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The Linus Connection Meeting Reminder! When: Saturday, April 20, 2024, Doors open at 9:00 am (Announcements and Show and Tell start at 10:00 am) Where: St. Philip's Pre-School Building, 16321 Great Oaks Dr, Round Rock, TX 78681 What: Announcements, Show & Tell, Blanket donation collection, sorting/distribution, supply pick-up, and Linus Mall Linus T shirts: There are a handful of T-shirts still available. See Anne to get one. Not able to make the meeting: Drop blankets at one of our Drop off Locations We have a new Drop Off Location! Please stop by and check out this super cute store!! 💜 Northwest Sewing Center 5448 Burnet Rd #1 Austin, TX 78756 512-459-3961 July Fabric Sale Fundraiser When: Saturday, July 20, 2024 - 9:00 - 11:00 am Where: St. Philip's Pre-School Building, 16321 Great Oaks Dr, Round Rock, TX 78681 Fabric and Fat Quarters: $10 per pound Cash, Check and Paypal

Facility Spotlight Austin State Hospital, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (ASH-CAPS) Bed Capacity: 28 Diagnoses/Mental Health Conditions seen: • ADHD • Depression, Major Depression • Conduct Disorders – Oppositional Defiant Disorder • Substance Use Disorder • Self-injury / harm disorder • Mood Dysregulation Disorder • PTSD from abuse/neglect • Eating disorders • Autism spectrum disorders & IDD We have been delivering blankets to ASH-CAPS since December 2000 when we dropped off 33 blankets. Since that day, we have delivered to ASH 166 times, totaling 4,275 blankets. Thank you!! We received a note from APH Neighborhood Centers which included the following message: “Thank you so much for everything that your ladies do. We had a client come in to get a food pantry box who said that the blanket that we gave them is her son's favorite blanket and won't go anywhere without it. I don't remember the exact blanket but I believe that it had super hero's on it? (don't quote me on that). “ Show and Tell Thank you very much for the Tuna Helper donations!!

Brown Bag Surprise - Demo with Osie This month Osie handed out mystery bags of fabric with ideas on using it all up! No guidelines, have fun making quilts! Add fabric if you like. Only return fabric if it is cut into 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles for future kits! February Show and Tell

Lots of Show and Tell this month!!

Coming Soon

We had a wonderful Holiday Party at the December meeting with a fun game and giveaways! Updates We are collecting food items each month for the St. Phillips Food Bank. Please visit the Meetings and Sew Days page (here) for the item of the month. December was Jelly (we collected a lot!). January will be Macaroni and Cheese boxes. T-Shirts are still available! See Anne if you want one! Facility Spotlight Quail Valley Christmas Annual Dinner and Celebration in Georgetown This is the 10th year of he event which is sponsored by the Salvation Army and the Georgetown United Methodist Church. It is a free event for families in the Quail Valley area of Georgetown. They are expecting 200 children at the party. We provided 97 blankets last month and will be delivering another 60 this afternoon!! December Show and Tell Such cute blankets this month!!

Announcements: Weighted Blankets: We need weighted blanket tops in the sizes of 9x11, 10x12 and 10x14. See the Blanket Specifications and the Free Patterns and Ideas pages for more information regarding weighted blankets. Heavy, Warm Blanket Requests: We have a special request for heavy, warm blankets for homeless teens. The mobile (street) medical team of Community Care is preparing for winder needs. Please consider making really warm blankets (in teen sizes) this month! Sew Days - 2nd Tuesday of each month: Location: Honey Bee Quilt Store Honey Bee Quilt Store 9308 Anderson Mill Rd Austin TX 78729 10:30 - 4:00 Bring your own Linus Projects to work on or Marge can provide kits. If you just want to cut fabric, that's ok too!! Demo: Kari showed how to make a disappearing 9-Patch from Fat Quarters. This quilt top can be completed quickly (Ellie timed it and she completed hers in 55 minutes!!) Show and Tell We had a large number of beautiful Show and Tell quilts this month! Some of the picutres are the backs. Lots of kids will have a new special blanket soon!

