Sewing at the Hospital

We had a fantastic day sewing at the hospital! We sewed 17 pillowcases at our event. We were very busy. This year we had quite a few kids who wanted to sew the pillowcases themselves (with a little help). That was very exciting!!! Others chose fabrics for us to sew for them while they waited. We also brought three totes of completed pillowcases. I heard many, "Cuuute", "Ahhhhh", "Look at this one", etc... The pillowcases were flying from the totes...we think patients and families took approximately 70 pillowcases. The parents, families, friends, and patients are very, very appreciative of the efforts of all of you wonderful volunteers.

Julie, her daughter, Emily, and Emily's friend were working as a great team. Emily sewed a Vikings pillowcase for a little Vikings fan. (See picture.) The game was on when we were sewing. We had plenty of Vikings fabric for those fans that may have been in bewilderment today over the game. This little guy (we didn't catch his name) has a pillowcase to match his hat now... Julie helped keep up with the "sew and go" orders we took. ;-) It's great to see another generation of volunteers! 

One of Becky's "customers" was Wes. Wes was full of energy and very wiggly.  He had some big curls under his hat that seemed to fit his personality perfectly. That was some cool hair. Wes is a firecracker!! He is growing his hair for "Locks of Love"...how awesome is that. I believe Wes's sibling is in the hospital. (Check out the picture.) I didn't get a picture of a little girl Becky helped, however, she was as cute as can be. She had the prettiest red hair. I'm guessing she was between 8 and 10. She had purple eye shadow...very neatly applied. She made a tie-die pillowcase and was as happy and as proud as can be when she finished.

Terrance, was a fast friend to Bennett. Bennett helped Terrance sew three pillowcases - one Vikings pillowcase for himself, one Vikings pillowcase for Terrance's dad, and one U of M pillowcase to give another patient. Yep, Terrance wanted to donate a pillowcase to another patient. That was so sweet. (The bib Terrance is wearing is his sister's, by the way.) Terrance kept Bennett busy and he was chatty. He told Bennett he wanted to be a running back but will probably be a quarterback because he has a good arm and he is fast. We told Terrance he was our number one pillowcase sewer today and that got a great smile.

Thanks to all of you for your support of ConKerr Cancer. You made a lot of smiles today!!

~Carolyn

Pillowcase-a-thon Success

The Pillowcase-a-thon at Quilt Yourself on Saturday, 9/10/11, was a HUGE success!  We made 127 pillowcases! 






Volunteers were cutting, pinning, ironing, and sewing.  Everyone was fantastic and flexible.  Not only did the group make 127 pillowcases, volunteers cut all of the fabric that was brought in.   In addition to the 127 made at the event, 73 were brought in completed.  That's a total of 200 pillowcases for the day!  Thanks to everyone for your FABULOUS work. 



I had a lot of fun and hope everyone that helped enjoyed the day too.   A very, very special THANK YOU to Jeannette and Sue, owners of Quilt Yourself, for hosting our event.  You are gems for being so generous.  The MN chapter of ConKerr Cancer would not be what it is today without you.  You are the best.

Start a Family Tradition - Make Pillowcases!

Would you like to start a new family tradition? Would you like something to do at your family gatherings? How about making pillowcases?

Jenny, of Chanhassen, and 12 of her family members made pillowcases last year during the holidays. The family included Jenny's Grandma(93), her parents, Jenny's sister and her husband, and their boys (ages 9,11, 13, & 15) and last but not least - Jenny and her husband, and their two kids (ages 13 & 16)! They made 26 beautiful pillowcases.

Danny, the youngest, was one of the photographers. He took his job very seriously and enjoyed himself at the same time. They made pillowcases and borders separately. They laid them out on the ping pong table and everyone, from youngest to oldest, had the opportunity to choose a case and border to go together. Many of the pillowcases ended up with names, such as, "Cam-inals" (camo and animals) and "Cotton Candy."

What a fantastic idea, great family project, and wonderful way to celebrate the holidays!

