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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2enclosuresfull.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:32:23 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>Blanket America</title><description /><link>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>82</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlanketAmerica" /><feedburner:info uri="blanketamerica" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><itunes:owner><itunes:email>noreply@blogger.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle><feedburner:emailServiceId>BlanketAmerica</feedburner:emailServiceId><feedburner:feedburnerHostname>http://feedburner.google.com</feedburner:feedburnerHostname><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-8489075169882216089</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T07:32:23.879-08:00</atom:updated><title>Poor - Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage_09.html" &gt;Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is one of the very few charitable organizations that adopted a Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; This model aims to bridge the gap between business and charity by encouraging American consumers to buy a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the company’s main product, in order to help poor American families in need.&amp;nbsp; This project is supported by well-known organizations and companies, one of which is Gifts in Kind, International.&amp;nbsp; Blanket America is off to a great start thanks to these companies, and with one million as their initial goal, they are set into increasing that number all throughout 2010 as their response to President Barack Obama’s call for unity and strength in the American people.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;With over 40 million people suffering from poverty and struggling with the financial crisis, Blanket America is determined to help elevate such poverty by donating one fleece blanket to a needy American for every Patchwork Heritage Quilt bought by a consumer.&amp;nbsp; It aims to turn their mission into a reality, which is represented by a simple question, “What if the greatest economy in human history is able to match what it consumed with what it donated?”&amp;nbsp; Through this, Blanket America is actively encouraging the people to share their support either by buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt or by donating a blanket directly to those in need of assistance.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained a lot of publicity since it’s launching of the Buy 1, Give 1 model with companies like Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney showing their utmost support through their respective websites.&amp;nbsp; As of today, customers who are interested in buying the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can purchase them from Amazon.com or QVC.com, each with their own promos and discounts for the item.&amp;nbsp; Prices can range from $50 to $99.99 depending on the size and the function of the product.&amp;nbsp; These are all on a preorder basis as the Patchwork Heritage Quilt will be available come mid-January 2010.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Quilting has long been in the American culture as a medium when there was a need to send a message in secret.&amp;nbsp; This is why Blanket America has chosen the Patchwork Heritage Quilt as its message to the people regarding the importance of unity and strength as a people.&amp;nbsp; The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a beautifully designed quilt made with high quality materials that make it soft to the touch and a wonderful addition to the bedroom.&amp;nbsp; The front of the quilt shows 12 different fabrics that, when put together, displays the 13 American colonies.&amp;nbsp; The back is the highlight of the product, which has the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a background of Lady Liberty.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7132211936540498205?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-gains-support.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Gains Support&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is a new charitable project created to help one million of &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s poorest citizens get a warm blanket this year. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, founded by Mesh Gelman, was inspired by President Barak Obama's now famous inaugural speech. When he said "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" Gelman took those words and ran with them. Gelman and his team of designers created a commemorative &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;patchwork&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; collection using modern design, tradition and innovation. As a result, an enormously successful collection was produced.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is comprised of 13 unique fabrics representing the 13 original colonies. Muted tones of red, white and blue lend the collection a modern, eye catching appearance. On the reverse of the quilt the entire presidential inaugural address is printed over a background featuring the statue of liberty. The quilt is an excellent blend of American statement quilting tradition and modern design. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The quilt is not the only piece in the collection. Gelman and his crew have also designed and created matching patchwork pillow shams that are the perfect compliment to the quilt. Accenting the shams and quilts with faultlessness are the decorative throw pillows. The pillows are sewn from a creamy beige fabric and highlight the words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." The pillows also feature and American Bald Eagle over two crossed American flags. The collection is eye-catching: an excellent addition to any patriotic home.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Big name retailers have caught wind of the project and have signed on to help. JC Penney stores will begin carrying the collection nationwide on January 23&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt;. They will also have the collection up for sale on their website and in their catalogue. Amazon.com has made the collection available to customers for pre-sale. QVC launched the Patchwork Heritage Collection just after Christmas and is offering discount prices on the collection for pre-sale customers. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Not only are big name retailers hopping aboard to lend a hand to this charitable cause. The Fast Company website wrote a lovely piece on the project. The collection was also featured on the Today Show, where Mesh Gelman pledged 5000 &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. To get news updates about Blanket America's charitable project and to show your support for the cause, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6805836596453690458?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-8489075169882216089?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tvi5dza9Q0:6OFbE2qkEBI:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/9Tvi5dza9Q0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/9Tvi5dza9Q0/poor-blanket-america-patchwork-heritage.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/poor-blanket-america-patchwork-heritage.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-1831516627816624560</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T06:42:07.419-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America's version of Patchwork Quilts are really leaving a Mark</title><description>Blanket America's version of Patchwork Quilts are really leaving a Mark&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A new program is creating the Patchwork Heritage Quilt, a keepsake commemorative that can offer warmth to two families. Blanket America is gearing up to supply over 1,000,000 blankets to the poor and underprivileged this year with your help.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This program is in support of President Obama’s message honoring our patchwork heritage. Within the Inaugural speech the president gave Americans a decision to action to use this strength to bond along and help one another. Our nation is created strong by the range and sense of responsibility for our fellow man, bringing us through crisis by caring for one another. That's the spirit of the Blanket America Program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Through a partnership with Gifts In Kind International, Blanket America will allow each purchase to provide a blanket to the less lucky here in our country. www.blanketamerica.com can be the middle purpose for this movement, permitting blanket owners to share thoughts, wishes, and stories as the movement grows. The goal is to produce a ton of blankets this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A quilt may be a melting pot of fabrics and threads, returning along to make one thing stronger and additional useful than every piece alone. Using 13 fabrics to represent the first 13 colonies, this quilt is beautiful testimony to the united spirit of this program. The back of the quilt options the President’s Inaugural Speech, highlighting the words that galvanized this program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Additionally available are ornamental pillows, a throw, and pillow shams to complete the set. Coming back with the quilt may be a fourteen page booklet and a lovely automobile magnet shaped like the United States, with the patchwork design. This is another manner to enjoy being half of the community of Blanket America. These magnets will be a mobile manner to show you are a bit of the patchwork.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For each Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt purchased, another blanket will be provided to the needy, making this an wonderful investment in the future. The ornamental throw retails for $59.99, Queen quilt is $79.99, and King size is $99.99. There's no further cost to supply the gift blanket to those who need it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These quilts are expected to be a well-recognized sign of unity and compassion, the patchwork heritage that keeps America strong. For a lot of information on this mission of change, watch www.blanketamerica.com and also the news, and acquire concerned, bring to a close in your quilt, and get pleasure from the warm feeling of serving to others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Additional Details about these Blankets and the way they are keeping the &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;cold&lt;/a&gt; off of everyone visit: &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;, because you'll find the most recent updates and news events about this charitable cause.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-1831516627816624560?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=8rqW66vQgl8:sKNNZziFR5I:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/8rqW66vQgl8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/8rqW66vQgl8/blanket-americas-version-of-patchwork.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-americas-version-of-patchwork.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-6871606476859431191</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T06:41:45.082-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America has warm throw blankets.</title><description>Blanket America has warm throw blankets.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These days Show Helps a Blanket America for a Sensible Cause&lt;br /&gt;The These days Show, with host Lester Holt, featured an look with Mesh Gelman, founding father of Blanket America, in order to help their charitable cause. Showcased on the show was the Patchwork Heritage quilt, designed by Gelman and his team of designers. Gelman, with the assistance of the These days Show, used this platform to address the growing poverty drawback within the United States.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, it's estimated that over thirty five million Americans live below the poverty line. Several of our nation's citizens are in desperate want of charitable contributions. It was announce that "our patchwork heritage could be a strength, not a weakness." Those words galvanized Mesh Gelman and his team to form the Patchwork Heritage quilt, and in turn, the Blanket America charitable organization.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blanket America model of giving is that this: Purchase One, Offer One. That's to say, for each Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new, heat, fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined hands with Blanket America so as to act as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets throughout America.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is created by using 13 completely different materials in order to represent our thirteen original colonies. The colours used are a mix of contemporary and aesthetically pleasing hues of red, white and blue that matches nearly every décor. The reverse uses a base fabric of creamy beige whose background options girl liberty standing proudly erect. &lt;br /&gt;The whole collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilts in king, queen and throw sizes. Designed to match the quilts are decorative pillow shams and throw pillows. The gathering will be used functionally or as a commemorative display. Any home would be proud to display such a patriotic collection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because of Mesh Gelman's innovative approach to charitable giving and therefore the support of the Today Show, Gifts in Kind International, QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney stores, Blanket America's projected goal of 1 million blankets donated could be reached, or perhaps surpassed. To point out support for the project, visit http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More funding, and a ton of support for the &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Poor&lt;/a&gt; haiti country just visit &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-6871606476859431191?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=W-niidyxTJc:GOl_OFYgEj4:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/W-niidyxTJc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/W-niidyxTJc/blanket-america-has-warm-throw-blankets.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-has-warm-throw-blankets.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-2556368573785177967</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T06:41:21.561-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America Is helping the Poor In Haiti.</title><description>Blanket America Is helping the Poor In Haiti.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the disaster, International Action staffs in Washington D.C. and Haiti have been developing a set up for delivering drinking water to as several individuals in poor Haiti as possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the Earthquake 10 days ago, an Yankee non-governmental cluster has developed a system which delivers clean water to 150,000 residents of the poor Haitian capital every day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;International Action has located twenty eight water storage tanks in Port-au-Prince neighborhoods which are undamaged and able to hold a minimum of 1000 gallons. The cluster is now paying native water truck drivers to fill these tanks within the poorest components of the city.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;International Action staffs are adding chlorine to every truckload of water. Every truck holds 3000 gallons of water and will create 5 journeys on a daily basis to several components of the city. So so much, International Action is renting 10 trucks each day and plans on renting still more as roads are cleared of earthquake debris.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since Might of 2006, International Action has installed chlorinators on water tanks in Port-au-Prince. With 140 installations, the group has equipped clean water each day to 400,000 poor Haitians.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the first three days once the quake, Dalebrun Esther, the Haitian director of the cluster, provided twenty,000 gallons of water to the poorest neighborhoods using the teams’ small truck tank. Now, he devotes his time to recruiting industrial truckers who normally haul water to wealthy neighborhoods and vendors who can pay higher sums for water. International Action is funding the truckers to succeed in poor neighborhoods in the crisis, and adding chlorine for safety.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;International Action is developing a arrange for rebuilding a minimum of 23 water tanks broken by the quake, and adding water tanks in those neighborhoods currently while not water tanks. This effort can reach a pair of million residents during a period of five years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More funding, and more support for the &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Poor&lt;/a&gt; haiti country simply visit &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;Email: blanket.america1@gmail.com&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;BlanketAmerica.com 1-888-829-5431 &lt;br /&gt;Rich T. 1-888-829-5431   &lt;br /&gt;NYC,NY&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-2556368573785177967?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=U8Csf2x2zUE:OCYqy7DdeQ8:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/U8Csf2x2zUE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/U8Csf2x2zUE/blanket-america-is-helping-poor-in.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-is-helping-poor-in.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-7208920861737124088</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T06:40:43.414-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America Is A Charity who helps in numerous organizations</title><description>Blanket America Is A Charity who helps in numerous organizations&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blanket America charitable organization recently pre-launched its Patchwork Heritage charity collection on a national level. The national retail chain JC Penney has made the gathering on the market on its web site for pre-sales and will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. Amazon.com has given the charity company Blanket America a big boost by making the providing the Patchwork Heritage assortment for pre-sale on its website. The looking network QVC recently debuted the Patchwork Heritage Assortment with monumental success. All signs are pointing to a success launch of the collection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Assortment was inspired by President Barak Obama's inaugural address when he said "We recognize that our patchwork heritage may be a strength, not a weakness." Too typically Americans find one thing to disagree about. Political gaps are widening in our nation and unity is at a critically low point. Obama known as our nation to action by citing that though we tend to could not agree, we tend to all have one thing we will contribute in order to assist our fellow man throughout these robust economic times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, innumerable Americans have involuntarily been plunged into poverty. It is estimated that over thirty five million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2009. The economy is recovering, though it will take time. Job creation is slow and therefore the market is seemingly growing at a snail pace. With the unemployment rate at 10%, it's obvious that there has never been a higher time to assist fellow Americans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection may be a buy one, offer one charity. That's, for each Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a replacement fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined the cause and will act as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets throughout America.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lester Holt of the These days Show had Mesh Gelman, the creator of Blanket America, on the show so as to spotlight the growing poverty epidemic in America and to show support for the cause. During the show, Gelman pledged 5000 blankets to charity. Since that time, the project has taken off. Blanket America currently has support on Facebook and thru Twitter. It looks that support for the cause is coming in from all venues. It appearance like Blanket America can be an enormous success.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a lot of info on a nice &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;charity&lt;/a&gt; charity to help simply visit &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-7208920861737124088?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=ciKORK2l0tM:cqJa7VksYls:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/ciKORK2l0tM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/ciKORK2l0tM/blanket-america-is-charity-who-helps-in_23.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-is-charity-who-helps-in_23.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-4778443751246169558</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-23T06:40:08.825-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America Is A Charity who helps in numerous organizations</title><description>Blanket America Is A Charity who helps in numerous organizations&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blanket America charitable organization recently pre-launched its Patchwork Heritage charity collection on a national level. The national retail chain JC Penney has made the gathering on the market on its web site for pre-sales and will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. Amazon.com has given the charity company Blanket America a big boost by making the providing the Patchwork Heritage assortment for pre-sale on its website. The looking network QVC recently debuted the Patchwork Heritage Assortment with monumental success. All signs are pointing to a success launch of the collection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Assortment was inspired when America said "We recognize that our patchwork heritage may be a strength, not a weakness." Too typically Americans find one thing to disagree about. Political gaps are widening in our nation and unity is at a critically low point.  America is known as our nation to action by citing that though we tend to could not agree, we tend to all have one thing we will contribute in order to assist our fellow man throughout these robust economic times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, innumerable Americans have involuntarily been plunged into poverty. It is estimated that over thirty five million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2009. The economy is recovering, though it will take time. Job creation is slow and therefore the market is seemingly growing at a snail pace. With the unemployment rate at 10%, it's obvious that there has never been a higher time to assist fellow Americans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection may be a buy one, offer one charity. That's, for each Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a replacement fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined the cause and will act as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets throughout America.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lester Holt of the These days Show had Mesh Gelman, the creator of Blanket America, on the show so as to spotlight the growing poverty epidemic in America and to show support for the cause. During the show, Gelman pledged 5000 blankets to charity. Since that time, the project has taken off. Blanket America currently has support on Facebook and thru Twitter. It looks that support for the cause is coming in from all venues. It appearance like Blanket America can be an enormous success.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a lot of info on a nice &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;charity&lt;/a&gt; charity to help simply visit &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-4778443751246169558?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=0EVY1mD9q58:c0GbdboTGuM:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/0EVY1mD9q58" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/0EVY1mD9q58/blanket-america-is-charity-who-helps-in.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-is-charity-who-helps-in.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5423244850675118626</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-20T08:57:05.979-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Keeping people out of the cold and spreading unity is the core message behind Blanket America</title><description>Keeping people out of the cold and spreading unity is the core message behind Blanket America!