Guild News

Dear Guild Members,

Greetings! This message brings great thanksgiving for each one of you and your unique contributions to Katie's Comforters Guild. We have such a lovely variety of talented members: some of you knit, crochet, cut fleece, sew quilts and blankets, some donate funds, some donate time and talent, and some donate all of the above. In every case, your gifts combine to bring comfort to sick children at Seattle Children's Hospital - and their families - and we are deeply thankful for you!

The Guild Association sent me some information to share with you. One of the most important items is the date for next year's Annual Meeting & Luncheon Celebration. Those of you who attended this year know just how inspiring and empowering it is to gather with other guilds and guild members and listen to what is new, what we have accomplished over the past year, and what is on the horizon for next year. Please mark your calendar for Friday, April 27, 2012 and join us there!

The hospital has a few projects in the pipeline which they want us to know about, and to lend our support, if possible. Project Teen is the drive for this year - please see the attached page of information about it. Project Giggle is complete (last year's drive to benefit infant patients), and now we are looking after the teen population.

The Beads of Courage program is looking for guild members who sew to make small bags that will hold beads for Hematology/Oncology patients who are creating crafts designed to help them cope with their illness. The attached flyer has two pages of information about that program. Our friends at the Better Bilt Furniture Company in Fremont have generously offered fabric swatches for this purpose.

HUGE gratitude to our Vice President, Maribeth Hinderer; Secretary, Andrea Cunningham, and Treasurer, Linda Case. If any other members are interested or willing to serve on our board, please let me know! As President, I need to be thinking about my replacement.

We have learned recently that fleece blankets are highly desired in the hospital. They do not require sewing, the variety of materials is HUGE & can be purchased on sale (and using your JoAnn Stores V.I.P. discount card). They are lightweight and easy to wash, dry quickly, and are the only kind of blanket allowed in the Intensive Care Units. If you don't sew, please consider contributing fleece blankets! You can find patterns and suggestions for cutting fringe into the edges of fleece blankets on our blog.

You will also find attached here a couple of pages about the Research Champions program in which our guild has been invited to participate. It is a program designed to support (you guessed it) the Seattle Children's Research Institute. It's a rather big financial commitment, and is well-suited to guilds whose purpose is to raise money. Since our guild's purpose is to raise blankets, this may be a bit outside of our bailiwick...but if any of you would like to take on the challenge of raising the funds for our guild to join the Research Champions, please GO FOR IT!

Be sure to check our blog www.katiescomfortersguild.blogspot.com and our facebook page frequently for updates, news, photographs of all of the beautiful blankets you have donated, and various relevant information. Please invite your friends & family to "Like" us on facebook, and invite them to join us!

If any of you are in the Poulsbo area on Thursday, August 11th, please stop by Dairy Queen to thank them for donating $2 from the sale of every Blizzard Treat sold that day to Seattle Children's Hospital! They would love to meet our members and hear from you. This is a nationwide program, but our DQ has elected to participate very generously, holding a yard sale to increase donations and selling the "balloons" that you see everywhere.

Lastly, heartfelt THANKS to those of you who have sent in your payment for this year's dues. We know what a difficult year this is (financially) for many people! If you haven't yet sent in your dues payment, please do so at your earliest convenience. If it is easier for you to renew online, here is a convenient link: https://secure.seattlechildrens.org/guilddues . Remember, you are welcome to specify the area of the hospital to which your dues are applied - you can direct your payment of dues to any department or area of special concern to you. Regular Membership dues are $25.00 per year; if you are a senior citizen, dues are $10.00. There are other levels available if you prefer to donate more.

If you have any questions, please contact me! Again, my deepest heartfelt thanks to you for your membership in Katie's Comforters Guild and your support of patients at Seattle Children's Hospital!

Blessings to you,

Karen B. Gerstenberger

President, Katie's Comforters Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital

karenlboren@yahoo.com

www.karengberger.blogspot.com (my blog)

www.katiescomfortersguild.blogspot.com (the Guild's blog)

www.katiegerstenbergerendowment.blogspot.com (Katie's Endowment's blog)

Quilts from Linda K.-H.

We met Linda K.-H. through our dear friend, Kathleen. Kathleen's younger son, Hayden, was a patient at Seattle Children's Hospital over a decade ago, and it was because of Hayden's journey with pediatric cancer that we knew a little bit about it before Katie was diagnosed. Their family moved into Ronald McDonald House, so we knew that was a good option for our family. Though we are deeply sorry, beyond what words can express, that Kathleen & her family had to walk such a difficult path (both of her sons have passed away) we will always hold them in loving gratitude for lighting our way when we had to embark on the cancer journey several years after them.

Linda has sewed for our guild before, and last week, she donated 10 more beautiful quilts.

 The variety of fabrics, colors and themes is terrific!

Thank you, Linda,

and thank you, Kathleen, for introducing us to Linda!

Lucile & Noble's Latest Contribution

Fleece blankets by Lucile

Quilts by Lucile

I met Lucile & Noble yesterday for a quilt & blanket delivery. She has made 21 fleece blankets and 12 quilts for Katie's Comforters Guild since we last met.

This delivery was particulary exciting to me, because I had recently given Lucile some of my "stash" of fabrics, and she turned them into finished quilts for the hospital!

Olivia quilt

I don't have as much time to sew as I originally did when we started Katie's Comforters Guild. Being president means that I "wear a lot of hats," and most of my work is now in pick-up & delivery of quilts, keeping up with this blog (& photography), sending "thank you" notes, and networking for the guild. I don't often get time to sit down and use my own sewing machine nowadays.

Detail of Olivia quilt

Lucile is a much faster and more highly-skilled seamstress than I am, so it is more efficient for her to sew than it is for me to do it, but sometimes I miss the process. My favorite things about sewing are selecting the fabrics, pinning them together, and admiring the finished product. So in giving my fabric to Lucile to sew, I got to do two out of the three of those favorite things. And look at what she did with what I gave her!

European travel (left) and floral (right)

Old-fashioned beach print with mosaic fish

Butterflies with watercolor abstract

Flamingo quilt and dolphin camo quilt

Musical instrument quilt and crocodile (or alligator?) quilt

Pink curlique & bubble quilt

If you love to select fabric, but are not a skilled seamstress, consider buying what you like, and donating the fabric to our guild. We have guild members who will be happy to turn your materials into blankets and quilts!

Thank you, Lucile & Noble!