A Quarterly Publication of Care Wear Volunteers, Inc.

Newsletter Care Wear Volunteers, Inc.

Spring Make a Difference Day

1

Letter from Bonnie

2

Bernat Patterns

12-21

LionBrand Patterns

14, 18

Comfort Dolls 22-23

Simple Quilts 24

Hospital Updates

30

Inside this issue:

MARCH 2012

SPRING MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY The official Make A Differ-ence Day is scheduled on the 4th Saturday of October and is a nationwide day of com-munity service. Because of the popularity of this event, local participants request that we have a sequel in the spring. So, Spring Make a

Difference Day is scheduled on Saturday, April 28th from 10am to 3pm at the Unity Church of Frederick (1 West 9th Street, Frederick, MD 21701). Bring your knitting needles, cro-chet hooks, or other supplies and join the group. Everything

Continued on page 3

Care Wear Volunteers Bonnie Hagerman 102 Mercer Ct #23-5 Frederick, MD 21701

Phone:301-620-2858

FAX: 301-620-2858

Website: www.carewear.org

E-Mail: carewear@comcast.net

PLEASE be sure to send address changes & corrections to Bon-nie. Bulk-rate mail that cannot be deliv-ered is discarded.

TINY BABY SURVIVES DESPITE EXTREMELY PREMATURE BIRTH

Continued on page 3

REQUEST FOR DONATIONS

As you know, Care Wear Volunteers has no membership fees or charges for newsletters or pattern booklets. Instead this organization relies on donations for funding its printing costs, postage, and now modest office expenses. For many years I included an annual request for donations in the December newsletter—then moved the appeal to the September newsletter. Care Wear Volunteers sends out no key chains, name la-bels or note pads in glossy mailers that ask for donations. No fund- raising companies will telephone you at dinner time to ask for dona-tions. Large and small, your donations are appreciated any month of the year and are used to continue the work of this organization.

Care Wear Volunteers, Inc. c/o Bonnie Hagerman

102 Mercer Court #23-5 Frederick, MD 21701-4070

Make checks payable to Care Wear Volunteers, Inc. Care Wear Vol-unteers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. (EIN#52-2137470). Your donations are tax deductible. See your tax preparer for details.

Many thanks for your participation and financial support.

2

Letter from Bonnie

Happy 2012 to you and yours! I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays and new year’s festivities. I send thanks to everyone who sent Christmas cards and season’s greetings. My office door (today is January 6th) is still covered with beautiful greet-ing cards. I hate to take them down because they are so colorful and cheery. Thank you again for your kindness, good wishes, and lovely notes. Another thank you for cards and notes of congratulations and good wishes for my retirement. Retirement is indeed lovely!!!! I am happy with my decision and pleased that my days can be productive and fun. I set office hours (10am to 3pm) for Care Wear Volunteers, but the holidays and activities with family and friends altered my routine around Christmas and just after the new year. At first I anxiously thought that I should not alter my office hours, but I am retired & can complete work later in the day, in the evening, or during weekends. I have access to the office on weekends. That is the joy of retirement!! I have several items of news (one of which you will notice on page 9 of this news-letter) to share. News #1. I investigated the cost of color printing and found that if the newsletter had a self-cover (same weight paper as the interior pages) I could print 16 pages in color at a slightly lower cost than all black print pages with a heav-ier cover! I checked with the company that handles the bulk mailing of this newslet-ter and did not receive any caution that damage in mailing would substantially in-crease with a lighter-weight cover. We shall see. continued on page 25

Continued from page 1 (Tiny Baby) Continued from page 1 (Spring Make a Difference Day) collected that day will be delivered to Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) or to another area hos-pital if FMH does not need the item. If you are not sure where to deliver your completed items and wish to add them to the delivery to FMH on April 28, please deliver or mail to me. Deliver to 304 Delaware Road (Monocacy Village Shop-ping Center on East Street). Call 301-620-2858 to check if I am in the office, but you can leave items with the receptionist just inside the front door. Or, mail to Bonnie Hagerman, 102 Mer-cer Court #23-5, Frederick, MD 21701. The final count of donated items is always improved with your extra items and FMH sends thanks. For those who live in the area and wish to participate, please bring a bag lunch and your supplies. If you cannot arrive exactly at 10am, no problem. Come when you can and stay as long as you can. Everyone is welcome. PLEASE bring a canned good/non-perishable food item for the Frederick Community Action Food Bank. Thanks for helping!

3 12/20/11 The Washington Post See p. 20 for January update

See complete article on page 8

Irja & Greg Bonafede get acquainted with their baby girl, who weighed more at birth than either of her brothers despite arriving 2 weeks early. The Bon-afedes have not yet selected a name for their 1st girl.