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the slump begun in 2008, several Americans are plunged into poverty. It is estimated that 35 million Americans live below the poverty line. During Leader Barak Obama's inaugural address, he called to our nation to take action, requesting that we tend to forget about each other during our nation's hard times. He also highlighted the fact that, while Americans could not agree on most issues, we tend to all have one thing in common. We tend to can give with the hopes to create a better nation and lend unity. Though Americans all have different backgrounds, traditions and cultures from which they originated, our country can come together. Obama stated that "we know that our patchwork heritage could be a strength, not a weakness."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With those significant words, Mesh Gelman and his team of designers created a tribute statement quilt to benefit charity. It's known as the Patchwork Heritage quilt and it answers Obama's call to action. Blanket America's Patchwork Heritage quilt answers the call to action through its innovative new strategy: Obtain One, Offer One. That is to mention, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. This innovative idea represents each the patron and charity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt and its subsequent assortment are garnering much attention in mainstream media. The net new portal Fast Company recently featured an interview with Gelman that highlighted the quilt's history and the way the idea came about. The Today Show recently had Gelman on as a guest, where he started out the charity by donating 5 thousand blankets to charity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gelman and his crew are boggling the mind with the possibilities this project has created. What if the best economy in human history matched what it consumed with what it donated? By creating a purchase one, provide one opportunity, Blanket America is doing simply that. They need set a goal of serving to a meg Americans in need.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Support for the project is strong. QVC began pre-sales of the Patchwork Heritage collection recently. Their pre-sales were quite impressive. JC Penney stores can carry the collection nationwide by January 23rd. Amazon.com has had the gathering on the market on its website for pre-sale since late November. Gifts in Kind International, a big name in charity, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets throughout America. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wish to hitch the movement? Check out the official site: &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;. Learn how you'll help those who are &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;cold&lt;/a&gt; and want a very little help.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5423244850675118626?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=x2AZqpmhdoE:Ohik1rb0QoE:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/x2AZqpmhdoE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/x2AZqpmhdoE/keeping-people-out-of-cold-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/keeping-people-out-of-cold-and.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-8539864237860383587</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-20T08:55:46.511-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America is spreading their cause</title><description>Blanket America is spreading their cause sort of like a wild fire using all of the largest merchants within America and Europe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blanket America charitable organization recently pre-launched its Patchwork Heritage assortment on a national level. The national retail chain JC Penney has made the collection obtainable on its website for pre-sales and will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Amazon.com has given Blanket America a massive boost by making the Patchwork Heritage assortment for pre-sale on its website. The looking network QVC recently debuted the Patchwork Heritage Assortment with monumental success. All signs are pointing to successful launch of the collection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Political gaps are widening in our nation and unity is at a critically low point. Obama has called our nation to action by remarking that though we tend to not agree, we all have one thing in common, we have a tendency to contribute in order to help our fellow man during these powerful economic times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, countless Americans have involuntarily been plunged into poverty. It is estimated that over thirty five million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2009. The economy is recovering, though it can take time. Job creation is slow and thus the market is seemingly growing at a snail pace. With the unemployment rate at 10%, it's obvious that there has never been a higher time to help fellow Americans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Assortment is a obtain one, provide one charity. That's, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a replacement fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined the cause and can act as an intermediary to distribute the donated blankets throughout America.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lester Holt of the Nowadays Show had Mesh Gelman, the creator of Blanket America, on the show in order to focus on the growing poverty epidemic in America and to point out support for the cause. During the show, Gelman pledged 5000 blankets to charity. Since that time, the project has taken off. Blanket America currently has support on Facebook and through Twitter. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Want to Learn more concerning this passionate organization based in &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;America&lt;/a&gt;? Visit the official web site: &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;, tons of the newest data about thier cause and events will be found.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-8539864237860383587?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=37ZWV5AXBHk:MizetPGyTyE:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/37ZWV5AXBHk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/37ZWV5AXBHk/blanket-america-is-spreading-their.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-is-spreading-their.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-762563383456316891</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-20T08:54:03.637-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America is tearing through the social media sphere</title><description>Facbooks Latest Member, Blanket America is tearing through the social media sphere. Spreading The Word Virally Concerning There Worthy Blanket Cause!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Quick word for the Facebook users: You can Facilitate the Blanket America Cause by easily joining there Facebook cluster and inviting your friends and family.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America is a new charity with the goal of serving millions of needy Americans this vacation season and throughout the subsequent year. By bringing the Patchwork Heritage Quilt to the market for the general public, Blanket America is off to an auspicious beginning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gifts in Kind, lauded mutually by the best run charities in the country by Forbes Magazine, has joined hands and hearts with this excellent cause. Blanket America is implementing an exciting new concept referred to as the get one, offer one approach to charity. When customers obtain a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the proceeds are used to shop for one blanket for the poor. The heat blanket is then given as Gifts Internationally and distributed throughout the globe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gifts in Kind's outreach program is in depth, with work being done in over 100,000 neighborhoods throughout the United States of America. They work with 1/2 of the Fortune 100 companies to distribute new product, services and cash to Americans in need. With over 35 million Americans living under the poverty line this year, the combined efforts of Blanket America and Gifts in Kind International is a blessing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Quilt makes a patriotic statement and could be a lovely addition to any home. The quilt, part of the Patchwork Heritage Collection, could be a statement piece. On the reverse of the quilt the entire Presidential inaugural address given by Barak Obama on January 20, 2009 is printed on a background that includes Lady Liberty. The face of the quilt is a combination of thirteen distinctive fabrics representing the 13 original colonies. This quilt will be used as bedding or as a patriotic tapestry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America's program is gaining the support of massive name companies. Amazon.com currently offers the Patchwork Heritage Collection. Though the quilt itself can not be offered till mid-January, it is advisable to form orders nowadays to avoid being waitlisted. JC Penney's stores will additionally be carrying the Patchwork Heritage Collection nationwide and thru its magazine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Facebook has even gotten in on the action. Now customers and supporters of the Blanket America movement will become fans and add the Blanket America link to their pages. Their webpage can feature stories and thoughts on the project along with a comment section about the get one, give one model. Links to businesses carrying the collection are also featured on the page. Previous articles run in major newspapers and blogs, like the NY Times and Fast Company are linked to the page. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Want to move the world with &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;blanket&lt;/a&gt; America? Check out there website for the latest details and facts about their charitable cause: &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-762563383456316891?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=49lQoGw6BeE:MO2mOeI_a2M:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/49lQoGw6BeE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/49lQoGw6BeE/blanket-america-is-tearing-through.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-is-tearing-through.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-1209562246706966821</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-20T08:53:00.682-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America gains Celebrity Supporters</title><description>Blanket America has gained a long list of celebrity supporters at the Sundance Film Festival. The charity is set to help 1 million Americans and 80,000 Haitians in need. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America gains Celebrity Supporters &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America is a buy, one give one charity with the goal of helping one million Americans this year. Gifts in Kind International works as an intermediary to distribute these blankets to the poor. Lately, a lot has been happening with the charity. In late December, Blanket America launched with great success. The Today Show and QVC, Amazon.com, JCPenney's stores and many news publications have lent a hand to the cause. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America, creators of the Patchwork Heritage collection, designed this commemorative collection in response to President Barak Obama's call to action. Obama told us on January 20, 2009 that we were responsible for overcoming our differences, pulling together and doing our parts to make America a better place to live for us and for posterity. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On January 12, 2010 the earthquake in Haiti inspired Blanket America to expand their vision and reach in order to provide 80,000 sheets to earthquake victims. Since that time, Blanket America has spread the word and gained even more support from Celebrities. During the Sundance Film Festival, Blanket America filmed several PSA's with Hollywood's hottest stars. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of the best known starts showing support for the cause are Jonathan Silverman, Taryn Manning, Rachel Dratch, Nadia Dajani, Lil Jon, Nadia D, Ryan and Chet from Real World, Cisco Adler, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler Hilton, Adam Green, Rileah Vanderbilt, Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada, Malin Ackerman, Khloe Kardashian, Lisa Edelstein, Tinsley Mortimer, DJ Aoki, Brandon Molale, Kaycee Stroh, Nadine Crocker, Joel Michaely, Hanna Marks, Stephanie Pratt and Detroit Lions NFL superstar Melvin Fowler.  Other stars supporting the cause include James Franco, who supported directly via twitter @jamesfranconews. Aaron Rogers, Adam Busch, Alex Khaluzsky, Amber Benson, Anna O'Reilly, Caitlin Moe, Dabney Mercer, David Blue, Dennis Nusbaum, Donovan Leitch, Fracis Blay, Gabriel Sunday, Hakeem Kae-Dasim, Holly Fields, Jen Gatien, John Forte, Jon Prescott, Kristen Quintrell, Malek Houlihan, Melvin Fowler, DJ Mia Moretti, Nicole Arbour, Noreen DeWulf, Ryan Conklin, DJ Stacey Stylez, Todd Rotandi, Todd Diciurcio and Walter Perez.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America is garnering support from many sources. They have recently implemented new ways to give to the cause. For every 10 Facebook fan Blanket America gains, another blanket is donated to charity. To view updates and news about the project, join their feed at Twitter or fan them on Facebook. Their website also posts news, pictures and updates and can be found at www.blanketamerica.com.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-1209562246706966821?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=2xMAkV6SdL4:ytdBXMFVRyw:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/2xMAkV6SdL4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/2xMAkV6SdL4/blanket-america-gains-celebrity.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-gains-celebrity.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-1509332091493458932</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-17T12:31:28.457-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>KEEP WARM IN OUR WARM BLANKETS AT BLANKET AMERICA</title><description>KEEP WARM IN OUR WARM BLANKETS AT BLANKET AMERICA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A brand new program provides blankets to the needy with each purchase of patchwork quilts. This inspiring movement commemorates President Obama's message of unity and responsibility for our fellow Americans as outlined in the Inaugural Address.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The idea is simple: to produce warm and comfort to another while enjoying your own piece of American  history. These quilts are offered in 3 sizes, as a throw, a queen, or a king sized, with ornamental pillows and shams conjointly available. The quilt is composed of 13 completely different fabrics, of various sizes and shapes, representing the range and returning along of Americans in crisis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An image of art, these quilts have an attractive warm patchwork on one side, with the January twentieth 2009 Inaugural Speech featured on the rear along with a flag and lady liberty design. The patchwork quilt is an American  tradition of thrift, practicality, and strength. As such, it's the perfect vehicle for showing the robust caring nature of our country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A web site is under construction to support the members' stories, wishes, and comments as the project gets underway. www.blanketamerica.com will be the middle purpose for the stories and inspirations the program can provide. Sharing the enjoyment and building community are as vital because the blankets, therefore be positive to participate on the website. Returning along as a patchwork community to create a distinction, one blanket at a time, is certain to be a rewarding experience.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's straightforward to be a part of the answer, treasure your own lovely quilt, and facilitate others with no extra cost. Along together with your &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;quilt&lt;/a&gt; you may receive an easily recognizable car magnet to show your support for the program. The heat feeling of helping others and helping to spread the word is as nice as wrapping up in your quilt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Purchasing the quilts for yourself or as a thoughtful gift will offer years of comfort and support the approaching along of Americans to assist their own less fortunate. This is often President Obama's decision to action, answered in the shape of tangible heat, shared by all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Watch for the opportunity to affix in and support the President and 1st Lady's message of compassion. Just sort of a patchwork quilt, your little piece is important to the entire pattern of unity and brotherhood. Together we will give one million blankets to the needy and show our solidarity by proudly displaying the quilts in our homes. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a lot of on these &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;warm quilts&lt;/a&gt; just visit &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Email: blanket.america1@gmail.com &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;BlanketAmerica.com 1-888-829-5431 &lt;br /&gt;Rich T.   &lt;br /&gt;NYC,NY&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-1509332091493458932?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=9Tbm7j01RR8:FGyv_Z9MvrY:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/9Tbm7j01RR8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/9Tbm7j01RR8/keep-warm-in-our-warm-blankets-at.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/keep-warm-in-our-warm-blankets-at.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-3184496370501442338</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-17T12:29:25.360-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>BLANKET AMERICA LEARING MORE ABOUT QUILT’S</title><description>BLANKET AMERICA LEARING MORE ABOUT QUILT’S&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Quilting has long been a part of the American culture as a manner of expressing one’s emotions, feelings, and even sending hidden messages through signs and patterns.  It's a fun, artistic, and rewarding activity that anybody, no matter what age and what talent level, will make their own quilts and interact in many quilting projects.  What’s additional, it isn’t therefore troublesome to try and do despite the intricate styles and patterns that folks sometimes see in museums, homes, and also the like.  All you need are the proper guides to assist you get started, creativity, and freedom of expression to design and weave a quilt of all sorts of colors and patterns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What rewards does one get from making a quilt?  Initial of all, you'll be able to share your work along with your family and friends.  You'll also build one as a gift for a sick friend or someone who enjoys decorating the house.  It will be used as heirlooms, decorations, and several more.  Folks who fancy quilting would usually keep several of their masterpieces in order to pass it all the way down to generations or to others since it's a work made with effort, attention, and love.  Thus, if you think you have got the eagerness and can learn the skills and techniques to form all types of quilts then opt for it.  There are materials that you'll simply get from the shop that’ll make up your first quilt and guides and how-to articles that’ll teach you how to create certain kinds of quilts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But before you get started on weaving and stitching, you need to work out what you want to create out of your quilt.  There are thousands of possible ideas for quilts and every one you've got to try to to is opt for the design that you think works for you.  Here are tips on how to come back up with a sensible design for your first quilt:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Assume of the function and the situation of your quilt.  Do you wish it to be hanged on the walls or used for sleeping?  Are you going to put it up as a tapestry or frame it?  This will additionally facilitate you choose how large or how little the quilt is going to be.&lt;br /&gt;    &lt;br /&gt;* Color is terribly vital when making &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;quilts&lt;/a&gt;.  If you want to form a quilt for an addict who simply had a baby girl, you can select appropriate colours like shades of red, pink, yellow, and also the like.  If you’re going to hang it on a space that’s normally filled with folks, you'll be able to make it stand out by selecting loud colors like yellow, orange, inexperienced, and bright red.&lt;br /&gt;    &lt;br /&gt;* The chosen vogue of your quilt can conjointly be half of your decision making.  Do you always relish making quilts of patchwork or of geometric shapes?  Would you prefer embroidery for your quilt?  This can additionally cause alternative choices, like how much you're willing to spend for materials and where you're going to find these.&lt;br /&gt;   &lt;br /&gt;* Lastly, look around you and gather ideas for inspiration when creating your quilt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For additional nice data on Blanket America &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;Quilt&lt;/a&gt; just check out &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Email:blanket.america1@gmail.com &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;BlanketAmerica.com 1-888-829-5431 &lt;br /&gt;Rich T.   &lt;br /&gt;NYC,NY&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-3184496370501442338?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=36Cp6LtOpWI:31DXOhDt7P4:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/36Cp6LtOpWI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/36Cp6LtOpWI/blanket-america-learing-more-about.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-learing-more-about.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-9142708889069809372</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-17T12:27:12.505-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America Patchwork Heritage</title><description>Blanket America Patchwork Heritage&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Starting in mid-January, the much anticipated Blanket America &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt; Assortment will become available to the public. The project is that the brainchild of a Manhattan bed, bath and window covering style business owner named Mesh Gelman. During President Obama's inaugural address on the night of Januaury 20, 2009, Gelman was struck with inspiration. With the words, "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" Gelman latched on to an plan and also the Patchwork Heritage Quilt was born.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The patches of this quilt are cut from 13 totally different materials to represent the 13 colonies. Every patch is lovingly sewn along out of a desire for unity and profound respect of country, freedom and fellow man. Commemorating the historic and inspirational words of our president, the back of the quilt is printed with the complete Presidential inaugural address on a background that includes the stunning lady liberty. Though America contains a centuries old tradition of commemorative blankets, never before has such a robust statement of unity and political support been made through a quilt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blanket America Assortment makes an incredibly attractive package to retailers and consumers. The quilt's packaging, that features shades of red, white and blue, is meant to make large displays look like patchwork quilts, adding even additional symbolism to the present collection. The &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;Patchwork Heritage quilt&lt;/a&gt;, shams and ornamental pillows are all stylishly crafted and cleverly designed, ensuring high visibility and sales.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As a result of their goal is so auspicious, Blanket America has partnered with Gifts in Kind International to make this project a reality. Gifts in Kind International works with 0.5 the Fortune 100 companies, that has helped to generate a ton of positive word of mouth for the project. Due to the support of such a wonderful organization, JC Pennies has agreed to hold the collection in its stores nationwide by mid-January. Amazon.com will conjointly build the collection accessible to the public. But additional support is needed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America's new connections with retailers, together with JC Pennies and Amazon.com, are making a robust statement for the long run success of this project. Blanket America hopes to form as several new connections with retailers as potential in order to support this new project. Blanket America is appreciative of J.C. Penney's and Amazon.com's support of their mission and expects other retailers, whether massive or tiny, to follow their lead. