Sewing machines whirred and needles slid through fabric at the Penquis Higher Education Center in Dover-Foxcroft several Saturdays ago. Nearly 30 women assembled on a snowy day to participate in Project Linus, which makes and distributes “security” blankets to children faced with life crises of one kind or another.

Project Linus, said Merlene Sanborn of Brownville, coordinator and director of the education center, is a national organization with 332 chapters, including two in Maine. All over the United States on Feb. 21, women were making blankets for Project Linus. The national organization hoped to reach its 1 millionth blanket that day, Sanborn said.

The women making blankets had driven from Dover-Foxcroft, Blanchard, Bangor, Hampden, Atkinson, Sangerville, Corinth and Abbot in order to participate. They had one thing on their minds – to reach their goal of 100 finished blankets that day. Yet, their conversation ranged from a son’s fast-approaching wedding day to an impending vacation trip to getting settled into a new house. Most women were working at sewing machines they had brought with them. Some were cutting pieces for quick-to-do strip quilts. Others were pressing bias binding. Two of us – the surgeon and I – were sewing on Project Linus labels by hand. Numbered among the women besides the surgeon and this reporter were a dietitian, a nurse, a teacher, a Probate Court clerk, a dental hygienist – women of many different career fields united to engage in a task to benefit the common good.

At least 25 blankets already had been donated to the project and were complete except for having Project Linus labels sewn into them. Those blankets were made from scraps left over from other projects. My favorites were the one with a teepee motif and the one with lengths of ribbon in different widths sewed randomly over the front.

Other women were getting guidance from Rita Mountain as she helped them assemble ragged-edged blankets made from three layers of cotton flannel. The pattern had been adapted from one published in Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine. Lee Priest was showing other women how to do a “quilt as you go” pattern.

Five and half years ago, Sanborn saw an article about Project Linus in a Family Circle magazine.

“My sister was going through chemotherapy then,” she said, “and I thought Project Linus was a wonderful idea.” She requested information and received a packet, much to her surprise, congratulating her for volunteering to start the Eastern Maine Chapter of Project Linus – which is what she ended up doing, even though that was not her aim when she requested information.

“It’s the most beneficial thing I have ever done,” Sanborn said. “I was hooked real quick.”

Eastern Maine Project Linus began collecting blankets in 1998 and, through hospitals and support groups, have distributed 2,000 blankets to children in Piscataquis, Penobscot, Somerset and Kennebec counties.

It is not necessary to attend a blanket-making gathering to assist Project Linus. Those who wish to make and donate blankets may drop them off at JoAnn Fabrics in Bangor, the Viking Sewing Center in Brewer, Sandy’s Quilt Shop in Stillwater, The Fabric Garden in Madison, Cotton Petals in Alton and the Fabric Inn in Farmington. Donations of fabric, batting and notions also are appreciated.

People are available to collect and distribute blankets. They are Sandy Boobar, 827-3876; Deb Perro, 947-5165, evenings; Brenda Philbrook, 622-3694; and Pat Rollins, 663-4420.

The Memory Makers quilt group of Dover-Foxcroft sponsored Project Linus day. Dover-Foxcroft Business and Professional Women provided refreshments and lunch. Door prizes donated by local crafters and businesses were awarded throughout the day.

To learn more about Project Linus, call 945-6005, or visit www.projectlinus.org. To learn more about Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine, visit www.fondandporter.com or your local fabric store.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes comments, suggestions and ideas. Call her at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.