NOVEMBER 2023

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Blankets in - 347                          Blankets out - 460

Good afternoon, hoping everyone is well. The weather is finally cooling off, well if you call 89 cool! People that don’t live in “Phoenix” don’t understand how 89 is cool! Did you see the weather report for the end of the week? A great chance for rain - I will believe it when I see it.

I delivered 100 blankets to Billy’s Place. That makes 160 so far this year. They are requesting 200, so 40 to go! I had no idea they needed that many. When we first donated blankets to them, they only needed 30 or so. So many grieving children are getting the help they need although such sad circumstances. If we are short of the theme of Winter Wonderland, we will be able to supply them with ‘regular’ blankets. We do collect these blankets, Christmas, winter, Hanukkah themes all year round, the only seasonal blankets we donate.

I will be delivering 50 blankets to the Peoria Police Dept. tomorrow for their annual Shop With a Cop event.

It’s that time of the year again - thinking about what we are all thankful for. I’m sure you all know what I am thankful for apart from family, friends, fairly good health, yes, Project Linus! I am grateful for being part of this amazing organization. Although my way of running the Chapter has changed, I am thankful for all the Blanketeers who still support me, creating blankets so we can deliver to children in crisis. I will have totals for the year for you in my next newsletter. The good news is that we are ‘catching up’, almost a month ahead. 

Please remember, our last drop off day of the year will be Saturday, November 25th. We will ‘open for business’ again, January 27th 2024. 
I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, be safe.

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October 2023

Blankets in: 520                          Blankets out: 465

Good afternoon, hope you have had a good month. I also hope you are as excited as I am - finally, no more 100 + degree days! Even 99 feels better!  ;-) 

Thank you one and all for the blankets that were dropped off last month. Slowly but surely we are getting ahead. 

Important announcement:

Effective immediately, we will not be accepting patterns, books, copies, crochet hooks and knitting needles. Fabric that is 5 years or older will not be accepted. If fabric is newer than 5 years, we will not accept it if it is musty, smells of smoke, or has animal hair. We also will not accept buttons, hooks and other miscellaneous sewing supplies. We can not expect our drop off locations to store these items until we pick them up, please contact Eve directly at 623-572-9365 if you have a donation of fabric or yarn. Generally, our Blanketeers do not want any of these items, as they have their own ‘tools’, to create their Project Linus blankets. Some of these items have been dropped off in boxes, that are too heavy to lift! Fabric should be put in bags or boxes weighing 10lbs or less, needs to be child friendly colors and prints, as well as 100% cotton, flannel or fleece. Fabric should be at least 1/2 yard pieces (or larger). Please no scraps. Fleece needs to be at least 1 & 1/2 yard pieces. Yarn should be 100% acrylic machine washable and dry able in child friendly colors. Please no chunky, chenille or the new ‘blanket’ yarn. 
I borrowed the above (with permission) from another Coordinator and I tweaked it just a little. Most of the members of our Chapter know these ‘rules’ but the above is for people who are looking to donate their items. 

No news this month. Blankets for Billy’s Place (Winter Wonderland) need to be turned in at the November drop off, I deliver them before December 1st. Time is flying by, only two more drop off days and then we will be finished for the year. Please remember we do not have a drop off day in December. We will continue to have a drop off day, the last Saturday of every month, the same as always, starting January 27th, 2024

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Next drop off October 28th - 9am to 12:30pm.

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September 2023

Blankets In    356                  Blankets Out   400

Happy ‘summer is almost over’! Have you felt the difference in the weather? Even though it is still humid and hot, a change is happening. 

Before I go any further, I apologize for the mistake in last months newsletter. We DID donate more than 47 blankets in July. I should have written 475! Not sure what happened but ….! 

Thank you to everyone for donating so many blankets, we are definitely catching up. Most of September’s deliveries are ready to go, which hasn’t happened in a long time. We have had to bag on drop off day to make our regular deliveries. Please continue to create as many as you can. We have Billy’s Place - Winter Wonderland and Shop With a Cop both due for delivery at the beginning of December. These are two extra organizations that we donate to every year. We need to have these blankets by the November drop off day. 

