Project Linus is still supplying Fairbanks with Blankets

I have heard from a lot of people that they thought the Fairbanks Chapter had closed.  It is still open but I am dealing with a long term illness and it has become difficult for me to keep up.  I am sometimes unable to get out of bed for a long time and if I miss a call from you please be patient with me.   I was recently really ill for quite a stretch of time and I am working on catching up now.  Blankets can still be delivered to the outpatient door at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.  I have received some beautiful blankets!  Thank you all so much for putting so much love into these blankets.  They mean so much to the kids.

One thing I could really use some help with is sewing project linus labels onto the finished blankets.  If you are able to help with that please let me know.  Tags have to be attached before they can be delivered to the children.  They can also be attached with fabric glue.  That works especially well with fleece.  I run an iron over the tag after gluing and it looks really nice.  The trickier blankets are the crocheted or knitted ones.  The tags have to be stitched into the blanket so they will hold well.  If you are willing to help out with this give me a call or email and let me know which type of blankets you could help with.

Also, if anyone thinks they might be able to run the Fairbanks Chapter give me a call.  I can talk to you about what I do.  I am not going to just let the chapter close without someone taking over.  I want to make sure blankets continue to be delivered to the Fairbanks Children who need them.

 

October

Wow I can’t believe it’s October already!  I know I have been really bad at posting on here but I’ve been dealing with some on-going health problems.  At some point I may have to find someone to take over Project Linus Fairbanks for me because I will never get over these problems I’m dealing with.  If anyone is interested please let me know.  I forget exactly but it cost somewhere over $100 to open this chapter so it would be better to keep it open and let someone else take over.  If it does close the next person who comes along will have to pay again.  It takes someone who has the energy to go out and get people involved – to have get togethers and fun blanket making parties and meetings.  Until that time comes however I am doing to do some things to try to get some more people involved.  This is difficult for me since I never know how I’m going to feel from day to day and most days are not so good. 

Anyway, I just got a large donation of yarn and I also have some fleece.  I am planning something where people can come together and help make blankets!  It will be so much fun!  Also, I am going to put a display up at the library. That will help get people involved making blankets too!  We really need to get going because over the summer the  number of blankets coming in has slowed to a crawl!  I only get a couple a month.  I think the summertime is just too short here in Alaska that people can’t stand to stay indoors.  So maybe now that its getting colder we will start to see more blankets coming in. 

Happy crafting,

Donna Capps

PL News – Feb

All I can say is Wow.  January was a great month for our chapter.   After our chapter appeared in the  Daily Newsminer we started receiving a lot more calls and a lot more blankets.  In the month of January we received 46 blankets!   Read my post titled January Donations to see pictures of some of the donations! 24 of those blankets were taken to Fairbanks Memorial Pediatrics and  ER and I’m getting ready to send out more.

Today was the first day of February and I brought home 5 bags of blankets, material, and some yarn.   I love seeing the wonderful workmanship in the blankets we have been getting.  In today’s batch we received 5 bright and cheerful quilts and a cuddly soft knit blanket that anyone would love to snuggle up with!

What a wonderful community we live in!  Once we got the word out there this town has come together to help us “blanket kids with love”.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of February will bring!

~Donna Capps

 

January donations!!!

I think we owe a huge thank you to Mary Beth Smetzer for writing that article in the Daily Newsminer about our chapter of Project Linus because we have never seen so many donations in a single month.  I know I have never received this many calls inquiring about our project in such a short amount of time.  This is very exciting!

Below is a picture of all the donations received during the month of January covering my love-seat.

Isn’t this fantastic??  There are 5 large garbage bags of fleece and some partially made blankets which I’ve been working on finishing.  One volunteer named Yvonne donated 19 beautiful fleece and flannel blankets with crochet edging which were already washed, in plastic bags and ready to be sent out.  All I have to do is add the Project Linus tags to those.

