it be? Stay tuned . . .

And in case I don't get back here - Happy Holidays to one and all. YOU are the folks who make our chapter a success and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

The L.O.V.E. Ladies Revisited

2009-12-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

Although last month's nor'easter blew away our plans to get together, I was lucky enough to be invited back in December. It was my pleasure to help the ladies sort through a large donation of fabric and then to accept what could be used for Project Linus. Guess what I’ll be bringing to the January 6th Linus Bee at the library? That’s right! We have three large boxes of fabric which we will sort again to put into kits for our faithful Blanketeers to turn into new quilts and blankets. Don’t you LOVE it? Thank you L.O.V.E. Ladies!

Blanketeer and L.O.V.E. lady Elsie Thornton has sent along some photos of our work session and they are shared here with her permission.

We had a very nice afternoon. The L.O.V.E. ladies are always a treat. Even though this fabric will go for a good cause, there were some bittersweet moments for my hosts. The fabric had belonged to a beloved friend of theirs who has passed away. Ladies, I'm sorry for your loss. I know your friend would be happy to know what became of her stash. Thank you so much for sharing.

Dorothy, meet Lexie

2009-12-11T23:45:00.001-05:00

Every month I dutifully send off an email notice of our next library meeting to the newspaper. This month I got the response below and I publish it here with the author's permission:

"Cyndy,
I have been meaning to ask you about the quilts you make. My daughter received a quilt last year while she was in the hospital at Christmas with pneumonia. I wasn't sure if Project Linus quilts were donated to Albemarle Hospital or not. She received a beautiful pink quilt with a little elephant's head attached to it. She had been having a very rough time of it especially not being able to celebrate Christmas with her brothers and sister. Receiving this quilt after several shots and needle sticks helped to cheer her up so much. She would not part with it after receiving it. It meant a great deal to her. As a matter of fact, if you ask her what she got last year for Christmas she will tell you all about her blanket she got when she was sick.
I wanted to thank whoever was kind enough to make and donate them. Even if it was not your group, I still give a heart felt thanks for what you do. It really does mean a lot to the children. Please pass my sentiment on to your group.
Thank you,
Christine Butler
Editorial Administrative Assistant
The Daily Advance"

I suggested that she check for a Project Linus label and sure enough, there it was and the quilt was signed by Dorothy Linney. Dorothy is a member of the Colonial Quilt Lovers guild.

Christine sent a photo of Lexie with her blanket.

How ADORABLE is that?

Did Anybody Miss Me?

2009-12-09T23:10:00.000-05:00

I had such high hopes for keeping this blog updated. Alas, life has interferred and although I am constantly thinking "I should put this on the blog", my round to its seem to have all but evaporated. Oh hey! This gives me an opportunity to make my first resolution for the new year - I will be more faithful in posting the PL news.
We sure do have PLENTY!
More new folks have been showing up at the monthly Library Bee's. In December, we had our largest group yet of new and familar faces. That was the day that the Daily Advance decided to send a photographer! A nice young man, Justin hung out with us for a while and they published a lovely photo of a brand new blanketeer and her children who were with us for the very first time that day. I hope you got to see it.

Thanks to Jeanette and her sister Rita, we had PILES of blankets for our newest blanketeers to sew labels onto. Although you can't see all the beautiful blankets that were there, here are a few photos that I took that day. In the photo on the left are Alice and Lisa. This was their first day too. On the right is veteran Mary McFarland. Mary does every bit of her piecing and quilting by hand! She is VERY fast too.

Here is a shot of the room before everything got really cranked up. People were going to town cutting, sorting, planning and stitching.

Last but certainly not least, here is Chapter Assistant Gloria Roberts peeking out from behind a quilt she designed and made.

She can't hide behind the blankets forever. I WILL capture her image on the digital camera for posterity!

I've got so much news and all of it is just grand. That's all I've got time to share right now though. I hope to get back here with my smiling fingers in the near future.

Happy Holidays!

Water, Water Everywhere

2009-11-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

In our little corner of the world, everything is getting pretty soggy from the big Nor’easter. I sure hope all our blanketeers are high and dry and enjoying the weather holiday.