A few reminders :
Please use 100% acrylic yarn, that can be machine washed AND dried. Some of the acrylic yarn I have looked at recently -  one had hand wash only and no dryer! Another, machine wash but no dryer. Please check labels carefully. Also, please child friendly colors, some blankets are donated that are not appropriate for babies, really dark colors and too small for older children. Baby blankets need to be at least 36” x 42”. Please do not use the new blanket chunky yarn or chenille.  Please weave your 6" tails into your crochet or knitted blankets - please do not knot them!! The knots come undone!!
Please no tied, double fleece. Also child friendly patterns, no seasonal and no charity ‘ribbons’. We have no sew fleece patterns on my local website and also on the National website.
Please, no ‘rag’ quilts. We have found a few pins in donated quilts just recently, please check that you have removed all your pins, before finishing your quilt. 
Finally - PLEASE no pet hair, smoke or any other odors. 

Five Saturdays this month! We will see you on September 30th. Have a great ‘rest of the month’. May I just say again, hooray for the cooler temperatures.

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AUGUST 2023

Blankets in -           517                 Blankets out -         47

What a fabulous day, clouds, breezy and cooler! I hope you have had a good month, hard to believe another one is almost over. Apologies for late newsletter, my publisher was out of town, taking my grandson ‘back to school’. 

Thank you to everyone that donated blankets last month. We are slowly gathering extras but not out of the woods yet! We put out some Christmas fabric at the last drop off day. We need the Winter Wonderland blankets for Billy’s Place, by November’s drop off day.  The blankets for Billy’s can be sewn, quilted, crocheted or knitted and of course can be made from fleece. 

It’s time for the annual Mystery Challenge. THE A-MAZE-ING TYLER!!!   Registration opens August 21st 2023. Please acknowledge our Chapter when you register as we will receive the fee for our Phoenix West Valley Chapter. The first clue will be revealed on Saturday, September 23rd and each clue will be revealed for the next seven weeks. Once again our VP, Mary Balagna has created this Mystery Challenge. She will have Tips and Tricks for you as the weeks pass by. If you would like to join this challenge, please go to www.projectlinus.org to register. It’s always exciting to see these finished quilts come in, to be donated. 

Please note, September has 5 Saturday’s, we will have our monthly drop off day on Saturday, September 30th. 

Thank you, everyone, for all your help. Some of you know that I am now volunteering at Thunderbird Hospital Pediatric Unit. I am thrilled to let you know that our blankets are well received, by the nurses, the parents/guardians and of course the patients. The adults and even some of the teens appreciate all our ‘hard’ work, we receive so many lovely compliments.

Drop off day for August will be this Saturday, August 26th. We are ‘open’ from 9:00am until 12:30. I hope to see you then. 

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JULY 2023

Good evening, 
May blanket count in -     399          blankets donated - 340

More weather records have been set today - just remember that winter and spring were both lovely and we know these temps won’t last forever! I know we’re all waiting for the monsoon, hopefully some rain! 

While we are all ‘hibernating’, I hope you’re taking some time to create blankets for Project Linus. I know it’s hot to have an afghan or a piece of fleece sitting on your lap, but where there is a will, there’s a way. I always have my blanket to the side of me when I am working on it! 

You may have noticed our number for donating was down last month. We had to make adjustments to some of our facilities, they did not receive their normal amount of blankets. This makes me sad because it means that we are not reaching as many children that need our ‘love’. I did ask you for more blankets and I’m asking you for help again this month. We need to be able to be a month or two ahead, like it used to be! 

Last month, I told you about the fleece and flannel that was donated to us. I have made the decision that we need it to ‘sit’ for a while, then if there is still a smoke smell, I’ll have to donate it elsewhere. The plan is that I will pull from the bottom of the pile to see if it will pass the sniff test! 

Sorry about the newsletter being late, a busy week. I volunteered at Back to School / Stitches of Love, everyday this week, starting last Sunday. Over 3,500 children came through, receiving clothes, shoes etc and then handmade items in the Stitches dept. Such a fun week but tiring at the same time! 

Please remember July has 5 Saturdays this year. Drop off day will be July 29th. 9:00am to 12:30. I’m hoping to see you even though it is so hot! 

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JUNE 2023

Blankets In    407                                Blankets Out    520 

As Linus’s friend, Charlie would say, good grief! I can’t believe the date or the fact that it will be drop off day this next Saturday! Time is flying by! I’m sorry to be so late with the newsletter. I have been busy, honestly! 