Some of the blankets made by Yvonne

I received blankets from another Project Linus Chapter in Idaho.  Barb McLean was very nice to help us get out chapter going with the 11 beautifully made blankets she sent.  Her chapter website is at www.projectlinusID.org Thank you Barb! I was very impressed with the way Barb packaged up the blankets she sent which include colorful round stickers that say “Angels in this world” and secure a Project Linus brochure to the blanket.  These blankets were also in plastic bags ready to go.   I intend to learn a thing or two from this Chapter coordinator.

A blanket from Project Linus Idaho

We also received some beautiful quilts this month.  Some of them came in anonymously but some came from Cabin Fever Quilters.  They are all so beautiful and I know the children who receive them will cherish them!

From Cabin Fever Quilters

Cabin Fever Quilters

Cabin Fever Quilters

Beautiful quilt anonymously donated

Here is one of the very beautiful crocheted blankets made by April Patzer

It was a wonderful month!  Thanks to Missy Kohler, a public service announcement about our group can be heard over the radio and every now and then I get a call from someone who “heard it on the radio”.   So, now that we have gotten the word out hopefully we will continue to have a lot of blankets coming in.   I know the nurses at Fairbanks Memorial Pediatrics and in the ER have been very busy and would love for every child they work with to receive a Project Linus blanket.  As we start to receive enough blankets we would like to reach out and help some other organizations like the American Red Cross of Fairbanks (which also supports Basset Army Hospital) and the Interior Alaska Center for Non-violent Living.

Well here’s a big THANK YOU to everyone who made blankets, donated or helped in any way.  You are all a tremendous help and without you there wouldn’t be much to give to these children.

Donna Capps

Crochet-edge Fleece blanket

Recently I have received several beautiful blankets that were fleece or flannel with a nice crocheted edging.  I have never made a crochet edge fleece blanket but I love how they look.  They look so tidy and it looks like it would make a fast blanket.  Some of them are so soft and cuddly that I wished I had one for myself!!  I might have to make one for myself after I make a bunch for the kids!  I looked online and found a video made by another Project Linus Chapter in Chicago.  I love that they made this easy video so others can learn to do this too.  Thanks PL Chicago!

It looks like Joann’s does not carry the  “skip stitch” blade and I have not seen them anywhere in town.  I found the blades Here on a website called skipstitch.com.   The skip stitch blades fit the standard 45 mm rotary cutters.  They also carry other sizes of the blades.   According to the website the  “Original” blade is perfect for fleece and the #2 skip stitch blade is great for lighter fabrics like flannel.  Since the holes made with the #2 blade are smaller and spaced closer it can be used with smaller hooks and finer baby weight yarns and cotton crochet thread.

I just spoke with Joyce Middlebrooks in Georgia who designed these blades and manufactures them with the help of her husband.  Joyce said she designed these blades especially for the purpose of adding the crochet edging to fleece more efficiently when she was making blankets for Project Linus.  She works closely with Project Linus and said you can order the blades through http://www.projectlinus.org or her website http://www.skipstitch.com She is going to send me some samples so we can try them out!  I can’t wait to try them.  Thank you so much to Joyce for offering to send those.

Here is a link for adding fine crochet cotton edging to lighter fabrics.  This website has instructions for a nice scalloped edge that would also work with yarn for the fleece blankets.  Here are more ideas and instructions from the skipstitch.com website where the rotary blades can be bought.

Keep checking back to this post as I will post more edging patterns as I find them.

Well, I am excited to try something new.  Good luck to you in your blanket making.

~Donna

We are in the news!

If you didn’t get a chance to see today’s paper click here to see the article about Project Linus Fairbanks in the Daily Newsminer!  They did such a wonderful job putting it all together.   We are so grateful for the publicity.  We’ve already got one new volunteer and hopefully we will see many more.

PL News – Jan

Happy New Years to everyone!  I anticipate a great year of blanket making to come.  I hope this year brings many new volunteers to enable us to get more blankets into the arms of children around Fairbanks!

In the month of December we received another 15 blankets and I just delivered 16 to Pediatrics at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.  My husband delivered them for me and he said the nurses were very happy to receive them.