There are a couple of cool things to share. I’m not sure exactly when it came out but our Linus Library Bee was featured in the library’s newsletter. Check out the article here:

http://www.earlibrary.org/pasquotank-camden/pdf/newsletter-fall2009.pdf

It was such a nice surprise to open my email one day and find these photos of the L.o.v.e. Ladies from Arrowhead Beach hard at work on a Blanket Making Day! Hope, the #1 L.o.v.e. Lady had invited me to join their meeting today to see the fruits of their labors and accept a fabric donation. I was looking forward to being with this wonderful group of friends again but alas, a giant nor’easter has interfered with a great many plans for this week. I’ll look forward to seeing them again as it is sure to be a special day whenever it comes.

Stay dry, y’all and enjoy these pictures sent by the L.o.v.e. group.

2009-11-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

What does every Linus Coordinator want? More. More Blankets, more Blanketeers, more resources, and more time – more photos for the blog? Actually, it seems the only thing I really don’t want is more kids who NEED the blankets. Since it seems unlikely that bad things will stop happening to good kids, it’s really wonderful to be part of a group of dedicated people who give a little or a lot of their personal time and resources to keep MORE blankets and quilts coming to our kids.

Last Saturday I visited Quilts and More and retrieved the City Road United Methodist Linus ladies final group of quilts for 2009. This delivery of 25 quilts makes 100 for them this year. Isn’t that fabulous?! The quilts had been in the shop for several days being admired by local quilters. I’m hoping that such displays both help spread the word and motivate others to support the chapter. It was fun to fold each one and ooh and ahh over them. What creativity and talent!

At our November Linus Bee at the library, Blanketeers oohed and ahhed again while they sewed on labels. We’ve had some new folks joining us and that is great fun too. More talent, more smiles, more to learn and share and more love to spread around. We welcomed back some familiar faces we haven’t seen in awhile. It’s good to be with old friends and new ones too.

After a hearty lunch, Marie S., Donna B. and I got to go to Albemarle Hospital and deliver 39 freshly labeled blankets to Debra White, Nursing Director for the surgical unit. She was very happy to receive these for her special patients and we were very happy to share them. See that pretty young mother to be on the left side of the photo below? Oh wait, you can't tell because of the Linus blanket she is holding!! That’s my own sweet daughter and soon I will be rocking my very first grandchild!! I just can’t stop smiling.

Hope you all have much to be smiling about these days. I’ll see you back here soon with MORE. 

Wanted!

2009-10-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

I just had an exciting conversation with my new friend Judy. Judy is Activities Director for an Assisted Living section of a senior residential complex. She is interested in helping her residents find ways to contribute blankets to Project Linus. What we need to make this happen is one or more persons who would be willing to spend part of an afternoon with these good folks working on crochet, knitting or quilt making projects. Some of the residents have some skill in some of these areas but may be a little rusty. If you can spare some time or know of someone who can, please help us make this happen. It will be time well spent. You will make new friends and the chapter will have more blankets for the children. Everyone wins! If you are interested in this project, please call or email me so that I can refer you on to Judy. Let the fun begin without delay. :-)

2009-10-21T13:15:00.000-04:00

Time flies, doesn’t it? Things just keep on happening and I think OH – I should tell everyone about that on the blog and guess what? Something else happens and all these delightful days just keep on rolling along. Whoever said Time Waits for No Man (or woman) sure knew what they were talking about.

Anyway – I wanted to tell you all that the Sale Passes for the Belks Charity Sale are good in any store in the state. You can get one the morning of the sale BUT, if you get yours earlier and from one of us, we get to keep the whole $5. Email me for an address. Send your $5 and a SASE and I'll send a pass back to you by return mail.

Today is a BIG Day for our little chapter. Earlier, Marie S. and I took 35 blankets to Kids First in Elizabeth City. When I posted the delivery to the chapter records, I saw that we have given away exactly 3,500 blankets since the chapter started in 1997. WHOO HOO!!! Here is a huge THANK YOU for the generosity of our Blanketeers, the Colonial Quilt Lovers Guild and everyone who has made this possible. I’m also very pleased that just this year alone, we have given away 384 blankets. With 17 remaining on hand and another donation of blankets expected from the City Road United Methodist Church group, I know we will be able to give out over 400 blankets this year. That is very humbling.

I’ve been promising something for quilters among us forever. A lot of quilters that belong to CQL already know about Marcia Hohn’s site, www.quilterscache.com. There are literally thousands of quilt blocks on Marcia’s site, complete with instructions on how to make them. Awesome, huh? She also has a link to a page for suggestions for Project Linus quilts. Find that here: http://www.quilterscache.com/Q/quiltcharitiesPLsugg.html.

