Happy Holidays

With Christmas almost upon us, I want to take a moment to wish everyone associated with Marine Corps Kids the happiest of holidays and all the best for the coming year.

My sincere thanks go out to all of our donors who sent in such beautiful handcrafted gifts for our military families. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to send packages to hundreds of families.

As we look to the coming year, I ask you to keep Marine Corps Kids in your thoughts. With the surge in Afghanistan, many more troops are and will be shipping out, and there will be ongoing needs for baby items for many many families. Your continued generosity will allow us to reach many of these families with a small gift of appreciation.

To all who celebrate Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas. I hope you are surrounded by family and friends. To everyone - best wishes for health, happiness and peace in 2010.

Delia

Another Thank You Note

To Marine Corps Kids, with deepest Thanks.


Receiving the hand-made baby gifts for my new son from your organization was a true blessing and greatly appreciated.


Thank you so very much!


SSgt Amber Raga

Thank you, Patsy!

This cheery cap was donated by Patsy from Georgia.

Thank you so much Patsy! This cap is darling, and will be on it's way to a newborn soon!

Thank you, Pauline

These photos do not do justice to the gorgeous blankets and hats sent in by Pauline from Oregon! Pauline's husband was a Marine in World War II, so when she read about Marine Corps Kids, she decided to share her talent with us.

Pauline sent in 6 gorgeous blankets and matching baby caps.

Thank you so much, Pauline! Your gifts are on their way to new families, and will be swaddling newborns this Christmas!

Another Thank You Note

Dear Ladies at Marine Corps Kids,

Thank you so mu;ch for the flannel quilt, dress & hat, and pink/yellow hat! We welcomed our baby girl into the world on Oct. 14th and named her Samantha. We are so blessed to have such a sweet baby girl in our family!

Thank you for all the gifts!

Nickole, Jeremy, Christian and Samantha

More hats from Lynn

Today I received two cartons filled with more of Lynn's wonderful baby and toddler hats! There were literally hundreds of hats in the shipment and the timing couldn't be better for holiday gifting.

The hats are already packed up and will be on their way to our military families on Monday.

Thank you, Lynn, for your continued generosity! Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays!

Thank you, Judy!

Judy from Pennsylvania sent another box filled with her delightful creations.

The photos show 4 beautifully crocheted baby blankets, some hand-crafter baby toys, 5 bib and wash cloth sets, and two coordinated sets.

Judy is one of our most prolific donors, and I'm always delighted to see the adorable crafts she creates!

Thank you, Judy, and happy holidays!

More hats from Barbara

Barbara from New Hampshire sent another box of her adorable knit hats!

They are so plush and warm - I know the new moms will be delighted with them!

I just love the yarns and colors that Barbara uses. The hats are really beautiful!

Thank you so much, Barbara, for your continued generosity!

Thank you, Rosie!

Roswitha from Madison Alabama has been busy all year making things for Marine Corps Kids! Today I received two boxes from Rosie, and am just speechless over the beautiful sweaters, hats, booties and blankets that she has donated!

The box is filled with the most delightful sweaters, hats, booties and blankets! These are intricate patterns and lovely yarns! I'm actually quite shocked that so much could have been made in just a year!

Thank you, Rosie! The new moms and their babies will most certainly be delighted with these gifts!

Magnolia Senior Center Knitting Group

Today I received two large boxes from the members of the Magnolia Senior Center Knitting Group in Long Beach, NY.

I wish I could describe the feeling I get when I open a box and so much love and talent comes pouring out. It's really amazing! The Magnolia Center group has sent blankets and hats, booties, and sweaters. The photos only show a few of the delightful items that they so lovingly made and donated.

With the package came came a letter and copies of two Newsday write ups on the group. The knitting group is very active making blankets and hats for local veterans and hospitals. I am just delighted that they chose to support our military families through their beautiful donations to Marine Corps Kids.

These photos show only a few of the magnificent items donated by the group.

On behalf of everyone at Marine Corps Kids, my sincere thanks go out to every member of the Magnolia Center group. I know that the new moms and their babies will be delighted by your gifts!

Thank you, Forrest G James Ladies Auxiliary

My sincere thanks go out to the ladies of the Forrest G. James Unit Marine Corps Ladies Auxiliary. This group read about Marine Corps Kids on our website, and sent a very generous check to support our efforts.

The money donated will be used for postage to mail our care packages to the new moms and their babies.

Thank you so much for your generosity!

Thank you, Gailya

Yesterday I received another box from Gailya. In in were these beautiful hand-crafted items.

The pink blanket is a thick basketweave. It's just gorgeous, and Gailya crocheted a bonnet to match. The second blanket is crocheted in soft baby colors and will be a beautiful blanket to swaddle a baby in.

Gailya made several of her fabulous ribbon clothes for the babies, and two magnificent quilts. I just love the traditional design of these quilts, and I know that the new moms will as well!

Finally, with all the handmade goodies Gailya included a collection of stuffed animals and beanie babies. These will be donated next month during our holiday gift drive. I know that the older kids will just love these stuffed toys!

Thank you, Gailya, for continuing to share your talent with Marine Corps Kids!

