From the Heart
Newsletter
January 2009

I’m sure I’m not to first one to wish you a very happy New Year. I trust you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to jump right into 2009. With the current economic situation, we will be needed more than ever in the upcoming year.

Donations in 2008
Our total donated items for 2008 is 12,853. This brings our grand total since we began keeping records to 57,044! That’s over 57 thousand wonderful smiles for recipients and happy hearts for stitchers! Congratulations to all of you fantastic, caring members. You are definitely making a huge difference in the lives of others.

Speaking of this New Year, why not resolve to invite other stitchers to join in our efforts. Experienced folks are always welcome and those who would like to learn to knit or crochet are to be encouraged to join as well.

Reminder
In case of inclement weather, our shop at 1114 Westbriar Drive in Richmond, VA will be closed. We do not want our scheduled shop workers or others planning to visit the shop to take any risks on the roadways. A good rule of thumb…if schools in your area are closed so are we! Even if schools remain open but roads seem hazardous to you…DON’T COME OUT! Your health and safety always come first, besides, if you get hurt we’ll miss seeing your smiling faces at our gatherings!

The Cold Temperatures Are Here!
Not being a winter person, I’m counting the days until spring. But, meanwhile, we have an important job to do. There are so many homeless people of all ages out in the cold in our area. There’s not much we can do for them during the warmer months but this season we can really make a difference. Warm hats, mittens, socks and nice big scarves are all on their wish lists. And for those more exuberant stitchers, I’m sure they would covet warm, cozy sweaters. We also collect to pass along to them gently worn shoes, sweaters and jackets. Check your closets and please get any items you can spare to us for these unfortunate people.

Chemo and Radiation Patients
While those homeless folks are very important, let’s not forget our other recipients. Can you imagine having to go out into these temperatures without a soft warm hat to cover your chemo-induced bald head? Or just how cold your neck would be under those same circumstances without a soft scarf to snuggle around it?

We have recently been able to restock our acrylic yarn supplies, and with the many, many patterns at the shop, I’m sure you will be able to find something to make for these recipients that suit your talents, whether experienced or a new beginner stitcher. Hats are needed for the very young as well as adults. As always, we never seem to have enough hats suitable for the guys, both young and mature.

Those chemo blankets are so necessary during infusions. Long hours of cold chemicals passing into one’s body create chills beyond belief. Check our project measurement chart on our web site or if you do not have access online, get in touch with us at 804-305-4971 for a copy of the list.

We have quite a few selections on the blanket kit shelf at the shop. These come with instructions or feel free to use any pattern you enjoy. There is enough yarn in each kit to knit or crochet a nice, warm project.

We have recently been asked by 4 or 5 new to us locations of Bon Secour to supply both little underarm pillows as well as the drain tube ‘Suzy’ bags used immediately after breast cancer surgeries. These are both items sewn from fabric and patterns are available for your use. Contact us if you are interested in making these.

Nursing Homes, Assisted Living and Hospice Facilities
We are currently sending wheelchair blankets with waist ties, lap blankets, shawls, bed jackets and slippers to a number of these locations. We’ve also learned that our dressed teddy bears are useful to these folks. And, most recently we have heard that our ‘cradle babies’ are quite valuable for the impaired memory programs. One hospice location reported that these little babies actually have demented/Alzheimer’s patients talking! If you have not seen these toys, they can best be described as a crocheted, child sized drawstring bag that when opened reveals a tiny baby in a little bassinet. That pattern is ‘floating’ around and I’ll try to have copies of it available if you are interested in giving it a try.

Our Tiniest Recipients
Picture carrying your newborn baby or just recovering toddler out to go home from the hospital. What a joyous time! But, then imagine this trip outside without a snuggly, warm blanket wrapped around him. Or maybe it’s a warm hat or bootees that are missing. Put yourself in those parents position. You want so badly to do everything just right for your little one but times are tough and you just have to make do with what you can afford.

