Binkies In - Binkies Out....

We have been really busy getting binkies out the door this month!  This is the very best part of what we do - hands down, without a doubt.  Above are some of the beautiful binkies that we sent out this month and more.  Aren't they just gorgeous!!

We were very excited to meet Deanna Carnell with DSS/Foster Care.  She came by and picked up the items we donated and she was such a pleasure.  We are so happy to be working with them and concentrating on providing items for teens.  We can use all sorts of quilts and blankets for this project as well as small notebooks that we cover for journals.

We also received the schedule from Creative Sewing Machine Center for their upcoming anniversary celebration in March.  We will have a table set up there for the week of March 5th-12th and we will be there on the 8th (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) to discuss the BPSC and meet and greet.  We so appreciate being included in this event and the support we receive from the Creative Sewing Machine Center.  They have scheduled a Make It - Donate It on Monday and the items they create will be donated to the Binky Patrol SC.  Peggy has also offered to provide the prize for our Mystery Quilt Contest which will end on 3/11, coinciding with their anniversary week.  The winner will receive a $25. gift certificate for the Center.  Thank you so much to Peggy, Jennifer and the staff at Creative Sewing Machine Center - we look forward to working with them on future projects.  We hope to see you at the Center during the anniversary celebration!  You will love it there!!

We are finishing up our box of goodies for God's Tiny Angels and hope to get it mailed out this week.  We have sweaters, booties, hats and preemie quilts to send their way.  We also packed up three quilts for the Dickerson Center this week and Deeann will be coming by to pick them up as well.  Finally, we are mailing out a quilt for a child in Canada who had surgery complications and we sent another package to our preemie project family including a preemie quilt for the baby and a larger one for the big sister.

So, as you can see, we are moving the binkies out about as quickly as they come in.  We are busy over here at the Binky Patrol SC - join us - there is lots to do and you don't need to know how to sew to help out.  Email us at binkypatrolsc@sc.rr.com or visit our web site at www.scbinkypatrol.com.


 

Binky Patrol SC Mystery Quilt Contest

We had a suggestion from Quilter Anita to have a quilting contest and we are so excited about this!  When all of the entries come in, she will be assembling a mystery quilt for us to donate to one of our groups.  Don't miss out on this - details are below.  Next we will be having a Be Square - Build A Binky Contest for the knitters and crocheters.  Watch for details on that one to come.

The Binky Patrol South Carolina is CRAZY for Quilts!  

Join us for a Charity Mystery Quilt Contest!

Please join us to help create a Charity Mystery Crazy Quilt to be donated to one of the groups we provide quilts to. To see the full list, please visit our web site at http://www.scbinkypatrol.com.

Dates:   Friday, February, 18th through Friday, March 11th, 2011

Rules:   Submit as many scraps of fabric as you would like—anything from 5” X 5” inches and up will be included. Strips, squares, rectangles, triangles are all fine just as long as they are at least 5 X 5. Each piece of fabric, of at least this size, will be incorporated into the quilt in some way. Your fabric must be mailed in to reach us by the deadline and the form below must be included with your scraps. For each scrap you send in, you will be entered in our drawing to win—no limit on the number of scraps you can submit. Winners will be drawn randomly from the names entered on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Pictures of the quilt will be posted as soon as it is completed.

Prize:   The winner will be allowed to choose the group the quilt is donated to from our list of donor groups. The winner will also receive a $25 gift certificate for Creative Sewing Machine Center in West Columbia!  Thank you so much to Creative Sewing for providing the prize for this contest!!

Address: BPSC, 149 Collumwood Circle, West Columbia, SC 29170
Contact us with questions or concerns at binkypatrolsc@sc.rr.com
The registration form is available on our web site at http://www.scbinkypatrol.com/uploads/5/5/4/9/5549888/bpscquiltflyer0211.pdf

Finally.......We are Getting Ready for Spring......

As always, it seems that Spring is a long time coming.  We are very fortunate to live in a somewhat tropical climate - South Carolina.  However - we have had a somewhat eventful winter this year.  Not much by some standards and we surely can't complain.  But......we are very excited to be planning for the coming of Spring this year!!!

