Can You Help Us Find the Whidbey Island Quilters?

If any of you have Yahoo! email, you may have noticed some changes lately. I am not a fan of the changes, one of which is the appearance of the Inbox. Just yesterday, I received an email from a group on Whidbey Island about a donation of quilts which they intend to make. I received the message while I was away from home, and intended to reply to it today, but when I went to do so, it had disappeared. RATS!

If you are acquainted with, or are a member of that group, will you please let them know that their email message has been lost? I would appreciate it if it can be re-sent, so that we can thank the group properly. I don't want the message to go unanswered! You can reach us at KARENLBOREN at yahoo dot com. Thank you very much!

Lucile and 4,155 Quilts

I went to see Lucile & Noble at their home on Monday. Lucile is still sewing nearly a quilt a day; even though her sewing machines wear out and need service, Lucile simply takes the broken one to the shop and turns to a substitute machine. She works those machines so hard that I think she might need a commercial-grade model!

I asked her how many quilts she has made for charity, and beyond the 1272 she has made for Katie's Comforters Guild, the grand total is 4,155! Let me put that another way: Lucile has made a total of four thousand, one hundred and fifty-five quilts for charity! She keeps careful records in a ledger-book, and she showed it to me; I was flabbergasted.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the manufacturer of her favorite sewing machine (Bernina) would donate their heartiest, most durable quilting machine to Lucile? I think she deserves a sewing machine that works as hard as she does! It would be a great advertisement for Bernina, as well.

Lucile donates a great deal of her own time and resources to making these quilts; while we do our best to provide her with supplies, we aren't able to furnish everything. This means that she and Noble are giving much more than just time and effort; they are also using their own funds to pay for materials. If you multiply 4,155 times the cost of fabric, batting, binding and thread for each quilt, you'll come up with a very large number indeed.

When we talk about her quilting, Lucile often says, "I have to keep busy!" Remember, she is in her 90s - and she started sewing as a very young girl. What a wonderful, inspiring lady she is - and Noble is her greatest supporter and #1 fan.

Here are photos of Lucile and Noble at home with her latest holiday creations.

I took these directly to nurse Tracie's house, so that they could be delivered to Seattle Children's Hospital in time for Christmas and New Year's Day.  
Thank you, Lucile, Noble and Tracie!

Six Beautiful Quilts from Bonnie

I had a visit from Bonnie today. Our visits are always interesting, because she is such an advanced quilter, and I always seem to learn something new from her creations.

 Here is Bonnie, with six new quilts which she made for Katie's Comforters.

 Zoom in if you can - the one on the left is made of strips of red, white, black and gray fabric. It has so much movement in it! The one in the middle has funny cartoons of bears and hunters, but no shooting - just humor. The one on the right is a gorgeous fishing scene.

On the left, there is a floral with a wonderful detail (which you can't see) in the quilting stitches. In the middle, a tropical print with contrasting orange and fuchsia strips. On the right is a sports-pattern with red details. All of the quilts have unique quilting stitches, made by Bonnie on her special machine. She uses satin blanket binding and makes her own labels.

I gave her some of our stash of fabric to take home and use in her next batch.

Thank you, Bonnie!

 We appreciate your artistry and generous giving!

Lucile & Noble Donate Quilts & Yarn

Lucile & Noble came through town this week with a batch of 16 new quilts! Here are eight of them...

 They also delivered two BIG bags of yarn: some of Lucile's own, and some from their neighbor.

Are you a knitter? Do you crochet?

If you'd like to make blankets for patients of Seattle Children's Hospital, we can provide the yarn!

Thank you, Lucile & Noble!

Dottie Sends Comfort from Idaho

Dottie has done it again - she has created 11 cheerful, cozy quilts, and is sending them to Seattle Children's Hospital, all the way from Idaho! Here they are:

She makes her own labels and binding. The labels say, "A Kiss from Katie." Isn't that sweet? The fabrics are adorable.

Thank you, Dottie!

In the latest Guild Notes Newsletter, there are announcements of holiday events and activities - if you are interested, check your mailbox or email inbox. If you didn't receive one, please contact the Guild Office and let them know you would like to be on the mailing list! Here are a few items from the newsletter:

Ideas for Holiday Support

Support a Patient Family

Participate in our annual Holiday Program and "adopt a family" by providing gift cards for our Social Work Department to distribute to our neediest patient families. Gift cards of $100 or less are appreciated, and our preferred merchants are: Safeway, Costco, Albertsons, QFC, Fred Meyer, Target, Kmart, Old Navy, Macy's, JC Penney, WalMart or VISA or Mastercard gift cards. Last year, guilds contributed over $12,000 to this incredible initiative. Help us donate even MORE this year! (Katie's Comforters Guild's V.P., Mary Ryan, has organized drop off sites for this in Kitsap County: ChocMo and Bon Cheveux Salon [formerly Kenneth L])

Purchase Ornaments and VotivesLooking for the perfect holiday gift? Support the Friends for Life Guild by purchasing a hand-blown glass ornament or votive for that unique “secret santa” or hostess present! Design is inspired by a Seattle Children’s oncology patient and proceeds benefit cancer research. Ornaments and votives are $25 each.

Did You Know?

• Thanks to your incredible fundraising efforts, the Guild Association raised $11.47 million from projects and membership dues in fiscal year 2013. This was $500,000 more than budgeted and $800,000 more than last year! 
• The FY14 Funding Focus will provide $1.5 million to be allocated across three areas: early childhood mental health care; a fellowship to train physicians to provide care for victims of child abuse; and construction of a rooftop terrace in Building Hope.
• In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked Children's Cancer Center 6th best in the country.