Now picture a lovingly made little sweater or complete outfit layered under a wonderful blanket…enter, From the Heart! We can help! We have the supplies, the talents and the energy to make this situation better. In 2008 we donated over 3,400 items to fill situations as described above. Times are tight. Our help is appreciated. These little items are so quick and easy to make. This just might be an area in which you will enjoy helping.

Then there are those parents who are not so fortunate as to be able to take their little one home. They may be faced with having to bury their baby without a proper outfit or beautiful little blanket in which to wrap him. For these tiny babies who do not survive we offer burial gowns and pouches. In 2008 we supplied about 175 of these as well and many, many preemie sized blankets. We feel certain that in a small way we helped ease the pain of these families.
Again, if this is an area for you, please, we could use your help.

January Shop Schedule
Peggy McCrerey is our person in charge of scheduling for the upcoming month. If you can possibly contribute 2 hours of your time, just once a month, it would be greatly appreciated. Duties involve unlocking the shop on the morning shift and locking up on the afternoon shift. Of course, checking the thermostat setting is also a must. Both shifts are in charge of greeting our visitors and helping with picking out yarn and turning in items. Occasionally it will be necessary for you to place our dove tag on untagged items as they come in. With our bagging and delivery committee in place, it is no longer necessary for you to deal with those chores. To get in on all the fun, just email Peggy at peggy1949@comcast.net or give her a call at 804-360-5446. Come on over to the shop, it’s such a great place to just sit and stitch!

New Board of Directors Members
On a lighter and brighter note, we are pleased to announce the appointments of two new members to our board. Joan Beck and Peggy McCrerey were installed into their new positions during our December 2008 meeting. We welcome them both and have found they come to us with many wonderful ideas and suggestions for ways to improve the efforts of From the Heart in helping our community. They already are formulating plans for more efficiently using our projects, making certain we are supplying just the right items to each of our recipient groups and maintaining better communications with them.

We have said goodbye as a Board to members Fran Topper, Susan Michael Hoelschen and Anne Hoag. We are fortunate to have this trio as dedicated members and supporters and greatly appreciate all they have added to not only our Board but to our membership as a whole. You will see them from time to time in our shop as well as at other meeting places, looking cheery and rested we hope! They have been invaluable in the decision making during our two and a half years as a Board. With their committed 2 years service time having expired, have decided to step down and allow others to participate in some of those tasks faced by our Board. Good luck to you three, we’ll miss you at our meetings and look forward to seeing you soon.

New Web Site
As mentioned in our December mid-month newsletter we have a brand new, very exciting web site. Thanks to the efforts and financial help of our member, Pam G and her friend Jackie Jones we are now at http://www.fromtheheartstitchers.org At first glance you may think our name is the same as before but notice we are now .org. At the previous site we were .com. Small change in our address, big change in our site! Check it out; I’m sure you will love it! Our web master is Jackie Jones. She is the owner of JTEC Consulting Solutions, Inc. Her web site can be found at http://www.jtec-solutions.com/ She is a trainer, webmaster and consultant and can be reached at jackiejones7@verizon.net or info@jtec-solutions.com We highly recommend her services if you are in need of help in any field regarding web sites or compute related instructions.

On the top tool bar of our site you will be able to click on our latest calendar, contact information, directions and map to our shop, a spot for donations, picture gallery and guest book. You will find patterns we have written and links to sites offering free knit and crochet patterns. If you scroll to reveal the far right side of the tool bar at the top of any page you will find a page entitled Current Projects. Here you will find a list of measurements for most of the projects we offer.

We are so excited about our new look and hope you will offer any comments, good or bad, that you feel will be helpful.

As I mentioned before, with the economically challenged areas in our midst as well as so many people going through the battles of cancer and other sicknesses, we have our work cut out for us in 2009. But we can make a difference. Just look at all the options, pick a need in which you can assist and let’s make it happen, as we always do!

Thank you for your continued loyalty to From the Heart. We continue to be blessed by your talents and caring nature.

Sincerely,

Lois Moore
Founder/Executive Director
From the Heart
Phone: 804-305-4971
Email: lois@ftheart.net
Web: http://www.fromtheheartstitchers.org