Donations are used
 

My 7 1/2 yr old granddaughter recently broke her arm. She lives in Federal Way WA. Not sure which hospital this was but it is Childrens hosp in Tacoma WA. While she was in surgery the floor nurse had my daughter choose a pillowcase for her. She chose a bright Little Mermaid pillowcase. DGD very proud of it. We were with her for a couple of days last week on a camping trip. DGD had her new pillow case with her and was intrigued with the flange (I believe that is what it is called)

My very special thanks to who ever made this and donated it. A small item is helping in the healing of a child. I make Quilts For Kids here in Las Vegas. This has given me the incentive to make more knowing that they really do get used and loved.

To the Tacoma pillowcase maker, many hugs from a fellow quilter. Keep up the good work.

PS DGD arm healing nicely. has not slowed her down.

Thank you for this post - sometimes I do wonder what happens to the donated items.

Hope your grand-daughter has a complete and speedy recovery.

My local quilting friend and I are currently making pillowcases for our local Childrens Cancer Hospital in San Diego. They have been fun to make, I think I have a dozen done now, good use of all the Novelty prints I have collected over the years.....So nice to hear from someone who has expierenced the 'other end' of the process....
For those of you that are interested there is a nice simple way to make these called the "burrito method" that encloses the seam between the case and cuff. I personally prefer then to Flatfeld the side seam and serge the bottom seam.....That way I know the pillowcase will survive a childs use .....

I can verify that any quilts given to the Shriners are well used and loved by the patients. THye get their own quilt when available when they are checked into the hospital.My own daughter had many surgeries there and at 22 still has and cherishes her quilts

My ds was given a small quilt during his tonsilectomy last year. It was very much appreciated.

I make pillowcases and give them to my gbaby doctor who takes them to the children's hospital...it's a great feeling for me and I'd love to see the kids get them

I make pillowcases for the Conker Cancer Org. They give pillowcases to every child facing a hospital stay, regardless of the circumstance. For the last two years I've made over 300 hundred cases and this year (so far) I've made over 50 but will be starting to ramp up once it cools off. I use three coordinating fabrics for the cases and mine also have a flange. For those who don't know the fabric and supplies (thread, needles, etc.) are tax deductible.
Also the cases are scrutinized for workmanship, fabric quality, child appropriate prints, and unsafe materials (no glitter). I know this sounds picky but those that don't go to children are donated to homeless shelters, women's shelters, etc. I volunteer sorting these cases and you would not believe what comes in. We've had cases from girl scouts that were painted with fabric paint and the paint was hard and had glued the cases closed, others the fabric was so outdated that I don't even know if senior citizens would want them, others were made from drapery fabric.
If your going to put in the time and money, make sure it's something you would want your child/grandchild to receive. Sometimes these cases help a child facing some painful and scary times.

One of the hospitals in Portland, Oregon has a program called Passage Quilts that donates a quilt to every terminal patient. After the patient passes, the quilt is given to the family. I've read some incredible thank-you notes family members have written, telling how much comfort those quilts have brought their family member and, eventually, them. One man really missed his cat and was given a quilt with cats appliqued on it. It gave him a lot of comfort, he loved it. A woman lost her brother to cancer, he had had the quilt for a few months. Someone popped it in the dryer to warm it up, then wrapped it around the grieving sister and told her it was a hug from him. A 9 year old boy was taken to the quilt room to pick out a quilt for his mom, who had cancer. He loved apples, so he picked out a quilt that had apples on it. That story made me bawl my eyes out.

These quilts are most definitely used and appreciated. That hospital goes through an average of 40 quilts a month.

Is there a pattern for the acceptable pillowcases? I would love to do some for a children's hospital. Also, what is a flange? I have seen the term once before and am clueless on what it means

The Conkerr Cancer organization has a website at www.conkerrcancer.org which gives directions for the pillowcases and a list of people by state who coordinate collection and distribution of the pillowcases to various hospitals.