4

Letters I enjoy receiving…… “...In April of 2010 my grand-daughter had a baby girl who died at birth. It was so sad because she was a beautiful baby. The hospital provided her with hat, booties, and gown handmade by a Care Wear group. They were greatly appreci-ated. Little did I know when I started these projects that someone in my family would have need of this…”

I have heard this many times. Thank you for all that you do and please know that what you do-nate is appreciated.

The Washington Post January 3 or 4, 2012, A4 The Emmanuel Chemo Cap Minis-try (8-10 mem-bers) meets each month in the Em-manuel Lutheran Church in Pasa-dena, MD. This group makes chemo caps (adult & children), sewn fleece hats, sewn turbans, crochet baby hats, lap blan-kets, shawls. Etc…. Since the start of their min-istry in 12/2004 they’ve distrib-uted 4911 items

to cancer centers, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, St. Jude’s, etc… They also cro-chet skull caps for our troops & send burp cloths to the Stork’s Nest—Johns Hopkins.

BRAVO to this enthusiastic & productive group!

5

Beth Israel Hospital (Newark, NJ) sends thanks to the Ladies of the Fanwood Pres-byterian Church for all that they donate each month. Sincere thanks to Peggy Ficken and all of the participants in that group and to Fiona Leahy for delivering the completed items.

Scrub cap info & photos on page 10 & 11.

October 27, 2011

Thank you so much for all that you do. We received a pumpkin hat for our little girl and she looks so cute in it! Please continue to do what you do so that other families can have something to smile about!

Sincerely, Jodi H.

NEWS from a new Care Wear “chapter” in North Carolina: Alice Sloop, a former student of mine at Hood College, wrote about the knitting-crochet group that has donated blankets/afghans, hats, gowns, kimonos, booties, burial gowns, etc. to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC and Hospital Presbiteri-ano Dr. Jordan in Rio Verde, Brazil. Alice lives in Ulla, NC and the dedicated group of 6-8 ladies meets every Thursday night for two hours. Alice spent 2 weeks in Rio Verde, Brazil helping to build a medical-dental clinic that serves 315 three-seven year-old children in a very poor barrio.

Letters I enjoy receiving………

The Woodbourne Needle Wizards wrote to tell me about their crochet projects that benefit area hospitals. Woodbourne is a Correctional Facility for men in Wood-bourne, New York. There are 12 members of the Needle Wizards. They use their own money to purchase yarn and their once a week (2.5 hours) leisure time to cro-chet blankets, hats, bibs, booties, toys, etc.. Members of the group provide in-struction to newcomers to the effort. Members recognize that small acts of kindness are part of their efforts for self-improvement. Their donated items will warm and comfort young hospital patients.

BRAVO to prison programs that permit incarcerated men to help others! 6

MUMC PO Box 23089 Savannah, GA 31404

Cooper University Hospital sent thanks to Donna Hammell for her donated items.

7

See photos in color on page 15

See photos for this article on page 3 and on page 9.

8 See the photo of the baby on page 9

9

COLOR on pages 9-24 With a self-cover (cover is the same weight paper as the inside pages) I am able to print pages 9-24 in color—with a small de-crease in printing cost compared to the cost of printing the 12/11 issue! Enjoy the colorful and clearer photos.

Photo for article on page 8:

10

JOANNE HUFF 10403 Pleasant Vista Drive

Frederick MD 21701

301-898-7895 JMH1957@comcast.net

See another letter about Scrub Caps on page 5.

10

Current Contact

information

Joanne Huff continues to mail scrub caps & cotton flannel drawstring pants (pajama bottoms) to military hospitals. Here are photos showing medical staff members wearing caps she mailed. PLEASE note that there are as many MALE nurses in the military as female. Make your caps of fabric with sports themes, patriotic colors, holiday & comic prints, etc.. for the men! Thank you for all that you do. 11

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

KNIT PATTERN

12

11

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

KNIT PATTERN

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KNIT PATTERN

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Pattern on page 15

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Sofi Care Wear deliveries in November and January. See details on page 7.

Reprinted with permission

LionBrand Yarn

www.lionbrand.com

(with January 16, 2012 corrections to original pattern)

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

KNIT PATTERN

16

The Ohio Spirited Hands Care Wear Volunteers enjoyed lunch at Chantilly Cream Restaurant in Fairborn, OH. From left to right: Mary Ann Lowry, Carol Liepold, Janet Reuwer, Lydia Hernandez, Barbara Stanfill, Denise Colucci, Terry Beiring, Alby Demers, & Jenny Honingford.