If you are a Tweeter who uses Twitter I just set up an account for our chapter.  The username is ProjectLinusfbx.  I had to get a little creative with that since I was limited on length.  I have added a twitter widget on the side of this page to show the most recent tweets. NOTE: if you are viewing this page from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital you are seeing our page stripped of it’s formatting.  The info on the side bar is usually at the bottom so scroooooollll down :O)

If you use Facebook we are on there too!  Search Project Linus Fairbanks and you’ll find our community page. Look for our adorable baby mascot with a blanket over his head.  That photo was taking by his daddy, Dan Hauer, and he has given me permission to use his picture for Project Linus.  We are very grateful to Dan for the use of that picture.

We look forward to meeting more crafty people during the next year.

Happy Blanket making!

Donna Capps

PL News

We received 15 blankets throughout the month of November and on Saturday (Dec 4th) I delivered 15 blankets to a couple places in Fairbanks – Fairbanks Rescue Mission and Interior Alaska Center for Non-violent Living. I added links to these agencies on the left side of this page.  That brings our total blankets delivered in Fairbanks to 69!  In previous months we have delivered blankets to Fairbanks Memorial Pediatrics Department and Emergency Room.

My heart just broke at the thought of children living at the Rescue mission.   It must be so hard to be a child growing up without a home.  Hopefully the blankets will help comfort them some through this difficult time and I think it could be considered a Christmas present for them.

We have gained a few more blanketeers and a few other volunteers that are helping to get the word out.  Missy Kohler wrote a public service announcement for us and now Project Linus is being mentioned on the radio! It is so exciting to see the word is being spread and I’ve run into people that already know about us and are already working on blankets.  I know there is a huge need here in Fairbanks and I want every child that needs a blanket to have one.  I currently have a blanket in progress on the knitting needles and one I’m crocheting.  If you are looking for patterns make sure and check out the new Red Heart website for free patterns!

Happy Holidays!

Donna Capps

Vote for Project Linus!

Joann’s is having a contest to determine who gets what part of $90,000!  Project Linus is one of the 3 Charities chosen and you can click here to vote for them!  The charity that ends up in 1st place gets $50,000, 2nd place gets $25,000, and 3rd gets $15,000.  You can vote once a day per email address from now until December 4th at Midnight Eastern time.  Please help Project Linus to reach more children by clicking daily.

Blanket needs-Snips, snails and puppy-dog tails

Dear Blanketeers,

When you are making blankets, please keep in mind the little boys out there.  I am also in need of blankets for teens.  Most of the blankets I receive are perfect for little girls in various shades of pinks and purples but I receive few that would suit a boy or are long enough for teens.  Little boys usually like bright primary colors or even orange and purple.  Older boys often like black, grey or darker colors like maroon and navy.  Many boys love the sports themed fleece blankets. There are a lot of great options out there.  I happen to have two boys of my own so feel free to pick my brain.  I often ask my boys what they think I should get when I’m looking for yarn colors or fleece patterns.

Of course we still need blankets for the little girls and children of all sizes.  If you simply can’t make the bigger blankets don’t worry.  I’m sure someone will!  We will gladly accept whatever you are willing to donate.

I am adding some basic guidelines for blanket sizes below but remember that they are only guidelines.  Blankets do not have to be any specific size and we will not turn down your blankets that don’t fit these guidelines.  They are just intended to be helpful suggestions for people who are looking for an idea of size for various ages.

Baby Blankets: 36″ x 36″

Pre-printed panel quilts make excellent baby quilts, and they are very easy to finish.  They are already made of quilted fabric so all they need is a binding sewn around the edge.  One yard of fabric (36″x 36″ or 36″x 42″) makes an acceptable baby-sized blanket.

Toddler through Pre-Teen: An average sized blanket is 40″x 60″.  A cut of fabric is usually 40″ – 42″ wide – so 1 and 2/3 yards of a 40″ – 42″ wide fabric is the perfect size for a blanket.

Teen Sized Blankets:

In order for a blanket to be comfortable for a teenager, it needs to be at least 2 yards in length. Since polar fleece is 50″ wide, a 2 yard piece makes a nice blanket for a teenager.