DANGER: Pins!

Dear generous donors to Katie's Comforters Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital: we need to ask that when you bring in quilts or blankets for donation, there can be NO PINS of any kind attached to the blankets - no straight pins, safety pins, etc. If you are planning to affix anything to your donation, please do it with tape or thread or ribbon. A stray pin could create havoc with a patient's central line, so please double-check your quilts and blankets, and remove all pins before donating.

Bless you 

and 

thank you!

Bonnie's Gifts

Guild member Bonnie P. has serious quilting skills, and she generously shares them with our guild. She stopped by today and donated eight beautiful, fun, quilts. The way she mixes donated fabrics with her stash and creates unique, new designs inspires me.

I talked her into posing with her gifts, so here is a gallery of photos:

Equestrian

Nurses!

Wildlife

Jungle Cats

Dogs at the beach

Thank you, Bonnie, 

for sharing your gifts 

with our guild 

to bring comfort 

to sick children!

Because of You, Building Hope - a Noun & Verb

On Friday, my mom and I attended (with hundreds of others) the 2013 Annual Meeting & Luncheon Celebration of Seattle Children's Hospital's Guild Association. This association is unique in all of the United States of America. It does a huge amount of good every year, and continues to grow. It does all of this because of you, its members and friends. Thank you!

At the meeting, they showed some videos and slideshows. This one introduces the new, state-of-the-art (and already FULLY occupied by patients - yes, every bed is full!) Building Hope:
I love the fact that the building is actually named "Building Hope:" BUILDING is both a noun and a verb. That tells you a lot about what kind of hospital this is - it's different, it's better than we could imagine, and it should be the model for others, including adult hospitals.

Here are some inspiring facts that were shared about the Guild Association, and what was accomplished during the year 2012:

7,000 members
500 guilds
21 new guilds
$10.46 million project revenue*
$145,900 membership revenue
$454,700 net Bargain Boutiques revenue (your thrift-shopping and donations make a difference!)
150,777 volunteer hours
* $7.1 million of this was raised by the Friends of Costco Guild/Costco. WOW!

Through its many supporters and wonderful employees, Seattle Children's Hospital is indeed "Building Hope." The Guild Association is part of the foundation supporting that hope. If you are a member, a special "thanks" to you.
If you are not a member yet, please JOIN US! For more info about guilds, click here; and here is a link that makes it easy to join.

Our Treasurer is a Treasure!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of a visit from our guild's Treasurer. Her name is Linda, and she also happens to be my sister-in-law. Linda is a retired teacher with a heart of pure gold. She has generously taken on the role of treasurer of our guild (a volunteer position, as are all of our board posts) and does an excellent job of keeping track of the donations and expenses of Katie's Comforters Guild.

Not only does Linda give her time and talent to the financial side of the guild, she also sews, and has gathered a group of women to sew with her. They haven't given their group a name yet, so here is a photo of Linda's Quilters:

Linda is second from the left, and her daughter Marcy (our dear niece) is on the far right. This was taken recently, when they dropped off their beautiful quilts at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Thank you for all you do for Katie's Comforters, Linda, and thanks to your quilting group!

Beautiful Bounty

Katie's Comforters Guild has been blessed with bounty at the end of April - early May. Here is an update on what has been happening...

Our friends Mary & Briana Ryan have  been busy. They donated these cozy, double-layered fleece blankets:

Our friend, Norma Hutsell, a senior citizen in Kansas (mother of guild member Maribeth Hinderer) crocheted these two for us:

It's hard to see in this photo, but the one on the left was made with camouflage yarn

and dear Luclie & Noble Nilsen delivered 29 new blankets and quilts last week:

Thanks to each of you for your generous giving of time, talent and materials!

