Sutton’s hard work has kept people in need snug and warm
Last month was the final month that Sharon Sutton was the coordinator for our local Project Linus group. After 13 years she’s decided to pass the position on to Karen Hygaard but her volunteer work isn’t over as she’s still going to be involved with the local non-profit as a assistant coordinator.
Project Linus is a group that provides both a way for local knitters, crocheters, and quilters to find a crafting community and a shared goal as these crafters come together to make blankets and quilts for children in need.
Our local Project Linus donates blankets to many organizations all throughout the community who pass them along to people who they know would benefit from a warm quilt made with care.
Sutton says that the beginnings of Project Linus started with her looking for a project that she could work on as she planned to retire from her work as a nurse at the Selkirk Hospital.
“I worked as a nurse on a day surgery unit. We had a patient in, and his wife was sitting there in her corner of the room crocheting a blanket in the most horrible green colour you ever saw. ‘Does that match your living room?’ I asked. ‘No,’ she said. Then she went into her explanation about Project Linus what it was, how it had come to Manitoba. One of the girls was a snowbird, and she brought all the information back with her from one of her winter vacations and they established a group in Stonewall,” said Sutton.
From there, Project Linus Selkirk turned from an idea to a reality with many of the original members being Sutton’s nursing friends from the hospital. With a little bit of information from the Stonewall group, they hit the ground running.
“The idea sort of got planted, that we should have a group in Selkirk, and the next day, the coordinator from Stonewall was at my front door with this box of information. I sort of got steered into the job. She and her assistant coordinator were a great help in getting the group going. We started in the old library building on Main Street, with maybe eight to twelve people coming to the meetings and it just gradually grew,” said Sutton.
Their membership is now up to 30 members making it a much larger group, though still small enough that they are able to establish friendships with a common interest in craft. They now meet monthly at the Lutheran Church Hall in Selkirk.
Sutton said that she never thought when she was first starting out creating this group that it would ever become what it is today. So far, this year alone, they have distributed 554 blankets all made through volunteer labour and they anticipate that they will give away at least 100 more by the end of the year.
Though she would like to continue to coordinate the group, Sutton has said that her worsening eyesight has meant that she’s no longer able to do the top job. Therefore, she has passed the reigns on to Karen Hygaard.
Though the members of Project Linus volunteer their time to make these blankets the group does accept donations. In particular, they are looking for fabric and yarn that can be laundered.
“We’re looking for acrylic yarn. It’s got to be yarn that can be washed. So real wool you can’t use that because people need to be able to wash their blankets, and cotton fabric for the quilting and then fleece is something, that we’re getting back into,” said Hygaard.
If anyone wants to reduce their yarn or fabric stash Project Linus is a great place to know you’re donation is going to a good cause
They also accept monetary donations and appreciate the donations that they’ve received from local businesses as these allow them to purchase more specialty items like quilt batting that isn’t a regular donation that they tend to receive.
They, of course, are also open to more people with blanket or quilt crafting skills and time to donate to creating blankets who want to join the group.
If you are interested in volunteering or donating you can contact Hygaard at projectlinusselkirkchapter@gmail.com or by calling 204-482-7915.
“We’d love them to come to the meetings, if they want to, once a month for a few hours. It’s always nice to look at other’s work right? It’s nice to feel part of something, and that’s part of Project Linus’s mission. It’s twofold, with the children getting the blankets, as well as giving volunteers an opportunity to show off their skills and have social interaction,” said Hygaard.