Yesterday I stopped by the City Road Linus Bee and my friend Robin C. took these pictures. Don’t you just love the one featuring the Komfort Kids fabric line? One of the ladies joked that they were like a sweat shop but I know this is a labor of love. These ladies do many fine works but the one nearest and dearest to me is their goal of providing 100 Linus blankets each year to our chapter.

That seems like plenty for today. Check back here soon. There will be lots of new activities coming up. Hope to see some of you at the Linus Bee at the Pasquotank Library on Wednesday November 4th.

Do You Shop at Belks?

2009-10-01T17:39:00.000-04:00

This morning a friend of mine went to Belks and called to tell me that they are having a big sale. When I went by this afternoon to see about the big sale, I noticed a sign at the mall entrance that local charities should ask the manager about an easy fundraising opportunity. It is probable that I am the last person in the country to learn about this but now that I have, I am SO excited.

Twice a year Belk’s does a private Charity Sale to benefit local charities and schools. It is really cool and believe me, I am not the type that gets super excited about fundraisers. All you do is buy a $5 charity sale pass. The charity gets the whole $5 PLUS a chance to win $1,000. What YOU get is an opportunity to shop the private sale on November 7th from 6 am to 10 am, $5 off your first purchase, additional savings of 15-50% off STOREWIDE including savings on rarely discounted brands PLUS, you get to put your name in for a chance to win a $1,000 Belk shopping spree. If you use your Belks charge card you will earn double or triple points during the sale.

Also, if we can find a few folks to be at the store to sell tickets for Project Linus during the event we get an equal share of all the tickets sold during the event. We still get to keep all the money we raise from the sale of the Charity pass.

Marie Schmus will have the passes at the guild meeting tomorrow; we will bring them to the Library on October 7th and back to guild on the 17th. If you can’t make those dates, please see one of the committee members to get your Charity sale pass or email me and I will work out something with you to get some to you or your group.

Cool Links and Free Stuff

2009-09-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

Do you love to learn new things? Are you inspired by looking at what other people make? I've been learning about and making quilts for about 15 years but tonight I got inspired by looking at crocheted edgings on fleece blankets and other items. I got the link from another Linus Coordinator who got it from one of her blanketeers and now I'm sharing it with all y'all. ( I am southern to the core, so I actually do talk that way.) Anyway, go see what you think of these patterns: http://www.edgerydoo.com/edgerydoo.html
Just a couple of clicks on the pattern links will get you right to the instructions and some of them even have pictures. A lot of work has gone into this site.
This nice lady has created some tools that can help with spacing and making the holes for edging. I think I would rather use the skip stitch rotary cutting blade that is available through Project Linus but there is no one way to do anything. I put the link in my Links section on the left side of the blog too so you can find it if you need it again.
Soon I'll post some links to some free quilting patterns. If some of you want to share your favorite, inspirational pattern links, please email me with them. I'd be glad to post them here for others to enjoy.

New Drop Off Location

2009-09-20T19:15:00.000-04:00

It's my pleasure to announce that the fabulously talented long arm quilter, Anita Beard has agreed to support the chapter by becoming an official Drop Off Location for Linus blankets. Those of you who quilt probably know what a long arm quilter does but those of you who are recipients, crochet your blankets, knit them or make them from fringe are probably scratching your head trying to picture a long arm quilter.

Anita has one of those very large quilting machines that takes up half a room and requires a fabulously talented person to operate. LOL, okay - it is a large machine and gets its name from it's very long quilting arm which makes it possible to finish quilts much more quickly than on a domestic sewing machine or by hand.

Long a supporter of Project Linus, Anita has agreed to officially put a sign on her door telling the world that they can drop off their Linus blankets at her neighborhood shop. While you are there, you may get a glimpse of a quilting project in progress or if you are very lucky indeed, you may get a glimpse of a true Princess, her little granddaughter Callie.

The address and phone number for Custom Created Quilts is in the text box on the left side of the blog. All the supporters of Project Linus are appreciated. It's wonderful to see the chapter growing. Thank you ALL! Now be sure to go see Anita and thank her too.

Welcome Carolina House!

