June Newsletter 2019        

Hello Blanketeers, 

 Hearts Knit Together 

We are so pleased to have discovered another place through which to distribute security blankets to children in crisis.  Hearts Knit Together is a 501c3 non-profit. The Executive Director is Linda Simmons. The focus of this volunteer organization is on the YWCA Women in Jeopardy program for battered women and children.  

They put together separate kits of necessary and comfort items that are placed on the beds of women who check into the shelters for help.  These women usually have their children with them. 

Linda was in need of blankets for the children’s kits.  She prefers fleece, one and a half yards – using the fringe loop pattern we use, but only fringed on the two longer ends of the fabric.  That makes them less bulky and easier to fit into the kits. They also have been pleased to accept crochet edged blankets and receiving blankets.  

She sometimes receives fleece that is not made into blankets.  This has become a win-win partnership.  She will send the fleece thru us to work on and we will return them as beautiful blankets.  Kits pictured Here

 The Magic of a Security Blanket

Recently I had occasion (not a happy one) to be waiting in a California Emergency Room for several hours. Here is something I learned. 

People of every age and ability came in for service during that time.  At lease half of the people who came in for help, also carried with them their security blankets – most of them fleece:  

..A woman with an 18 month old and a new baby (both snuggled in fleece blankets.)

..An older woman in a wheel chair who had her head and shoulders covered with her blankets

..An older man who put the blanket over his knees

..A 13 year-old boy who had his fleece blanket wadded up in his lap and his phone on top of it to play on 

..An older teenage girl 

..A 4 year-old boy 

..A young adult woman – all with blankets for comfort.  

These blankets were not made by Linus volunteers – but it made me realize how much comfort the blankets are when people need hugs and security.    

     

       JUNE BLANKET MAKING DAYS

We are looking forward to working with you soon: 

OSLC  - June 3^rd– 10:00 to 2:00  Join us to work – we will have fleece for your use that day.  

Riverton Senior Center – June 28^th9:30 to noon.  Jackie will be back to guide you.  

Happy June,   

Millie and Patsy

May 2019 Newsletter

Hello Blanketeers,

Many thanks are due to all the participating quilters who contributed their “twin-size” children’s quilts to the project we committed to last month.  

Tooele, Royal Family Kids Camp had asked us to provide 50 hand-made quilts for the counseling camp which is scheduled for July this summer. 

This is a week devoted to giving hope and love to children who have been abused or neglected.  This summer they will each be taking home with them from camp – a handmade Linus quilt.  In order to have assurance that they were to have them in time we agreed to a date in May to deliver them.

You quilters are amazing – generous – talented – efficient!!   We finished a month early.  I was able to have the director of the program; Kendra Keddington and Angela Sorenson (who found Project Linus in the first place) come to my house and pick up the complete group of gorgeous quilts.  Here they are squishing bags of quilts into the Jeep Cherokee.

As you know – we usually make quilts in smaller sizes for babies and cribs.  This was an ambitions project and I am very proud of all of you who worked so hard to complete the request:

       Sweet Charity Sisters, Joy Millet, Jackie Cohen, Lanette Powell,  Square Corner Quilters, and Mountain Vista Church Quilters.   

Retiring from Leadership

Two of our long time blanket makers from South Valley are retiring from their position of organizers – Edrie Allred and Lynn Milsap.  They will continue to make blankets with their group which contributes exclusively to Project Linus, but they will take a rest from being the organizers.    

This is an ambitious group of blanket makers.  They will continue to meet at the Riverton Senior Center under the direction of Jackie Cohen who has been a contributing blanket maker and fund raiser for Project Linus for 6 years.  

   Contact Jackie at 805-256-5079 if you would like to join this group.  They work from about 9:30 am to noon.  Everyone is welcome to bring a piece of fleece and make fringe loop blankets. Meeting next -  May 24th

Of course, everyone is invited to participate in the blanket making day at OSLC, 2500 East 3900 South from 10:00am to 2:00pm the first Monday of every month.  Meeting next - May 6^th.

Thanks for making PL successful in SLCounty.  
   Millie and Patsy

Newsletter April, 2019

                Hello Blanketers -   We Made It to Spring Once Again!                      

    We will be having blanket making day at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church on April 1^stfrom 10:00 to 2:00.   Looks like we will also be having guests that day.  They would like to be taught how to make blankets in our fringe loop pattern. 

