Second Quarter Newsletter 2024
CHAPTER COORDINATOR’S MESSAGE
Look at the calendar and you will see that we are already halfway through 2024. I hope that you are making the most of this fly by year and finding something to enjoy and appreciate every day. Our Make a Blanket Day, held in May, was once again a wonderful opportunity to spend time greeting friends and making new ones all the while working on a quilt, afghan, or a no sew piece of fleece. Is your calendar marked for the next big event? August 21 will be our annual Volunteer Appreciation Social and this year it will be all about desserts. Included in this newsletter is a flier with all the details. Do note that a reservation is a must and knowing that this is the last newsletter that you will receive before 8/21 please mark your calendar and make a reservation.
October 19 will be our second rummage sale taking place at the First Congregational Church in Hendersonville. Last year’s sale was such an incredible event working with the church and under the direction of our Romella Hart O’Keefe. Items will need to be priced at a reasonable amount and brought to the church on Friday October 18. We will not be accepting clothes, electronics or any heavy furniture. Start now going through those closets, cabinets, drawers, attics, and garages or all those unused items.
Thank You Notes
A note from some grateful grandmothers.
I just wanted to thank each of you that does the Project Linus. My grandson loves to lay on the floor with his blanket. He is going through a rough time at home and this brought great happiness to us, appreciate all that you do for our community.
I just want to thank you so much for the beautiful quilt. My grandbaby was in the hospital a couple of months back with viral pneumonia. When they brought in the quilt and the little doll that was inside, her face lit up. The quilt is absolutely beautiful and we can’t thank you enough for your kindness and generosity. We hope you have a blessed day.
If I know who makes the donation, I always forward the note to the proper “blanketeer”, in a case like these I am sharing with you and hoping that someone will recongnize the afghan in the first note as theirs and will take pleasure in knowing how much it was appreciated.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We continue to stay busy in our communities getting the word out about Project Linus. In March Anne Harvey, Deana Murchison and I had the opportunity to participate in the Juniour League of Ashevilles’s annual Volunteer event. This is always an enjoyable opportunity to visit with so many of our area’s non-profit organizations. There is a volunteer opportunity for everyone; it just takes time to find the right fit. Keeping busy is one of the keys to happy aging so if you know of someone who seems to be looking for something to fill their days you might mention that they reach out to United Way of Asheville as they try to match the person with the right opportunity.
In May, I spoke to the ladies of the Asheville Quilt Guild, this organization has donated over 2,600 beautiful quilts to our Chapter bringing smiles to many. While there, I met a refugee from Ukraine asking if I might reach out to Lutheran Services to see if they had a need for blankets as they work with many new comers to this country. I did call them to learn that they expect 70 new refugees by August and 30-40 will be children. I delivered 35 blankets to them.
We list the counties in the far western part of our state as those we service, but truth be told the miles do separte us and I always felt we needed to do a better job. I was delighted when in May I got a call from Kathy Lyda who lives in Sylva and wanted to take blankets to several organizations out West! I met her with blankets and she delivered to the Cherokee Indian Hospital, Qualla Fire Department, Cherokee Fire Department and the Whitter Fire Department.
BLANKET SIZES
A reminder about the suggested sizes of your blankets. We are receiving a large number of very small blankets making it difficult to find a home for them. Toddlers and newborn babies grow very quickly and can benefit from a larger size blanket.
Small 35” x 45” and up
Medium 40” x 50” and up
Large 45” x 60” and up
Blankets need to be kept away from pet dander, smoke and anything else that might endanger a child with a compromised immune system.
FARIC SCRAPS INTO DOG BEDS
Many of you are aware that Lee McAdams has been taking your donated fabric scraps and turning them into dog beds for local facilities. This is repurposing, recycling, call it what you want, and I think we are all conscious of the need for this to be done in many areas of our life. You sewers are taking this seriously and it is greatly appreciated, however, we now are getting so many bags of scraps that we are hoping that a second person will step up and be willing to sew for our fury friends. It basically means making a pillowcase and stuffing it with the scraps. Please let me know if you are willing to do this. Please remember that we only want fabric scraps, no old clothing, find another home for these articles and when you turn in your scraps make sure that you keep all the pins etc. home with you.
MONTHLY WORK SESSIONS
We are still meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity in Arden. We are meeting from 1:00 until 3:00 Ish. We do not work on making blankets but process all those that have been received during the month, getting them ready for distribution. We would love to have you join us. During this time, we have donated articles for you to pick up.
We now have a table with fleece and batting available for $3.00 apiece. The fleece is precut, in pieces “60” x “90”. This is a huge savings from what you would purchase at a retail establishment. We will put the $$$ toward the purchase of more of these items. We have found it necessary to raise the price by one dollar.
E-MAIL ADDRESSES
We are now communicating by email and hope that we have all your addresses. I have a list of those that don’t use the computer and will continue to mail out the newsletter to you. If you know of someone who hasn’t received the notices sent out by Helen McConnell, please let Ellen know and we will add this to our list. There are times when we realize that we no longer want to receive different emails. If you find yourself in this situation, no problem, once again let Ellen know and she will see that you are removed from the list. Many thanks to Helen for the good job she does keeping us informed.
Second QUARTER STATISTICS
In Out
April 258 304
May 436 467
June 293 369
TOTAL: 987 1140
With these numbers our chapter has now distributed 95,474 blankets, this is a corrected number as last quarter’s numbers were incorrect.
We are delighted to invite you to the
Project Linus Volunteer Appreciation Social
Just Desserts
August 21st from 1:00 to 3:00
Lutheran Church of the Nativity
2425 Hendersonville Rd
Arden, NC
We hope you will join us for crafts, games, a raffle
and lots of delicious desserts
(and just getting together for lots of fun and friendship)
Terry from ISHARPIT will be available to sharpen scissors and knives.
He accepts cash (small bills appreciated), checks and credit cards.
Pre-cut batting and fleece will be available for $3 each.
Fascinators Optional
Seating is limited so reserve your seat early
with Ellen at gknoefel@charter.net - (828) 645.8800
BLANKET DROP-OFF SITES
Asheville:
JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store
80 S Tunnel Road
Asheville Cotton Company
1378 Hendersonville Road STE B
Hendersonville:
Grace Lutheran Church
1245 Sixth Avenue West
JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store
Blue Ridge Mall Shopping Center
Sheridan Kay Quilting
1680 Spartanburg Highway
Weaverville:
5 Little Monkeys Quilt and Sew
32 North Main Street
COUNTY CONTACTS
Chapter Coordinator
Ellen Knoefel 828-645-8800
Buncombe County
Ennis Julian 702-499-3567
Cherokee, Clay, and Graham Counties
Ellen Knoefel 828-645-8800
Haywood County
Mariam Howell 828-456-5154
Henderson County
Vivian Andrews 224-558-4792
Jackson and Macon Counties
Ellen Knoefel 828-645-8800
Madison County
Nancy Fish 828-768-1344
McDowell County
Mary Ledbetter maryledbetter@hotmail.com
Mitchell County
Janet Jackson 661-319-8286
Transylvania County
Pat Crawford 828-883-8746
Yancy County
Vicki Fox 828-680-9167
Attn: Ellen Knoefel 10 Highland Pointe Drive
Weaverville, NC 28787
Phone (home) 828-645-8800
(cell) 828-231-9490
Email: gknoefel@charter.net
Website: www.projectlinusofwnc.org
Newsletter editor: Laura Moore
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