A photo of our kitten Miya

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

KNIT PATTERN

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16

18

Reprinted with permission

www.lionbrand.com

CROCHET PATTERN

17

19

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

CROCHET PATTERN

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OWL TOY from

Dec ’11 newsletter

20

Reprinted with permission

www.bernat.com

CROCHET PATTERN

Baby Melinda Star Guido went home in January 2012. See page 1 for December article about her birth.

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CROCHET PATTERN

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Please buy SEW NEWS (February/March 2012) for patterns (pages 16-17) or download from to the SEW NEWS website (www.sewnews.com). http://www.sewnews.com/content_downloads/Sew_Your_Support.pdf See the Comfort Doll Project Blog for more information. See where to send dolls—address below.

14 SEW NEWS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012

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What a wonderful project! Thanks to SEW NEWS for providing this inspiration.

SEWNEWS.COM 15

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BLANKETS & SIMPLE QUILTS Most hospitals welcome blankets & quilts. Sizes: 30” x 30” 36” x 36” or 36” x 42”

Flannel blankets may be hemmed, bound or serged in matching or contrasting color. A crochet edging is a lovely finish, too.

Consider an appliqué or some embroidery in one corner.

Quilt tops may be pieced or one piece (a bright color or cheerful print).

Tie quilts with yarn or machine stitch the lay-ers together. Hand stitch, if you wish.

See the December 2010 newsletter on our website [http://www.carewear.org] page 18— Crocheted Edges for Fleece Blankets for helpful in-formation on a perforating rotary blade for prepar-ing fleece or flannel blankets for a crochet edging.

SIMPLE 30” x 30” QUILT MATERIALS: —30” x 30” fabric for the quilt top* —34” x 34” fabric for the quilt back/bottom** —30” x 30” batting ***

DIRECTONS: Position the three layers – centering the quilt top (right side facing UP) & batting on the quilt back (right side facing DOWN). You will have 2” of quilt bottom showing on all four sides. Fold that 2” extension in half & then up on top of the quilt top—to form a border. Pin in place. Miter the corners, if you wish. Machine sew that bor-der/hem in place through all of the layers.**** Then, tie the quilt layers together at approximately 5” intervals*****

* A one-piece quilt top of a cute print is fine! If you use a cute or colorful fabric for the top, you do not have to work hours to create a patchwork or appliqué masterpiece.

** Some hospitals request quilts with dark colors on the bottom so that they can be used as covers over the isolettes. Those covers will provide tranquil darkness to allow infants to sleep.

***Consider using 100% polyester felt for the batting. Felt is easier to handle than quilt batting. It provides good insulation & is machine washable.

****Consider machine stitching the border/hem along the folded edge (1” from the edge) & then around the very edge of the quilt (1/8” from the edge) in order to keep the batting flat and in position. Use straight, zigzag, or triple step zig-zag stitch. (See diagram above)

*****Use soft yarn or crochet cotton to tie the layers; use contrasting colors if you want to make the quilt more colorful.

Letter from Bonnie continued from page 2:

Please let me know if your newsletter arrives damaged. I will keep fingers crossed that there isn’t a major problem. I always have extra copies in case a replacement is needed. News #2: One of the major projects that I have undertaken is the complete revi-sion of the yellow Pattern & Information Booklet. When I assembled that booklet in the 90s, I did not have the equipment or computer skills that I have now. When I re-vised it in 2004, I was still employed & did not have time to do a thorough revision. Well, I’ve almost run out of copies of that booklet & I have to change all contact information so, this is the time to do a TOTAL revision! My goals are to make the booklet more professional (consistent font & point size, no “cut & paste,” etc.), more helpful (a photo with each pattern to show the finished product), & more complete (I have added a few pages and am including sewing patterns in full-size). As I worked on this revision I realized that some photos and illustrations in black & white would NEVER clearly show the finished items. So, I “played” with color and was thrilled with the results. I asked the local printer for a quotation for reprinting the pattern & information booklet in full color & I located a donor who is generously funding that cost. So, I am excited about my progress & I send thanks to helpers who are making samples for me to photograph. I also appreciate the feedback from those helpers to improve the directions & eliminate patterns that are not easy to follow. My target date for submitting to the printer is March 1. The reason for this late date is that January is a busy month with an annual board of directors meeting (2012 budget to approve, etc…) on January 17th and a February 1 deadline to submit this March newsletter to the printer. I made good progress on the pattern book in December, but have a long way to go. I am including photos from the 2005 Care Wear Volunteers calendar because they are colorful & show many of the projects made by Care Wear Volunteers participants. This is a task that brings a smile to my face. I hope that the revision will be eye-catching, clear, & motivating. News #3: I received an e-mail from a reporter from USA Weekend Magazine to ask me questions about the report I submitted about our Oct. 22 Make a Difference Day community service event. If you recall we had 48 participants & donated 1620 items to Frederick Memorial Hospital. The reporter contacted Sharon Hannaby (Director of Volunteers at FMH) as well. I have no idea if we might win one of the $10,000 prizes or if we will simply be mentioned in the April article that an-nounces the winners. The prize would be fantastic, but national publicity would be wonderful, too! And, the revised pattern & information booklet will be ready when that late April article appears. This publicity will increase participation & increase the number of donated items being delivered to hospitals. Keep fingers crossed! Sincere thanks to everyone who sent donations to Care Wear Volunteers. I appreciate your financial support. Special thanks to Rachel B. who has a payroll with-drawal via Merck Company. I do not have a mailing address to send a thank you note & receipt, but only have the name on the Merck documents with the check. Special thanks to Karen S. for her volunteer hours in the ExxonMobil Foundation Pro-gram that also provides a donation to Care Wear Volunteers. IF you or your spouse work for a company that matches donations, please have the employee sign the check & enclose the appropriate paperwork. I will sign & submit all paperwork for matching. continued on p 26