What could have kept me so busy that the newsletter is so late? We received a huge donation of fleece and flannel. Whenever I get a phone call or email, I always ask the same questions. Smoke free, odor free, pet hair free, new etc. I was assured yes! Jackie F was willing to come and help so off we went on an adventure. We were greeted and shown into a room, that had shelf upon shelf of flannel and fleece. Apparently there was another room with cottons. We loaded my car, which we shouldn’t have, but how can you be rude? By the time we got home, the smell of smoke was overpowering! We had done a sniff test and neither one of us noticed the smoke on the first few pieces, however as we loaded it got stronger. So, we unloaded and sorted. Jackie took some bolts of flannel to wash. I kept the fleece and some flannel. We both have been washing, washing and washing, not forgetting the drying. 133 yds of fleece! Washed, dried and hung out to air. Jackie washed etc 144 yds of flannel. We both hung out the flannel in the sun before washing. I have some more to wash but so far I have 100 yds flannel washed! There was plenty more for us but I made the executive decision not to accept anymore. So sad that we couldn’t use more.

I also had to make another executive decision which was very disappointing. We were not able to donate to Camp Corral this year. There were some administrative problems on their end but the main reason? We did not have enough blankets! As I mentioned in in my last newsletter we are behind and didn’t have the necessary 150 blankets for the campers. We have been supporting this organization for many years and will plan to donate next year, if we get caught up by then!

I don’t normally write about Blanketeers in the newsletter but I have to mention one in this one. One of the members of my ‘team’, Donna C is going to be moving out of state. The words ‘THANK YOU‘ are so inadequate. Donna has helped our Chapter with anything that needed to be done. Sometimes driving from the east valley twice a month to label, make kits, sort fabric etc.. I have been lucky to have Donna as a friend over the years. I wish her and her husband, Robert, all the very best in their new adventure. Hoping this isn’t goodbye but just cheerio for now! Safe travels!

No other news. I look forward to drop off day, this Saturday, June 24th. Usual time, usual place! 

 

**Please note, July has five Saturdays, so the next drop off will be July 29th. An extra ‘week’ to create more blankets, please!!
 

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May 2023 

Happy Belated Mother’s Day.

April’s Blanket count:-     576 collected             520 donated
For the past few months I have been asking for ‘boy’ blankets - thanks to those who have made these blankets, specifically for the boys.  Now I’m asking for help once again. We need blankets for all the children, boys and girls. We are a little behind where we should be. The lovely spring weather is coming to an end, ‘hibernation’ is around the corner - in other words, time for us to stay indoors and create blankets for Project Linus.

Most of you know the partnership we have with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. This wonderful organization builds beds for children in the Phoenix area, children that sleeping on the floor in their homes. We donate blankets to SiHP every few months. We recently donated 70 blankets to them.  Joe Genovese is the Phoenix Chapter Coordinator for SiHP and he and his wife Donna recently came to collect the blankets and surprised us with an ‘award’ honoring the Phoenix West Valley Chapter of Project Linus. Please ‘check out’ the print when you drop off your blankets. We are so happy to be able to donate our beautiful blankets to this worthwhile organization.

 

 

 

I haven’t mentioned it for a while but I need to repeat myself. PLEASE make sure your pets are kept away from your blankets. I have been told by proud pet owners that their pets lie on the blankets as they are being constructed! NO!  Children and pet hair, dander etc do not go together.

No more news. The next drop off day will be Memorial weekend, Saturday, May 27th. 9:00am to 12:30pm. I look forward to seeing everyone.

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April 2023 

Blankets in:   522                                     Blankets out: 475

I’ve waited for a while before I send out this month’s newsletter. Why? I don’t have any news for you.

Things are going smoothly, no issues to report.  We still need ‘boy’ blankets, all sizes. 

Please realize that there are five Saturdays this month so we won’t have drop off day until April 29th. Please check website if you are not sure of time or place. 

As always, THANK YOU for all you do. 

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March 2023 

Good afternoon, 

Sorry to be so late with the newsletter this month. My publisher was out to town and to be quite honest, not much news this month. 

February’s totals -               Blankets in 386            Blankets donated 530

Thank you to everyone who donated to our annual fund raiser, especially to those of you that were so kind, giving much more than the suggested $20. We exceeded our goal - thank you! 