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For more information on the blanket america &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt; simply visit us at &lt;a href="http://www.blanketamerica.com"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Email: blanket.america1@gmail.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;BlanketAmerica.com  &lt;br /&gt;Phone 1-888-829-5431   &lt;br /&gt;Rich T.     &lt;br /&gt;NYC,NY&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-9142708889069809372?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=YoZCYUOvvzk:q7K3mVO2KSY:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/YoZCYUOvvzk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/YoZCYUOvvzk/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-3173214233888716785</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-17T08:16:54.299-08:00</atom:updated><title>Cold - Commemorative Quilts, Mattress Size and Quilt Design Options</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/commemorative-quilts-mattress-size-and.html" &gt;Commemorative Quilts, Mattress Size and Quilt Design Options&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1429083425; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:918294880 -473126700 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:21.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:21.0pt; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;If you are a first timer quilt maker, you are about to embark on a project that will consume considerable amounts of time and creative resources. Before you begin, check out your options for quit design. Is this quilt going to be a gift? The most valued gifts are those that commemorate special events in loved ones lives, historic moments or memorialize a national event or holiday.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Knowing standard mattress sizes is the first step to beginning to plan your quilt. Below is a list of standard bed mattress measurements:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Crib Mattress Size: 28" by 52"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Twin Mattress Size: 39" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Long Twin Mattress Size: 36" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Full Mattress Size: 54" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Queen Mattress Size: 60" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;King Mattress: 76" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;California King Mattress Size: 72" by 84"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Queen sizes mattresses are the most common, so if you're not sure of what size to make, queen is usually a safe bet. Now you need to decide how much of a drop you want on your quilt. That is, how far down should the quilt hang over each side of the bed for the best look? Does the recipient use a dust ruffle on their bed? If so, it may be a good idea to choose a design that stops on the edge of the mattress and has a drop that extends two to three inches over the top edge of the dust ruffle.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Now it is time to choose a pattern. There are dozens of websites that offer free quilt patterns. What are you commemorating? If you have yet to decide what occasion to commemorate, look for famous quilts to get ideas from. Classic designs are the double wedding ring pattern and drunkards path. Special appliqués are also popular and are a great way to commemorate a holiday or birth of a baby. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One of the hottest new quilts on the market today is the Patchwork Heritage quilt. It is made from thirteen different fabrics that represent the thirteen original colonies. The quilt is made by Blanket America and is part of a collection that includes shams and decorative pillows. To see pictures of the quilt, go to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Are you planning on making matching pillow cases or shams? If so, you will need to know what pillow size to use. The best shams reflect the design of the quilt and use accent colors that perfectly offset the colors used in the quilt. Now that you have decided what will work best for you, all you have to do is start!&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-1498775239254657417?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/obamas-inaugural-speech-inspires-change.html" &gt;Obama's Inaugural Speech Inspires Change&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One year ago, President Barak Obama gave his inaugural address to record crowds. His campaign was run on the promise of hope and change. With the anniversary of his speech upon us, it's time to reflect on the past years events in order to take stock of where we are in our lives. What has Barak Obama done for this nation? By some estimates: nothing. But by others: everything. &amp;nbsp;What did that speech change about the lives of Americans?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The presidential inaugural address was a call to action for the American people. Obama made it clear that in our current situation it would take the help of each individual American to make a change within our nation. Obama said, "what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American" and "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;." &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;With that call to action came a wave of response. American volunteerism surged and is still running strong. Immediately after that speech was made, food banks that were critically low began to slowly fill back up. Homeless shelters received much needed donations and charitable organizations that were nearly defunct due to high demand were given hope for tomorrow.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;But, nearly a year later, some of those donations and food drives have slowed. Due to the economic recession and the war, our nation is facing times some are comparing to the Great Depression. That is why the Blanket America charitable organization was formed. The &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt; quilt was created with the idea of uniting &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; under one blanket. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; has come up with the perfect response to the presidential call to action. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When Obama said, "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," Mesh Gelman and his design crew created the Patchwork Heritage quilt to benefit charity. For every quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International, one of the largest charitable organizations in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to Americans in need. Their goal is to help one million Americans in need throughout the next year. To learn about how you can help, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2517129639773955024?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-debuts-on-qvc.html" &gt;Blanket America Debuts on QVC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; made its much anticipated debut on the home shopping channel QVC December 28&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; and 29&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;. Thanks to Blanket America's innovative buy one, give one approach to charity, their project is getting off the ground with enormous success. The Patchwork Heritage Collection is Blanket America's way of helping the public to help those in need while getting something in return.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket America's charitable organization was established with the goal in mind of helping one million Americans stay &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;warm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; during the harshest winter months America has been subjected to in years, possibly decades. Due to the recession, it is estimated that 35 million Americans are living in poverty. With unemployment rates through the roof and costs on the rise, there has never been a better time to help someone in need.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection idea bloomed while Mesh Gelman and his creative team watched the presidential inaugural address on January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009. When President Barak Obama told our nation that our patchwork heritage was a strength and not a weakness, the designer in Gelman latched on to a new idea. Over the next several months, he and his creative team created the Patchwork Heritage Collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Created with 13 different fabrics, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents our original 13 colonies. Modern color combinations in tones of red, white and blue grace the face of the quilt. On the reverse, the presidential inaugural address is printed over a symbolic lady liberty background. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The collection is not limited to a quilt, however. The full line includes decorative pillows, pillow shams, and throws. The decorative pillows feature the American Bald Eagle in flight over a background of two American flags. Running in the Blanket America theme, the pillow states, "We know that our Patchwork Heritage is a strength, not a weakness." The fabric color is a neutral creamy beige color that blends well with any décor. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The pillow shams also run in the same theme as the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;. The shams are comprised of 13 different fabrics in modern decorative tones of red, white and blue which represent our 13 original colonies. The Patchwork Heritage throws are a smaller version of the quilt. The same creative design that graces the back of the quilt also graces the throw. Like the Patchwork Heritage quilt, the throw is also made of 13 fabrics to represent our fledgling nation. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;While the Patchwork Heritage Collection is still on pre-order, QVC is offering the public a discount. The shams, now offered for $24.12 will later be priced at $29. Decorative pillows are selling at the pre-order price of $17.88, but prices will rise to $21.50. The throw is now on sale for $49, the queen for $66 and the king for $81, which will rise to $59, $79 and $99 respectively. Now is the best time to order your Patchwork Heritage Collection piece at a great discount price through QVC!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7783492168428913540?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-3173214233888716785?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QHBtIhK_wH4:W02IySfrOBA:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/QHBtIhK_wH4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/QHBtIhK_wH4/cold-commemorative-quilts-mattress-size.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/cold-commemorative-quilts-mattress-size.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-8769859991564934441</guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-16T05:43:03.165-08:00</atom:updated><title>Poor - Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html" &gt;Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is available in the three most popular social media websites in the world, namely Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.&amp;nbsp; This is a clear sign that the organization is sincere in its mission-vision and would like to reach out to the American people, as well as the rest of the world, in order to encourage them to join hands in helping fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering from poverty and the financial crisis.&amp;nbsp; Visitors will find a Blanket America Facebook application with an interactive map of the country is displayed showing each state’s progress and links that will direct interested customers to the preorder page or the donate-a-blanket-directly page.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a newly formed charitable organization with an initial goal of helping one million American families in need of assistance since the start of the holiday season.&amp;nbsp; It joined hands with Gifts in Kind, International and are now gaining much more support from big names like Fast Company, JCPenney, Amazon.com, and QVC.&amp;nbsp; In fact, Blanket America got its first debut on broadcast television on the QVC show last December 28 and 29 wherein they were able to tell their story, share the cause, and encourage the American viewers to help by participating in the Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; The airtime given to the company is said to increase sales significantly, which could lead to more airtime in the future.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America’s main product is the Patchwork Heritage Quilt with clear pictures of the quilt displayed in the official website.&amp;nbsp; It is a beautiful patchwork quilt with two eye-catching designs on both sides.&amp;nbsp; On the front is a series of fabrics that, when patched together, form the 13 American colonies while on the back is the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a lovely Lady Liberty background, from which the Patchwork Heritage Quilt was born out of.&amp;nbsp; It was from the president’s message to the people and his praise for America’s “patchwork heritage” that Blanket America came to be, which is why the speech is the quilt’s main highlight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America partnered itself with one of the best charitable organizations in the country known as Gifts in Kind, International and as of today, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is set to be available for consumers come mid-January and can be preordered from Amazon.com, QVC.com, and Blanket America’s main website.&amp;nbsp; Just visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information on the quilt and on Blanket America.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Facebook-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/"&gt;http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf"&gt;http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Blanket America On Youtube- &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Amazon-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6220679599578364742?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-bringing-back-american.html" &gt;Blanket America: Bringing Back an American Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin:0in; 	margin-bottom:.0001pt; 	text-align:right; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	direction:rtl; 	unicode-bidi:embed; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 	{size:595.3pt 841.9pt; 	margin:.5in 32.8pt 1.0in .5in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0; 	mso-gutter-direction:rtl;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When our ancestors crossed the oceans to reach the new land, they brought with them not just their families and a few meager possessions. They brought with them their own unique languages, styles and traditions. One tradition nearly every woman from every country brought with her was her own unique quilting pattern, fabric and color preferences. Eventually those traditions, patterns and preferences melded together and evolved into a truly American style of quilt called patchwork. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Soon, commemorative patchwork quilts became a new tradition. Major life events, such as engagements, were memorialized with quilts. With westward expansion came the advent of the state quilt. Political affiliations, union preferences and even wars were memorialized through statement &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;. Before women's suffrage gave women the right to vote in elections, their preferences were stated through fabric, needle and thread. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Through high times and low times, our nation's history can be tracked through quilts. During war time, patchwork colors tended to be duller and fabric quality lower. During times of peace and prosperity fabrics were brighter, patterns more intricate, quality of fabrics higher and richer and variety of fabrics greater. During the Roaring 20's fine linen and silks were used to make crazy quilts. When the Great Depression stuck ten years later, old flour sacks became the only fabrics available for making quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;During political strife, strong statements were made. When labor unions became legal in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, many women made use of red, white and blue fabrics to show their support. During times of war nearly all women used red, white and blue fabrics when they were available in order to show their patriotic pride, appreciation and support of our troops. Today that tradition is no different.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt brings back many old American traditions from bygone eras. The face of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics in hues of red, white and blue which represent our 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt is a subdued creamy beige color and features lady liberty standing proudly in the background. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is printed on the foreground, with the now famous words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" highlighted prominently. The Patchwork Heritage quilt benefits charity through a buy one, give one program. To learn more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;patchwork&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is bringing back an old American tradition of commemorative quilting. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is a new charitable organization who is implementing an innovative new concept of giving: buy one, give one. &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-4546400141393015952?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/obamas-inaugural-speech-inspires-change.html" &gt;Obama's Inaugural Speech Inspires Change&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One year ago, President Barak Obama gave his inaugural address to record crowds. His campaign was run on the promise of hope and change. With the anniversary of his speech upon us, it's time to reflect on the past years events in order to take stock of where we are in our lives. What has Barak Obama done for this nation? By some estimates: nothing. But by others: everything. &amp;nbsp;What did that speech change about the lives of Americans?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The presidential inaugural address was a call to action for the American people. Obama made it clear that in our current situation it would take the help of each individual American to make a change within our nation. Obama said, "what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American" and "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;." &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;With that call to action came a wave of response. American volunteerism surged and is still running strong. Immediately after that speech was made, food banks that were critically low began to slowly fill back up. Homeless shelters received much needed donations and charitable organizations that were nearly defunct due to high demand were given hope for tomorrow.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;But, nearly a year later, some of those donations and food drives have slowed. Due to the economic recession and the war, our nation is facing times some are comparing to the Great Depression. That is why the Blanket America charitable organization was formed. The &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt; quilt was created with the idea of uniting &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; under one blanket. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; has come up with the perfect response to the presidential call to action. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When Obama said, "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," Mesh Gelman and his design crew created the Patchwork Heritage quilt to benefit charity. For every quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International, one of the largest charitable organizations in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to Americans in need. Their goal is to help one million Americans in need throughout the next year. To learn about how you can help, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2517129639773955024?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage_09.html" &gt;Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is one of the very few charitable organizations that adopted a Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; This model aims to bridge the gap between business and charity by encouraging American consumers to buy a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the company’s main product, in order to help poor American families in need.&amp;nbsp; This project is supported by well-known organizations and companies, one of which is Gifts in Kind, International.&amp;nbsp; Blanket America is off to a great start thanks to these companies, and with one million as their initial goal, they are set into increasing that number all throughout 2010 as their response to President Barack Obama’s call for unity and strength in the American people.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;With over 40 million people suffering from poverty and struggling with the financial crisis, Blanket America is determined to help elevate such poverty by donating one fleece blanket to a needy American for every Patchwork Heritage Quilt bought by a consumer.&amp;nbsp; It aims to turn their mission into a reality, which is represented by a simple question, “What if the greatest economy in human history is able to match what it consumed with what it donated?”&amp;nbsp; Through this, Blanket America is actively encouraging the people to share their support either by buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt or by donating a blanket directly to those in need of assistance.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained a lot of publicity since it’s launching of the Buy 1, Give 1 model with companies like Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney showing their utmost support through their respective websites.&amp;nbsp; As of today, customers who are interested in buying the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can purchase them from Amazon.com or QVC.com, each with their own promos and discounts for the item.&amp;nbsp; Prices can range from $50 to $99.99 depending on the size and the function of the product.&amp;nbsp; These are all on a preorder basis as the Patchwork Heritage Quilt will be available come mid-January 2010.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Quilting has long been in the American culture as a medium when there was a need to send a message in secret.&amp;nbsp; This is why Blanket America has chosen the Patchwork Heritage Quilt as its message to the people regarding the importance of unity and strength as a people.&amp;nbsp; The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a beautifully designed quilt made with high quality materials that make it soft to the touch and a wonderful addition to the bedroom.&amp;nbsp; The front of the quilt shows 12 different fabrics that, when put together, displays the 13 American colonies.&amp;nbsp; The back is the highlight of the product, which has the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a background of Lady Liberty.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7132211936540498205?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/needy-people-nation-wide-will-receive.html" &gt;Needy People Nation Wide Will Receive Warm &lt;b&gt;Blankets&lt;/b&gt; From Blanket America’s Philanthropic Efforts.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a new charity with a noble goal in mind.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;With the help of Gifts in Kind International, one of the best charities in the country, the company aims to provide assistance to needy American families from all over the country through its Buy 1, Give 1 model.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Using this model, Blanket America is gradually bridging the gap between business and charity as a way of showing to the world that it is possible to match what is being consumed to what is being donated to the needy.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;The Buy 1, Give 1 model revolves around the Patchwork Heritage Quilt, which is Blanket America’s pride and joy.