Something new we are doing is adding all of our photos to a flickr group.  The link is below.  This will allow us to have all of our pictures of donations in one place and easily visible.  We have placed a flickr box on the left hand side of the blog as well and you can see the pictures pop up there too.  Be sure to check them out.  This is not to ring our own bell, but to encourage others and show them what a little imagination and effort can become.  It also is a way to thank our volunteers and group - to show them they are greatly appreciated!  Let us know what you think.  I am still adding photos but hope to be caught up this week.  As I have time, I will add names to the creations.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binkypatrolsc/

We also have a new project in the works - we will be working to get scraps donated so that we can complete a scrap quilt.  Our quilter extraordinaire will be creating the final project.  We will be posting more information on this challenge and what it could mean for you.  We hope this will also allow us to show how much just a small piece of fabric can do and what it can mean to a child in need.  Watch for details to come......

As I mentioned, we are very fortunate that our climate in South and North Carolina is not as extreme as some states, but we still have many children who go to bed at night cold, alone and afraid; children who are abused and away from the only family they know; preemies born every day to parents who are unable or unwilling to care for them; babies born who are drug addicted or who carry the virus that causes AIDS; babies with birth defects that are catastrophic to a family and many children who are affected by cancer and other childhood diseases and the forgotten ones - teens in foster care - many don't want to think about them or their needs.  While our climate is comparatively mild, our children are no less in need.  Please don't believe that because warmer months are ahead, there is nothing to do.  Children as well as adults need to know they are loved and cared for every day and sometimes it is a matter of survival.  No one thrives with out love and care.

Please check out our needs list - it does not take much to make a difference and we provide tax deductible receipts for anything donated.  We are in desperate need of postage - many of our items have to be mailed out to groups that are not close enough for delivery or pick up.  As mentioned above, scraps are always appreciated - yarn is always needed for our crocheters and knitters; batting, thread and more.  We are always appreciative of anything you would like to donate - we will find a use for it.  Email us at binkypatrolsc@sc.rr.com or visit our web site at www.scbinkypatrol.com.  We need you!  We have a spectacular group of ladies working for the BPSC, but they cannot do it all - the needs are just too large.

Quilts....Pillows.....Cases...Ah Quillows...

I have always heard about Quillows - you know the blankets that stuff into themselves and become a pillow.  Well --- duh - it finally dawned on me that these would be so perfect for the kids in shelters that we send blankets to.  A Binky Quillow!  How great would that be to have a soft pillow and quilt all in one - and easy to carry and keep up with.  When it's not a pillow, its a blanket and when not a blanket its a pillow.  Who ever thought up this one was a genius! 

I have heard they are relatively simple to do as well.  If you like to quilt, they could be made in patchwork, but if that isn't your thing, they can be made in simple solid pieces of fabric.  I am in search of a very clear pattern and if you know one, please do let us know.  We would like to include this project in our next Bink-A-Thon.  They would also be wonderful for babies as well and could be included in the upcoming National Baby Shower project.  Watch for more details on both of these events as they get closer.  We will be posting our calendar later this week.  Also, don't forget to let us know if you are aware of any individuals needs for the Binky Patrol.

Learn from the Young........

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a wonderful young lady last weekend along with her equally super Mom!  They came all the way across town to deliver two handmade blankets they made.  I can't express my excitement when I saw their creations and realized the honest love that went into these two blankets.  The daughter - Taylor Rae - is only 15 years old.  An age when many young girls are very self absorbed and only thinking of texting and clothes and such, she took the time to make the most beautiful baby blanket.  She didn't choose the simplest of patterns - she picked one that is more complex and turned out such a sweet, soft beautiful blanket that any little one would love!  This was a community service project for school and she gets an A++ in my book.  ;o)  Her Mom took on the challenge as well and made a twin size gorgeous ripple - our first bed sized binky.  This will be so welcomed by the ladies at SisterCare and we are so proud to send it.  In a time when it is so easy to just write a check, these two ladies put in the effort and not just a simple effort but a time consuming full fledged commitment to make these wonderful blankets filled with love.  I cannot thank them enough.  What is more exciting, Kim, the Mom, tells me that they will be making more and that Taylor Rae, a very busy high school student, has caught the bug and has all sorts of plans to make her own creations.  Pictures of their donations are below.

Taylor Rae's Blanket

Kim's Blanket

If you know of a young person who might be interested in doing the same, please contact us.  We can even help with supplies and we can provide receipts and any other information needed for class credits.  This is such a wonderful way to teach our kids from an early ago on, that giving is so rewarding and should be an integral part of all our lives.  From those whom much is given, much is expected....it doesn't take much to give love and caring to others and there are a multitude of ways to do so.  Join in - you will be so glad you did.  A joke my boys used to tell goes - "Where do you find a helping hand ---- at the end of your arm"  Be the difference you want to see.  Email us at binkypatrolsc@sc.rr.com and find out how easy it is to help.