winners of Cowboy Challenge

Last year I announced the Project Linus challenge to make blankets with a cowboy/ cowgirl theme. Robinanne agreed to carry some of the line of fabric chosen by the National office of PL. Quilters took home a piece of the selected fabric and purchased coordinating pieces. I am amazed at the quilts which came in! Each was unique, colorful and well done. Lots of creative thinking went into each design. The kids will LOVE them, and thats the best part!

Congratulations to Pat Davis, Lynn Hiltz and Mary Maloney for creating the blankets which were voted as the favorites.

Autism Blankets

This is a relatively new idea-- that special blankets may help families of Autistic children get some needed sleep. These special children often sleep much better with a heavy blanket over them-- one that weighs about 10 - 15% of their body weight. The Thursday volunteers who meet at the local quilt shop have made 15 blankets for this cause. All will be filled with rolled up sheets. Ladies of Salem have donated the sheets and will be filling the blankets. A finished sample is shown in the photos.

Autism Blankets

Autism Blankets for Worcester County Kids

The concept of special blankets for Autistic kids is relatively new. Families are sleeping much better when their very special child is covered by a heavy blanket. When I say heavy, I mean that these blankets should weigh about 10 - 15% of the child's weight. We are told that one side should have a children's print fabric and the other side should be a calming color. Channels are stitched to provide space for rolled sheets which make the needed weights. The Thursday sewing group did the initial stitching at the local quilt shop, while ladies from Salem collected clean, used sheets. Once all 15 of our blankets are filled, they will go to the Occupational Therapists at Cedar Chapel School in Snow Hill. Depending on the success of our first effort, we will consider making more of these blankets.

Honoring Blanketeers

Volunteer Blanketeers honored at Salem United Methodist Church October 18

Colorful Project Linus Blankets draped over pews, railings, window ledges and altar rail are a great testimony to the dedication, love and talent of many volunteers who quilt, sew, tie, crochet and knit for children. Each person in attendance will be asked to write a message of comfort and cheer to add to a blanket for a personal touch. In addition, many of the blankets in the front are very special. 12 blankets were made with extra special care for the annual themed challenge. This year the quilters are "competing" with cowboy/ cowgirl themes. So much thought went into these blankets with horses, famous cowboys, hats, boots and other wild west symbols. At a penny/ vote we are hoping to earn some needed money while finding the favorite!

A great big thank you to all who make blankets or donate funds to make the work possible.

Crooked Brook

Crooked Brook, a manufacturer of fleece and fleece products donates fleece to Project Linus Chapters. Please scroll down to find links to their products.

Project Linus display at Furnacetown. In an effort to recruit more volunteers and to talk about our mission and our accomplishments, my husband and I had a few sample blankets and the raffle quilt in Furnacetown on September 19th and 20th during the 2009 Nassawango Quilt Show,

Quilt Raffle to benefit Project Linus

Quilt Raffle to benefit Project Linus

The Shorebirds Quilters, who meet monthly in Pocomoke at Robinanne's Quilting Service, have recently completed a quilt and started selling raffle tickets at the Quilt Show in Furnacetown last weekend ( Sept 19 & 20). Tickets are $1 each, 6 for $5. If you wish to purchase a ticket or contribute to Project Linus, Lower DelMarVa Chapter, contact me or Robin at the Quilt Shop.

The quilt drawing will be held in mid December at the guild's Christmas meeting.

A recent work assignment took me to Vancouver Washington. While I was there I had the pleasure of attending part of a sewing day with the Portland/ Vancouver Chapter of Project Linus. Chapter Coordinator, Jodene Cook has some great ideas! This picture shows one of their group projects which they call "Mix it Up". A color scheme was chosen and participating volunteers make squares to exchange. Pieces are cut in the following sizes: 4 1/2" square, 2 1/2 x 4 1/2" rectangle and 2 1/2 x 6 1/2" rectangle. Each volunteer makes a number of blocks the same, then they are exchanged to make a more interesting quilt.