2009-09-15T15:04:00.000-04:00

This is a good day for our little chapter. I met with Nancy Sauer, Program Coordinator and am thrilled that she plans to incorporate a crayon block program into the craft program for the Alzheimer's unit. This is such a win-win for the seniors AND the children in the area. While at Carolina House, I was treated to a viewing of some of the art work created by these seniors and friends, it is AWESOME.

They will provide colored blocks and others will sew the blocks into quilt tops or complete quilts. Eventually, I'll have some photos to share of the seniors, then later the quilts that are made from the blocks. My hat is off to Nancy and Carolina House. What a fun and creative way to allow these folks to give something back to the community!

The Big Surprise

2009-09-15T14:39:00.000-04:00

Project Linus National has worked out an agreement with Joann's Fabrics to provide these discount cards to ALL Project Linus Blanketeers! These are VERY NICE cards because there are few exclusions and these come preprinted with the Project Linus Logo, Tax ID and PR Director's signature on the back. These are good at any Joann's store but can not be used on-line. If you are a member of one of the Linus groups not affliliated with the Colonial Quilt Lovers, I am in the process of contacting the group leaders to get these out to you. If you are one of the Library group participants, I'll have these with me at our next meeing on October 7th. If you are headed up to JoAnns and need it NOW, let me know and we can work something out. If you don't fall into one of the areas I've mentioned, let me hear from you. You will get your card but I have to know you want it.

CQL members already have access to the same discount cards through the guild with the only difference being the preprinted Linus information. If you have a card through the guild, it will work just the same.

With prices rising on everything, it is nice to be able to look forward to some savings. Thank YOU Joann's Fabrics and Thank YOU to PL National. Those ladies and gentlemen never stop working to make Project Linus better.

Exciting News

2009-09-08T17:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm pretty easy so some of you might not share my enthusiasm for the news I've gotten from National Headquarters in the last few days. I'm holding onto one piece of news because it will come as a lovely surprise for a great many blanketeers. That should be coming out in the next week or so and I'm on pins and needles waiting to share it.

The other is that I just found out that chapter coordinators can get batting from the Warm and Natural company at wholesale prices through National Headquarters. That is very exciting to me because that will help our money go a whole lot further. We were able to raise some money this year from our Kitty Cat quilt raffle and Colonial Quilt Lovers was very generous in budgeting for us so that has been great. The blanketeers have used the resources very well.

We are now able to add batting to the quilt kits we are making for checking out. Many of our blanketeers contribute their time as well as all the materials in the blankets but some folks just can't afford to do that. Having some resources available to help them help us is a win-win for everyone.

Hope you are all staying dry. It is GREAT blanket making weather right now.

We are Growing

2009-09-02T18:49:00.000-04:00

Today we welcomed two more new blanketeers to our Library Bee and the place was definitely buzzing. Some folks were cutting, some were stitching, some were measuring, some were doing this and some were doing that and everyone seemed to be very productively engaged with something. Just trying to keep up with this group keeps me in a whirl!

The library confirmed our reservations for the next three months for the first Wednesday of each month. I would love to see them make a decision to reserve the day and space for "our" Linus meeting without having to go through the reservation process each quarter. The Pasquotank-Camden Library is a wonderful space. It's large and well lighted. There are plenty of tables and chairs. There is a nice little kitchen we are allowed to use. The only thing that would make it better would be if there was a way for us to keep some of our supplies there so we don't have to keep bringing our things back and forth.

Maybe that should top our wish list. All we need is a large room in a secure place with plenty of good light and plenty of parking where our blanketeers could feel safe and we could have our supplies locked away between meetings. A kitchen would be nice and plenty of tables and chairs where we could work the day away. Yep. That's all we need. Oh - and we need it to be rent free too. :-) Shouldn't be hard to find, right?

Right now I am very grateful to have such a wonderful group of enthusiastic and willing volunteers who want to help Project Linus. I'm excited about all our new members. I look forward to getting to know them and to seeing them get to know each other. Friendships will grow and deepen. There will be many challenges and much learning as we sew many smiles. It feels so good to know that we are doing our best to be ready when the children need a special hug.

Enough for now. Hope to see you soon!

Getting ready to meet again

2009-08-27T15:04:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that another month has flown by and it is almost time to meet again at the Library. Some of us will be working on cutting up and assembling simple kits for quilters to make into tops. Some of us will be working on making kits from tops, backing and binding for quilters to quilt or tie. Some will bring along their own projects to work with while they get to know some of the others who are supporting Project Linus.