The Linus Connection celebrated our 24th Birthday last month and our Quilt Challenge and Silent Auction was a BIG success!!! Please see the party pictures below! A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all our our volunteers, friends and family who helped make this event a success!!

Save the Date!!! Saturday Oct. 21, 2023 9-11 am The Linus Connection Annual Challenge & Birthday Celebration Celebrating 24 Years! Quilt & Blanket Challenge, Silent Auction, Fat Quarter Sale, Door Prizes, & More! St. Philip’s United Methodist Church 16321 Great Oaks Dr. Round Rock, Texas 78681 in the Family Life Center Our mission is to make and deliver handmade security blankets for children in crisis situations in the Central Texas area. The Linus Connection is a Federal 501 (c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible. thelinusconnection.org Silent Auction Pictures!! (there are a few duplicates and a few with no item number. I apologize for that and if I can figure out the number, I'll add it. Also, if it looks like the item number is mostly hidden, click on the picture and it should show up. Some are at the very bottom of the picture and the larger image will show it.)

Facility Spotlight - Foster Village There are two locations of Foster Village: Dripping Springs and North Austin. They are both a resource for foster families to get clothes, supplies and support. They currently get quilts and blankets from an internal group, but they did not have anywhere to get weighted blankets. When they could afford it, they would purchase these, but we are able to fill all their weighted blanket needs. They also were the first to ask for weighted lap pads for studying and calming during down times. We are now providing those to a number of different groups, including schools for ADHD rooms. Check them out at https://www.fostervillageaustin.org/ Demo - Weighted Blankets with Stephanie Stephanie explained how her and Anne put together weighted blankets. Benefits: There are two types of children who are receiving weighted blankets from The Linus Connection: students with ADHD and those who have experienced trauma, such as abuse, bullying, loss of a parent or sibling. ADHD: The blankets help students with ADHD by providing a calming and organizing effect. It helps them focus in school and doing homework. Our bodies have an intrinsic ability to sense and position themselves in space, called proprioception. Proprioception tells us where our bodies are in relation to other objects and in open spaces. It's very important to the brain, as it plays a large role in self- regulation, co-ordination, posture, body awareness, and the ability to focus. ADHD sufferers also have an increased risk of sleep problems. This calming effect helps with that as well. Trauma and PTSD: A weighted blanket molds to your body like a comforting hug, helping your nervous systems to relax. The weighted blanket stimulates the process of relaxation naturally, without the need for any drugs or medication. When you apply deep pressure to the body, the body switches from running its sympathetic nervous system to its parasympathetic nervous system. When the SNS takes the lead for too long, you feel anxious, tired, on edge, and irritable. You don’t sleep as well and your digestive system might act up. The parasympathetic system brings a sense of calm and peace to the mind and body. When the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, your heart rate slows, muscles relax, and circulation improves. Your body produces endorphins, which are the “happy” hormones. As deep pressure is applied to the body, the parasympathetic nervous system comes online, calming a child and bringing a sense of well-being. Linus volunteers make the quilt top and pellet pockets and Stephanie and Anne complete the process of making the blanket based on specific weight specifications. Find more information about weighted blankets on our Blanket Specifications page. Show and Tell

Facility Spotlight - Christ Child Society https://ccstxcapital.wordpress.com/ Meg Beasley, the President of the Central Texas Christ Child Society visited our meeting and provided information about their organization. They are a nationwide organization with 5500 members across 45 chapters. They provide bags to newborns that include diapers, baby wipes, onesies, sleep cap, socks, receiving blankets, burp cloths, a hooded towel and wash mit and a little book along with a baby blanket donated by The Linus Connection. They work with various agencies in Travis, Williamson and Bell counties to serve the needs of the communities. Demo - Receiving Blankets with Suzanne Suzanne did an awesome demo of all kinds of ways to make receiving blankets! Here is a link to the Super-Size Nine Patch pattern she mentioned. Super-Size Nine Patch Here is a link to the Burlap and Blossom Etsy store that was mentioned. BurlapBlossomPatterns. This Etsy shop has tons of quilt block patterns. Show and Tell Pictures

THANK YOU to everyone who supported the fabric sale in July!!!! We appreciate all the shoppers, volunteers and everyone who made the day happen!!!