Happy July, Thanks & Cancer Research BREAKTHROUGH NEWS!

Wishing you a happy July! Our guild has been blessed yet again by Lucile and Noble Nilsen. Here is the latest batch of Lucile's handiwork:

32 new quilts & blankets!

Tons of variety of color and pattern in there

If I could get them back into the bags, I would take them out to show you, but they are perfectly packed.

Thank you, Lucile & Noble!

I had the privilege of delivering some of our donated fabric to Gabriele, who is visiting our area this summer. Gabriele owns a quilter's retreat house in Texas, and has generously offered to sew for Katie's Comforters Guild this summer. We had a great meeting/hand-off, and I look forward to seeing what her creative imagination leads her to do with the fabric. Thank you, Gabriele!

We were grateful to receive a box of yarn from Georgann S., which we are going to give to Liberty Bay Books' Knitting Group; they will work their "magic" and turn it into blankets for patients. Thank you, Georgann!

You may have heard or read about the breakthrough at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Hospital. In case you missed it, the patient in the first clinical trial for T-Cell therapy is in REMISSION. The Katie Gerstenberger Endowment for Cancer Research supports the work of the Ben Towne Center and we could not be happier to receive this news. To learn more, follow this link. You can find out more on the Ben Towne Foundation's website (www.bentownefoundation.org) and at www.komonews.com.

Keep us posted of your sewing, knitting, crocheting or fleece-making activities and we will be happy to post photos of your donations here and on our facebook page. Thank you all for your support!

As September Was Winding Down...

...there was a lot of activity in Katie's Comforters Guild!
The last week of the September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, saw your president working for awareness and support.

On Sunday, September 23rd, I made a presentation about my book, about our guild and about childhood cancer research at Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island, WA. There is news about this event on both of my other blogs:
Gberger and 
abundant living after catastrophe .

I brought Katie's quilt with me to help "show and tell," and Donna's and Sandy's quilt (see the previous posting) was hanging on display in the front window of the store for a week, behind the poster of my book's cover. It provided a wonderful illustration of our guild's mission, and what our talented, generous members and friends do!

Several members and friends of our guild were in attendance at this event, and one of them was Bonnie P. She brought with her a new half-dozen quilts to donate to the guild. Here they are:

Awesome tie-dye center with borders and Bonnie's trademark "FROG" label

This is a photo of two together - a sunshine theme and a dinosaur theme

Beautiful batik

Handkerchief-style print

Anchors aweigh with mattress-ticking stripes

Thank you, Bonnie!

The day after this event, I was invited to speak to a group of quilters who meet to sew for charity. They wanted to know more about our guild, so I took Katie's comforter and Donna's and Sandy's quilt, along with some brochures, and spoke to them. They have decided to sew a donation for us, and I'm so thankful!

On Friday, September 28th, Dr. Michael Jensen, director of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research announced at the annual Ben Towne Foundation BENefit that the FDA has given permission for clinical trials to commence using Dr. Jensen's T-cell therapy in treating childhood cancer. This is wonderful news! Treatment with little side effects and no harm done to patients is a dream-coming-true. The Katie Gerstenberger Endowment for Cancer Research supports the Jensen Laboratory, and their work holds great promise.

September was an awesome month for progress in pediatric cancer awareness, research and comfort. Thank you for all you do to help make this possible!