April 2024

Blankets in :    489                                       Blankets out :  420

Good evening, 

My goodness, I really wish I had more hours in the day!  As most of you know, I am moving soon. After being in this house for 29 years I have accumulated many treasures! Some may say garbage but to me I can’t imagine being without them! LOL! 
Actually I have been purging! I apologize for delay in writing the newsletter. I know you will all understand how busy I am! 

One thing I need to mention once again, baby blankets! We have been receiving tiny blankets, most of which would not cover a baby. Please, if you wish to create a baby blanket, sewn, crocheted or whatever way you would like make one, it needs to be at least 36” x 42”. Crib size if that is easier to think about the size. 

Not much news, oh, wait, I forgot! If you have been paying attention to the newsletters, you will be waiting for an announcement. The first quarter of the year is over, Project Linus report time. It is with much excitement and happiness that I announce to the wonderful Blanketeers of the Phoenix West Valley Chapter of Project Linus that since March of 2010, our Chapter has donated 80,749 blankets to children in crisis so that they will feel love and comfort in their time of need. What can I say? I am so proud of all that we have accomplished. THANK YOU to each and every one of you that help to make our Chapter what it is! 

Next Drop off Day, Saturday April 27th. 9:00am to 12:30pm at the FSEC office. I hope to see you then. 

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March 2024

Blankets in :          453                         Blankets out :       485

Happy St. Patrick’s Day for those that celebrate, Happy Sunday to the rest of you!

Not much news today.

For circumstances beyond my control we will not be donating blankets to Camp Corral this year. Makes me sad because I know how much the campers love our blankets, however, we have many other children we can reach out to who will love our blankets just as much! 

As mentioned in the last newsletter we do need baby / toddler blankets for the William’s Syndrome convention. This will be held in Phoenix in July. 

Thanks to everyone who donated to our yearly fund raiser. 

For the ‘yarn’ Blanketeers, please remember to weave in your tails. So many knitters / crocheters just end their work with knots. Wear and tear, washing, drying cause the knots to come undone. Even though you think they are tight! 

Just recently, the daughter of one of my FSEC ‘family’ members was admitted to Thunderbird hosp. Waiting on the bed, a Project Linus blanket! Sandra and her daughter were very happy to receive the blanket, especially as Sandra ‘knows’ about all the wonderful work we all do. 

Please remember, five Saturdays this month. Next drop off day, March 30th. 

As always, thank you to each and everyone of you! Happy blanket making! 
 

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February 2024

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Blankets in:               722                      Blankets out:     485

Good afternoon, hoping everyone is feeling well. 

Before I start this newsletter, I may need to apologize to some of you. As I hope you all know, I am so very proud of our Chapter. I have always said that I can’t do this ‘job’ by myself. I try to thank you every month for supporting our Chapter. I was recently told by one Blanketeer that she doesn’t feel as though she is part of the Project Linus Team. We are all on the same team, providing as many children as we can with some extra love, in the form of a new handmade blanket that they can have for their very own. I do have a small group of immediate helpers that in the past I have called "my team" and I apologize if anyone else has felt like an "outsider". This was never my intention. This small group is made up of a few individuals that volunteer their time in so many additional ways and from now on, I will refer to them as PLT, not my team. If anyone is interested in doing more than just making blankets, and wants to be more consistently involved, please reach out to me directly. I will be listing at the end of each month's newsletter openings as they become available. 

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Just a reminder, we are unable to host monthly Bees as we did pre-covid, which is crazy to think is almost 4 years ago now! FSEC is still kind enough to let us use a closet for storage of our supplies and ready made blankets, but they have grown exponentially and do not have an open space for us to use and congregate. This does not mean that you can't come in and say a brief hello. We'd love to see you.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace received 105 of our blankets last week. Our blankets are paired with sheet sets and then placed on the children’s beds - brand new beds that the volunteers of SiHP create. I have been asked by Karen and Donna to thank each of you that make blankets for Project Linus, some of which get donated to them. They are so happy to receive our beautiful quilts and afghans etc. 

It’s February again, the time of the year that I hate because I have to ask for money from you. As most of you know, each Chapter is responsible for collecting $500 every year. This money helps Project Linus run smoothly. Each state has different licensing rules, insurance rules etc etc.. The money raised by us is put towards these different items at HQ, we however, get to keep the rest which is then put into our ‘account’. I use this money for batting, yarn, fleece, some fabric, office supplies, labels and other items. I am asking each of you to please donate $20 again this year. By asking for a ‘one time payment’ we reach our goal very quickly and I don’t have to bother you again. Thank you to everyone that donated in January. 