         They are organizing a blanket-making event scheduled for this summer.  I will be asking you experienced blanketeers to be teachers that day.  It should be fun to teach people how to do it well.

    Royal Family Kids Camp 

          As for our project for June for the Royal Family Kids Camp event, we have already reached our 50-quilt goal (25 girls 25 boys).  They are all twin size, (larger than we normally make.) 

        The event isn’t until June but everyone responded so quickly that we are ready early.  The children in this June 2019 counseling camp have been removed from trauma or neglect and reside now in capable foster care.  The quilts will be used at camp and then the children will take them home to keep.   

Who Receives Our Blankets?

           The blankets our volunteers make go all over Salt Lake County (where they are needed and when they are needed) by newborn babies and children up to age 18.  Over the years of our chapter they have been distributed through many agencies.  The list is extensive, but to name a few:

            NICU’s –

            St. Mark’s, LDS, Alta View, Pioneer Valley, and Primary Children’s. 

            Guardian ad Litem – SL County

            Utah Refugee Services

            Children of military families

            Crisis Care Centers

            Children’s Justice Centers

            Police & Fire Departments

            Police Christmas Shopping Event

            Baby Your Baby Programs-  SL County, Provo & Tooele     

            Individual children in crisis

            Boys and Girl’s Group Home

Thanks goes out to all the blanketeers with the big hearts who spend their money and time to make all of this happen. 

Looking Ahead and Planning

         OSLC has been great at raising funds for PL at the Fall Boutique.  This year we are thinking of how fine it would be if we were ready to offer lovely hand crafted items for sale.  Patti Schafer who is very skilled in crafts has offered to help us create meaningful and useful items.  Patti’s craft items have been a huge success at other church boutiques. 

    Will be sending more news on that idea for fund raising soon. 

Best wishes to blanketeer Roxanne Dixon who is heading over to Colorado to live.  Thanks Roxanne for all your blanket work and being there for us to enjoy working with you.   

     

    Thanks everyone for all you do for PL.  

                                                       Millie and Patsy

March 2019 Newsletter 

Hello Blanketeers,

We have been asked to participate in a special program for kids this coming June.

Angela Sorensen who is a volunteer at Royal Family Kid’s Camp in Sandy has asked if we could make and contribute quilts to that event.

The camp is for abused and neglected kids who are now in foster care here in Utah.  Her goal is to get a hand made quilt for each of the kids that they could receive for comfort at the camp, and then take with them when they leave. 

She would need quilts for 27 girls and 23 boys!  I think, as a group, we have the ability to meet this need.  If you would be interested in contributing a quilt, or more than one, for this event please let us know.

The children are from age 7 to 11 and her request is that they be twin bed size quilts.  So we would need to make them at 50 x 70 inches or larger.  They do not have to be long arm quilted.  A hand made quilt is great.  

Also I still have fabric and quilt kits with matching fabric.   If you would like to have some of this material I will get it to you. 

Thanks for all you do. Being a blanketeer is important and appreciated.

Millie and Patsy

February 2019 Newsletter

 

Hello Blanketeers,

        Thanks for all you do to keep our Project Linus Chapter growing and offering comfort to children. 

February blanket day at Our Saviour’s Church will be Tues the 5^th this month due to a conflict in scheduling at the church. 

Riverton blanket day at the Senior Center will be Friday the 22^nd

 Office of the Guardian ad Litem

    Have you ever wondered about the places our blankets go?  Actually they go everywhere in Salt Lake County where a child needs a bit of comfort. However, our largest number of blanket hugs go thru the Utah Guardian ad Litem system. (GAL)-  "meaning guardian for the lawsuit."

     Each year hundreds of children are filtered through the Office of the GAL.  They spend time meeting with and talking one-on-one with their appointed counsel. 

     An attorney "guardian ad litem" is appointed by the court to represent children who (through no fault of their own) are abused, neglected, or dependent.  A GAL is also appointed by the court to represent children in protective order matters. The appointed attorneys make hundreds of home visits to meet with their clients in their own homes.

     

     Each child who is brought to the GAL Office to meet his/her attorney is given the opportunity to choose a Project Linus blanket from the shelf as a departing hug.  

The blankets are appreciated by the kids and are very popular with the attorneys.  Here are some responses from kids and families.  

