About Our Mystery Quilt
Introduction
The Project Linus Mystery Quilt consists of a “Challenge” and a “Contest.” Each are yearly fundraisers for Project Linus. Those who register for the challenge make a donation to Project Linus, designating it to go to their local chapter, or to all chapters. Challenge registrants who enter the contest enlist everyone they know to make donations to Project Linus in the form of votes for the quilt they entered in the contest.
The Challenge
The Project Linus Mystery Quilt Challenge is a yearly fundraiser for Project Linus. “Clues” are revealed over several weeks which will give participants very detailed, written and video instructions to complete a beautiful child or teen sized quilt.
The Contest
Once the Mystery Quilt has been assembled, each Challenge registrant has the option to enter their quilt into our yearly Contest. Entrants submit a photo of their completed quilt to Project Linus. Those that have met the requirements of the Challenge are then eligible to participate in the Contest.
The contest consists of entrants rallying everyone they know to make donations in the form of votes for their entered quilt. Subject to the number of prizes we have each year, top vote recipients then can win a prize.
How It All Began
Cari Shields with her twin boys Logan (left) and Luke (right).
The first Project Linus Mystery Quilt challenge took place in 2015 and was called “Lukey the Lucky Penguin.” The quilt was a tribute to Luke Shields, Mary Balagna’s grandson who passed away on February 8th, 2006 at the age of 2½ years old from an undetected heart condition called Prolonged QT. (To learn more about this condition, click here to visit the SADS Foundation website.) Lukey the Penguin was named after Luke.
The tremendous support created by Lukey participants provided the inspiration to continue the fundraiser in 2016 with a quilt challenge named after Mary’s granddaughter Gracie called “Gracie’s Get Well Garden,” followed by “Exploring the World with Ethan” in 2017, “Sweet Violet’s Bakery and Confectionery” in 2018, “Logey Bear Leads the Way” in 2019, “Lucy’s Love Notes” in 2020, “Oliver Is In the Doghouse” in 2021, “Bon Appétit with Ash” in 2022, and “The A-MAZE-ING Tyler” in 2023.
A Letter from Cari
Luke’s grateful mom Cari penned the following letter to Project Linus:
Dear Project Linus Blanketeers,
I want to thank each of you for making blankets for Project Linus. When my boys Luke and Logan were born, Logan was in the NICU for five days. Five days may not seem long, but to a brand new mother they were forever. How thrilled I was when we were given two Project Linus blankets—one for each baby. We took Logan’s to the hospital to keep in his bed, and Luke’s was placed in the crib he and Logan would share as soon as Logan was well enough to come home.
The person who made and donated those blankets had no idea the inspiration she was following as she sewed and quilted those blankets. She didn’t know when she chose the fabric for the front that it was the same fabric print that my baby blanket had been made from twenty-five years earlier. She didn’t know as she made them the same on the front and different on the back that those blankets would go to twin boys who had a mother that wanted things to coordinate, not match. She also didn’t know as she chose the white for the back of one and blue for the back of the other that those were the colors of the newborn hats each baby wore in the hospital (and the way we could tell who was who!)
I know that each of you have been inspired to choose fabric, colors and patterns that will be perfect for the child who will receive your blanket. These children may be in a situation like that of Luke and Logan—perhaps they’ve had to stay in the hospital for a few days, or perhaps their brother or sister or mom or dad are in the hospital, and the child is scared and needs some comfort. How wonderful it is to see the smile that creeps across their faces as they realize they’re getting a present—a soft cuddly blanket they can keep forever. Perhaps the child will be undergoing chemotherapy and will take the blanket with them to each of their visits. Perhaps the child’s parent will be sent to serve our country for an extended period of time, and the blanket will be the hug that child needs.
Or maybe the child will lose a family member, and will cling to that blanket as Logan does to the one he received when Luke unexpectedly passed away on February 8, 2006, 2½ years later. You never know the people you are touching because of your service—not just the child who receives the blanket, but also the parent or grandparent who can feel that for one instant or two they can take the pain or fear or hurt away from their sweet child by wrapping them in that soft, beautiful blanket—the one YOU made for them.
Thank you,
Lukey’s Mom, Cari
Past Mystery Quilt Patterns
Did you miss registering for any past Mystery Quilt Challenges and still want to get the pattern? Never fear; we have them available for purchase and immediate download from our online store. To place your order, just click on the Purchase button for the Mystery Quilt you wish order.