As most of you know, I have to purchase items for the Chapter. One of the items are the labels that get sewn onto each and every blanket that we donate. National had a ‘competition’, each Coordinator needed to have her reports done for the year. Depending on how many blankets were donated and how much money the Chapter raised for 2022, labels were awarded. I’m happy to tell you that we received 3,750 ‘free’ labels.  We were also awarded either yarn or batting if our end of the year reports were done. I chose yarn and a box arrived with a lovely variety of colorful skeins. A huge thank you to Patty and the Board for these incentives and rewards. 

The next ‘drop off day’ is Saturday, March 25th from 9:00 - 12:30 at the FSEC office. I look forward to seeing everyone.

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February 2023                 

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70,187 blankets have been delivered to children in crisis since March, 2010.

Congratulations Phoenix West Valley Blanketeers - the amazing total of blankets that were created and delivered. I am so proud and excited to announce the above total. 

1,000 blankets were brought in at last month's Drop Off Day. 657 were donated to recipients.

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Jeannette Duffy of Happy Trails Resort on Friday. It was decided that the Annual Happy Trails Quilt Show would, from now on, be every other year. This year, a scaled down version of the event - Quilter’s Market was held. I was invited to attend to promote Project Linus. Jeannette has been a huge supporter of Project Linus for many years (longer than I have been Coordinator!) Most of the quilters make quilts for us. Thank you Happy Trails Quilters, especially for all the help you give Jeannette and a special thank you to those who now support Project Linus. The group donates approximately 400 quilts a year to our Chapter. THANK YOU! 

While I was at the Quilter’s Market, a couple stopped by to thank Project Linus for all the wonderful work we do. Their granddaughter is battling cancer and so far has received 2 Project Linus blankets.  Her grandmother told me that one of them is her very favorite and it goes everywhere with her. Aren’t we lucky to be part of such a worthwhile organization? The blankets were not from our Chapter as the family lives in Colorado but it is lovely to hear that we do make a difference. 

We had an unfortunate incident happen during the drop off in January. One of our Blanketeers parked in the driveway and someone else backed out hitting and scratching the parked car. Sadly, the person drove off without stopping to check if there was any damage. From now on, please park in designated spots or in the street, not in the driveway. 

 

Please don't forget that we are trying to reach our monetary donation goal to keep our chapter running. If you can, please help us out with a $20 (or more) donation. Thank you

As always, thank you to each and everyone of you that continue to support Project Linus. What an awesome Chapter we are and it’s all because of our dedicated Blanketeers who donate new, handmade blankets. I also need to thank my ‘team’, the women who give of their time to help, sometimes twice a month, to make sure the facilities will get their blankets and to the Delivery people, who deliver our blankets to the recipients. I’m lucky to have a couple of people that also collect blankets from various places. I know I keep repeating myself but I am so grateful to each and everyone of you. 

Sorry the newsletter is a little late this month. My publisher had a very busy weekend. Next Drop off Day, February 25th. I hope to see you then.

 

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January 2023

Greetings and Happy New Year! 

I have no idea where the last few weeks have gone! Time has flown by, and the first week of January is over! We will be ‘back in business’ in a few weeks. I had started this newsletter before Christmas, needless to say I have deleted a few paragraphs! 

It’s been a busy few weeks for our Chapter of Project Linus.  Our last drop off of the year was November 26th. We collected 405 blankets and donated 872.  

We donated 50 blankets to Billy’s Place for their Winter Wonderland event. We had already donated 66 to them in May for their event.  When we first started donating to them, they only needed 50! Billy’s Place is a Grief Counseling facility, so many children have lost a loved one.The Arizona Rangers (they have a bbq party for the children of Sunshine Acres) took 85. 

Shop With a Cop with Peoria PD was fabulous.  They had 50 children participate. So much fun for the children and the adults.  

Sleep In Heavenly Peace, were able to hang 20 Fiesta Bowl colored Project Linus blankets on their float during the Fiesta Bowl Parade. Thank you to those of you that donated these special blankets. 

It has been a fantastic year for our Chapter.  Finally being able to have the Blanketeers stay and chat for a little while as they drop off their blankets. No meetings, just a drop off day.  The meetings were fun but a lot of work - and as I am getting older, I need to make things easier for myself and for my ‘team’. The new way of ‘meeting’ is working out very well. For those of you that have supported me over the years, you have noticed the changes in the ‘meeting’ room. No room for a full ‘Bee’. I am not going to look for a new facility, we are lucky to have our ‘free’ space for storage etc. I do hope to have a couple of ‘special’ days throughout the year. Maybe a make a quilt day and a crochet/knit day. 