We are pleased to have a chance to share some of the thank you notes we receive.  

    Sending You all Love and Thanks,

                 Millie and Patsy

January 2019 Newsletter

Best Wishes to all Blanketeers for the New Year! 

              Our January 2019 blanket days are:  

  OSLC January 7^th10:00 to 2:00

  Riverton Senior Center January 25th

   9:00 to noon       

                            Quilts, Quilts, Quilts

December seemed to be the month for quilts.  Suddenly quilts appeared from several locations to be given to children at Christmas.

Thanks to our regular quilt volunteers, Lanette Powell, Jackie Cohen, Jean Peterson, 

Square Corner Quilters, and Mountain Vista Methodist Church Quilters, who all submitted their quilts again this month. 

                                   CRICUT CO

Also, Cricut Co. donated quilts from a project coordinated by Nicole Bennion. 

(Cricut is a precise electronic cutting machine). Below is a picture of the volunteer project this local company completed in December.   The quilts were pieced front back and binding - then machine long arm stitched. Here is a picture and article from their newsletter.  

                                                        

                        “One Armed Quilter”

Steve, the “One Armed Quilter” and Kim, of “Kimmie Anne Fabrics” have been volunteering their service to quilters who donate to PL.  He works with Square Corner Quilter’s Guild, president, Eileen Dwyer.  He also works with our PL blanketeer Jackie Cohen.  He donates the computerized long arm quilting designs on about 10 quilts a month to each of them.   

Steve Weis was hurt in an auto accident and lost the use of his left arm - so has cleverly named the company for that unique situation.  Kim Weis owns the company and they operate out of their home.  

Their team-work looks like this:    

            1.  Blanketeer quilters put the backs, fronts and batting together 

            2. They take them to Steve who does the computerized design and machine quilt 

            3. The quilts then go back to the quilters who finish binding the edges

            4. The finished quilts are donated to Project Linus so we can give kids blanket hugs

          OUR SAVIOUR’S LUTHERAN CHURCH

Thanks to OSLC for adopting PL’s kids as one of their mission projects. Their continued support and use of their space is crucial to production of blankets for the project.   Our annual blanketeer appreciation and Christmas season kick off was held on December 8^that OSLC.  Here is a picture of our beautiful blanketeers:  

                                             Jean Ann Nohavec

                        A retirement tea at Mountain Vista Methodist Church, in honor of Jean Ann, also celebrated the success of the quilt project that has been making blankets since the early days of our Chapter’s development.  Under Jean Ann’s direction this group has contributed over 1,100 quilts.  The occasion also marked the beginning of new coordinators:  Patty Schafer and Karen Riching will continue the great work.  

                                   An Awesome and Amazing Record

     Our PL year-end figures show that we have distributed 2,882 blankets in 2018.

     Since our chapter was founded the total distribution figure is 23,675!!

     You all are a part of this important work and none of it would  happen         

     without you.                       

                                    Happy 2019    

                                    Millie and Patsy

                        

December 2018 Newsletter

Merry Christmas Blanketeers!

        This wish comes early this year because our blanket-making day at OSLC comes on the first Monday of the month – which is December 3^rd.  

     We will plan to work for the morning hours at OSLC to make blankets, and then at noon will have a special lunch together to celebrate the start of the Christmas Season.  

     Riverton Group will meet Friday of this week (November 30^th) and then not again till the 4^thFriday in January.   

     There has been much activity this past 30 days. 

 We have been able to distribute over 300 blankets to children in need of comfort. 

           We have shared our blankets with Tooele County “Baby Your Baby” project as they have no Project Linus Chapter in their county and we had enough to share with them.   

             We have been working with RC Willey volunteer employees who plan to have over 200 blankets ready to contribute very soon.  Patsy and I have helped them prepare fabric and have given them instruction in the pattern we use for fleece-fringed blankets.  

 

           We have participated in a very successful fund-raiser with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church.  The money raised will be divided between Project Linus and Family Promise, both of which the church has chosen as outreach mission projects.

          We are ready for the Police Pay-It- Forward project for children.  This event is headed up by Sargent Brandon Shearer this year. They will pick up 50 blankets this week to prepare for their event early in December.  Kids shop with cops at Walmart and get to pick one of our blankets as well. Will post pictures next month. 

    Wishing you a blessed Christmas,

                          Millie and Patsy