Two New Quilts & Quilters

I had the pleasure of meeting Donna and her friend, Sandy, last week. Donna contacted me after learning about our guild through an article in the newspaper which Sandy gave to her.

The funny part about this story is that Donna had used the newspaper which contained the article to house-train her new puppy. As she was cleaning up after the newpaper had been "used," the word "quilt"caught her eye! She made me laugh as she told me the story. But behind that story is another one. Donna's daughter passed away this year, from the same kind of cancer that Katie had: adrenocortical carcinoma. When she heard that Katie had the same cancer that her daughter had, she contacted me. I met Donna and Sandy at a local quilt shop. Both of them are very skilled quilters, and they showed me their gorgeous handiwork and donated these two beautiful quilts to our guild for the hospital.

This is Donna's Polka Dots quilt, held by Sandy (on the left) and Donna (on the right).

 This is Sandy's Autumn Border quilt.

Sandy teaches beginning quilting in three classes. She has offered to teach our guild members! I would love to take her up on this offer, once we figure out the right time and place.

Thank you, Donna & Sandy!

A Generous Gift and a Beautiful "Thank You"

We received a generous gift this week from one of our non-sewing guild members, Ellie B.

Ellie sent a check (she does this often - humbly, and without fanfare). For someone who doesn't knit or sew, it might seem less than rewarding to join a guild that makes blankets for the hospital, but Ellie believes in our mission, and supports it in her own open-hearted way.
Thank you, Ellie B.!

We will use your gift to buy supplies for making blankets and quilts.

 **********

I opened a letter which was forwarded to me from the hospital this week. It was sent to our guild from the "S." family in Washington, in care of the Guild Association. This is what it said:

"Karen,

Thank you so much for organizing and working to put blankets on the waiting cribs at Children's. We took our son (18 mo) L. to the Quick care clinic in Burlington with (we thought) a virus. They sent us to the pediatrician, and she sent us straight to Children's.

In my crying and praying on my way down with my husband and L., I kept saying '...and I have no blakets for my baby! I have to use the gross pilly hospital blankets.' We were told he needed an IV treatment immediately because he had Kawasaki Syndrome. One in four kids without treatment end up w/serious heart trouble. As we walked into our room, I cried when I saw the yellow fleece blankie on my sweet boy's crib! I knew God heard my mama heart to nurture him as best I could!! Thank you!!

The treatment worked - praise Jesus. I have a very happy healthy 20-month old home w/a sweet yellow blanket to remind us God was there in our storm. So thanks again for your loving work!

Love,

C. & A. S. [and family]

Bless you ladies in Jesus' sweet name!"

 If you ever wonder about the importance of a homemade blanket, here is proof of what it means to the heart of a parent-caregiver.

Thank you, Mrs. S. for sharing your story with us! We are happy that Katie's Comforters provided you and your family with comfort!

Quilts from Lucile, Darla and a V.I.P. Reminder

We received more beautiful quilts last week. Here is a lovely batch from Lucile (she's given us 12 more since then!):

A great variety of cotton and fleece quilts - a few unpacked, on the right side. Each quilt is individual!

Here is a batch from a new guild member, Darla (welcome, Darla!):

This quilt has "Goosebumps" on one side and children of many nations on the reverse.

A vision of oriental splendor.

Album (CD) covers on one side, and flowers on the other.

A peaceful forest scene with a family of foxes. Can you see the woodpecker in the upper right corner?

African wildlife on the back.

A beautiful abstract design on the left, and ocean scene on the right. The quilting stitches are gorgeous - take a close look at the tops!

An important reminder to all: if you are a guild member, you can apply for a V.I.P. Discount card from JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores. This will give you 10% off of every purchase, even sale items, to use in making blankets for Katie's Comforters Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital. Check it out, using this link.

Thank you, Lucile & Darla!

Rolling Bay Automotive Donates to Seattle Kids C.A.N.

Gregg's car needed repair work this week, so we dropped it off at Rolling Bay Automotive, a local company where we like to take our cars for repair. They even have a courtesy shuttle to take you home or back to their shop to retrieve your car!

One of the leaders at RB Auto has had the experience of walking the cancer journey with a close family member, and when I brought in the donation can for Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network, he not only put it on the business's front counter (in a prominent position), he kept it there after September's drive ended.

Yesterday, when we picked up Gregg's car, RB Auto contributed

$75.32 to the

Seattle Kids' C.A.N. (the nickname for Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network).

Thank you, Rolling Bay Automotive!

Gratitude to Lucile, Noble & Liberty Bay Books

This week, we received some wonderful donations. Lucile & Noble Nilsen arrived with 31 new quilts for us to donate to the hospital.

Thank you, Lucile & Noble!

After they had unloaded their bags of quilts, we went through the donation of fabric and batting stash from Ruth & Greg B. Lucile & Noble then packed that into their car, along with satin blanket binding, and Lucile is ready to sew some more.

Have I mentioned that Lucile makes a quilt nearly every day? She inspires me!

I stopped by Liberty Bay Books yesterday, because owner Suzanne Droppert told me she had two new knitted blankets to donate, made by the wonderful ladies in her knitting group. They meet in the bookstore in downtown Poulsbo, and everyone knits a square (or more). Then they connect the squares and make a large blanket out of them. Here are the lovely blankets which they made together:

Suzanne has also kept a

Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network Donation can at Liberty Bay Books for us since September.

Yesterday, I collected $57.75 from the can!

Thank you, Suzanne and Liberty Bay Books' customers/friends!