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Letter from Bonnie continued from page 25.

Thank you all for all that you do! I am proud that our efforts make a difference in this world. Care Wear Volunteers is my antidote to the evening news (murders, ter-rorism, gang violence, etc…) and reminds me that there are kind and generous peo-ple who care about others. I hope that area participants will be able to join the fun on Saturday, April 28th for Spring Make a Difference Day here in Frederick. I look forward to seeing every-one again. IF by that date I know that Care Wear is a winner of a Make A Difference Day prize ($10,000), I will provide lunch for everyone attending! The deadline for the June newsletter to be delivered to the printer is May 1st. Please send changes in your mailing address before that date. The mailing list goes to the company that handles imprinting name & address and sorting for delivery to the Post Office about the same time that I deliver the newsletter to the printer. Enjoy the remainder of winter and the arrival of spring. Please keep in touch and enjoy your work on Care Wear projects.

UÉÇÇ|x P.S. I hope that you enjoy seeing patterns & photos in color. Unfortunately, I did not have as many photos or color news articles this quarter as I had for the Decem-ber issue. BUT, it was EASY to fill those color-print pages & I will continue use this half color/half black print format—if damages due to the lighter cover are not exces-sive. SEND PHOTOS (with text to accompany the photo) by e-mail or hardcopy.

E-mail: carewear@comcast.net Mail: 102 Mercer Court #23-5, Frederick, MD 21701 )

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SEWING STORIES

Visit www.coatsandclark200years.com

The Coats & Clark company is celebrating its 200th anniversary. Visit their website and share your sewing stories with the next gen-eration and be entered to win prizes!

When I checked that website it was not yet ac-tivated, but you could type your e-mail ad-dress to be notified when it is ready for you to submit stories.

For those of you who sew, start thinking about the MANY stories that you have about your sewing projects!

EX: As a newly wed, I made my husband a tie to match my dress for a party. He did not tell me for several years that he had MAJOR chal-lenges tying that printed thick VELVETEEN tie!

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Frederick Memorial Healthcare System (Frederick Memorial Hospital) requests fabric aprons to use in the Altzheimer’s unit. Deliver or mail to The Director of Volunteers, Frederick Memorial Healthcare System, 400 West Seventh Street, Frederick, MD 21701.

Ties extend 27” beyond apron

25.5”

19”

Stitch on a patch pocket of FUR FABRIC (Approx. 6” x 6”)

Stitch on a patch pocket of SATIN (Approx. 6” x 6”)

9” zipper with a large zipper pull sewn onto apron

First, stitch a 6” x 7” square of clear vinyl onto the apron. Then, prepare two pieces of fabric with functioning buttons/buttonholes to stitch over the vinyl. (like a jacket or blouse clos-ing) See dotted lines for stitching

The functioning but-tons/buttonholes open to reveal the slick vinyl underneath.

Here we have a 5” x 1.5” faced-fabric strip with 3-5 button-holes. Through one buttonhole is a yarn strand with a pompom on the end. Through an-other button-hole is length of yarn (8-10 strands) tied into a knot at the end with dangling ends. Anchor ONE lengthwise edge of the fabric with a row of machine stitching. See dotted lines.

