Kenneth L. Salon and Spa in Poulsbo

I get my hair cut (my mom and dad, do, too) at Kenneth L. Salon & Spa in Poulsbo. The manager of the salon, Paige, has a generous spirit. She has taken Katie's Comforters Guild to heart, and decided to highlight our guild in a new display in the salon.

It's the first thing you see as you step through the front door. Two blankets (one quilt and one fleece), brochures, photographs, cards - all telling about who we are and why we do what we do - have been given "front and center" status at Kenneth L. Salon & Spa.

Thank you, Katie, for doing such a nice job with the display, and thank you, Paige for your warm and open-hearted welcome at
Kenneth L. Salon & Spa!

Lucile is Turning 90!

Our dear guild member, Lucile N., and her husband, Noble, dropped off

33 new quilts today!

33 new quilts from Lucile & Noble

Close up of one bag of 12...

Close up of another bag of 12...

 

Close up of a bag of 9 quilts

Lucile and Noble pack their quilts so well that I don't like to take them out for photographs, so please take my word for it that these are beautiful.

Lucile has a birthday this month...she is turning 90 years old!

And she sews a quilt a day!

Happy Birthday, Lucile!

We admire and appreciate you VERY much.

Project Teen II

In fiscal 2009, the Guild Association–wide effort Project Teen collected hundreds of items for Children’s young-adult patients and raised more than $10,000 for the purchase of additional items.
Project Teen II launches this year, and we again ask for your help.

Project Teen II supports Seattle Children’s Child Life Department in providing items for teens such as:
- gift cards for chain stores such as Target or bookstores
- iTunes gift cards
- books
- DVD movies (new release, PG-13)
- nail-polish kits
- bath supplies such as bubble bath, lotion
- electronic games (E- or T-rated for Wii, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS),
- journaling supplies (journals, sketchbooks, gel pens, colored pens sets)
- college or professional sports team items (hats, t-shirts, blankets).

You can support Project Teen II by purchasing an item, making a cash donation, organizing a drive in your community or asking guests at your own event to bring items for our teen patients. New items only, please.

Mail items and financial donations to:
Project Teen II
Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild Association
PO Box 5371/S-200
Seattle, WA 98145-5005

Project Teen II concludes at our 2012 annual meeting (April, 2012).
Call Melissa Cardenas at the Guild Association office 206-987-6806 with questions or for more information.

Thank you!

Calling All Guild Members & Friends...

...I made a blanket delivery to Seattle Children's Hospital today, thanks to the generosity of our members and donors! THANK YOU!

While we were delivering the blankets, we saw Jane Humphries, the Guild Association Board member (a.k.a. "The Blanket Lady) who hands out our blankets and quilts to patients. Jane told me that there is a great need for blankets for children who will be in-patient during the holidays and through Christmas (she mentioned the number 100), and she asked if we could help.

Yes, of course we can!

Would you please consider telling at least one friend about this need? If each one of us told one person, and that person either donated funds to purchase materials, made a blanket, or told someone else who would help, we could get to 100 blankets in no time! Please think about what a pleasure it will be to bring comfort and joy to children - especially to those who will be stuck in the hospital over the holidays.

Thank you for your support!

Quilts from Bonnie and Darla

Our guild has recently received donations of quilts with lovely details from two guild members: Bonnie and Darla. Both are gifted quilters whose work you can see here in detail.

Bonnie's quilts:

Airplanes and autumn flowers.

The two nearest blankets are fleece - they fold up into their own pouches - how clever!

The quilting on this one is in "stop sign" shape - octagon - it fits perfectly with the theme.

Some of them are quilted with Katie's initials (KG).

Footballs and helmets - perfect for the season!

Fireflies and a "FROG" label.

Princess fabric, custom-made Katie's Comforters Guild label and FROG label.

I love this flannel design!

Darla's quilts:

A variety of lovely themes.

Teddy bear alphabet.

Look at the piece-work and quilting on this one!

Tropical theme with lovely appliques.

The center of this wildlife-themed quilt is made of beautiful, small squares of bright colors.

This quilt is full of gorgeous details:  hearts, houses, cats and pinwheels.

Thank you, Bonnie and Darla!