Students at Salisbury University held a Make a Blanket Day today. I was invited to attend, but they handled everything! Todays event kicks off an effort to make and donate 200 fleece blankets by then end of October! Thank you for your efforts! Ashley Davidson speerheaded this effort. Ashley is a grad student who works in the volunteer office at the university.

thanks

Thank you notes received. Your blanket making efforts are greatly appreciated!

"On behalf of PRMC Pediatric Unit, I want to thank you and Project Linus for the very nice supply of blankets and quilts you make and donate to us. The parents as well as the children really love them. We deeply appreciate them. Thank you, Isabelle White, Pediatrics, PRMC"

"Dear Project Linus Volunteer, Your gift makes life a little brighter for children recieving care at the Nemours/Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children. Thanks so much for your generosity and your thoughful contribution. The quilts you sent are so beautiful. Thank you so much for your generous efforts for the children we serve. Beth Carlough"

Thursday Quilters

Project Linus blanketeers of Lower DelMarVa gather together weekly at Robinanne's Quilting Service in Pocomoke City. Basic instruction for quilting is available from these ladies.

Join us on Thursdays from 10 am- 3 pm. Order lunch from a local restaurant or bring a bag lunch.

Blanket Deliveries in July

Blanket Deliveries!

You all so graciously make hundreds of blankets each year. The logistics of getting blankets to all the facilities can be complex, but I try and simplify it when I can. As you may know, we work with hospitals from Nassawadox Va in the southern most part of the DelMarVa Peninsula to AI duPont Regional Childrens Hospital way up north in Wilmington DE-- over 4 hours drive time between these 2. I make sure that we get blankets to all the area hospitals about every 3 months.

Last week I was able to arrange for delivery of blankets to most of our facilities. I took 60 blankets to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Pediatric department and the Special Care nursery. The nurses in Peds were so glad to see the blankets! They just love to give them to their little patients. Newborn hats knitted by June Davis went to the NICU too.

The rest of the recent deliveries were about delegating and cooperating! Pat Rebman took 25 blankets to Nanticoke Memorial in Seaford, where the volunteers at the desk in the front lobby take care of getting our bags to the nursery and the Pediatric areas. Thanks, Pat! Nanticoke is also served by the Dover Delaware PL group.

A friend who works parttime at McCready in Crisfield took 10 blankets to the ER. There is no pediatric department but the ER nurses find children who are really comforted by the blankets during their emergency procedures. Thanks, Kristen!

A I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington is a 3 hour drive from here. We now have a cooperative arrangement with Sysco Foods. Becki Shumaker picked up 50 blankets and 103 pillowcases and took them to Elvin White, the Asst. Transportation Manager. Thanks to Elvin, the blankets and pillowcases are now in the child Life Department there!

50 blankets were delivered to Nassawadox VA by Jennifer Langley. They will be used in Pediatrics, ER and newborn areas.

Lastly, I sent 5 patriotic themed blankets to Florida for the children of returning soldiers. This week a large number of badly injured military personnel will see their families for the first time since they were injured. There are some who come home with horrific things for the children and spouses to deal with. Project Linus groups from all over the country sent patriotic blankets to eash the stress on the children of these veterans.

Autism Blankets

Autism Blankets

We will be making at least 20 blankets for autistic children of Worcester County MD. Each blanket is made from 2 - 1 yard pieces of fabric, 1 print, 1 solid, and 2 1/2 yards of velcro. The "Lily's Hug" pattern was shared by another coordinator at this year's Annual conference. Channels are stitched into the blanket and stuffed with a rolled sheet in each, then sealed with velcro. Blankets for autistic children should weigh about 10 - 15% of their body weight. They are also called, "weighted blankets" and may soothe children with autistism and a few other children with sensory diagnoses.