We have two events coming up in the next few months. Camp Corral will be in June. Camp Corral is a summer camp for eligible children who have suffered a loss of a military parent or their parent was injured, while serving our country. Under circumstances beyond our control, we did not donate last year, but we need to this year. The campers are between 8 and 15. If you could make an extra blanket or two that would be great. Our second request is to support Williams Syndrome National Convention which is to be held in Phoenix this summer. Our blankets are needed for the daycare that looks after the children of parents attending the Convention. They are going to need 60-65 toddler and 15 baby blankets. This group was planning on coming to Phoenix in July of 2020, obviously they had to cancel because of Covid. Williams Syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. Again, we are going to need extra blankets so we can help these organizations. 

On Friday I attended the Happy Trails quilt show. My goodness there are so many talented quilters that participate in the show. As I walked around, I saw many quilts ready for Project Linus. Happy Trails is one of our biggest supporters, donating approximately 300 quilts a year to our Chapter. Thank you Ladies for your continued support and dedication. 

While I was at the quilt show, I was able to ask a couple of the vendors if they would like to become a drop off location for us. Both are more than happy to help us so a huge welcome to The Sewin Asylum and Cactus Quilting. Thank you!

Last month it was brought to my attention that there was an issue with the pattern page on this website. I have no idea what the problem is/was but it has now been fixed.

Thanks everyone, for all your help. Over 700 blankets last month, awesome!

I’ll see some of you next Saturday, February 24th, 9:00am - 12:30pm. Please note, there are 5 Saturdays in March, the drop off day will be March 30th 2024

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OPEN PLT POSITIONS (aka - HELP NEEDED)

Phoenix Children's Hospital - Delivery

Ronald McDonald House - Delivery

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January 2024

Happy New Year, alright, I’m a little late but it was only 17 days ago. I had the upper respiratory infection and just getting over it. I hope you have escaped it - it was awful. Just glad it wasn’t RSV, the flu or Covid. 

Blanket totals :   November in 453                   November out 595

Now the exciting part, total donated for the year 5,437 blankets

We donated to Shop With A Cop (53) and Billy’s Place received 190

No news as we start another year of Project Linus. We will continue to have Drop Off Days, the last Saturday of every month (except for December, when we don’t meet at all). For those Blanketeers who visit us often, they know that there is no room at FSEC to hold meetings. We are so very fortunate to be able to have storage for our blankets etc. So many Chapters have to pay for storage. 

A reminder, no pet hair or smoke / odors. 
100% acrylic yarn that can be washed and dried in machines. Child friendly colors. Please remember, weave your ‘tails’ in, no knots to end a row or after you have changed colors. Please no chenille or bulky blanket yarn. 
100% cotton fabric, fleece or flannel. Again child friendly colors and patterns. No seasonal themes, except for Christmas / winter. 1/4 inch seam allowance and please no ‘rag’ quilts. 

I need to thank my ‘publisher’, my daughter Sam who helps me produce these newsletters and set up my computer for keeping track of all our blanket donations. As you know, it can be frustrating teaching people to use the computer, I know I cause her some ‘moments’! (To say the least!) 

Thank you to my ‘team’ for all their help, at least once a month, sometimes twice. Labeling blankets, making kits, bagging, delivering, sorting donations, whatever needs to be done. Mostly without complaining, not that I would listen! 

I haven’t announced a total of blankets that we have delivered for a while. It’s now time and I am so excited to give you the number. This total is from March of 2010 until December of 2023 …….. drum roll, trumpets blaring, ready?     79,369!  We will be reaching 80,000 before too long! This is an amazing number and I really need to thank each and everyone of you, who have supported our Chapter, dedicated many hours to make sure we reach as many children as possible who are in crisis and need some extra love by receiving a hand made blanket. 

I started this newsletter a few days ago. As I said at the beginning I haven’t been well, at the same time my beloved dog, Whitley wasn’t well either. An overnight stay at the Emergency Clinic, vet visits, ultrasounds, fluids and med at home (thanks Sam). I spent two nights with very little sleep but unfortunately Whitley deteriorated and I had to say goodbye to her on Saturday morning. As with all volunteer jobs, family comes first - sorry for the delay.

First drop off for the year, this upcoming Saturday, January 27th. 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. 17621 N 25th Avenue, Phoenix. I look forward to seeing you.