The community room where we meet is quite large and well lighted. There is plenty of room to spread out to work or to sit and stitch with others. Sometimes, the best part of these meetings is having an opportunity to meet others who share your interests. We hope that YOU will join in the fellowship as your time allows. Come and work with us if you can. Bring your friends and your projects. Let us know how we can help you help Project Linus. If you want to help with this month's project, bring your rotary cutter, cutting mat and rulers. Hope to see you there!

Your blankies are on their way

2009-08-14T08:16:00.006-04:00

On Wednesday, Marie and I took blankets to the hospital for the surgical unit and the emergency room. Then we went over to Kids First with another batch. Last month we took boy quilts to Pride in NC which is an agency that looks out for foster kids and we took a batch to the Open Arms Ministry in Chowan County. I just learned about Open Arms this year when the local paper ran an article about this couple that takes in "throw-away" teens. After meeting the minister's wife and seeing their church and home, I'm very moved by the generosity of spirit some folks are born with. They had 16 children living with them and more pass through every month on their way from abusive situations into foster care or other situations.

Sometimes we forget about the 0-18 part of Linus and just focus on the little kids. The big kids need our special hugs too and I'm glad that our chapter is helping them. So far this year, we have distributed 307 blankets for children of all ages. They have gone to the 14 agencies listed in the sidebar and to individual children when we have had requests.

I've already gotten back a couple of thank yous for the blankets delivered this week! Kids First wrote:

Dear Cyndy and all Project Linus Volunteers,

Thank you so much for the beautiful blankets and quilts. I cannot even begin to tell you how much our clients enjoy picking out their very own blanket based on their favorite color or animal. (The frogs are always a huge hit!) These blankets provide our clients not only with comfort but also with modesty and privacy during their medical exams. Thank you for helping to make this experience a little less scary for these children. We appreciate all your hard work! Sincerely . . .

And from the Nurse Manager of Emergency Services at Albemarle Health:

Thank you so much for the blankets from your wonderful program. We at the emergency department see many children who would love to be comforted by these beautiful blankets. I can assure you that these blankets will be taken care of and given to our patients. We will pass your message along and if there is anything we can do to help your organization please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. Thank you again.

And from your happy coordinator - Thank you Blanketeers! YOU made a difference to these children. Keep up the good work.

Want a T-Shirt?

2009-08-08T08:55:00.002-04:00

PL Headquarters now has t-shirts available with the logo you see on this page. I was wearing the pink one at the ice-cream social. Marie Schmus had on the lavender and Donna Beasley was wearing the gray. There are several other colors available too. I'm not sure if they are available through the public store at www.projectlinus.com or if they have to be ordered through the chapter coordinator store. Anyway, cost is $10 each for large and under and $12 for X-L and larger. Shipping on everything I've ordered this year has been a minimum of $10 so there would be something added for shipping but if several of you were interested, we could save on that. I think I'll set a deadline for letting everyone know before I place an order. How about September 15th? If you are interested, let me know.

Is this Old News Now?

2009-08-07T22:29:00.003-04:00

You know where they said good intentions can lead? I hope I'm not doomed. I've been thinking about various items that would be good to have here on the blog and while I'm thinking, time is just evaporating. Time to stop thinking and start typing!

Has everyone heard about the Komfort Kids fabric designed by Patrick Lose? It's the first fabric you can buy that will benefit Project Linus. The manufacturer will donate 8% of the wholesale price to National Headquarters when you purchase this fabric. Locally, it's available at Quilts & More and if you happen to make it in the store by August 8th, you can purchase it at 25% off! I meant to tell y'all this sooner but you've been in there since the social, right? Have fun adding this fabric to your stash. There are a dozen kid friendly blenders and one focus panel.

Also, I wanted to congratulate Jackie Howard, our Blanketeer of the Year. Jackie not only turned in quilt after quilt for PL, she also made our raffle quilt and some tote bags for us this year to help raise money for the chapter. Thank you Jackie! We appreciate YOU.

Congratulations are also in order for Blanketeer P.J. Hall who purchased the winning ticket for the Fancy Cat Quilt. P.J. is from the outer banks chapter of PL and tried to tell me that she never wins anything. Now her luck has changed! She's been supporting Project Linus and making blankets since 2002. I'm so glad that such a nice lady will get to keep Fancy Cats!