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Made with high quality fabrics and done with outstanding craftsmanship, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is the message that Blanket America wants to send to the American community, a message that speaks of unity, pride as a people, and strength when facing tough economical and political crises.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;By buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, a customer is at the same time donating a blanket to a needy American family.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Blanket America wishes to reach a million needy families and is hoping to increase that number throughout the year 2010.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a product born out of inspiration from the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Lauding the American people as having a “patchwork heritage”, he encouraged America to stand together, unite with one another despite having different races and different cultures, and to be strong in the face of hardship and challenge economically and politically.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Blanket America aims to respond to this call of action through its Patchwork Heritage Quilt, which has his inaugural speech at the back printed on a beautiful Lady Liberty background.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;On the front is a beautiful patchwork of 13 different fabrics.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;When put together, it forms the 13 original American colonies.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It makes a great tapestry for the home as well as a soft and comfy piece of bedding for the bedroom.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained much support from Gifts in Kind, International which is in charge of distributing the &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to the needy families.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney are just some of the companies that have also made their support known to Blanket America.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Customers who wish to purchase the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can preorder through Amazon, QVC, or through Blanket America’s website since the quilts will be available for shipping come mid-January.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Check out the official website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6676215870051418950?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-shows.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Shows Patriotic Pride through Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:49.5pt 32.8pt 1.0in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0; mso-gutter-direction:rtl;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the days of old when our ancestors were crossing the ocean in order to immigrate to the new world, American quilting tradition has been evolving. Women from every country contributed ideas, patterns and styles that eventually combined into one basic American style of quilting that was totally unique and strikingly attractive. This style came to be known as patchwork. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Before the industrial revolution fabric was prohibitively expensive. Cost was almost always the deciding factor of what style, color, quality of fabrics and pattern would be used in the making of the quilt. All pre industrial revolution homes came equipped with a scrap bag. As fabric was such a precious commodity, every bit was saved. Homes almost never bought fabrics with the sole purpose of quilting in mind. Scraps were always use, hence the creation of the patchwork quilt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Patchwork quilts reflect our nation's economic and political times. When our country was new and the industrial revolution had yet to take place, quilting patters were haphazard. As our nation grew and prospered, patterns became recognizable. With time patterns grew to become incredibly intricate. Soon, women began making statements through quilting. Red, white and blues appeared in quilts during war time to show patriotic pride.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When westward expansion took place women began creating state quilts. Eventually, quilts began to reflect political preferences, major life events and economic times. When our country unionized and labor laws were enacted, many women showed their support by sewing together red, white and blue patches in incredibly intricate patterns. American flag patterns are popular during times of political strife, low economic times and war. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Today quilting has tapered off as a national pastime for women. While quilting is not as popular as it once was, quilts themselves are more highly valued than ever. Many of us can appreciate the tradition and heritage of the American patchwork quilt. Recently, a new patriotic commemorative quilt was created to help Americans in need. The Patchwork Heritage quilt is part of a buy one, give one program being implemented by the Blanket America charitable organization to provide warm &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; for the needy. To find out more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;quilt&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection shows patriotic American pride while bringing back old American traditions. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is implementing a buy one, give one charity, where proceeds from the sale of the Patchwork Heritage quilts buy one new fleece blanket to be donated to charity.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7295273091154177202?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/today-show-helps-blanket-america-for.html" &gt;Today Show Helps a Blanket America for a Good Cause&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Today Show, with host Lester Holt, featured an appearance with Mesh Gelman, founder of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;, in order to help their charitable cause. Showcased on the show was the Patchwork Heritage quilt, designed by Gelman and his team of designers. Gelman, with the help of the Today Show, used this platform to address the growing poverty problem in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, it is estimated that over thirty five million Americans are living below the poverty line. Many of our nation's citizens are in desperate need of charitable contributions. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 Barak Obama told the nation that "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Those words inspired Mesh Gelman and his team to create the Patchwork Heritage quilt, and in turn, the Blanket America charitable organization.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America model of giving is this: Buy One, Give One. That is to say, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new, warm, fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined hands with Blanket America in order to act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is created by using thirteen different fabrics in order to represent our thirteen original colonies. The colors used are a blend of modern and aesthetically pleasing hues of red, white and blue that matches nearly every décor. The reverse uses a base fabric of creamy beige whose background features lady liberty standing proudly erect. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is boldly displayed in entirety and the words "patchwork heritage" are prominently highlighted.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The entire collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilts in king, queen and throw sizes. Designed to match the quilts are decorative pillow shams and throw pillows. The collection can be used functionally or as a commemorative display. Any home would be proud to display such a patriotic collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Thanks to Mesh Gelman's innovative approach to charitable giving and the support of the Today Show, Gifts in Kind International, QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney stores, Blanket America's projected goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated may be reached, or even surpassed. To show support for the project, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8237643940723382203?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-8769859991564934441?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=HDoaSuFBDXE:vdUhJxgq5X4:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/HDoaSuFBDXE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/HDoaSuFBDXE/poor-blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/poor-blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-837686842455427667</guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-15T09:29:09.531-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>How Can We Make a Difference?</title><description>We take a look back at some of the progress and regression in the last decade and ask ourselves this: How can we make a difference? How can we help fellow man? We see how one group has risen to the challenge in a creative way. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How Can We Make a Difference?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The last decade has brought changes upon America no one predicted. From technology to medicine to economics to politics, it seems that everything has changed. Some changes have been good, while others have been devastating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Medical advances in the 00's have helped everyone from pre-mature babies to cancer patients to AIDS victims. New diseases have also set us back. Bird flue and mad cow disease, while not new, have certainly made headlines more often in the last ten years. West Nile Virus and H1N1 have also both taken a horrifying toll on our population's health and pocket books. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This decade has brought both fun and functional advances in cell phone technology. Ten years ago some people were still driving around with bag phones in their cars. Now our cell phones can talk to us, direct us, check our email and even instant message. Not to mention play videos and send pictures. These advances have been both good and bad for our nation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The economy and politics is certainly an area that has gone to extremes this last decade. In 2000 we had a budget surplus. Times were great for the economy. No one thought that in ten years we would be in the mess we are in now. Because of bad political leadership, our country has fallen on some of the hardest times in the last century. Because our country has been run into the ground, our political parties have polarized. Now, it is up to our fearless leader to get the country back into shape.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Barak Obama gave us all a push to do more for fellow man during his inaugural address last year. While everyone interpreted his speech differently, one group of people came up with a brilliant plan to rise to the call to action. Blanket America charitable organization, founded my Mesh Gelman, created the Patchwork Heritage collection as a buy one, give one program to help those in need. With each sale of the Patchwork Heritage quilts, shams and pillows, a like item is donated to charity. To learn more about how Blanket America is rising to the call of duty, or to support the cause, visit them at www.blanketamerica.com.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-837686842455427667?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=PoRlHDNWPQo:Q6eC7gDoS0s:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/PoRlHDNWPQo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/PoRlHDNWPQo/how-can-we-make-difference.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-can-we-make-difference.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5715954343100711220</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-13T19:01:14.204-08:00</atom:updated><title>Patchwork - Blanket America Project Launches with Great Success</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-project-launches-with.html" &gt;Blanket America Project Launches with Great Success&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America Project launched at the end of December 2009 with great success. Thanks to the Today Show highlighting the Patchwork Heritage Collection, the word about the project has spread from coast to coast and border to border. Mesh Gelman, the Blanket America founder, pledged 5000 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; during his visit to the Today Show on December 28&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; and 29&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Joining Blanket America, Amazon.com is offering the Patchwork Heritage Collection as a pre-order item on their website. JC Penney stores are also due to begin carrying the collection nationwide on January 23&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt;. The collection is available for pre-order on their website right now. QVC has also signed on to support the Blanket America project, and is currently offering the Patchwork Heritage Collection for pre-order. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; Collection is Blanket America's buy one, give one public offering. With the purchase of each Patchwork Heritage quilt, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is working with Gifts in Kind International, one of the leading charitable organizations in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;. Gifts in Kind International is acting as an intermediary agent to bring the donated fleece &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to American families and individuals in need.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; has opened up a Facebook page, and has current news about the project posted online. They have widgets available to those who are interested in supporting the cause. To join the cause, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; and follow the link on their homepage to their Facebook page. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection includes a decorative commemorative quilt that is also functional, throws, shams and decorative pillows. The quilts and throws feature the January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 Presidential inaugural address with lady liberty standing proudly in the background. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The words of Barak Obama are highlighted quite nicely on the reverse of the quilt and the face of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics representing our 13 original colonies. President Obama's speech is the foundation of this project and these words, in particular, gave this project life: "Our patchwork heritage is strength, not a weakness." &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;To support the Blanket America project and get something in return, pre-order your Patchwork Heritage Collection piece today. The collection makes a lovely, patriotic statement in any home and shows pride on ones country. To order your quilt today, please visit any of the venues mentioned above, or visit the Blanket America website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-5122556238593285568?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-continues-tradition-of.html" &gt;Blanket America Continues Tradition of Patriotic Symbolism&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Showing patriotic pride has been a part of American tradition since our country was founded. American pride has been expressed through music, quilting, style of dress and even through food. Our national monuments, like Lady Liberty, the &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:placename w:st="on"&gt;Washington&lt;/st1:placename&gt; &lt;st1:placetype w:st="on"&gt;Monument&lt;/st1:placetype&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt; and dozens of war memorials all express pride and support for our nation. During war time Americans express an especially fervent national pride. Tough economic times also garner much support and patriotism by the people. When Martha Washington created our first flag in red, white and blue with 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies, she began a tradition that is still going strong today. Before women were given the right to vote, sewing was their political platform. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Before the industrial revolution, fabrics were considered precious and no scraps were wasted. From women's scrap bins, patchwork quilts were born. During war times, red, white and blue scraps were sewn together in order to show national pride. For wealthy families who could afford to buy fabric in bulk, their quilts were sometimes exact replicas of the American flag. It is incredibly symbolic that, during times of war, people wrapped themselves in American flags for warmth and comfort. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When pioneers began westward expansion and states were added to the union, women began designing and creating a quilt for each state. Much like state flags, state quilts became a part of the national conversation. Colors of the state flag were used and an appliqué of the state could be sewn onto the face of the quilt. Sometimes appliqués of state birds and state flowers, monuments and animals, such as horses and buffalo, have been added to blocks for added flair. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Political movements were also reflected through needle and thread. Quilts with national maps showing red and blue states were created. Political polarization can be tracked through some quilts. When labor laws were finally enacted in &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;, union members wives sewed hundreds of red, white and blue quilts in celebration of such an important event. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt commemorates our national unity. Barak Obama's presidential inaugural address is printed on the backing while lady liberty stands proudly in the background. The words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" are highlighted. The face of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics which represent our 13 original colonies. In true American wartime tradition, the quilt colors feature hues of red, white and blue. The quilt is being sold as part of a buy one, give one charitable project whose goal is to donate one million warm &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. To learn more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;charity&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2567066754653105876?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5715954343100711220?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=DI8oH9ffFmU:luXv_rFx7Ok:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/DI8oH9ffFmU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/DI8oH9ffFmU/patchwork-blanket-america-project.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/patchwork-blanket-america-project.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5574816531320674428</guid><pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-13T10:28:23.498-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Blanket America to broaden its Goal of One Million Helped to Include Haiti Earthquake Victims</title><description>Blanket America is helping America's poor while also helping Haiti through the sale of its Patchwork Heritage quilt. For every quilt, pillow and sham sold, a like item is donated. Blanket America is set to distribute 1 million blankets throughout the United States, while also distributing 80,000 sheets in Haiti. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America to broaden its Goal of One Million Helped to Include Haiti Earthquake Victims&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America, a new non-profit organization created to help Americans in need, is broadening its reach to include victims of the Haiti earthquake. This January 12, 2010 tragedy struck the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It is estimated that 230,000 men, women and children were killed and over a million left homeless after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck. Those numbers just keep rising. There are still bottlenecks preventing supplies from reaching those in need, though it is slowly improving. The most basic essentials are needed the most, including medicine, money, clothes, blankets, sheets, food, shelter and clean water. Americans have risen to the challenge of helping these poor people get what they need, but so much more needs to be done. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blanket America originally set a goal of helping one million Americans in need. With over 35 million Americans living below the poverty line, Blanket America decided to take action. They created the Patchwork Heritage Collection. The collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilt in king, queen/full and throw sizes along with decorative pillows and pillow shams. The collection is in response to President Barak Obama's call to action. This commemorative quilt features his entire inaugural address on its back, while the front of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics representing the 13 original colonies. For every quilt sold a warm fleece blanket is donated to charity. For every pillow or sham bought, a like item is donated. Gifts in Kind International is acting as an intermediary to distribute the blankets throughout America. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now Blanket America is broadening its scope in order to help victims of the Haiti earthquake. In addition to their buy one, give one program, Blanket America is providing 80,000 sheets to Haiti. While Blanket America does have a domestic initiative, they decided to help out the Haiti cause because the need is so extreme and Haiti's proximity is so close to America. There are millions of Americans with family and friends in Haiti that are affected by the devastation there. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are many avenues to help support the Blanket America Initiative. You can become a fan on Facebook. For every 10 friends that join another blanket is donated to charity. Blanket America can also be followed on Twitter. Blanket America's website is www.blanketamerica.com.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5574816531320674428?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=R0xKmDfMNeA:Nbx5h2PG6Dg:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/R0xKmDfMNeA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/R0xKmDfMNeA/blanket-america-to-broaden-its-goal-of.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-america-to-broaden-its-goal-of.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-4183169806931459924</guid><pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-13T10:27:51.775-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quilt</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">obama</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blanket</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">heritage</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">patchwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">america</category><title>Tragedy Stricken Areas Get Help</title><description>We look back at the events of the last 10 years and see a regression in certain areas. Blanket America, a new charitable organization, does what it can to help. See how you can lend a hand by reading below. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tragedy Stricken Areas Get Help &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The events of the last several years have certainly left their mark on the American psyche. Since 2000, our country has been through so much change that the America of a decade ago is nearly unrecognizable. I read an article the other day about how much camera, cell phone, and computer technology has changed this decade. Other advances have swept the Americana people off their feet as well. All these technological advances are a boon to our nation. But there are other issues that have changed for the worse in the last 10 years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New horrors in the world of disease have wrecked havoc in our nation. From mad cow disease crashing beef markets, to avian flu prompting mass bird culls, agricultural markets have take some hard hits in the 00's. While bird flu has been a known killer and threat for years, H1N1, or swine flu has also his us especially hard in the Americas. These new, deadly diseases are costing lives and billions of dollars.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Natural disasters and climate change have been on the forefront of many minds this decade as well. From sunamis to huge earthquakes to toronadoes and hurricanes, it's plain to see something isn't right. Millions upon millions have been displaced by these catastrophic events. