UPDATED - Blanket-Making Marathon Busts Previous Record...

[Note: Instructions for making a "no-sew" blanket are HERE]

Update!! The grand total is....242 Blankets of Hope! Woohoo!
And Organizing Angel Lisa sends this link to her photos (MUCH better than mine) of the event: CLICK HERE

And Angel MaryAnn has a post at her blog, too, because all these blankets will be headed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany! MaryAnn's post gives you more info on all those who donated to support the event. Many thanks to those generous folks!

*205 and Counting*

I went to a blanket-making party in Bowie, Maryland yesterday. We were making Blankets of Hope that go into Soldiers' Angels' First Response Backpacks. The backpacks are given to troops who are med-evac'd to combat support hospitals in theater or sent to military hospitals in Germany and stateside.

We were making the "no-sew" version of the blankets. Got some fleece, a ruler, a pair of scissors, nimble figures, and an hour or so? Then you too can make a Blanket of Hope. As this is a terrific project for kids, there were several Brownie and Girl Scout troops participating. More than 100 people had signed in by lunch time and more arrived as the day went on.



Here are some of my blanket making buddies. I worked at their table from about 10 to 2, and then went to another table to help a mom and daughter team (by 2pm I was no longer a "newbie" and could help those just learning - ta da!).

I was stunned at the varieties of fleece fabric that are available. My table made blankets with little stars, big stars, sports equipment, fire rescue/first responders (in picture below), lady liberty, geckos, US Army, and horses. My second table did blue plaid, blue cammo, and two lady liberties.

There were also fleeces with Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force logos, hot rods, flags, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and on and on. All were made into amazingly cuddly blankets, and each will make a terrific addition to a First Response Backpack.

Another Lisa and her husband Matt were the Angel-ringleaders-organizers-extraordinaires of this event. Lots of work went into making this event go off without a hitch, and they made it look very, very easy.

Not only that, but as of about 2:30 pm folks had helped make 205 Blankets of Hope.

205. Busted that record of 168 from last year, and folks were still making blankets. A spectacular success. And a whole lot of fun. Soldiers' Angels founder, Patti Bader, called in from California to say thanks and to congratulate everyone on the successful event.

Each blanket was carefully rolled up and tied with a ribbon. The finishing touch for each blanket was a card signed by all those who had helped make the blanket. Nice.

I'm not sure how many boxes they used, but they certainly had lots to pack up as I left.

Yay!