Blankets For Canada Joining Party

Hello, everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

I wanted to give the folks in Edmonton a heads up to the Blankets for Canada Joining party that I now have booked.  It'll be held on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Clareview Michael's, from 5 - 7 pm (though we can stay longer if needed).

There have been people asking about what happens with squares and other items donated into the bins at Michael's.  Edmonton has its own chapter of volunteers, so all these donations go directly to them.  If you're interested in donating, here is some more information about the squares and how they're put together. 

In December, I was able to do a photo shoot at Community of Christ Church, at 6919 83 Street Northwest, which has donated facilities for the group to use. On the second and fourth Saturdays, from 10am to about 3 pm, dedicated volunteers get to work!

(I have a set of photos on my flickr pages where all my B4C photos, new and old, can be viewed.  Visit the page to see more detailed photos.)

First, I got to see some of the finished items that were ready to be distributed around Edmonton, wherever the need is greatest.

Here are a few of the quilted versions.

I love the colours in the dinosaur one.  Some child is going to be very happy!

Here are several blankets made using knit blocks, including a spectacular child sized blanket.  Some with a lot of skill donated these squares!

These are made with crochet, including a lovely little baby blanket.

A couple more examples to show off.  I really like how those crocheted blocks were designed!

All of the finished blankets have this label sewn on to them before they are passed on.

After getting these photos, I was given a tour of the facilities.  Along the way, I was told about this group of donations.

These are just part of a very large donation!  A gentleman, recently widowed, was clearing out his late wife's sewing room and donated everything to Blankets 4 Canada - there was about two truckloads of materials donated!!  How incredibly generous of him during what had to be a very difficult time.

Volunteers will go through all of these bags and sort through them and decide how and where they can best be used.  Most of the fabric will likely go to other volunteers to make into quilts.

Next, I was shown a storage room.

In this photo, you can see the bins filled with sorted yarn that will be used to join squares, as well as items to be sorted, finished, etc.

On the top of another shelf are bags of sorted squares.  Each one of these bags is a blanket waiting to be assembled.

Below the bags of squares ready to be assembled is sorted fabric for quilting.

Sometimes, people donate finished items and I was shown a bag of items waiting to be sorted.  It had everything from hats and mittens to a finished child's sweater!

Though Blankets 4 Canada does not work with these items themselves, the volunteers to make sure that donations go to the appropriate places.  As an example, some of it will go to the Edmonton Police Department.  Police officers will be able to have some on hand, if they ever encounter a person living on the streets that's in need of a hat or scarf.  Such donations are always appreciated.

Here are a few more items displayed for me by Eileen, who is the B4C contact person for the Greater Edmonton Chapter.

Yes, there are even socks in the donation pile!  And check out those mittens!  These are one of two pairs of some awesome knitting.  The other pair was an all-over pattern the same as what you can see on the thumb of the pair above.

Next, I got to see one of the rooms being used to sort.

On one table was a bunch of loner squares and unusual shapes and sizes.  Eventually, it will be figured out how to fit them into blankets, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Visit here for the rest of the photos.

There wasn't any joining being done that day I visited.  Instead, it was all about sorting!

For my readers in Edmonton, the B4C chapter is always open to more volunteers to help sort and assemble blankets at the Community of Christ Church.  Here is the contact information link.

For our joining party, we'll be going through whatever is in the donation bin by February.  Last year, Eileen was able to join us and brought along some sorted squares, ready to be assembled, as well.

The joining party is open to anyone, so feel free to drop by!  That date again is Saturday, Feb. 2, starting at 5pm.

I hope to see you there!