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As most of you know, at this time of the year I have to do a report for National.Total blankets collected for the year 6,372 

Total blankets donated for the year 7,174

 

Now for the best news - since I took over the Chapter in March of 2010 (I don’t have numbers from before then) we have donated, drum roll please, maybe I should just wait, ok, the grand total is 69,530 !  For those of you that know me, yes there were tears!  What a fantastic number!  This means that we will reach 70,000 the early part of 2023.  Just think of all the children that have received some extra love. On the rare occasion that I have witnessed a child receiving a blanket, it’s wonderful to see their faces light up! They are thrilled and the older children are amazed that someone has created a blanket, just for them. 

 

Drop off days will be continuing, the last Saturday of every month. Please remember, if there are five Saturdays in the month, it will still be the last one. The address for the drop off day - 17621 N 25th Avenue. Hours - 9:00am to 12:30pm.

 

 I am so grateful to my ‘team’ for all their hard work, making our Chapter so successful. We meet half way through the month to prepare for drop off day and of course we are working on drop off day. Thank you, friends, for all you do! 

 

It is that time of the year again. The part of my ‘job’ as Coordinator that I dislike the most. As you know, we have to raise $500 every year to be able to keep our Project Linus Chapter open. This money, in part, is kept for our use, to buy labels, literature, plastic bags, printing ink, blanket making supplies etc. National keeps 20% of our donation for insurance, licensing etc. So, for the past 10 years or so, I have asked for donations instead of trying to raise the money needed. I’m sure you have all noticed prices of everything is increasing. This also affects P. L. I think a $20 donation from each will help us to raise our $500. Of course, if you would like to donate more, I would appreciate it. 

 

If you shop at Fry’s please add Project Linus, Phoenix West Valley Chapter to their community rewards program. We get a reward every 3 months. We receive at least $150 a year, a small, easy way of raising extra money.

 

We are still collecting soda can tab tops for Ronald McDonald house. Also, we continue to collect feminine hygiene products for the teens that cannot attend school one week a month, because they don’t have supplies. Where are we sending these items - Phoenix! Yes, here in our valley, there is this problem and our donations will be used locally.

 

We are lucky that we have new people show an interest in Project Linus, checking out the website and reading the newsletters. So, for those of you that have read the next few sentences before, please bear with me as I repeat some of our rules. 

1. Please use 100% cotton fabric, in child friendly prints. 

2. Please remember the blankets are for children, from birth to age 18, so appropriate patterns.

3. No seasonal or religious themes.

4. 100% acrylic yarn that can be machine washed AND dried.

5. Baby blankets need to be at least 36” x 36” or 36” x 40”, babies grow! Again, child friendly colors, age appropriate! No black, brown, dark baby blankets.

6. When crocheting or knitting your blankets please weave in 6” tails, forwards and backwards. Please do not just tie a knot, these knots come apart in the wash. 

7. Fleece - no double fleece, or blankets with knots. If you want to use fleece, please check the pattern on the website for no-sew fleece blankets. It’s an easier way of creating fleece blankets. Again, child appropriate, no seasonal or religious themes. 

8. Fleece may be edged with a crocheted border using acrylic yarn. 

9. Flannel may be used. 

10. Please do not use the new blanket / chenille yarns - we have discovered that this yarn is not suitable for frequent washings, and not child appropriate. 

11. PLEASE, PLEASE, keep your pets away from your blankets. Pet hair and dander cannot be removed from crocheted / knitted, fleece or flannel, the hair gets stuck and woven in. Unfortunately, we receive some beautiful blankets that are completely covered and I am sad to let you know that these blankets have to be thrown away. We cannot donate pet hair covered blankets, or blankets that have offensive odors. So many children have severe allergies and we cannot take the risk of a child being affected by one of these blankets. 

 

I am thrilled, grateful and happy. So many of you donating to this wonderful cause. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your ‘hard’ work, your kindness, your continued support and dedication.  I am looking forward to another great year of donating blankets to children in crisis, making a difference, some extra love when they need it most! 

 

I hope to see you on January 28th.