Newsletter – March 2012

Total donations: 211,276
This year to date: 2,457

Several people have come back with updates to last year’s numbers. Joan Lambert’s final total was 1,254 making her second only to Celia Wright – congratulations! The latest figure for 2011 is 20,638.

Quilters’ Guild AGM
If you are going up to Dundee to the AGM this month, look out for the Project Linus stand. I have tried before to get us included but Elspeth Russell and Alison Drayson have succeeded.

Warrington Coffee Morning
Crazy Quilters for Linus are having a coffee morning on May 12th from 10am to 2pm and welcome visitors. Details will be posted nearer the event.

Celia Wright (Birmingham North)
Our quilting day in November was most enjoyable and our local Townswomen’s Guild made incubator quilts for premature babies.

Vicky Cowburn (South Lakes)
In the last month I have given two talks about Project Linus. The talk for the NFU Wives at Sedburgh was a great night and as I always take along some of my crafts to sell to help raise extra funds the ladies were very generous and I was able to buy £50 worth of fleece at Abakan in Preston. It worked out at £3 per metre and some great designs. The second talk was to a Good Neighbour group in a local village. They were all very interested in Project Linus and again very generous.

Barbara (a lady from Windermere) arrived at my door last week with 10 beautiful quilts. Her family have begged her not to make them any more quilts as they are all quilted out! She was at one of my first talks some years ago and since then has made quilts for Project Linus, so now I give her lots of fleece and she just keeps making beautiful quilts. Kate, another lady makes me pieced tops so with Barbara’s help we make a good team.

Alison Still (Maldon, Essex)
We recently held a Linus Day with a Difference with the Blackwater Patchwork Group. Group leader Jenny gave all participants a small package of suitable fabric and we joined with a partner to share ideas and coordinating fabrics ready to ‘arrive and sew’ the following week. It was different and fun to share the cutting and sewing, and to combine ideas and of course the quilts grew very quickly. At least six quilts were completed within a week of the initial day and many more are on the way!

Pat Harvey (Ayrshire) (article taken from local Kilmarnock newspaper)
Cross House Hospital Children’s Ward had a visit from the ladies of Project Linus who make and donate comforting quilts to children in hospital. The group members enjoyed tea and mince pies and saw how their quilts are put to good use. Senior Paediatric Nurse Jean Davies said “we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to all the women for the hard work, love and care that goes into the quilts and baby clothes. Being in hospital can be a stressful experience for a child but these quilts and blankets can make the experience more homely and comforting.”

Pupils in Year 6 and 7 at Dailly Primary School near Girvan, Ayrshire recently donated four quilts made in their after-school sewing club. I gave a talk there last year to pupils an staff and the quilts are a result of this. The kids have done so well, haven’t they?

Angela Hartle (West Dorset)
I made a delivery of 80 quilts to Wyvern School in Weymouth (a special school for children with severe difficulties). The 80 quilts meant that every child in the school received one. The school laid them all out and brought the children in class by class to choose their own quilts.

Carol Scott and Anne Pick (North Dorset)
We recently delivered quilts to Shillingstone special school. They later decorated their Christmas tree with laminated photos of the quilts.

Nanzi Beasley and Judith Davies (Swansea)
Firstly a huge thank you to Gwyneth Edwards, who has been the Linus Coordinator for Swansea since 2004. In that time she delivered approximately 750 quilts and blankets, raised money, and constantly encouraged quilters and knitters in the Swansea area. In October Nanzi and Judith took on the role. It needed two of us to continue the wonderful work done by Gwyneth. On February 8th, Gwyneth introduced us to Nicola Lewis, Ward Manager at Oakwood Ward, Morriston Hospital. We were able to visit the youngsters on the wards and distribute fifteen quilts. It was a joy to see their faces and the delight in having a a quilt that would be their own. We were also able to see the six highchairs that had been bought for the ward with money raised by selling fabric donated to Gwyneth by Sandie Silver.

Nikki Webb (Stirling)
Nikki has been doing some great work with local school children. They recently made 37 quilts as part of their textiles class. As well as learning super new skills the teacher said that all the girls finished feeling a great sense of achievement and pride that they were doing something for others and contributing to such a worthwhile cause.

Sylvia Davies (Crazy Quilters, Warrington)
Recently held a stand at the local Christmas Fair to sell handmade items to raise funds.

Joan Lambert (South Dorset)
Vera Menezes had the original idea of setting up a new group dedicated to sewing mainly for Linus. The West Parley Sports and Social Club has recently been refurbished and has a perfect sewing room. This has coincided with an initiative by the Parish Council to encourage more use of all their local facilities and offered the room to Project Linus rent free for three months. A productive sewing day was had by all and we hope that this new venture goes from strength to strength.

Ann Smith (Chesterfield)
Ann sent in a photograph of their oldest and youngest quilters (see PDF version of newsletter for images). She doesn’t win the prize for youngest quilter but does Maddy qualify for oldest quilter at 90? Can anyone beat that from their volunteers? My Mother was 95 when she crocheted her last blanket and knitted her last teddy.

Lynn Fairhead (Lincoln)
Lynn is delighted to join Sue Hall as a Linus Coordinator in Lincoln. In the first fortnight I made four quilts! Two were identical (bright multi-coloured cot quilts with farm animals) for two little boys. The two year old loves the quilt and it goes everywhere with him! The pictures of animals have also helped his vocabulary and skills in making animal noises. The single bed sized quilt featuring football and guitars was designed especially for an eight-year-old fostered boy. The teddy bear cot quilt is suitable for a little girl.

Do you have any stories or photographs for the next edition of the newsletter? Please do send these in to share with other volunteers.

Happy Quilting.