Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 19

Sam And Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 19

12/13/08-01/16/09  Tucson  - Blankets

 

Grace’s specialty at the Cactus Country RV Park (CCRV) is quilting.  She and a bunch of other woman, some not from this park, meet in the rec hall weekly to work on blankets for kids.  Quilts of all colors.  The quilts are kid-sized and through Project Linus (not to confuse with Linus Foundation), the quilts are given to kids in hospital wards, cancer treatment, family service-involved, homeless, and on and on.  Google the program and be amazed.  There are chapters all over. This small group of women had completed 32 kid-sized blankets that any kid would love to receive. (I have pictures.  And the ‘giving’ is permanent and they don’t have to share.  ‘Raw’ material (and your skills) can be donated in any state where the program is in progress.  The C. Shultz family approved the program’s use of the Linus name and cartoon figure.  This is not just something the CCRV quilters (and crocheters and knitters….) do at Christmas season. They work on the blankets the whole time they are in Arizona and at times - beyond.  Since it is only January now, I fully expect a hundred more to be done this ‘season’.  You gotta love every one of them.  In their free time, they complete items for adults in need as well. 

Grace In On The Planning

Finished Blankets And Pat

 One morning, Grace picked me up in her multi-task vehicle, along with several other women.  She had invited me to go with the group to the Desert Quilters Patch.  A material shop in the middle of somewhere out there.  The shop called “Cabbage Patch” by Wayne, is a scoonch better than a shack with a faded, discarded railroad car thing next to it.  Both were filled with bolts, rolls, folded scraps of the rainbow.  I can’t sew anything without drawing blood, and yet I was drawn to search through every nook and cranny of this colorful shop.  The other women that came with us – Pat, Dee, Margo and Linda – all took off in different directions as soon as Grace unlocked her car (not an automatic reflex action on her part).  They dug in and found matches and backings and who knows what else.  The material, in places, was arranged by the major color – at times that issue blurred.  They had one little room of Christmas, and although it had passed, I could not help but drool.  I have got to look into fabric glues! The people running the store were helpful, nice and willing to give discounts if you would only call a week ahead of your visit.  They also gave discounts for the material that will be used for charity.

On the way to the shop, Margo and Dee decided that we had to lift our legs, wave our arms and yell, as we went over a cattle guard. (I used to do this as a kid with my friends when we went over bridges – not too many in Ontario, Oregon).  Unfortunately, my attention span has shortened and I was talking to Linda (we were in the far back seat discussing her home in Maine and her husband, who had been stationed here in Tucson – Fort Huachuca) when all of a sudden, a yell burst forth and I ducked – scared me totally, and me without my numchuks!!  Have no idea what the yell was about.  While we were discussing critters several of the women had not seen a javelina in the wild – although if you sqinch your eyes and look at a barrel cactus (hairy, stubby ovals on their sides), they look identical.  We had a blast on this outing and I did not spend a penny!!! ……..Hope you enjoyed my version of the outing Pat – it was written with you and Grace totally in my heart.