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To add to these horrific events, America is fighting two wars, terrorist attacks, economic recession and civil unrest within our borders. We've put up walls to keep people out, strengthened racist ideals, and separated our political parties to the point where we have to be one extreme or another to fit in. it seems that our world is taking a few steps backwards in areas of progress we were behind on to begin with. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On January 20, 2009, Barak Obama tried to urge the people to come together to solve our nations most difficult problems. He gave us a call to action. Blanket America formed its charity in response to that call to action. They have formed a buy one; give one charity to help fight poverty in our nation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While it is a drop in the bucket when compared to our problems, it is making a big difference in the lives of the poor. Blanket America does have a domestic initiative, but they are extending a helping hand to help those in need in Haiti by donating 80,000 sheets. You can do your part to help by going to www.blanketamerica.com. For every 10 fans on Facebook, Blanket America makes a donation. They also have a Twitter feed where you can keep up to date on the happenings within the charity.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-4183169806931459924?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=Nb2eLaSbQas:Uh2Wu4ZBn9U:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/Nb2eLaSbQas" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/Nb2eLaSbQas/tragedy-stricken-areas-get-help.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/tragedy-stricken-areas-get-help.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-8521297327676881714</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-10T08:26:30.321-08:00</atom:updated><title>Quilt - How to Make a Commemorative Quilt</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-commemorative-quilt.html" &gt;How to Make a Commemorative Quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1915235523; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1547652960 67698705 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since our nation's infancy, commemorative quilts have been a part of our national conversation. From American flag quilts to double wedding ring patterns, quilts have been used as a platform to make a statement. Quilting declined after the 1960's, as women entered the workforce and their spare time was eaten up. Since the Great Recession began in 2008 though, sewing of all types is on the rise. Our nation is once again picking up an old American tradition. Unfortunately, quilting is no longer taught to us as children, so it is up to us to learn as adults. If you follow these steps you can begin to learn the intricacies of quilting.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose a quilting pattern that commemorates the life event, political statement or holiday that you are trying to memorialize. There are dozens of websites where free quilt patterns can be found. Fabric stores also carry patterns. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose an appropriate fabric. Most quilts are made from quilting cotton, but other fabrics can be used too. Crazy quilts, for example, are often made from satins and velvets. You will want to choose a fabric that will not fade or shrink and can stand up to normal wear and tear. Don't forget to buy batting and fabric for backing. The thicker the batting, the warmer the quilt. Your backing material will need to be at least 4 inches larger than your quilt face.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Cut out your quilt blocks. Be sure to cut out enough blocks of each color to complete your quilt. The more colors you choose, the more complex the pattern.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Iron your blocks and crease the edges with a 1/4 inch fold. Be sure that the fold is straight. Sew your blocks together in strips. Set your sewing machine to 1/4 inch seam allowance. Most beginners don't realize there is a difference in the seam allowance of clothing and quilting. The 1/4 inch seam allowance will ensure that your quilt has a smooth surface. Now sew your strips together to form the face of the quilt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Lay all three layers of your quilt out on top of each other. The backing material should be laid down on the bottom; your quilt face should be laid face down on top of the backing and the batting material on top.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew together your layers using a sewing machine. Sew three sides of the quilt together completely, but on the fourth side, leave a two foot opening. Turn your quilt right side out and finish the edge by hand. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew the layers together using matching or contrasting thread. Begin in the middle of the quilt and work your way out. You can do this by hand or by machine.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is an excellent example of a modern day commemorative quilt. To learn more about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps charity, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;blanket&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7915337762453735810?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage_09.html" &gt;Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is one of the very few charitable organizations that adopted a Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; This model aims to bridge the gap between business and charity by encouraging American consumers to buy a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the company’s main product, in order to help poor American families in need.&amp;nbsp; This project is supported by well-known organizations and companies, one of which is Gifts in Kind, International.&amp;nbsp; Blanket America is off to a great start thanks to these companies, and with one million as their initial goal, they are set into increasing that number all throughout 2010 as their response to President Barack Obama’s call for unity and strength in the American people.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;With over 40 million people suffering from poverty and struggling with the financial crisis, Blanket America is determined to help elevate such poverty by donating one fleece blanket to a needy American for every Patchwork Heritage Quilt bought by a consumer.&amp;nbsp; It aims to turn their mission into a reality, which is represented by a simple question, “What if the greatest economy in human history is able to match what it consumed with what it donated?”&amp;nbsp; Through this, Blanket America is actively encouraging the people to share their support either by buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt or by donating a blanket directly to those in need of assistance.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained a lot of publicity since it’s launching of the Buy 1, Give 1 model with companies like Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney showing their utmost support through their respective websites.&amp;nbsp; As of today, customers who are interested in buying the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can purchase them from Amazon.com or QVC.com, each with their own promos and discounts for the item.&amp;nbsp; Prices can range from $50 to $99.99 depending on the size and the function of the product.&amp;nbsp; These are all on a preorder basis as the Patchwork Heritage Quilt will be available come mid-January 2010.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Quilting has long been in the American culture as a medium when there was a need to send a message in secret.&amp;nbsp; This is why Blanket America has chosen the Patchwork Heritage Quilt as its message to the people regarding the importance of unity and strength as a people.&amp;nbsp; The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a beautifully designed quilt made with high quality materials that make it soft to the touch and a wonderful addition to the bedroom.&amp;nbsp; The front of the quilt shows 12 different fabrics that, when put together, displays the 13 American colonies.&amp;nbsp; The back is the highlight of the product, which has the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a background of Lady Liberty.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7132211936540498205?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/poverty-in-america.html" &gt;Poverty in America&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, much about our nation has changed. It's not an underestimate to say that the recession has hit everyone like a sledge hammer. Just like at home, money problems can destroy unity. It is estimated that thirty five million Americans are living in poverty. When President Barak Obama gave his presidential inaugural address, he said "what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American." &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Those words brought on an onslaught of volunteerism. But many in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; have yet to do their part. The most helpful activities Americans can partake in are helping charities with donated goods, volunteering time; spending to stimulate the economy while at the same time saving to avoid financial disaster and creating jobs. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;There are many opportunities to help charities. Throughout the nation, homeless shelters are full and food banks are running low. Donations of food and money are always welcomed at these establishments. Items such as shampoo, diapers, wipes and feminine hygiene products are also desperately needed at food banks and shelters, though rarely received. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Food kitchens are another type of deserving charity that is in constant need of help. Soup kitchens rarely have enough volunteers to cook and clean. Food donations are also desperately needed. By helping charities such as these, you also help yourself. If you are one of the millions that were laid off as a result of the recession, you need a way to stand out among the competition in order to secure new employment. Volunteering is a great way to network, and an excellent way to promote yourself on your resume. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;There is also a new charity called &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt; that was formed in late 2009 as a response to President Barak Obama's call to action. The Blanket America charitable organization created the Patchwork Heritage Collection, which is a buy one, give one charity. Not only do consumers help themselves by purchasing a commemorative statement quilt, but they help others through their purchase. Every quilt sold results in the donation of a warm blanket to someone in need. Gifts in Kind International, one of the nations biggest and best run charitable organizations, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;. To learn more about how you can help Blanket America reach its goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-1482246910305180023?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-8521297327676881714?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=MQkUioFgk_E:FQeMTXIRPd8:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/MQkUioFgk_E" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/MQkUioFgk_E/quilt-how-to-make-commemorative-quilt.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/quilt-how-to-make-commemorative-quilt.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5888024116975333513</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:56:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-09T21:56:17.508-08:00</atom:updated><title>Blanket - Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html" &gt;Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is available in the three most popular social media websites in the world, namely Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.&amp;nbsp; This is a clear sign that the organization is sincere in its mission-vision and would like to reach out to the American people, as well as the rest of the world, in order to encourage them to join hands in helping fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering from poverty and the financial crisis.&amp;nbsp; Visitors will find a Blanket America Facebook application with an interactive map of the country is displayed showing each state’s progress and links that will direct interested customers to the preorder page or the donate-a-blanket-directly page.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a newly formed charitable organization with an initial goal of helping one million American families in need of assistance since the start of the holiday season.&amp;nbsp; It joined hands with Gifts in Kind, International and are now gaining much more support from big names like Fast Company, JCPenney, Amazon.com, and QVC.&amp;nbsp; In fact, Blanket America got its first debut on broadcast television on the QVC show last December 28 and 29 wherein they were able to tell their story, share the cause, and encourage the American viewers to help by participating in the Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; The airtime given to the company is said to increase sales significantly, which could lead to more airtime in the future.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America’s main product is the Patchwork Heritage Quilt with clear pictures of the quilt displayed in the official website.&amp;nbsp; It is a beautiful patchwork quilt with two eye-catching designs on both sides.&amp;nbsp; On the front is a series of fabrics that, when patched together, form the 13 American colonies while on the back is the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a lovely Lady Liberty background, from which the Patchwork Heritage Quilt was born out of.&amp;nbsp; It was from the president’s message to the people and his praise for America’s “patchwork heritage” that Blanket America came to be, which is why the speech is the quilt’s main highlight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America partnered itself with one of the best charitable organizations in the country known as Gifts in Kind, International and as of today, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is set to be available for consumers come mid-January and can be preordered from Amazon.com, QVC.com, and Blanket America’s main website.&amp;nbsp; Just visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information on the quilt and on Blanket America.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Facebook-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/"&gt;http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf"&gt;http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Blanket America On Youtube- &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Amazon-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6220679599578364742?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5888024116975333513?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=NB-ZEWvtLpQ:plkeT7ZI9gI:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/NB-ZEWvtLpQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/NB-ZEWvtLpQ/blanket-blanket-america-spreads-word-on.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/blanket-blanket-america-spreads-word-on.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5040268063706882688</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-03T11:11:37.803-08:00</atom:updated><title>Throw - Today Show Helps a Blanket America for a Good Cause</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/today-show-helps-blanket-america-for.html" &gt;Today Show Helps a Blanket America for a Good Cause&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Today Show, with host Lester Holt, featured an appearance with Mesh Gelman, founder of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;, in order to help their charitable cause. Showcased on the show was the Patchwork Heritage quilt, designed by Gelman and his team of designers. Gelman, with the help of the Today Show, used this platform to address the growing poverty problem in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, it is estimated that over thirty five million Americans are living below the poverty line. Many of our nation's citizens are in desperate need of charitable contributions. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 Barak Obama told the nation that "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Those words inspired Mesh Gelman and his team to create the Patchwork Heritage quilt, and in turn, the Blanket America charitable organization.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America model of giving is this: Buy One, Give One. That is to say, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new, warm, fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined hands with Blanket America in order to act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is created by using thirteen different fabrics in order to represent our thirteen original colonies. The colors used are a blend of modern and aesthetically pleasing hues of red, white and blue that matches nearly every décor. The reverse uses a base fabric of creamy beige whose background features lady liberty standing proudly erect. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is boldly displayed in entirety and the words "patchwork heritage" are prominently highlighted.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The entire collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilts in king, queen and throw sizes. Designed to match the quilts are decorative pillow shams and throw pillows. The collection can be used functionally or as a commemorative display. Any home would be proud to display such a patriotic collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Thanks to Mesh Gelman's innovative approach to charitable giving and the support of the Today Show, Gifts in Kind International, QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney stores, Blanket America's projected goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated may be reached, or even surpassed. To show support for the project, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8237643940723382203?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilts-enrich.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilts Enrich America's Quilting Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin:0in; 	margin-bottom:.0001pt; 	text-align:right; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	direction:rtl; 	unicode-bidi:embed; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the days of mass immigration from &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Europe&lt;/st1:place&gt;, the American quilting tradition has been a constantly evolving amalgam of color and texture, pattern and symbolism. Because immigrants from all over the world brought their quilts with them from their foreign lands, women of old began borrowing each others traditions. Eventually, these combinations of styles became known and the American Melting Pot quilts. In time, these quilts would become known as patchwork quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Almost all women quilted, from farm wives to society matrons, young girls to young mothers. The only difference in their patchwork quilts was the quality, texture and colors of the fabrics used. Fabric society women used in patchwork quilts, such as linen and silk, where much more expensive and difficult to come by than cotton harvested from old shirts and sheets. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Young women aspired to have as many as 13 quilts in her possession as part of her dowry chest. When she became engaged a commemorative double wedding ring pattern quilt was usually added. As the years passed, important milestones such as marriages, births, current events and political affiliations were commemorated through quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;American history can be tracked through the American quilt. For example, it is easy to distinguish the difference between a Civil War Era quilt and a Spanish American War era quilt. As Americans moved westward, each state eventually had its own quilt. Economic times are reflected in the colors, fabric quality and fabric availability and pattern. During the Roaring 20's crazy quilts made of satin or silk were popular. During the Great Depression sack cloth from old flour sacks was all that was available to women.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Today, the Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America is commemorating and reflecting our nation's current situation. Comprised of 13 different fabrics in red, white and blue that reflect current popular decorating hues, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents the 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt features President Barak Obama's inaugural address in entirety. The words "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" are prominently displayed. To learn about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s poor though the a buy one, give one charitable project, please visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America enriches an old American tradition: commemorative quilting. From state quilts created by pioneers to the union quilts with red white and blue motifs, quilting has long since become a part of the fabric of our nation. Thanks to the Patchwork Heritage quilt, that fabric just got a little more interesting. &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8804188461621129190?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/commemorative-quilts-mattress-size-and.html" &gt;Commemorative Quilts, Mattress Size and Quilt Design Options&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1429083425; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:918294880 -473126700 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:21.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:21.0pt; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;If you are a first timer quilt maker, you are about to embark on a project that will consume considerable amounts of time and creative resources. Before you begin, check out your options for quit design. Is this quilt going to be a gift? The most valued gifts are those that commemorate special events in loved ones lives, historic moments or memorialize a national event or holiday.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Knowing standard mattress sizes is the first step to beginning to plan your quilt. Below is a list of standard bed mattress measurements:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Crib Mattress Size: 28" by 52"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Twin Mattress Size: 39" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Long Twin Mattress Size: 36" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Full Mattress Size: 54" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Queen Mattress Size: 60" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;King Mattress: 76" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;California King Mattress Size: 72" by 84"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Queen sizes mattresses are the most common, so if you're not sure of what size to make, queen is usually a safe bet. Now you need to decide how much of a drop you want on your quilt. That is, how far down should the quilt hang over each side of the bed for the best look? Does the recipient use a dust ruffle on their bed? If so, it may be a good idea to choose a design that stops on the edge of the mattress and has a drop that extends two to three inches over the top edge of the dust ruffle.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Now it is time to choose a pattern. There are dozens of websites that offer free quilt patterns. What are you commemorating? If you have yet to decide what occasion to commemorate, look for famous quilts to get ideas from. Classic designs are the double wedding ring pattern and drunkards path. Special appliqués are also popular and are a great way to commemorate a holiday or birth of a baby. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One of the hottest new quilts on the market today is the Patchwork Heritage quilt. It is made from thirteen different fabrics that represent the thirteen original colonies. The quilt is made by Blanket America and is part of a collection that includes shams and decorative pillows. To see pictures of the quilt, go to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Are you planning on making matching pillow cases or shams? If so, you will need to know what pillow size to use. The best shams reflect the design of the quilt and use accent colors that perfectly offset the colors used in the quilt. Now that you have decided what will work best for you, all you have to do is start!&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-1498775239254657417?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-reflects.