This past Wednesday, we welcomed two new ladies to our Library Bee. Lisa and Mary helped us put labels on all those blankets we collected at the Ice Cream Social. Thank you ALL for the wonderful abundance. Now that we have the labels on, I can get these out to the folks who have been patiently waiting. I'll let you know where they go. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Our Appreciation Social

2009-08-03T23:22:00.002-04:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. With that in mind, I've been trying to create an easy way to share the photos with all of you. If you've read from the beginning, you know that this blogging business is new to me. It should get easier but for now, I'm figuring it out as I go along.

Movies

I've tried to turn the photos into a movie for you. If there is a photo of yourself or a friend that you would like to have, please let me know. Jim Schmuss took most of these and I think they are very good.

It was so nice to be able to celebrate the ladies who make these blankets. Having all those generous and committed people together in one room was so inspirational. Getting to know these folks is an unexpected bonus as coordinator. I mean, I knew the Linus supporters were all nice people but these are SUCH nice people. What a treat.

The ladies brought along dozens of blankets and I will have the numbers up when I get everything counted and sorted.

I hope the movie works. I'll be posting more soon but for now, just know that everyone who helped make the event a success is appreciated. Everyone who helps make the chapter a success is appreciated. Thank you for all you do to make it possible to provide those special hugs to our kids.

Ice Cream Social

2009-08-03T22:19:00.000-04:00

Fancy Cats

2009-07-30T15:13:00.005-04:00

There once was a lovely quilt shop, Quilts & More, which sponsored a Fancy Cat block challenge. Once the challenge was enjoyed by one and all, the blocks were donated to Project Linus. These fancy cat blocks are dazzling, with beautiful embellishments, fancy stitchery, beads and all sorts of clever feline fancies. Wonderful treats for cat lovers - completely unsuitable for children. And so the lovely blocks languished in a box waiting for the day when Quilt Creator Extraordinaire, Jackie Howard rose to the challenge of What To Do?? and made an opportunity quilt to benefit our chapter. We will have our drawing for the quilt at our ice-cream social on Saturday. I wanted to preserve the story here for the history of our chapter and to give credit where credit is due.

Thank you Connie, generous proprietor of Quilts and More! Thank you Jackie, generous supporter of children in the Albemarle.

Hot Daze

2009-07-25T19:31:00.004-04:00

This was the hottest day of 2009 but our Linus Ladies hung in there and sweltered with the best of them at the Elizabeth City Downtown Market today. The children enjoyed coloring muslin squares and we have some photos to share the fun with you. (All the children's photos are used with the permission of their parents.)

There was an unexpected treat today. A school of Dolphins was playing in the river! That's right, an entire school. Unfortunately, my photo skills are not good enough to have captured them above the water but I sure tried. For those in other areas of the county, a picture of the Pasquotank River at the Downtown Waterfront is at the top of this post. Enjoy

Look for us at Downtown Market

2009-07-17T11:15:00.002-04:00

On July 25th, we will have a booth at the Downtown Market on the Elizabeth City waterfront. Our main purpose is to expose PL to the public and to recruit new supporters and blanketeers. We will have muslin squares for the kids to color, a few items for sale and the opportunity quilt that will be drawn for at the ice-cream social. Stop in and say hello if you are in the area. Bring money - our few items are CUTE but we do not want to take them back home.

2009-07-14T19:03:00.002-04:00

On the ninth of July, Chapter Assistant and good friend Marie Schmus and I took a little field trip to meet the ladies from the L.O.V.E. group in Edenton. This wonderful gathering of friends meets at Arrowhead Beach to do various good works, including Project Linus. Their fearless leader, Hope Carmines, tells me that LOVE stands for the Ladies of Vitality and Endurance. We enjoyed a wonderful visit with them and came away with six blankets made by Pat Kirkpatrick. The photo credits go to Elsie Thornton and are included here with her permission. Frances Jordan is holding the blue quilt in the first photo and is with quiltmaker Pat in the second. The third photo is a distance shot (my best look) of me & Marie conferring before the meeting started. Thank you Ladies!

2009-07-07T07:44:00.000-04:00

Our chapter is preparing for our annual Appreciation Day which is hosted by our sponsor, the Colonial Quilt Lovers Guild. The big day is August 1st and the theme is an old fashioned Ice Cream Social. Doesn't that sound perfect for summer? Dr. Jennifer Brown of Kids First will be our speaker. All our blanketeers, receipient organizations and guild members are invited.