Boy Scout Service

Andy Montean has been Scouting for 7 years and he's working towards becoming an Eagle Scout. For each rank in Boy Scouts, the boys are required to learn more about Community Service, usually by giving their time and talents. Through their efforts they gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Andy decided he wanted to do something for kids so he made some pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer. Until now, all of his service hours have been helping senior citizens with lawn care. Andy's favorite part of Scouting is the camping trips, including camping in the blizzard of 2010. We wish Andy the best on his endeavor to become an Eagle Scout!

University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital

• Thanks to your dedication, we delivered 130 pillowcases to the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital this week!

After the drop off, Bennett, my daughter Chrissy, and I took a tour of the new hospital. The new hospital is beautiful. There will be the same number of beds, 96; however, the rooms are much larger. Here are a few items of interest that stand out in my mind from the tour:

• there is a ton of natural light in the hallways and rooms to capture the healing power of the sun


• all of the rooms are very large and private


• all of the rooms are set up with the same design: medical care on the right, patient in the middle, family on the left


• patients will start transitioning to the new hospital at the end of April


• the hospital has approximately 700 volunteers in rotation at any one time


• each patient will receive a welcome package upon moving to the new hospital. Each welcome package will contain a special ConKerr Cancer pillowcase!!


• In February 2009, Caroline Amplatz, J.D. gave a $50 million gift to the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital building project to honor her father, former University of Minnesota professor and medical device pioneer Kurt Amplatz, M.D. To recognize the gift and the person in whose honor it was given, the hospital is now called University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital. Recently Caroline Amplatz donated 11 million for additional updates.

With Love from MN!

Anikah, a little 2 year old girl from the south metro, is in Texas getting treatment for cancer. At the end of December Anikah wasn't feeling well and her parents took her in for a check up. The Drs discovered Anikah had a tumor on her brain (grade II Ependymoma). The tumor was removed surgically at Children's Hospital in MN but she needed to have a special type of proton treatment. Anikah, her parents, and big brother, Joey, traveled to Texas the end of January to start treatment. It sounds like it has been a long road of tests, surgeries, and medicines. The good news is that Anikah will soon be coming home to MN and she is cancer free! It's a little late, but pillowcases are on their way, to Anikah and big brother Joey, with well wishes and love from MN.

First Delivery to St. Mary's Duluth

Great news! Snow will not hold us mighty Minnesotans back....our pillowcases made it to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth! Whew-hoo!

Pam, from Little Marais, made our first delivery on February 15th. Pam has established a relationship with JoHannah Orman, the Child Life Specialist, at St. Mary's. Pam is on the left and JoHanna is on the right.





Pam is going to be our point person for St. Mary's Duluth. Thanks Pam!!

New ConKerr Cancer MN Affiliate

I took a road trip on Monday, September 27 to Gibbon, MN to meet the ladies of Generations of Warmth.  After an adventurous drive trying to find a bridge not flooded I made it to the group just in time to eat!  

While we were eating each of the ladies introduced themselves and told me how many years they have been quilting.  I had to laugh at the ladies that said, "only 10 years."  Many of the ladies said 40 plus years.  

After some fabulous food, I introduced ConKerr Cancer to the group.  I can tell this group is anxious to make pillowcases.  I was amazed at the many quilts they were working on for charity.   This group makes quilts, lap robs, baby quilts, mittens, hats, and it goes on and on.  They make items for nursing homes, homeless shelters, the area food shelf, and the county.  The group makes between 2.000 and 2,500 items each year.  I'm excited to have them on-board to help with ConKerr Cancer!  

A special thank you to Sandy.  Sandy contacted me in the spring of this year and asked that I visit the group this fall.  Sandy does a great job of organizing all of the charitable work this group performs.  She keeps the ladies of Generations of Warmth busy - that's for sure!

~ Carolyn

ConKerr Cancer MN Chapters make 1,272 Pillowcases in September

I'm happy to share with you that the MN Chapters (Metro & South) made/collected a half mile - 1,272 pillowcases - in September!  Considering we started our chapters this year, I think it's fantastic!  Denise, our fabulous southern coordinator, and I did not share our numbers until a couple days ago.  Believe it or not the chapters' totals were within 2 pillowcases of each other.

