Good News, and Plenty of It

We have had a wonderful week here at Katie's Comforters Guild. I have a lot of news to share, so please, get comfortable and I'll fill you in!

We received an email a few weeks back from Carolyn P., letting us know about one of her dear friends named Susy who was a gifted crafter. Sadly, her friend Susy had passed away. Because Susy was such an avid fabric crafter, her friends were helping her widower sort through her fabric - quite a task, when they got into it, because Susy had a stash that filled two vans and a pickup truck!

Susy's husband generously donated this fabric to several charities, and Katie's Comforters Guild is one of them. Last Friday, Carolyn and her husband, Andy, drove to meet me in Poulsbo and make the donation. We arranged it so that they could meet Lucile & Noble at the same time.

Andy, Carolyn, Noble & Lucile meeting for the first time

Since Lucile is our most productive member, it seemed only right that, as she was dropping off 44 quilts and blankets for donation, she should have first pick of the fabric. Some of it went right into Lucile & Noble's car, and some of it came home with me.

There is still plenty of fabric for other guild members, so if you are looking for inspiration, or need some fabric to make more quilts for Seattle Children's Hospital, please get in touch with me through email, phone or by leaving a comment here! This is what I have:

Here is what Lucile found when she & Noble unloaded the boxes she received from Susy's stash:

and here is her first quilt, made from Susy's gifts.

Here are the 44 new quilts and blankets that Lucile delivered to Katie's Comforters Guild on the day of Susy's fabric donation:

Quilts

Fleece blankets

Quilts

In addition to all of that bounty, my sister-in-law, Cheri, has an aunt who is a quilter and knitter. Here are four new blankets and quilts from her aunt Sonia:

It looks as if the individual squares were hand-painted!

Lastly, in guild news, our founder and president, Karen Gerstenberger, has published a book about Katie's journey through pediatric cancer and her family's journey with her, called "Because of Katie." It is now available through createspace and Amazon (clicking those links will take you to the online stores) and it will soon be available in Kindle format, as well as in your local bookstores. Liberty Bay Books is sponsoring a book talk and book-signing at The Loft at Latitude 47.7 in Poulsbo on Friday, March 2 at 6:30 P.M.

HUGE, heartfelt thanks to Susy, her husband Tom, Carolyn, Andy, all of Fritzi's Needlework group who helped to sort the fabric, Lucile, Noble, Chuck, Cheri and Sonia!

Kitsap Newspaper Coverage: "Made With Love"

Our local newspapers, which are part of The Kitsap Newspaper Group, published a lovely story about our guild and about other charities in the area. It is in the Kitsap Week pullout section.
You can read it by clicking on THIS LINK.

Many thanks to Erin Jennings, who made it so easy to tell the story, even with a tape recorder on! If you'd like to share this story with your friends and family to tell them what we do, please share the link in email, facebook, your blog, etc. Everyone is welcome to join us in making blankets, or in supporting those who do!

Briana's Letter to the Editor - Published!

Remember this posting?
Here is a link to the issue of the Kitsap Herald in which Briana's letter to the editor was published:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/nkh/opinion/letters/111680249.html


Well done, Briana!
Thank you and your mom for your continuing support of Katie's Comforters Guild!