Paula Foerder offered a child a blanket from an assorted handmade selection she had brought to the hospital. “I want the monkey blanket,” said the youngster.
She looked at the pile, confused. “Which one is the monkey blanket?” she asked.
The child pointed at a brown and beige piece.
“Why is that the monkey blanket?” she asked.
“Because it goes with my monkey,” he answered.
Foerder looked at the child’s side and saw a stuffed animal, the same color of the blanket he wanted.
Stories like these and a passion for knitting, crocheting, and quilting, have served as an inspiration for members of the Secaucus chapter of the national Project Linus, or Blanketeers, to create over 1,400 blankets since June 2002 to give to hospitalized and other sick children.
May is Senior Citizen month, and Monday, Foerder introduced a new group of senior women to Project Linus. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to be involved with,” said resident Patricia Beddiges. “You realize it’s children, and it’s a comfort for them. Once you have a blanket for them, they feel secure.”
Project Linus, named after Peppermint Patty’s brother, the Peanuts character with a proclivity for his security blanket, has 300 chapters nationwide, including seven in New Jersey.
Starting a new group
Foerder founded the Secaucus Chapter after hearing about the organization from her sister in Canada.
“I like to knit and crochet, and I have no one to give all the blankets to,” Foerder said.
By the time she got all the blankets together, she found out that the local chapter had closed. So she decided to restart the chapter on her own.
“I thought I could get people together who like to make blankets and from there it really grew,” she said.
Secaucus has a group that meets out of the Kroll Heights Senior Center, one out of the library, and one out of Church of Our Savior, in addition to smaller groups .
The new group will meet at the Senior Center the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. The Senior Center on Center Avenue has bus service.
The blankets go to children at Hackensack Hospital, Children’s Aid and Family Services, St. Joes in Paterson, and Jersey City Medical Center.
Foerder asked the women to be mindful that half of the children are boys, so they should make some without light colors. She also advised that some of the children were bigger than others.
“When I’m in the hospital, I like to have something for everyone,” she said. “Most of the teenagers are bigger than me.”
Knitting, crocheting, and quilting The blanket-making comes second nature to the Blanketeers.
“It’s more rewarding than Bingo,” said one woman who wished to remain anonymous.
Most either knit, using two needles, or crochet, using a single hook. Some blankets are made through quilting, using a needle and thread or a sewing machine.
Betty Breaman, 74, of Kroll Heights, has been knitting since she was 10. She can crochet a blanket for a child in a day and a half if she is determined.
“I joined [Project Linus] to meet other people and see what patterns they do,” said Breaman, who once knitted four American Flags in four weeks.
Beddiges has been with Project Linus since it opened.
“I was the first one and I told the other women in the building,” she said. “This is something we learned from our mothers and grandmothers.”
Sewing for children is nothing new for Breaman and Beddiges. During World War II, they sewed Teddy bears for the children of servicemen.
“It seems funny,” said Beddiges. “When I was a kid, I sewed for children, and now we’re doing it again.” Beddiges crocheted a blanket for her grandson honoring the World Champion New York Yankees, with the name of each player. The blanket took her seven months when she started it five years ago for a single bed, and she updated it each time the Yankees won.
“I’ve had a couple years break,” she said.
Anyone interested in getting involved with Project Linus can call Paula Foerder at (201) 866-1031.