Our friend Michelle Ferris has also been busy spreading the word in an original and effective way. She sent out the following letter:

Hello, and thank you all for being interested in making blankets for Katie’s Comforters Guild at Seattle Children’s! More information about the guild can be found on its blog: http://katiescomfortersguild.blogspot.com/. I have quilt kits ready – fabric for backing and tops, and some batting and binding already made if you want it. I’ve put together a little flyer about this project, with links to tutorials and information. Please let me know if you have any questions, or need any pointers. I’m happy to drop kits off within the NE Seattle area, or you can pick one up at my house in Wedgwood. Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in helping out.

 

Thank you again!

 

Michelle Farris

mgerifarris@gmail.com

What an awesome idea - and she is getting a positive response! If you would like to be part of Michelle's group, please contact her at the email address above, or leave a comment here or on our facebook page.

Thank you, Michelle!

Lastly, this coming Friday at 11:30, the annual Guild Luncheon will be held at the Westin in Seattle. If you haven't sent in your reservation, please call the Guild Association office as soon as possible. I hope to see you there

In Case You Missed It...

The good people at the website Blissfully Domestic have re-designed their website, and it's possible to search in the archives for older articles. In 2009, they published an article I wrote about Katie's Comforters Guild, and it's back on the updated site. In case you missed it, here is a link:
A Small Act With a Big Impact

It's worth taking some time to browse their site, facebook page and pinterest - their motto is "Blissfully Domestic – Sharing the most blissful things to do with Home, Food & Life," so there is something for everyone.  Many thanks to the good folks at Blissfully Domestic for helping to spread the word about our guild and mission!

Blanket-Making Tutorials

For those of you who are beginner quilters, or who just want some fresh inspiration, our guild's friend Mickie just posted this link on our facebook page (a great way to connect with us) - please check it out by clicking on the link below:

http://prudentbaby.com/2010/09/baby-kid/beginners-baby-blanket-3-2/

The site offers tutorials on quilts for children of any age, even though it says "baby" blanket. It's fun to have a look around and see if you feel inspired. Thanks for the pointer, Mickie!

A batch of Mickie's quilts

500!

Do you ever wonder why each and every donation of blankets, quilts, fabric, time, talent and funds is so important to Katie's Comforters Guild? Here is the answer.

Jane H. (also known as "the Blanket Lady) is the one who distributes the blankets and quilts which are donated to Seattle Children's Hospital's patients. Jane is on the board of the Guild Association and a great supporter of all that we do.

She just informed me that she handed out nearly 500 quilts and blankets this month.
500! Not all of those came from our guild, but still - that is a lot of comfort, and it illustrates just how great is the need. With the hospital's brand-new building (expansion), the need is growing even greater now. Thank you for your help, Jane!

If you know of someone who likes to sew, knit, crochet, make fleece blankets, or who would like to make a donation of new fabric or funds, please have them contact us here or via facebook. Thank you!

36 New Blankets!

Lucile has had eye surgery, but that hasn't stopped her from sewing. She & Noble dropped off 36 new blankets and quilts yesterday. Take a look - 36 sick children are going to be comforted by these beauties!

Thank you, Lucile and Noble!

Auto Connections of Bellevue

Katie's Comforters Guild has a good friend in
Auto Connections of Bellevue.

Auto Connections of Bellevue is a high-quality dealership
which sells pre-owned vehicles with the highest level of integrity and NO pressure. I know this is true because
1)  we have bought three cars from them over the years, and
2)  my brother-in-law is the owner.

This dealership is different from the standard concept of "car dealer" in other ways, too. They have a special charitable giving program. I've never heard of a car dealership doing this; it works in this way:  each person who buys a car from Auto Connections is allowed to choose from among three different charities, and after the purchase, a donation is made to that charity by Auto Connections of Bellevue. Katie's Comforters Guild is one of the three charities, and we just received a check for $250 from Auto Connections of Bellevue.

Thank you, Stu, 

and all of your colleagues at 

Auto Connections of Bellevue!

If you are looking for a pleasant experience buying a car, call 425-466-2886, view their inventory online (see the link above), and in person at 13285 NE 20th, Bellevue, WA 98005.