Hats off to everyone who participated in our Miles of Pillowcase Smiles challenge.  If you didn't have the time or resources to help in September - no worries - when the time is right we'll be happy to accept your pillowcases!

A wonderful lady, Toni, in Ely took the bull by the horns this month and rallied the troops to make 100 pillowcases!  Another wonderful lady, Desi, brought the pillowcases all the way to the Twin Cities to deliver them to me.  Yes - in a weak moment I allowed my picture to be taken.  Attached is a picture of Desi and me on delivery day.  (If you don't know me you'll have to guess which one is me.)  Thank you to Toni, Desi, and the following who helped make the 100 pillowcases:

• Heart of the Woods Quilters - Ely Guild
• Ladies of the Lakes Quilters - Eagles Nest Wed. group
• Hearts 2 Hands Quilters - Ely United Methodist Church group
• Mary's Spinning Wheel - Ely Quilt Shop - Served as drop off site and donated fabric

~ Carolyn

Our University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital Visit

On September 18th, we visited the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital for a little pillowcase event.  Along with a tote full of finished pillowcases made by our wonderful volunteers, we also brought along a sewing machine and unfinished cut pillowcase sets that the kids could make themselves.  

Several parents stopped by to pick out a pillowcase, for their child who could not leave their room.  A couple of parents took a few back to the rooms to let their child choose.

There were a handful of kids who were well enough to visit the room to pick out a pillowcase whether finished or unfinished.  One little girl wanted to make her own, but by the time she had chosen the fabric, she was too tired to stay.  Two kids (pictured above) had the strength to stay and sew their own, but most opted to let us do the stitching.  It was so wonderful to see the smiles.

The door prizes we brought along were an added bonus.  I think it made the day for one dad whose child won the Percy Harvin autographed photo.

~Carolyn

The Small and Mighty Evening Crew at Quilt Youself

The Pillowcase Party at Quilt Yourself in Savage on September 17, 2010 rolled an additional 100 pillowcases of the assembly line!

Pictured above is the line of pinners, pressers, sewers, and sergers on the evening shift.  Thank you, Jeannette and Sue, for all you did to make the event a huge success.  :)

A very special thank you to Quilt Yourself who not only supplied the space, but they also supplied pizza and candy as well as the fabric!

Free Pillowcase Patterns for Quilters

Here is another great link for great pillowcase patterns!

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/freepatterns/

It is from all people quilt, and the patterns can be downloaded free.

Prescott High School Sends Pillowcase Smiles!

Approximately 20 students and staff from Prescott High School Volunteer Group were busy over the summer sewing pillowcases!

Mari Lucus, the high school physical education teacher, and avid quilter, spearheaded the effort.  The group made around 50 pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer.   As you can see from the pictures, they look like they know what they are doing!

Prescott is approximately 25 minutes from the Twin Cities.  The group has also volunteered at Gillette's Children's Hospital, Feed My Starving Children, Salvation Army Toy Shop and Sharing & Caring Hands, as well as, spring clean-up at Kinnickinnic State Park, raking yards for senior citizens, watering flowers at the cemetery, and assisting at many school district events.  WOW - What a fantastic group!

Another Pillowcase Tutorial

This is a link to another tutorial on how to sew pillowcases. This one uses the yardage requirements listed on the ConKerr Cancer website.


Click here to see all of the directions.  (Dana shows step-by-step pictures, which are very helpful.)

Throw A Pillowcase Party!

The countdown is on! Help us meet our September goal of a mile of pillowcases, which will be donated to local Minnesota hospitals for kids battling life changing illnesses.

It is a big undertaking, but you can help by
throwing your own pillowcase sewing party!  :)

Browse around our new blog then email Carolyn at aCaseForSmile@aol.com for more information.

Pictured are few of the finished pillowcases made by Minnesota volunteers getting ready for the line-up.