Blankets Donated by Bev, Lucile & Noble

Last week we were blessed by a variety of donations: knitted blankets from Bev L. (through our friends at Liberty Bay Books), and quilts and fleece blankets from Lucile & Noble. Take a look at the bounty!

Knitted blankets from Bev, dropped off at Liberty Bay Books

Look at all of these blankets from Lucile - 32 in all!

Don't you love all of the different fabrics and colors?

So much variety of color and theme!

Two different kinds of bears - panda and teddy!

Lucile also sewed and donated 17 bead bags for the children to use in their craft projects in the hospital.

Thank you, Bev, Lucile & Noble!

Quilts on Display at Bargain Boutique!

Remember THIS posting (see below) featuring three fabulous antique quilts? The Bargain Boutique, located at 253 Winslow Way West on Bainbridge Island, which is Seattle Children's Hospital's treasure-trove of a thrift store, is displaying those three quilts all week. Stop by and take a look. See if they might be a blessing to you, your home, or someone you know. We are going to hold an auction and the proceeds will go to Katie's Comforters Guild, to help us purchase more materials for making blankets for patients.

Stitch'N'Bitch

Last Friday, my dear friends Heidi, Cami and Denise came over to take part in a Stitch'n'Bitch at our house. Together, we made 16 fleece blankets (cut fringe into 14 pieces of fleece, and left 2 alone, as they were perfect "as is"). We also pinned 3 quilts for future sewing.

Here are the 16 fleece (there's something for every age, taste and hobby here):

I'm so excited to deliver these to the hospital!

Thank you, Stitch'n'Bitchers,

 for donating your time, talent and materials!

Wonderful Donations from Long Ago

We have received a wonderful donation from a friend, Joanie Brumley: three beautifully pieced quilt tops, made by her husband's grandmother. Here is their story, in Joanie's words.

This quilt has pink leaves on the back, with blue, black & white binding.

"Grandma Zella Brumley made these quilts. She lived in Ottumwa Iowa. I know that these were all finished by 1960, but she had saved pieces from old everythings to make them...Several of the quilts she made were done by groups of church ladies, but Lee and I think that these three were hers alone. It seems the group quilts were always signed. Grandma was a little saver. The supreme recycler. She was married in the very early 1900's and some of this material probably is from her early married days. Her hobbies were her quilts and hand made rag rugs, and oh, her only son Vern, and his 3 sons, Lyle, Lynn and Lee. Lee was delighted to know that they were finished, and that they will benefit 'Katie's Quilts.' "

The squares are 2.5"

Its overall size is 7'6" by 5'8.5"

The next quilt:

The overall size of this quilt is 6'8" by 4'9"

It has a gray-brown flannel backing with brown polka-dot binding

The squares on this quilt are 1.5"

Last, but not least, is the largest quilt of the three:

This quilt measures 7'1" by 7'7" overall!

It has polka-dot backing (blue on white), and a light-brown binding (with turquoise edging on the top)

The squares are 1.5"

The fabrics used in each one of the quilts are delightful!

Our friend, Joan Morey of Henhouse Quilts in Shelton, WA, finished these gorgeous quilt tops, with binding, batting, backing and beautiful stitches, using her long-arm quilting machine.

We can't quite put into words how lovely they are, and how thankful we are!

Because these works of art contain rare, old and re-purposed fabrics, we cannot donate them to patients in the hospital. However,

we can offer them

for auction

to you!

Stay tuned for more news about the auction...

Bainbridge Bargain Boutique

Seattle Children's Hospital has several Bargain Boutiques around the Puget Sound area. Visiting the Bargain Boutique is like going to an estate sale every day. There are books, music, movies, clothes, toys, furniture, ktichen gadgets and home decor items - it's an ever-changing array. People in the community donate gently used items, and others buy them - an example of "recycling" at its best!

This month, all of the Bargain Boutiques are supporting Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month - helping to raise awareness and funds for research. Please stop by your local Bargain Boutique and shop to support this great cause!

The Bainbridge Bargain Boutique has a beautiful stash of NEW quilting fabric that is selling at a deep discount from regular prices. Check it out, and see where your inspiration takes you! If Bainbridge isn't near your home, here is a link to the other locations and their addresses (in Shoreline, Redmond, Port Townsend, Kent & Olympia). The stores support uncompensated care at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Have fun shopping, and do good at the same time - it's a powerful combination!