The Common Thread Circle

Common Thread Circle will not meet on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th.

Since May 2008, the Common Thread Circle has donated over 32,000 handcrafted items to patients in Houston area hospitals!  Anyone interested in helping with this project is welcome to join us at our meetings.  Donations of fabric, yarn, or money for polyfil are always welcome, too!

We will meet at Town and Country Starbucks on Mondays, Sept. 12, 19, and 26, from 2-4 p.m.

Wednesday, September 14, the Knitters and Crocheters group will meet at the home of Leora Feldman from 1-3 p.m.

Tuesday, September 20, Common Thread Circle members will meet from 9:30 a.m. – noon in Room D126  at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church.

Wednesday, September 28, the “Happy Hands” group will meet at Spring Branch Presbyterian Church from 9:30-noon.

• Common Thread Circle will NOT meet at Starbuck’s on Monday, August 15.  They will be closed for renovation.
• The Knitters and Crocheter’s group will NOT be meeting in August.
• Monday meetings at Starbuck’s Town and Country will be August 1, 8, 22, and 29, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 16, the circle will meet at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Room D126 from 9:30-12:00 noon.
• Wednesday, August 24, the  ”Happy Hands” group will meet at Spring Branch Presbyterian Church from 9:30 – 12:00 noon.

New Circle Co-Chairman and Hospital Coordinator Janie Schmidt and Delivery Chairman Dory Graham are pictured with bags of heart pillows, ready to be delivered to patients in Houston area hospitals.   So far in 2011, Common Thread Circle has delivered 5,328 handcrafted items to Houston area hospitals.  Over the past three years, since May 2008, the total of handcrafted items delivered has grown to 31,066!

The Common Thread Circle took a brief vacation and did not meet on the 4th of July.  However, a large group turned out at Town and Country Starbuck’s for our July 11th meeting and plans were announced for the remainder of the month.

Tuesday, July 12 – Circle Meeting at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, Room D126, from 9:30 until noon.  (Because Vacation Bible School meets during the 3rd week, this meeting replaces our usual meeting on the 3rd Tuesday.)

Monday’s – July 18 and 25 – at Starbuck’s Town and Country from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 27th – Spring Branch Presbyterian Church, “Happy Hands” group, from 9:30 until noon.

The Knitter’s and Crocheter’s group will NOT be meeting in July.

• On May 2, 2011, new officers were elected to chair the Common Thread Circle.  Co-Chairpersons are Janie Schmidt and Lenore Alfredson.  Monday meetings at Starbucks will be handled by the co-chairs with Marilyn MacRill, JoNell Bosse, Jeane Kranz and Joyce Wolf taking turns assisting them. During May and June members of the circle have continued to produce hundreds of handcrafted items that have been delivered to area hospitals.

Sometimes the best way to do something nice for yourself is to reach out. At The Common Thread Circle, we reach out two ways. We get together to eat cake, drink coffee and stitch, sew and cut; and we reach out by helping out hospital patients at a lonely time of life. A comforting fabric work can help make life less lonely for them.

In this update, you’ll see pictures of fabricworks made by the ladies at Spring Branch Presbyterian Church. You can see how productive and wonderful they are. They must have had fun making these. I bet the patients will appreciate them too.

In the past month, we have donated to:

• Shriners Hospitals for Children
• Ben Taub General Hospital
• Memorial Hermann
• M. D. Anderson
• Methodist
• M. D. Anderson Breast Center
• Children’s Memorial Hermann
• Texas Childrens
• Southwest Memorial Hermann
• TIRR
• Northwest Memorial Hermann
• Katy Memorial Hermann
• St. Luke’s
• St. Luke’s Woodlands
• St. Luke’s Sugar Land
• Memorial City
• Memorial Hermann

Calendar

We meet every Monday at The Town and Country Starbucks from 2-4 (except May 30, which is Memorial Day). Thank you Starbucks for your continued enthusiasm for our efforts.

There will be no meeting on Memorial Day, May 30.

This January we will have many meetings and be busy helping patients in Houston area Hospitals. Our calendar will include:

We enjoyed celebrating our 25,000th fabricwork delivered to a patient this last November. For me it was a time of great satisfaction, as well as a time of reflection.

I have decided not to seek re-election as president of The Common Thread Circle for the year beginning June 1, 2011. As I leave it, The Common Thread Circle is in good shape: we have money in the bank, good relationships with hospitals, and many hard workers.

My tenure as fearless leader has been a personal joy and, most of all, a wonderful experience getting to know you, our loyal and competent volunteers. I’d like to thank those who have helped us achieve our dramatic results, especially all who deliver fabricworks, cut and sew, and maintain our treasury, as well as the knitting and stuffing that we all enjoy. You have made us the success that we are today.

As Thanksgiving nears, we at The Common Thread Circle have much to be thankful for.

First on my list would be all of you who so faithfully work with us. Well over 70 of you dedicate your time to cutting, sewing, stuffing, closing, knitting, crocheting, delivering, ironing, shopping and other tasks necessary to get fabricworks out to patients. I could not ask for better friends or coworkers, and you’re doing it out of the goodness of your hearts.

Next, our great hospitals in Houston who take care of thousands of patients each month and who appreciate our help. Particular thanks to Pam Lemp and St. Lukes, who have stood behind us all the way.

And third, the fact that we are very close to reaching a huge goal of donating 25,000 fabricworks since June 1, 2008 to patients.

Last, but not least, The Starbucks Coffee Company and District Manager Jean Manning along with Charles Peirsol, Manager of the Town and Country Starbucks, have made it possible for us to donate to over 1,000 patients a month. This scope of service would not be possible without their generous support.

That’s a lot to be thankful for, but mostly, I’m thankful for knowing you and working with you. Bravo to each and every one of you.

Our Calendar

We will meet at the Starbucks Town and Country Mondays from 2-4 on November 22 and 29; December 6, 13, and 20; and January 3 and 10. Please note we will not be meeting on December 27.

We will meet at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church on December 14 for a stuffing, knit and crochet session followed by a potluck luncheon at 11:30 a.m. If you have not already, please call to let us know what dish you are bringing. All are invited to come for lunch and a slice of cake celebrating our 25,000th fabricwork.

Charles Peirsol is throwing a Starbucks Christmas party at the Town and Country Starbucks on Thursday, December 2 from 6-8 p.m. Let’s all join with him for some Christmas cheer.

Happy Holidays!

The Houston Museum of Natural Science Volunteers wrote about The Common Thread Circle in their volunteer newspaper, The Dashing Diplodocus. They had kind words for The Common Thread Circle but focused on Rima because she also volunteers with HMNS.

Mayor Annise Parker recently recognized ten recipients of the Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Awards, chosen for contributing to the welfare of Houston citizens through volunteerism. One of the recipients was Rima Blanc, Chairperson of the Common Thread Circle of the United Methodist Women at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, which was nominated by St. Luke’s Hospital and was selected from over 400 nominees citywide. The group sews, stitches, and knits items such as blankets, caps, and dolls, and contributes them to patients in over twenty hospitals in the Houston area. Rima is a Special Exhibits docent and a contributor to The Dashing Diplodocus. Congratulations, Rima!