The idea is to provide a hug and something soft for children to cuddle. The blankets are given ‘for keeps’ to children in various local care facilities and the children take them home when they leave.
Project Linus is the dream of Karen Loucks-Baker of Colorado. She was inspired on Christmas Eve 1995, by a photo of 3 year old cancer patient Laura Williams and her special blankie. Karen decided to provide homemade security blankets to Denver’s Rocky Mountain Children’s Cancer Centre and Project Linus was born.
You can help by making a blanket (approx. 40" x 60") from your own yarn or by donating yarn to help someone else make a blanket. This is a great way to help the community and feel good about using up those odds and ends. All blankets must be new and handmade (knitted, crochet, quilted, sewn, etc.) and machine washable.
All blankets will be labeled as follows: Made With Tender Loving Care for Project Linus, put on by the coordinator you donate the blanket to.
I was blessed to do Project Linus with the staff at The William Carter Company and the Cotton Boil Quilters , while in Georgia. We donated in 5 years, 1200 blankets, afghans and quilts to Egleston's Children's Hospital and Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta.
One afghan was donated in purple, brown and white stripes, many of the ladies helping me put labels on the blankets didn't want to send it to the hospital. We did take it , it was at the bottom of the pile, two boys spotted it and literally pulled it out from the bottom, they fought over it! To them it reminded them of being home eating peanut butter and jelly sammiches. I was fortunate to get a few more PBJ blankets to the kids!
Check your local hospitals and the internet site for Project Linus for local groups to get involved with. Check your local knitting guild, yarn stores and craft stores for group information, patterns and tips on joining squares.
We will be adding patterns this week to this page- check back, get your yarn and needles ready!
If you are in Canada, the Canadian Project Linus web site at http://plcanada.cjb.net,
The US Project Linus web site at http://www.projectlinus.org