Donation of Quilter's Stash

Last weekend, Gregg and I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth & Greg B. of Seattle. Ruth's mother was a quilter - a hand-quilter - and she left a legacy of five boxes of fabric and three bags of batting. Through the Pink Polka Dots Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital (who you may have seen recently on the Nate Berkus Show), Ruth and Greg B. found out about Katie's Comforters Guild, and contacted us about making a donation of Ruth's mother's materials. On Saturday, Gregg and I had the pleasure of meeting them, and picking up the treasure trove of supplies that had once belonged to Ruth's mother.

If you are in need of materials and want to make quilts for Katie's Comforters Guild to donate to Seattle Children's Hospital, please let me know here, and we will work out a transfer.

Thank you, Ruth and Greg B., for your generosity!

A World Without Cancer - Guild Association Annual Meeting

Angela, Bev & me at the luncheon - Heidi took the photo

Yesterday, three of our guild members from Kitsap County attended the Annual Meeting of the Seattle Children's Hospital Guild Association with me. We elected new board members, said "thank you" to the outgoing president and confirmed the incoming one, listened to the head of the hospital tell about the past year's highlights and challenges, and watched an inspiring slideshow of what all of the different guilds do to support the hospital. We heard facts and figures about the guilds who make the largest financial contributions, a guild that was featured on the Nate Berkus Show, innovative ways to raise support, and more. All of us were thrilled to see the impact that a varied group of volunteers can have upon the well-being of a great hospital.

A summary of 2010 - the Guild Association:

• has 7,000 members
• is comprised of 500 guilds
• added 22 new guilds
• raised $10.6 MILLION dollars with their projects
• raised $148,000 from membership revenue (this money also goes to support the hospital)
• raised $425,000 net revenue from thrift stores, including the Bargain Boutique on Bainbridge Island, where Katie's portrait is now on the Wall of Courage
• donated 185,957 volunteer hours
• provided $1.7 million in guild-affiliated revenue for Foundation programs (from guild members and their friends)

Anna Clise, the visionary founder of the hospital, foresaw that such an institution would always need financial support, and so the Guild Association came into being. Guild membership is a vital part of the ongoing health and well-being of Seattle Children's Hospital. It is a privilege to be part of "the largest all-volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the nation!"

If you would like to know more about the history of Seattle Children's Hospital, click HERE.

We heard from Aileen Kelly, the wonderful Executive Director of the Guild Association, and from Dr. Michael Jensen. Dr. Jensen showed THIS video which moved a lot of people - to tears, to hope, to joy, to excitement, and - I pray - to action.

And finally, we heard from Skyler Hamilton, a former cancer patient who is now in remission. Our family met Skyler and his parents when Katie was in treatment at the hospital. At one point, we were in the inpatient room next-door to them, and we were living at Ronald McDonald House at the same time. Skyler was very, very sick then; his misery at the time is burned in my memory (as is his mother's grace and generosity in praying for Katie). So it was a great thrill to see him making jokes, cleverly fielding questions from Pat Cashman, telling his story, happy, walking without crutches and discussing what has been done for him at Seattle Children's Hospital. He was a motivational speaker such as I have never seen before. Well done, Skyler! I'm so thankful that you are in remission.

If you are a friend of our guild, Thank You. If you are a guild member, Thank You. If you are not a member, please consider joining this wonderful organization!

New Donations this Week

This has been a great week for donations to Katie's Comforters Guild. We recieved this beautiful knitted blanket from Ricki at our cats' veterinarian's office. She's a very experienced knitter. The blanket has gorgeous autumn colors, juxtaposed with a cool blue - a great contrast!

We received a beautiful, intricate patchwork quilt from Joan B.:

We also received 45 new quilts from Lucile. Check them out!

I love this crocheted blanket that Lucile made, too.

I drove to Lucile and Noble's house to pick up the blankets, which were taking up a lot of space in their home. While I was there, Lucile showed me how she is using 6" fleece squares which were donated to her. She is sewing them together with a zigzag stitch, side by side, rather then one on top of the other. It's fantastic: no ironing, no trimming of seams, no cutting fringe - just zig, zag, and the result is a beautiful fleece quilt! So if you have smaller pieces of fleece, you don't need to throw them out; you can try Lucile's technique.

Here is a close-up view:

Here, she made her own binding:

Noble & Lucile were written up in the March, 2011 issue of the Port Ludlow VOICE, on page 15. The article talks about their recent award as Jefferson County's Chamber of Commerce "Citizens of the Year." Congratulations to the Nilsens for their well-deserved recognition!

Last Saturday, Katie's portrait (on the far left) was unveiled at Seattle Children's Hospital's Bargain Boutique on Bainbridge Island. Katie & Hannah Hunt are the newest children to have their portraits placed on the Wall of Courage. You can read about this on my blog here  and in the Bainbridge Review newspaper's article. There were two reporters at the event, so there may be another article with more coverage coming soon.

Thank you, Ricki, Joanie and Lucile!

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!

2011 Annual Meeting & Luncheon Celebration

Guild members:

You are cordially invited to the

Seattle Children's Hospital Guild Association

2011 Annual Meeting & Luncheon Celebration

on Friday, April 1

at

The Westin Seattle, 1900 - 5th Avenue

*****

From 9:30 - 11:00, there will be guild project tables & hospital displays

At 10:00, you are invited to attend a member training session on one of two topics:

*Using Facebook and other social media to promote your guild or

*Cost-saving tips for your fundraiser

*****

The Guild Association will also be collecting infant toys for Seattle Children's Hospital Patients: please bring a NEW rattle, teething ring, board book or other infant toy to the meeting for donation (Fisher Price, Playskool or Sassy are requested brands).

*****

*Dr. Michael Jensen will speak about his exciting innovations in cancer research

*Dr. Thomas Hansen will speak about future plans for Seattle Children's Hospital

*****

I hope to see you there!