Playing it safe with rotary cutters

Rotary Cutter Safety

Aren't rotary cutters great tools? The invention of the rutary cutter has changed quiltmaking forever! I recently had an accident with my rotary cutter. All my fault, of course! The stitches are out but my thumb is now infected. It seems that I may have some permanent damage but time will tell. I was cutting a thick stack of fabric in a free form curvy line. Some of the contributing factors include a slightly loose blade in the rotary cutter, and I was sitting on the floor while cutting. I will refer you to a website which has some safety information.
I also want to encourage you to purchase a ruler with finger guard. I got mine from Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop, 11 Centre Street, Bath Maine 04530 phone: 207-443-2900. I was not using this ruler at the time-- using a square template because the pieces were small. Since the accident I also purchased a "Klutz" glove. These are made for Fons and Porter and sold in many quilt shops. The same sort of glove may be found on some websites where safety equipment is sold. Smaller sizes are hard to find from safety websites. Read to find out what the glove is made from. Some have latex dots on them and should be avoided by persons with latex allergies. Others are latex free. Be careful! You only get one pair of hands.

http://quilting.about.com/od/rotarycuttingskills/tp/rotary_safety.htm

Fun at Conference

Country and Western bands were a hit at the banquets. Silliness and smiles prevailed!

Linus Stars photo

Linus Stars Quilt

This quilt is described in a post below. Known as the Linus Star, It was designed by Patricia Pepe and requires her "X-Block template for cutting the star points. It is much easier than it looks! Watch how the pattern morphs into a new star if you reverse the template. ( Some people learn by doing)

Linus Stars photo

Diamonds for Lucy

This quilt can be made with 5 - 6" charm squares or 10" blocks. Use fabrics from the annual conference exchange of 10" squares or cut them from theme fabrics, stash fabrics or the scrap bin. Most important is to first divide your blocks into light and dark, with no mediums. Put small squares in pairs, 1 light, facing 1 dark. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner and stitch on both sides of the line, a 1/4" seam. Cut apart and press. Arrange the squares to form a diamond or whatever pattern you like. There are many design possibilities. Have fun with this quick quilt!

Linus Stars

Patricia Pepe designed this pattern just for Project Linus! She is a wonderful teacher. Her enthusiasm made her class so much fun. I will share the techniques needed for sewing this pattern. We used Patricia's "X-Block" template. These are wonderfully versatile templates, which can make easy work of a complex pattern. Drop in at Robinanne's in Pocomoke any Thursday in July and see the quilt top.

Buzz Cake Quilt Pattern

Buzz Cake has a catchy name. This quilt is bold, easy, quick and unique. It requires 36 10" squares. These can be a purchased set of "layer cakes" or better yet-- cut 10" squares from scraps! Mix colors from your stash and use this pattern to combine old calicos and newer fabrics for a brand new look. Chose 4 of the 10" squares and cut them into 5" squares so that you have a total of 16 5" squares. Come see this quilt top at Robinanne's Quilting Service on a Thursday real soon.

Autism Blankets

One very interesting part of Project Linus Institute this year was our opportunity to hear from an autism counselor, an autistic young adult and an expert in the construction of weighted blankets for autistic children. We learned that the blankets need to be weighted, since these children are more comforted by the heaviness of a blanket like this. I will be gathering the necessary supplies so that we may begin making these special blankets in August. The first batch will be delivered to the Cedar Chapel Special School in Snow Hill MD. Future deliveries will depend on the success of the first weighted blankets we make. Supplies include: 2 1 yard pieces of coordinating fabric, 1 solid and 1 print, 2 2/3 yd of velcro, and 12 twin bed sheets for each blanket. More details will be described in our first workshop.

The Project Linus Institute is a 4 day fun-filled event, held in Bloomington IL. I am here for the whole time. I can't wait to share patterns, ideas and new techniques with the Thursday Quilters and anyone else who will listen and learn. Warm up your rotary cutters and get ready for some new quilts to make! See you in a week, quilters!!

Welcome

Welcome to the Project Linus Lower DelMarVa Chapter blog.
This blog was created at the Project Linus Institute in Bloomington, IL.
Donna & Rob are currently in attendance at the Institute, learning all the latest about Project Linus.