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Reflects Current Times&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;American quilting tradition has always included a reflection of current events, whether it is in the maker's personal life or the nation as a whole. Quilting has been a past time and necessity of women for hundred of years. As immigrants made their way from their old countries to the new world, their traditions of quilting followed them. Eventually, these separate styles and traditions melded together and eventually evolved to form a new American tradition: patchwork quilts.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Historians and collectors alike can track American political and economic histories through quilts. Fabric types, colors and patterns can tell us whether or not the nation was prosperous and whether or not there was a strong political movement the maker was involved in. before the industrial revolution changed fabric production, every scrap was precious. All homes had a scrap bag. It is believed that this is how patchwork pieces used for quilts came about. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;In the beginning, patchwork was haphazard in design. Most times quilt were sewn together with no real pattern, only warmth, in mind. Soon, though, different patterns evolved. &amp;nbsp;Life events, such as marriages and births, were recorded with the needle. Landscapes and gardens, family traditions, holidays and even states were celebrated described in quilts, much like hieroglyphs or murals described events and stories for other cultures. Political events, such as presidencies, wars, and unionization were commemorated with quilts. Before women's suffrage gave women the right to vote, quilts were their political platform.&amp;nbsp; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Styles in red, white and blue, much like the Patchwork Heritage quilts used today were sewn in celebration of political pride. Most people think of quilts as just bed coverings. But to so many before us, they were a way to make a strong and lasting statement. In fact, the words spoken hundreds of years ago through quilts are still heard today. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt created by Blanket America is carrying on the tradition of &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s commemorative statement quilt. 13 fabrics represent our 13 original colonies. Barak Obama's presidential inaugural address is printed on the background with the words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" highlighted. The Patchwork Heritage quilt is part of a buy one, give one charitable project with a goal of helping one million American poor get a new, warm blanket this year. To learn more visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;poor&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7604267975728882188?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5040268063706882688?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=UxPU6K2VYaA:Ip0AOg5wuss:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/UxPU6K2VYaA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/UxPU6K2VYaA/throw-today-show-helps-blanket-america.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/throw-today-show-helps-blanket-america.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-5562157082634989303</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-02T23:46:41.440-08:00</atom:updated><title>Throw - Blanket America Hits the Ground Running</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-hits-ground-running.html" &gt;Blanket America Hits the Ground Running&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America charitable organization recently pre-launched its &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; collection on a national level. The national retail chain JC Penney has made the collection available on its website for pre-sales and will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. Amazon.com has given Blanket America a big boost by making the offering the Patchwork Heritage collection for pre-sale on its website. The shopping network QVC recently debuted the Patchwork Heritage Collection with enormous success. All signs are pointing to a success launch of the collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection was inspired by President Barak Obama's inaugural address when he said "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Too often Americans find something to disagree about. Political gaps are widening in our nation and unity is at a critically low point. Obama called our nation to action by pointing out that though we may not agree, we all have something we can contribute in order to help our fellow man during these tough economic times.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, millions of Americans have involuntarily been plunged into poverty. It is estimated that over 35 million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2009. The economy is recovering, though it will take time. Job creation is slow and the market is seemingly growing at a snail pace. With the unemployment rate at 10%, it is obvious that there has never been a better time to help fellow Americans.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is a buy one, give one charity. That is, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined the cause and will act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Lester Holt of the Today Show had Mesh Gelman, the creator of Blanket America, on the show in order to highlight the growing poverty epidemic in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; and to show support for the cause. During the show, Gelman pledged 5000 &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. Since that time, the project has taken off. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; now has support on Facebook and through Twitter. It seems that support for the cause is coming in from all venues. It looks like Blanket America will be a huge success.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2401288403973767128?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-debuts-on-qvc.html" &gt;Blanket America Debuts on QVC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; made its much anticipated debut on the home shopping channel QVC December 28&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; and 29&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;. Thanks to Blanket America's innovative buy one, give one approach to charity, their project is getting off the ground with enormous success. The Patchwork Heritage Collection is Blanket America's way of helping the public to help those in need while getting something in return.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket America's charitable organization was established with the goal in mind of helping one million Americans stay &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;warm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; during the harshest winter months America has been subjected to in years, possibly decades. Due to the recession, it is estimated that 35 million Americans are living in poverty. With unemployment rates through the roof and costs on the rise, there has never been a better time to help someone in need.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection idea bloomed while Mesh Gelman and his creative team watched the presidential inaugural address on January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009. When President Barak Obama told our nation that our patchwork heritage was a strength and not a weakness, the designer in Gelman latched on to a new idea. Over the next several months, he and his creative team created the Patchwork Heritage Collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Created with 13 different fabrics, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents our original 13 colonies. Modern color combinations in tones of red, white and blue grace the face of the quilt. On the reverse, the presidential inaugural address is printed over a symbolic lady liberty background. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The collection is not limited to a quilt, however. The full line includes decorative pillows, pillow shams, and throws. The decorative pillows feature the American Bald Eagle in flight over a background of two American flags. Running in the Blanket America theme, the pillow states, "We know that our Patchwork Heritage is a strength, not a weakness." The fabric color is a neutral creamy beige color that blends well with any décor. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The pillow shams also run in the same theme as the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;. The shams are comprised of 13 different fabrics in modern decorative tones of red, white and blue which represent our 13 original colonies. The Patchwork Heritage throws are a smaller version of the quilt. The same creative design that graces the back of the quilt also graces the throw. Like the Patchwork Heritage quilt, the throw is also made of 13 fabrics to represent our fledgling nation. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;While the Patchwork Heritage Collection is still on pre-order, QVC is offering the public a discount. The shams, now offered for $24.12 will later be priced at $29. Decorative pillows are selling at the pre-order price of $17.88, but prices will rise to $21.50. The throw is now on sale for $49, the queen for $66 and the king for $81, which will rise to $59, $79 and $99 respectively. Now is the best time to order your Patchwork Heritage Collection piece at a great discount price through QVC!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7783492168428913540?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html" &gt;Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is available in the three most popular social media websites in the world, namely Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.&amp;nbsp; This is a clear sign that the organization is sincere in its mission-vision and would like to reach out to the American people, as well as the rest of the world, in order to encourage them to join hands in helping fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering from poverty and the financial crisis.&amp;nbsp; Visitors will find a Blanket America Facebook application with an interactive map of the country is displayed showing each state’s progress and links that will direct interested customers to the preorder page or the donate-a-blanket-directly page.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a newly formed charitable organization with an initial goal of helping one million American families in need of assistance since the start of the holiday season.&amp;nbsp; It joined hands with Gifts in Kind, International and are now gaining much more support from big names like Fast Company, JCPenney, Amazon.com, and QVC.&amp;nbsp; In fact, Blanket America got its first debut on broadcast television on the QVC show last December 28 and 29 wherein they were able to tell their story, share the cause, and encourage the American viewers to help by participating in the Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; The airtime given to the company is said to increase sales significantly, which could lead to more airtime in the future.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America’s main product is the Patchwork Heritage Quilt with clear pictures of the quilt displayed in the official website.&amp;nbsp; It is a beautiful patchwork quilt with two eye-catching designs on both sides.&amp;nbsp; On the front is a series of fabrics that, when patched together, form the 13 American colonies while on the back is the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a lovely Lady Liberty background, from which the Patchwork Heritage Quilt was born out of.&amp;nbsp; It was from the president’s message to the people and his praise for America’s “patchwork heritage” that Blanket America came to be, which is why the speech is the quilt’s main highlight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America partnered itself with one of the best charitable organizations in the country known as Gifts in Kind, International and as of today, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is set to be available for consumers come mid-January and can be preordered from Amazon.com, QVC.com, and Blanket America’s main website.&amp;nbsp; Just visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information on the quilt and on Blanket America.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Facebook-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/"&gt;http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf"&gt;http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Blanket America On Youtube- &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Amazon-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6220679599578364742?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-commemorative-quilt.html" &gt;How to Make a Commemorative Quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1915235523; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1547652960 67698705 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since our nation's infancy, commemorative quilts have been a part of our national conversation. From American flag quilts to double wedding ring patterns, quilts have been used as a platform to make a statement. Quilting declined after the 1960's, as women entered the workforce and their spare time was eaten up. Since the Great Recession began in 2008 though, sewing of all types is on the rise. Our nation is once again picking up an old American tradition. Unfortunately, quilting is no longer taught to us as children, so it is up to us to learn as adults. If you follow these steps you can begin to learn the intricacies of quilting.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose a quilting pattern that commemorates the life event, political statement or holiday that you are trying to memorialize. There are dozens of websites where free quilt patterns can be found. Fabric stores also carry patterns. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose an appropriate fabric. Most quilts are made from quilting cotton, but other fabrics can be used too. Crazy quilts, for example, are often made from satins and velvets. You will want to choose a fabric that will not fade or shrink and can stand up to normal wear and tear. Don't forget to buy batting and fabric for backing. The thicker the batting, the warmer the quilt. Your backing material will need to be at least 4 inches larger than your quilt face.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Cut out your quilt blocks. Be sure to cut out enough blocks of each color to complete your quilt. The more colors you choose, the more complex the pattern.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Iron your blocks and crease the edges with a 1/4 inch fold. Be sure that the fold is straight. Sew your blocks together in strips. Set your sewing machine to 1/4 inch seam allowance. Most beginners don't realize there is a difference in the seam allowance of clothing and quilting. The 1/4 inch seam allowance will ensure that your quilt has a smooth surface. Now sew your strips together to form the face of the quilt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Lay all three layers of your quilt out on top of each other. The backing material should be laid down on the bottom; your quilt face should be laid face down on top of the backing and the batting material on top.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew together your layers using a sewing machine. Sew three sides of the quilt together completely, but on the fourth side, leave a two foot opening. Turn your quilt right side out and finish the edge by hand. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew the layers together using matching or contrasting thread. Begin in the middle of the quilt and work your way out. You can do this by hand or by machine.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is an excellent example of a modern day commemorative quilt. To learn more about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps charity, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;blanket&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7915337762453735810?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilts-enrich.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilts Enrich America's Quilting Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin:0in; 	margin-bottom:.0001pt; 	text-align:right; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	direction:rtl; 	unicode-bidi:embed; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the days of mass immigration from &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Europe&lt;/st1:place&gt;, the American quilting tradition has been a constantly evolving amalgam of color and texture, pattern and symbolism. Because immigrants from all over the world brought their quilts with them from their foreign lands, women of old began borrowing each others traditions. Eventually, these combinations of styles became known and the American Melting Pot quilts. In time, these quilts would become known as patchwork quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Almost all women quilted, from farm wives to society matrons, young girls to young mothers. The only difference in their patchwork quilts was the quality, texture and colors of the fabrics used. Fabric society women used in patchwork quilts, such as linen and silk, where much more expensive and difficult to come by than cotton harvested from old shirts and sheets. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Young women aspired to have as many as 13 quilts in her possession as part of her dowry chest. When she became engaged a commemorative double wedding ring pattern quilt was usually added. As the years passed, important milestones such as marriages, births, current events and political affiliations were commemorated through quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;American history can be tracked through the American quilt. For example, it is easy to distinguish the difference between a Civil War Era quilt and a Spanish American War era quilt. As Americans moved westward, each state eventually had its own quilt. Economic times are reflected in the colors, fabric quality and fabric availability and pattern. During the Roaring 20's crazy quilts made of satin or silk were popular. During the Great Depression sack cloth from old flour sacks was all that was available to women.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Today, the Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America is commemorating and reflecting our nation's current situation. Comprised of 13 different fabrics in red, white and blue that reflect current popular decorating hues, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents the 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt features President Barak Obama's inaugural address in entirety. The words "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" are prominently displayed. To learn about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s poor though the a buy one, give one charitable project, please visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America enriches an old American tradition: commemorative quilting. From state quilts created by pioneers to the union quilts with red white and blue motifs, quilting has long since become a part of the fabric of our nation. Thanks to the Patchwork Heritage quilt, that fabric just got a little more interesting. &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8804188461621129190?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/needy-people-nation-wide-will-receive.html" &gt;Needy People Nation Wide Will Receive Warm &lt;b&gt;Blankets&lt;/b&gt; From Blanket America’s Philanthropic Efforts.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a new charity with a noble goal in mind.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;With the help of Gifts in Kind International, one of the best charities in the country, the company aims to provide assistance to needy American families from all over the country through its Buy 1, Give 1 model.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Using this model, Blanket America is gradually bridging the gap between business and charity as a way of showing to the world that it is possible to match what is being consumed to what is being donated to the needy.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;The Buy 1, Give 1 model revolves around the Patchwork Heritage Quilt, which is Blanket America’s pride and joy.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Made with high quality fabrics and done with outstanding craftsmanship, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is the message that Blanket America wants to send to the American community, a message that speaks of unity, pride as a people, and strength when facing tough economical and political crises.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;By buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, a customer is at the same time donating a blanket to a needy American family.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Blanket America wishes to reach a million needy families and is hoping to increase that number throughout the year 2010.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a product born out of inspiration from the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Lauding the American people as having a “patchwork heritage”, he encouraged America to stand together, unite with one another despite having different races and different cultures, and to be strong in the face of hardship and challenge economically and politically.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Blanket America aims to respond to this call of action through its Patchwork Heritage Quilt, which has his inaugural speech at the back printed on a beautiful Lady Liberty background.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;On the front is a beautiful patchwork of 13 different fabrics.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;When put together, it forms the 13 original American colonies.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It makes a great tapestry for the home as well as a soft and comfy piece of bedding for the bedroom.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained much support from Gifts in Kind, International which is in charge of distributing the &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to the needy families.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney are just some of the companies that have also made their support known to Blanket America.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Customers who wish to purchase the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can preorder through Amazon, QVC, or through Blanket America’s website since the quilts will be available for shipping come mid-January.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Check out the official website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6676215870051418950?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-impresses-with-strong.html" &gt;Blanket America Impresses with Strong Opening&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s founder, Mesh Gelman, has given life to a project that has taken the nation by storm. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 President Barak &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; gave his inspirational inaugural address and told our great nation that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. With those words the seed of thought was planted. What if the greatest economy in human history matched what it consumed with what it donated? Gelman and his crew then created an innovative new approach to charitable giving that answers that question. Hence, Blanket America's charitable project was created and the Patchwork Heritage collection was born.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Gelman's new project implements a buy one, give one model. That is, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. By implementing this program, we, as consumers, will match what we spend with what we give. Now that is a project worth investing in!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is an attractive blend of modern design, tradition and patriotic symbolism. The fabric colors are an eye-catching blend of red, white and blue that is modern enough to match nearly any décor while still capturing the fundamentals of American patriotic color schemes. The quilt is sewn from 13 unique fabrics to represent our 13 original colonies. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The reverse of the quilt is far less subtle in its patriotic message. The foreground boldly displays President Barak Obama's inaugural address, where he stated that "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." In the background the same lady liberty that graces &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:placename w:st="on"&gt;Elis&lt;/st1:placename&gt;  &lt;st1:placetype w:st="on"&gt;Island&lt;/st1:placetype&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;, stands proudly erect, holding her torch of freedom.