Here We Go Again!

Thanks for checking out our mission!

Working on our very first blanket.

In 2013, when Mallory was just three years old, we decided to collect our first round of blankets. You can read all about how we got started here.  What began as a small advent service project turned into a much bigger blessing than we ever could have imagined!  The following year (2014) we did it again more than doubling our donation from the year prior and our blankets arrived from 23 different states!  It was AMAZING.

Tagging and Bagging blankets in 2014

In 2015 we became recipients of a blanket when my youngest son, Grant (then 5 months old) was a patient at Luries for cranial reconstructive surgery to correct a condition called craniosynostosis.  Post surgery we scaled down a bit but still donated blankets for the third year in a row just before Christmas.

Our Sweet Baby Grant recovering on the 19th floor of Ann & Robert H Lurie's Childrens Hospital.

Prior to our first hand experience, we had supported Luries based on the wonderful things we had heard from other people.  After spending five days in "The Disneyworld of Children's Hospitals" we learned exactly why patients, parents, and medical professionals speak so highly of it.  The care we received was out of this world and I knew that the Blanket Brigade would continue to be a part of our family's mission for years to come.

We skipped doing it at the end of 2016 keeping in mind that the holidays are a busy time for many. Our hope is that life has slowed down a bit and your hearts will be open to the idea of joining us in the early months of 2017 as we support the patients of Lurie Children's hospital, gifting a cozy and comfortable blanket to as many of them as possible! Our donation date(s) have not yet been set, but we likely will be donating in February and then again in March when we visit for Grant's yearly checkup with his neurosurgeon.

If you've never made a fleece tie blanket before, we have a tutorial for you here.  You'll need two pieces of fleece, 1.5 yards each piece.

It's important to remember that these blankets are gifts. Please inspect your blanket before donating to make sure it's properly knotted, washed, & THOROUGHLY dried.

One of my most favorite parts of our brigade is receiving and blogging photos of all of our happy blanket makers and their beautiful blankets.  I will be keeping track of our progress again this year under the page marked Our Progress - 2017.

First three blankets of Blanket Brigade 2017!

More information is soon to follow!  Thanks again for your support!