Thank you, Sandy

These beautiful hats and booties were made by Sandy from Ohio.
They are just darling, and I know that they'll be cherished by the moms who receive them!

Thank you, Sandy!

Thank you, Theresa!

These 11 beautiful receiving blankets were made and donated by Theresa from Texas.

Theresa selected the most darling fabrics to create her adorable blankets from! I know that our new Marine Corps Moms will be delighted to swaddle their babies in these sweet blankets!

Thank you, Theresa!

Thank you, Darlene!

Darlene from Wisconsin is a new donor to Marine Corps Kids, and has sent us these beautiful knit hats and these adorable reversible blankets.

The blankets both have one side of cotton and one side of flannel, so they are soft and warm. I'm sure that the babies and their moms will be delighted.

The knit hats are sized for newborns and are precious!

Than you so much Darlene for sharing your talent with our military families!

Thank you, Karen!

These darling embellished fleece blankets were made and donated by Karen from Wisconsin.

Over the years Karen has donated many blankets and tote bags for the babies and their moms.

Thank you, Karen, for your beautiful work and for your continued support of Marine Corps Kids!

Thank you, Ruth!

These photos show just a sampling of the beautiful knit items made and donated by Ruth from Seattle.

Ruth sent Marine Corps Kids 53 baby and childrens' hats, 1 scarf, and 5 hat/scarf sets for girls.

Everything is just beautiful! Ruth has an eye for color and texture and did an amazing job mixing yarns for some really unique and lovely combinations!

Thank you so much Ruth!!! Our Marine Corps Kids moms, babies and kids are going to love the things that you've made!!

Triplets!

Marine Corps Kids is getting ready for a set of triplets, so I made these three swaddlers to send to the new mom. I don't know if the babies will be boys or girls, but I hope these are basic enough to be usable.

I'll be packing these up with gifts from other donors for the new babies.

and more from Ruth!

Thank you so much, Ruth!

These blankets are wonderful and the babies and new moms are going to love them!

More blankets from Ruth!

Thank you, Ruth

Ruth from Oregon sent a large box filled with blankets and quilts for the kids! They're wonderful, and it's going to take more than one blog entry to post all the photos.

Here are a few....

Thank you notes

This week I received three thank you notes from new moms who received gifts from Marine Corps Kids. Here's what they said:

The Horn Family wrote:

"Thank you very much for the beautiful gifts. We cannot wait for our precious angel to use all of the wonderful gifts. We sincerely appreciate everything."

Tarin wrote:

"Thank you so much for the beautiful handmade blanket, hats and bottle cozy! It was such a nice surprise and so kind to be given these gifts that show so much love and care! It is wonderful to feel like we have a family with the Marine Corps too! Thanks again!"

Christine wrote:

"Thank you so much for the quilt. It's so pretty. My daughter Bethany loves to play on and drool all over it. She has started to fall asleep on it at nap time. Thank you so much for taking the time to work on it. I've always wanted to do something like that, but I don't have the time and can barely sew on buttons to my uniform."

The gifts that you all send are so appreciated by our Military Families. Thank you all so much for making Marine Corps Kids what it is!!

Here's Looking at You, Judy!

Judy T. is one of our most prolific donors. Over the years she has sent it beautiful crochet hats, sweaters and toys as well as plastic canvas and foam art pieces. Thank you, Judy, for all you do for Marine Corps Kids!

What brought you to Marine Corps Kids? My best friend's grandson had just joined the Marines and when I saw MCK on a list of charities I knew it was meant to be.

You make and donate so many beautiful things using so many crafting techniques. What crafts do you enjoy and how did you get started with them? I have been doing crafts for years. My mother taught me to knit and crochet, which was difficult as I am left handed. But I picked it up with a twist to my stitches and a new look. I did needlepoint and then fell in love with counted cross stitch. That became my passion for years. When I lost the nimbleness and dexterity in my fingers I gave it up. I also like working with plastic canvas. When arthritis forced me to retire

I started to crochet again and now that has become my passion. Along with MCK I make baby blankets for the local hospital and lapghans for veterans in local VA hospitals. I also crochet for friends.

When you aren't crafting, how do you enjoy to spend your free time? I do ceramics with friends one day a week. I love puzzles (crossword especially) on the computer. I write poetry and belong to an online group where I can post them. I have just been adopted by a rescue cat and we are getting to know each other. It is my first experience with a cat and I am loving it. Spending time with friends is also a plus.

How big is your yarn stash? Are you a SABLE* crafter? (*Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy) I have a friend who is a SABLE and she supplies me with all the yarn I need. I have a fair stash but don't think I would qualify as a SABLE. I have been lucky in the fact that most of my yarn these past years has all be donated. I could not have crocheted as much if I had to purchase all the yarn myself.

If you had $100 for a shopping spree at your favorite craft store, what would be in your shopping basket? YARN YARN YARN YARN

Safety First! Have you ever suffered a crafting-related injury or mishap? Not really

No waffling on this one: Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla (it is also my favortie scent for body spray)

Finish the sentence:In the kitchen I make a great: Crock-pot Tex-Mex chicken. (and a bowl of cereal)

Have you or any of your family served in the armed forces? My father was in the army( WWII. )I was 10 months old when he got home and saw me for the first time. I also had a cousin who was a Marine.