Cut a 7-8” length of 1.5” wide Velcro. Stitch all four sides of one Velcro layer (fuzzy) to the apron. Sew the top edge of the second layer (hooks) to the top of the Velcro already in place (See dotted line)—so that the Velcro can be lifted and closed, but does not com-pletely separate. A ring of plastic or metal at the bottom would be helpful to grasp.

Ties & apron binding of double-fold bias tape

To see a sample, stop by the Volun-teer Services Office of Frederick Me-morial Healthcare System (Frederick Memorial Hospital). Their office is the first door on the left just inside the Out-Patient Discharge Door on the side of the hospital facing Trail Avenue. OR, e-mail me. I have a color photo on my computer.

Use an assortment of BRIGHT colors for components. Sizes are approxi-mate and do not have to be exact. My diagram is not exactly to scale!

Make apron of denim, drapery fabric, or other sturdy medium-weight fabric.

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Do you sew? Would you like to help? If you would cut, sew, clip, and turn fabric bears, bunnies, or other ani-mal shapes, the Wednesday Craft Group at Homewood will stuff your toys and deliver them to Frederick Memorial Hospital. Homewood’s Ac-tivities Dept provides the fiberfill. And, the finished toys are delivered to Frederick Memorial Hospital. The Craft Group is a large & enthu-siastic group. They appreciate your help. Every child in the ER at FMH receives a toy to calm and distract. It works like a charm!!! Mail or deliver to: Dale Loman Cottage 29 Homewood 7431 Willow Road Frederick, MD 21702

BURIAL SHROUD Originally printed in the September 2004

Care Wear Volunteers newsletter

FLAP (CUT 2) 3” x 5”

PLEASE make bear faces as smiling and sweet as you can. Do not use black mark-ers that rub off on children. Use colorful permanent textile paint or embroidery.

SMILING!!!

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for burial shroud

PATTERN

We cannot keep reinventing the wheel. When a pattern is a good one and is appre-ciated by hospi-tals, it deserves reprinting. Those of you who sew will find that this small burial shroud does not take much fabric and can be varied depending on the trims available. See the photo at left. The original was made of white fabric on the outside and a soft printed flan-nel inner layer. You can enlarge the envelope shroud by insert-ing the optional bottom (seen on top of the shroud pattern). This pattern can be enlarged or decreased to meet the needs of your area hos-pital. Make a sample and ask if the size is appro-priate.

OPTIONAL BOTTOM INSERT PATTERN PIECE

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BURIAL SHROUD

PLAN AHEAD: CHRISTMAS 2012 REMINDER

Remember that Dave Justus asks for help assisting local families in the Morrisonville, NY area. He collects toys, cloth-ing, hats, scarves, etc. for children at Christmas. Address : Justus for the Children, 316 Soper Street, Morrisonville, NY 12962 THANKS for your help.

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OTHER UPDATES: Frederick Community Action (100 South Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701) is again in need of hats and scarves for adults and children for the winter weather. Sarah McAvey is the contact person. 301-600-1506.

Frederick Memorial Hospital (Frederick, MD) is now Frederick Memorial Healthcare System and is in need of burial garments for BOYS (2-10 pounds). They prefer open backs. Deliver to Renee Flessa Tipton, NICU, at FMH. ( E-mail: FTIPTON@FMH.ORG)

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Did someone in your family teach you to embroider? Did you evolve from floss to wool?

In the 1950s my grandmother taught me to embroider with floss and I practiced on the hems of all of the white sheets & pillowcases in my mother’s linen closet! I drew & embroi-dered monograms, “His” & “Hers,” and used a collection of designs from iron-on trans-fers! I was proud of my French knots, satin, chain, & outline stitches. I can’t re-member how I made the tran-sition to crewel embroidery, but I recall buying a transfer in a museum gift shop & em-broidering that historic design on a white wool toss pillow. I also enjoyed using transfer pencils to create my own de-signs. When I came upon a book by Erica Wilson I fell in love!!! I embroidered cloth-ing, tote bags, toss pillows, 6 linen dining room chair seat covers, a linen piano bench cover, & lots more! I hope that Erica Wilson’s book is still on my bookshelf. Many other embroidery books joined my collection. What an inspiration Erica Wilson was!!!!

CARE WEAR VOLUNTEERS

Bonnie Hagerman 102 Mercer Court #23-5 Frederick MD 21701-4070

SPRING MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012 Reminder: Please bring a can of vegetables or jar of peanut butter or other non-perishable food for the Frederick Community Action Food Bank. This year we will try to help in another way. See page 1 and page 3 for details on location and times. Thank you for all that you do to help others!