State-Wide Art & Service Project (a.k.a. Lap Blanket Project) Update

 Greetings, CWC members! Here is a brief update on the blanket project as well as some information on how you can be involved. A number of blankets have already been brought in the the Woman's Club. It is so exciting to see so many people getting involved :)

Who: All Woman's Club Members in New Mexico (and any family or friends you can draft to help you!)

What: State-Wide Art & Service Project (a.k.a. Lap Blanket project)

When: Lap blankets should be returned to the Woman's Club by the meeting on10 April, as they will be taken to the GFWC State Convention later in April. If you cannot attend the meeting, you can arrange to drop them or with Susan Scott or Molly S. 

Where: There is no organized work day. Please work on your own or coordinate with others.

Why: To include in care bags being presented to woman undergoing cancer treatment.

How: Make or buy a lap blanket that measures 36 x 48 inches. 

There are a lot of ways you can participate

• Quilt, knit, or crochet a blanket (3 have been brought in already!)
• Purchase complete, ready-to-go blanket.
• Purchase fleece lap blankets from Walmart or another source. It takes 2 blankets to make one tied lap blanket, and it often works well if you purchase a pattern and a solid.
• Cut and tie the blankets yourself
• Pass the blankets along to someone else to cut and tie
• Contact Susan Scott (susan.l.scott.2017@gmail.com) if you would like to volunteer to tie the fringe on a blanket that has already been prepped. I have a number that are ready to go.

The lap blankets come in different patterns and cost less than $3.50 each...

How to make a tied fleece blanket...

• Line up 2 blankets so they are even. on all edges. (Or as close as you can get, as sometimes the sizes are a bit off. You can trim off some on one edge if you need to, but this isn't always necessary.)
• Cut a 6 x 6-inch square from each corner. (Using a piece of cardboard as a template can help with this. If you have no use for the corner pieces, please bring them to me - Susan - as I have a project in mind.) 
  
  
  
• Remove the thread that was used to bind the edges. If you pull the thread in the right direction, it comes right out. If it binds up and does not pull easily, try pulling from the other direction. (Molly discovered that the easiest way to do this is to remove the thread after you have removed one corner section. Thanks, Molly!) 
  
  
  
• Cut fringe approximately 1 inch wide and 6 inches long. I like to use a straight edge to help me keep my fringe the right length. As for the width, the fleece is quite forgiving :) 
  
  
  
• Before moving along to the next edge, tie several of the fringes together using a simple over-hand knot. This will keep the pieces together and make your life much easier.
• Repeat on all sides until all fringe is knotted together and your blanket is complete! 
  
  
  

If you need a place to work on your blanket, the public library has a large table available during library hours. The Senior Center also has a number of large tables - but you might want to avoid the times between 11 and 1 or so, as they are serving lunch at that time.

Thank you to all who are participating in some fashion! Please make sure to let me or Molly know, as we would like to have an idea of how many are involved.