Print Version
E-mail This Story
Sewing machines, fabric, and thread were nearly as popular as books at the Frisco Public Library Saturday as dozens of people showed up to make comfort blankets for area children enduring rough times.
Make a Blanket Day provided materials and patterns for volunteers of all ages and skill levels to create hand-made blankets for Project Linus, a national non-profit volunteer organization that provides new handmade blankets to critically ill or traumatized children up to 17-years-old.
“I find a great deal of comfort in blankets, and to be able to bring those to kids that are in bad situations means so much to me,” said Theresa Costin, chapter coordinator for the Collin, Dallas, and Grayson counties.
Costin said that turnout in Frisco was excellent, and that several people decided to join the group, which meets monthly at various locations. Several people who did not know each other before the event teamed up to complete new blankets, while others stopped by to make donations.
Several “blanketeers” decided to start a weekday morning sewing group as a result of the event at the Frisco library to provide even more blankets for children in need. Since the chapter formed in 2004, volunteers have distributed more than 3,000 blankets through organizations such as Centennial Medical Center in Frisco, Lions Club Kids in McKinney, and Hope’s Door in Plano.
Little Elm resident Nicole Thompson attended with several family members and helped her daughter and nephew create pieces for a quilt.
“[Making blankets] is something I enjoy doing in my free time, and when I heard this was going on I thought it was a cool project,” Thompson said. Although she had never heard of Project Linus before this event, she plans to stay involved by having children she works with at a school help color designs for quilts.
“I’m really excited that it’s something I can do to help out,” Thompson said.
Costin said she was encouraged by the Frisco event turnout, the first of its kind for the county chapter. Before moving to Texas she was heavily involved with the program in California, where emphasis was placed on sewing as a community on weekends. She hopes to make that type of event more common in her chapter.
Volunteers may work on quilts anytime, and finished products may be dropped off at The Sewing Room, 8500 Gaylord Parkway. Other drop-off locations are available throughout the Metroplex. The organization also accepts donations of new fabric, yarn, batting, scissors, 2-gallon zipper seal plastic bags, white or gray thread, gift cards, and cash.
Project Linus accepts child-themed blankets of all sizes, but they must come from a smoke-free, pet-free environment because they may go to critically ill children.
For information, visit www.pldallas.org.