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The collection, which includes &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;throw&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; pillows, decorative shams and quilt sizes ranging from throw to king, is perfectly harmonized. Anyone should be proud to display such a striking collection. The quilt keeps more than the body warm; it also warms the heart. Supporters can feel good knowing that their purchase is warming someone in need. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Throughout the month of December the Patchwork Heritage Collection has been available for pre-sales. The word has spread and big name companies have jumped on board to support the cause. QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney Stores all have the collection available for pre-sales. To learn more about Blanket America, visit their website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7165680076846787655?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/today-show-helps-blanket-america-for.html" &gt;Today Show Helps a Blanket America for a Good Cause&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Today Show, with host Lester Holt, featured an appearance with Mesh Gelman, founder of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;, in order to help their charitable cause. Showcased on the show was the Patchwork Heritage quilt, designed by Gelman and his team of designers. Gelman, with the help of the Today Show, used this platform to address the growing poverty problem in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, it is estimated that over thirty five million Americans are living below the poverty line. Many of our nation's citizens are in desperate need of charitable contributions. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 Barak Obama told the nation that "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Those words inspired Mesh Gelman and his team to create the Patchwork Heritage quilt, and in turn, the Blanket America charitable organization.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America model of giving is this: Buy One, Give One. That is to say, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new, warm, fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined hands with Blanket America in order to act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is created by using thirteen different fabrics in order to represent our thirteen original colonies. The colors used are a blend of modern and aesthetically pleasing hues of red, white and blue that matches nearly every décor. The reverse uses a base fabric of creamy beige whose background features lady liberty standing proudly erect. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is boldly displayed in entirety and the words "patchwork heritage" are prominently highlighted.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The entire collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilts in king, queen and throw sizes. Designed to match the quilts are decorative pillow shams and throw pillows. The collection can be used functionally or as a commemorative display. Any home would be proud to display such a patriotic collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Thanks to Mesh Gelman's innovative approach to charitable giving and the support of the Today Show, Gifts in Kind International, QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney stores, Blanket America's projected goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated may be reached, or even surpassed. To show support for the project, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8237643940723382203?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-launches-with-celebrity.html" &gt;Blanket America Launches with Celebrity PSA at Sundance 2010&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;Park City, UT&lt;/span&gt; - On January 20, 2009 the President, in his inaugural speech, called us to unite &amp;amp; act. His powerful words of “our &lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;patchwork heritage&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/i&gt;is a strength, not a weakness” was a bipartisan call to action!&amp;nbsp; To commemorate the one year anniversary of this message of hope, &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt; will launch their &lt;i&gt;Buy 1, Give 1&lt;/i&gt; campaign with a celebrity PSA filmed at the &lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;Talent Resources Sky Suite&lt;/span&gt; at the Sky Lodge hotel in Park City, UT from Friday, January 22 through Sunday, January 24 during Sundance 2010.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;WHAT:&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp; With over 40 million Americans living in below the poverty level, and with heating costs and joblessness on the rise, it is clear that individuals must work together to fulfill Obama’s pledge to transform America.&amp;nbsp; Ask your friends to join Blanket America and show the nation it's time for a change.&amp;nbsp; Spread the message, buy a blanket, or just donate some &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; by visiting us on Facebook &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and following us on Twitter &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/blanketamerica" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;http://twitter.com/blanketamerica&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;Blanket America is about more than &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;. It is about changing the way charity and business works.&amp;nbsp; Most of all, it is about encouraging citizens to become more than consumers. We dream of a society in which people with the resources to feed themselves, clothe themselves, and shelter themselves from the cold take some responsibility, every time they make a purchase, for those who are in need.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;Retailers who have joined Blanket America in their goal to supply 1,000,000 Americans in need&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; with &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; for 2010 include &lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;JC Penney, QVC &lt;/span&gt;and&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;Amazon.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;WHO:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; Celebrities expected to attend include &lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;Wilmer Vilderamma, Malin Ackerman, Adrian Brody, James Gandolfini, James Franco, Adrian Grenier, Khloe Kardashian, DJ Aoki, Danny Masterson, America Ferrara, Adrienne Bailon, Ian Ziering, Stephanie Pratt&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt; from &lt;i&gt;The Hills &lt;/i&gt;and more.&amp;nbsp; DJs&amp;nbsp;set to perform include &lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;Mel DeBarge, Sam French, DJ Equal, Josh Madden, DJ Spider DJ Mia Moretti &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;and&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt; Electric Violinist Caitlin Moe&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;WHERE:&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Talent Resources Sky Suite&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The Sky Lodge&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;201 Heber Avenue &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Park City, UT 84060 &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;WHEN:&lt;/span&gt; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Friday, January 22:&amp;nbsp; 1pm – 5pm&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Saturday, January 23:&amp;nbsp; 11am – 5pm&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday, January 24:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 11am – 5pm&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"&gt;About Blanket America&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt; (&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="color: blue;"&gt;www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNoSpacing"&gt;Blanket America was established on the idea that our strength is in our unity. Only through coming together can individuals make real progress and lasting change.&amp;nbsp; During his inaugural speech, President Obama called on Americans of every color and creed, language and culture, to join hands against the challenges that face our country and our world. Blanket America is our response to this call to action.&amp;nbsp; For every quilt sold, Blanket America will donate a blanket to an American in need with a goal of reaching 1 million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; in 2010. With over 40 million Americans living in poverty, and with heating costs and joblessness on the rise, it is clear that individuals must work together to accomplish the promise of America.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-819365090916480261?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage_09.html" &gt;Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is one of the very few charitable organizations that adopted a Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; This model aims to bridge the gap between business and charity by encouraging American consumers to buy a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the company’s main product, in order to help poor American families in need.&amp;nbsp; This project is supported by well-known organizations and companies, one of which is Gifts in Kind, International.&amp;nbsp; Blanket America is off to a great start thanks to these companies, and with one million as their initial goal, they are set into increasing that number all throughout 2010 as their response to President Barack Obama’s call for unity and strength in the American people.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;With over 40 million people suffering from poverty and struggling with the financial crisis, Blanket America is determined to help elevate such poverty by donating one fleece blanket to a needy American for every Patchwork Heritage Quilt bought by a consumer.&amp;nbsp; It aims to turn their mission into a reality, which is represented by a simple question, “What if the greatest economy in human history is able to match what it consumed with what it donated?”&amp;nbsp; Through this, Blanket America is actively encouraging the people to share their support either by buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt or by donating a blanket directly to those in need of assistance.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained a lot of publicity since it’s launching of the Buy 1, Give 1 model with companies like Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney showing their utmost support through their respective websites.&amp;nbsp; As of today, customers who are interested in buying the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can purchase them from Amazon.com or QVC.com, each with their own promos and discounts for the item.&amp;nbsp; Prices can range from $50 to $99.99 depending on the size and the function of the product.&amp;nbsp; These are all on a preorder basis as the Patchwork Heritage Quilt will be available come mid-January 2010.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Quilting has long been in the American culture as a medium when there was a need to send a message in secret.&amp;nbsp; This is why Blanket America has chosen the Patchwork Heritage Quilt as its message to the people regarding the importance of unity and strength as a people.&amp;nbsp; The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a beautifully designed quilt made with high quality materials that make it soft to the touch and a wonderful addition to the bedroom.&amp;nbsp; The front of the quilt shows 12 different fabrics that, when put together, displays the 13 American colonies.&amp;nbsp; The back is the highlight of the product, which has the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a background of Lady Liberty.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7132211936540498205?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-5562157082634989303?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=76bZ547WtIw:ZCJciLgk0Is:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/76bZ547WtIw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/76bZ547WtIw/throw-blanket-america-hits-ground.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/throw-blanket-america-hits-ground.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-2260585329521101931</guid><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:10:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-01T14:10:58.591-08:00</atom:updated><title>Obama - Blanket America: Bringing Back an American Tradition</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-bringing-back-american.html" &gt;Blanket America: Bringing Back an American Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin:0in; 	margin-bottom:.0001pt; 	text-align:right; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	direction:rtl; 	unicode-bidi:embed; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 	{size:595.3pt 841.9pt; 	margin:.5in 32.8pt 1.0in .5in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0; 	mso-gutter-direction:rtl;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When our ancestors crossed the oceans to reach the new land, they brought with them not just their families and a few meager possessions. They brought with them their own unique languages, styles and traditions. One tradition nearly every woman from every country brought with her was her own unique quilting pattern, fabric and color preferences. Eventually those traditions, patterns and preferences melded together and evolved into a truly American style of quilt called patchwork. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Soon, commemorative patchwork quilts became a new tradition. Major life events, such as engagements, were memorialized with quilts. With westward expansion came the advent of the state quilt. Political affiliations, union preferences and even wars were memorialized through statement &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;. Before women's suffrage gave women the right to vote in elections, their preferences were stated through fabric, needle and thread. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Through high times and low times, our nation's history can be tracked through quilts. During war time, patchwork colors tended to be duller and fabric quality lower. During times of peace and prosperity fabrics were brighter, patterns more intricate, quality of fabrics higher and richer and variety of fabrics greater. During the Roaring 20's fine linen and silks were used to make crazy quilts. When the Great Depression stuck ten years later, old flour sacks became the only fabrics available for making quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;During political strife, strong statements were made. When labor unions became legal in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, many women made use of red, white and blue fabrics to show their support. During times of war nearly all women used red, white and blue fabrics when they were available in order to show their patriotic pride, appreciation and support of our troops. Today that tradition is no different.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt brings back many old American traditions from bygone eras. The face of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics in hues of red, white and blue which represent our 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt is a subdued creamy beige color and features lady liberty standing proudly in the background. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is printed on the foreground, with the now famous words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" highlighted prominently. The Patchwork Heritage quilt benefits charity through a buy one, give one program. To learn more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;patchwork&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is bringing back an old American tradition of commemorative quilting. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is a new charitable organization who is implementing an innovative new concept of giving: buy one, give one. &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-4546400141393015952?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-reflects.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Reflects Current Times&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;American quilting tradition has always included a reflection of current events, whether it is in the maker's personal life or the nation as a whole. Quilting has been a past time and necessity of women for hundred of years. As immigrants made their way from their old countries to the new world, their traditions of quilting followed them. Eventually, these separate styles and traditions melded together and eventually evolved to form a new American tradition: patchwork quilts.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Historians and collectors alike can track American political and economic histories through quilts. Fabric types, colors and patterns can tell us whether or not the nation was prosperous and whether or not there was a strong political movement the maker was involved in. before the industrial revolution changed fabric production, every scrap was precious. All homes had a scrap bag. It is believed that this is how patchwork pieces used for quilts came about. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;In the beginning, patchwork was haphazard in design. Most times quilt were sewn together with no real pattern, only warmth, in mind. Soon, though, different patterns evolved. &amp;nbsp;Life events, such as marriages and births, were recorded with the needle. Landscapes and gardens, family traditions, holidays and even states were celebrated described in quilts, much like hieroglyphs or murals described events and stories for other cultures. Political events, such as presidencies, wars, and unionization were commemorated with quilts. Before women's suffrage gave women the right to vote, quilts were their political platform.&amp;nbsp; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Styles in red, white and blue, much like the Patchwork Heritage quilts used today were sewn in celebration of political pride. Most people think of quilts as just bed coverings. But to so many before us, they were a way to make a strong and lasting statement. In fact, the words spoken hundreds of years ago through quilts are still heard today. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt created by Blanket America is carrying on the tradition of &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s commemorative statement quilt. 13 fabrics represent our 13 original colonies. Barak Obama's presidential inaugural address is printed on the background with the words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" highlighted. The Patchwork Heritage quilt is part of a buy one, give one charitable project with a goal of helping one million American poor get a new, warm blanket this year. To learn more visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;poor&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7604267975728882188?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-shows.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Shows Patriotic Pride through Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:49.5pt 32.8pt 1.0in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0; mso-gutter-direction:rtl;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the days of old when our ancestors were crossing the ocean in order to immigrate to the new world, American quilting tradition has been evolving. Women from every country contributed ideas, patterns and styles that eventually combined into one basic American style of quilting that was totally unique and strikingly attractive. This style came to be known as patchwork. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Before the industrial revolution fabric was prohibitively expensive. Cost was almost always the deciding factor of what style, color, quality of fabrics and pattern would be used in the making of the quilt. All pre industrial revolution homes came equipped with a scrap bag. As fabric was such a precious commodity, every bit was saved. Homes almost never bought fabrics with the sole purpose of quilting in mind. Scraps were always use, hence the creation of the patchwork quilt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Patchwork quilts reflect our nation's economic and political times. When our country was new and the industrial revolution had yet to take place, quilting patters were haphazard. As our nation grew and prospered, patterns became recognizable. With time patterns grew to become incredibly intricate. Soon, women began making statements through quilting. Red, white and blues appeared in quilts during war time to show patriotic pride.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When westward expansion took place women began creating state quilts. Eventually, quilts began to reflect political preferences, major life events and economic times. When our country unionized and labor laws were enacted, many women showed their support by sewing together red, white and blue patches in incredibly intricate patterns. American flag patterns are popular during times of political strife, low economic times and war. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Today quilting has tapered off as a national pastime for women. While quilting is not as popular as it once was, quilts themselves are more highly valued than ever. Many of us can appreciate the tradition and heritage of the American patchwork quilt. Recently, a new patriotic commemorative quilt was created to help Americans in need. The Patchwork Heritage quilt is part of a buy one, give one program being implemented by the Blanket America charitable organization to provide warm &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; for the needy. To find out more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;quilt&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection shows patriotic American pride while bringing back old American traditions. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is implementing a buy one, give one charity, where proceeds from the sale of the Patchwork Heritage quilts buy one new fleece blanket to be donated to charity.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7295273091154177202?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/obamas-inaugural-speech-inspires-change.html" &gt;Obama's Inaugural Speech Inspires Change&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One year ago, President Barak Obama gave his inaugural address to record crowds. His campaign was run on the promise of hope and change. With the anniversary of his speech upon us, it's time to reflect on the past years events in order to take stock of where we are in our lives. What has Barak Obama done for this nation? By some estimates: nothing. But by others: everything. &amp;nbsp;What did that speech change about the lives of Americans?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The presidential inaugural address was a call to action for the American people. Obama made it clear that in our current situation it would take the help of each individual American to make a change within our nation. Obama said, "what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American" and "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;." &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;With that call to action came a wave of response. American volunteerism surged and is still running strong. Immediately after that speech was made, food banks that were critically low began to slowly fill back up. Homeless shelters received much needed donations and charitable organizations that were nearly defunct due to high demand were given hope for tomorrow.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;But, nearly a year later, some of those donations and food drives have slowed. Due to the economic recession and the war, our nation is facing times some are comparing to the Great Depression. That is why the Blanket America charitable organization was formed. The &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt; quilt was created with the idea of uniting &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; under one blanket. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; has come up with the perfect response to the presidential call to action. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When Obama said, "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," Mesh Gelman and his design crew created the Patchwork Heritage quilt to benefit charity. For every quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International, one of the largest charitable organizations in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, is acting as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to Americans in need. Their goal is to help one million Americans in need throughout the next year. To learn about how you can help, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2517129639773955024?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-continues-tradition-of.html" &gt;Blanket America Continues Tradition of Patriotic Symbolism&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Showing patriotic pride has been a part of American tradition since our country was founded. American pride has been expressed through music, quilting, style of dress and even through food. Our national monuments, like Lady Liberty, the &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:placename w:st="on"&gt;Washington&lt;/st1:placename&gt; &lt;st1:placetype w:st="on"&gt;Monument&lt;/st1:placetype&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt; and dozens of war memorials all express pride and support for our nation. During war time Americans express an especially fervent national pride. Tough economic times also garner much support and patriotism by the people. When Martha Washington created our first flag in red, white and blue with 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies, she began a tradition that is still going strong today. Before women were given the right to vote, sewing was their political platform. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Before the industrial revolution, fabrics were considered precious and no scraps were wasted. From women's scrap bins, patchwork quilts were born. During war times, red, white and blue scraps were sewn together in order to show national pride. For wealthy families who could afford to buy fabric in bulk, their quilts were sometimes exact replicas of the American flag. It is incredibly symbolic that, during times of war, people wrapped themselves in American flags for warmth and comfort. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;When pioneers began westward expansion and states were added to the union, women began designing and creating a quilt for each state. Much like state flags, state quilts became a part of the national conversation. Colors of the state flag were used and an appliqué of the state could be sewn onto the face of the quilt. Sometimes appliqués of state birds and state flowers, monuments and animals, such as horses and buffalo, have been added to blocks for added flair. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Political movements were also reflected through needle and thread. Quilts with national maps showing red and blue states were created. Political polarization can be tracked through some quilts. When labor laws were finally enacted in &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;, union members wives sewed hundreds of red, white and blue quilts in celebration of such an important event. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt commemorates our national unity. Barak Obama's presidential inaugural address is printed on the backing while lady liberty stands proudly in the background. The words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" are highlighted. The face of the quilt is comprised of 13 different fabrics which represent our 13 original colonies. In true American wartime tradition, the quilt colors feature hues of red, white and blue. The quilt is being sold as part of a buy one, give one charitable project whose goal is to donate one million warm &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. To learn more, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;charity&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2567066754653105876?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-spreads-word-on-3.html" &gt;Blanket America Spreads The Word On 3 Popular Social Media Websites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is available in the three most popular social media websites in the world, namely Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.&amp;nbsp; This is a clear sign that the organization is sincere in its mission-vision and would like to reach out to the American people, as well as the rest of the world, in order to encourage them to join hands in helping fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering from poverty and the financial crisis.&amp;nbsp; Visitors will find a Blanket America Facebook application with an interactive map of the country is displayed showing each state’s progress and links that will direct interested customers to the preorder page or the donate-a-blanket-directly page.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is a newly formed charitable organization with an initial goal of helping one million American families in need of assistance since the start of the holiday season.&amp;nbsp; It joined hands with Gifts in Kind, International and are now gaining much more support from big names like Fast Company, JCPenney, Amazon.com, and QVC.&amp;nbsp; In fact, Blanket America got its first debut on broadcast television on the QVC show last December 28 and 29 wherein they were able to tell their story, share the cause, and encourage the American viewers to help by participating in the Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; The airtime given to the company is said to increase sales significantly, which could lead to more airtime in the future.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America’s main product is the Patchwork Heritage Quilt with clear pictures of the quilt displayed in the official website.&amp;nbsp; It is a beautiful patchwork quilt with two eye-catching designs on both sides.&amp;nbsp; On the front is a series of fabrics that, when patched together, form the 13 American colonies while on the back is the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a lovely Lady Liberty background, from which the Patchwork Heritage Quilt was born out of.&amp;nbsp; It was from the president’s message to the people and his praise for America’s “patchwork heritage” that Blanket America came to be, which is why the speech is the quilt’s main highlight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America partnered itself with one of the best charitable organizations in the country known as Gifts in Kind, International and as of today, the Patchwork Heritage Quilt is set to be available for consumers come mid-January and can be preordered from Amazon.com, QVC.com, and Blanket America’s main website.&amp;nbsp; Just visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt; for more information on the quilt and on Blanket America.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Facebook-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/"&gt;http://apps.facebook.com/blanketamerica/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf"&gt;http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174299762842&amp;amp;ref=mf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&amp;nbsp;Blanket America On Youtube- &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hcT95pDiY&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America On Amazon-&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Blanket-America-Patchwork-Heritage-Collection/dp/B002VPECLU/ref=cl_tr_dp&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6220679599578364742?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-debuts-on-qvc.html" &gt;Blanket America Debuts on QVC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; made its much anticipated debut on the home shopping channel QVC December 28&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; and 29&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;. Thanks to Blanket America's innovative buy one, give one approach to charity, their project is getting off the ground with enormous success. The Patchwork Heritage Collection is Blanket America's way of helping the public to help those in need while getting something in return.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket America's charitable organization was established with the goal in mind of helping one million Americans stay &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;warm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; during the harshest winter months America has been subjected to in years, possibly decades. Due to the recession, it is estimated that 35 million Americans are living in poverty. With unemployment rates through the roof and costs on the rise, there has never been a better time to help someone in need.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection idea bloomed while Mesh Gelman and his creative team watched the presidential inaugural address on January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009. When President Barak Obama told our nation that our patchwork heritage was a strength and not a weakness, the designer in Gelman latched on to a new idea. Over the next several months, he and his creative team created the Patchwork Heritage Collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Created with 13 different fabrics, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents our original 13 colonies. Modern color combinations in tones of red, white and blue grace the face of the quilt. On the reverse, the presidential inaugural address is printed over a symbolic lady liberty background. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The collection is not limited to a quilt, however. The full line includes decorative pillows, pillow shams, and throws. The decorative pillows feature the American Bald Eagle in flight over a background of two American flags. Running in the Blanket America theme, the pillow states, "We know that our Patchwork Heritage is a strength, not a weakness." The fabric color is a neutral creamy beige color that blends well with any décor. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The pillow shams also run in the same theme as the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;. The shams are comprised of 13 different fabrics in modern decorative tones of red, white and blue which represent our 13 original colonies. The Patchwork Heritage throws are a smaller version of the quilt. The same creative design that graces the back of the quilt also graces the throw. Like the Patchwork Heritage quilt, the throw is also made of 13 fabrics to represent our fledgling nation. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;While the Patchwork Heritage Collection is still on pre-order, QVC is offering the public a discount. The shams, now offered for $24.12 will later be priced at $29. Decorative pillows are selling at the pre-order price of $17.88, but prices will rise to $21.50. The throw is now on sale for $49, the queen for $66 and the king for $81, which will rise to $59, $79 and $99 respectively. Now is the best time to order your Patchwork Heritage Collection piece at a great discount price through QVC!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7783492168428913540?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilts-enrich.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilts Enrich America's Quilting Tradition&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin:0in; 	margin-bottom:.0001pt; 	text-align:right; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	direction:rtl; 	unicode-bidi:embed; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since the days of mass immigration from &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Europe&lt;/st1:place&gt;, the American quilting tradition has been a constantly evolving amalgam of color and texture, pattern and symbolism. Because immigrants from all over the world brought their quilts with them from their foreign lands, women of old began borrowing each others traditions. Eventually, these combinations of styles became known and the American Melting Pot quilts. In time, these quilts would become known as patchwork quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Almost all women quilted, from farm wives to society matrons, young girls to young mothers. The only difference in their patchwork quilts was the quality, texture and colors of the fabrics used. Fabric society women used in patchwork quilts, such as linen and silk, where much more expensive and difficult to come by than cotton harvested from old shirts and sheets. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Young women aspired to have as many as 13 quilts in her possession as part of her dowry chest. When she became engaged a commemorative double wedding ring pattern quilt was usually added. As the years passed, important milestones such as marriages, births, current events and political affiliations were commemorated through quilts. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;American history can be tracked through the American quilt. For example, it is easy to distinguish the difference between a Civil War Era quilt and a Spanish American War era quilt. As Americans moved westward, each state eventually had its own quilt. Economic times are reflected in the colors, fabric quality and fabric availability and pattern. During the Roaring 20's crazy quilts made of satin or silk were popular. During the Great Depression sack cloth from old flour sacks was all that was available to women.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Today, the Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America is commemorating and reflecting our nation's current situation. Comprised of 13 different fabrics in red, white and blue that reflect current popular decorating hues, the Patchwork Heritage quilt represents the 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt features President Barak Obama's inaugural address in entirety. The words "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" are prominently displayed. To learn about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s poor though the a buy one, give one charitable project, please visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt by Blanket America enriches an old American tradition: commemorative quilting. From state quilts created by pioneers to the union quilts with red white and blue motifs, quilting has long since become a part of the fabric of our nation. Thanks to the Patchwork Heritage quilt, that fabric just got a little more interesting. &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8804188461621129190?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/commemorative-quilts-mattress-size-and.html" &gt;Commemorative Quilts, Mattress Size and Quilt Design Options&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1429083425; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:918294880 -473126700 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:21.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:21.0pt; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;If you are a first timer quilt maker, you are about to embark on a project that will consume considerable amounts of time and creative resources. Before you begin, check out your options for quit design. Is this quilt going to be a gift? The most valued gifts are those that commemorate special events in loved ones lives, historic moments or memorialize a national event or holiday.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Knowing standard mattress sizes is the first step to beginning to plan your quilt. Below is a list of standard bed mattress measurements:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Crib Mattress Size: 28" by 52"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Twin Mattress Size: 39" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Long Twin Mattress Size: 36" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Full Mattress Size: 54" by 75"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Queen Mattress Size: 60" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;King Mattress: 76" by 80"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 21pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;California King Mattress Size: 72" by 84"&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Queen sizes mattresses are the most common, so if you're not sure of what size to make, queen is usually a safe bet. Now you need to decide how much of a drop you want on your quilt. That is, how far down should the quilt hang over each side of the bed for the best look? Does the recipient use a dust ruffle on their bed? If so, it may be a good idea to choose a design that stops on the edge of the mattress and has a drop that extends two to three inches over the top edge of the dust ruffle.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Now it is time to choose a pattern. There are dozens of websites that offer free quilt patterns. What are you commemorating? If you have yet to decide what occasion to commemorate, look for famous quilts to get ideas from. Classic designs are the double wedding ring pattern and drunkards path. Special appliqués are also popular and are a great way to commemorate a holiday or birth of a baby. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;One of the hottest new quilts on the market today is the Patchwork Heritage quilt. It is made from thirteen different fabrics that represent the thirteen original colonies. The quilt is made by Blanket America and is part of a collection that includes shams and decorative pillows. To see pictures of the quilt, go to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Are you planning on making matching pillow cases or shams? If so, you will need to know what pillow size to use. The best shams reflect the design of the quilt and use accent colors that perfectly offset the colors used in the quilt. Now that you have decided what will work best for you, all you have to do is start!&lt;span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-1498775239254657417?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-2260585329521101931?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:yIl2AUoC8zA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:dnMXMwOfBR0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:TzevzKxY174"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:l6gmwiTKsz0"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:KwTdNBX3Jqk"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:qj6IDK7rITs"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:V_sGLiPBpWU"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?i=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?a=QWbO6XRbrDM:bfD6LkPbAJ0:7Q72WNTAKBA"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/BlanketAmerica?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~4/QWbO6XRbrDM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BlanketAmerica/~3/QWbO6XRbrDM/obama-blanket-america-bringing-back.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (teamdwms)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com/2010/02/obama-blanket-america-bringing-back.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7586005566564616141.post-7847999742503601792</guid><pubDate>Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-01-29T16:48:01.035-08:00</atom:updated><title>Patchwork heritage - Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People</title><description>&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-patchwork-heritage_09.html" &gt;Blanket America Patchwork Heritage Quilt Delivers a Message to the People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt; &lt;!--  /* Font Definitions */  @font-face 	{font-family:"Cambria Math"; 	panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:roman; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face 	{font-family:Calibri; 	panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; 	mso-font-charset:0; 	mso-generic-font-family:swiss; 	mso-font-pitch:variable; 	mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;}  /* Style Definitions */  p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal 	{mso-style-unhide:no; 	mso-style-qformat:yes; 	mso-style-parent:""; 	margin-top:0in; 	margin-right:0in; 	margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	margin-left:0in; 	text-align:justify; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:12.0pt; 	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink 	{mso-style-priority:99; 	color:blue; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed 	{mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	color:purple; 	mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; 	text-decoration:underline; 	text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault 	{mso-style-type:export-only; 	mso-default-props:yes; 	font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 	{size:8.5in 11.0in; 	margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; 	mso-header-margin:.5in; 	mso-footer-margin:.5in; 	mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 	{page:Section1;} --&gt; &lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America is one of the very few charitable organizations that adopted a Buy 1, Give 1 model.&amp;nbsp; This model aims to bridge the gap between business and charity by encouraging American consumers to buy a Patchwork Heritage Quilt, the company’s main product, in order to help poor American families in need.&amp;nbsp; This project is supported by well-known organizations and companies, one of which is Gifts in Kind, International.&amp;nbsp; Blanket America is off to a great start thanks to these companies, and with one million as their initial goal, they are set into increasing that number all throughout 2010 as their response to President Barack Obama’s call for unity and strength in the American people.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;With over 40 million people suffering from poverty and struggling with the financial crisis, Blanket America is determined to help elevate such poverty by donating one fleece blanket to a needy American for every Patchwork Heritage Quilt bought by a consumer.&amp;nbsp; It aims to turn their mission into a reality, which is represented by a simple question, “What if the greatest economy in human history is able to match what it consumed with what it donated?”&amp;nbsp; Through this, Blanket America is actively encouraging the people to share their support either by buying a Patchwork Heritage Quilt or by donating a blanket directly to those in need of assistance.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Blanket America has gained a lot of publicity since it’s launching of the Buy 1, Give 1 model with companies like Amazon.com, QVC, and JCPenney showing their utmost support through their respective websites.&amp;nbsp; As of today, customers who are interested in buying the Patchwork Heritage Quilt can purchase them from Amazon.com or QVC.com, each with their own promos and discounts for the item.&amp;nbsp; Prices can range from $50 to $99.99 depending on the size and the function of the product.&amp;nbsp; These are all on a preorder basis as the Patchwork Heritage Quilt will be available come mid-January 2010.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;Quilting has long been in the American culture as a medium when there was a need to send a message in secret.&amp;nbsp; This is why Blanket America has chosen the Patchwork Heritage Quilt as its message to the people regarding the importance of unity and strength as a people.&amp;nbsp; The Patchwork Heritage Quilt is a beautifully designed quilt made with high quality materials that make it soft to the touch and a wonderful addition to the bedroom.&amp;nbsp; The front of the quilt shows 12 different fabrics that, when put together, displays the 13 American colonies.&amp;nbsp; The back is the highlight of the product, which has the inaugural speech of President Barack Obama printed on a background of Lady Liberty.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.BlanketAmerica.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7132211936540498205?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/today-show-helps-blanket-america-for.html" &gt;Today Show Helps a Blanket America for a Good Cause&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Today Show, with host Lester Holt, featured an appearance with Mesh Gelman, founder of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Blanket America&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;, in order to help their charitable cause. Showcased on the show was the Patchwork Heritage quilt, designed by Gelman and his team of designers. Gelman, with the help of the Today Show, used this platform to address the growing poverty problem in the &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;United States&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, it is estimated that over thirty five million Americans are living below the poverty line. Many of our nation's citizens are in desperate need of charitable contributions. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 Barak Obama told the nation that "our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Those words inspired Mesh Gelman and his team to create the Patchwork Heritage quilt, and in turn, the Blanket America charitable organization.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America model of giving is this: Buy One, Give One. That is to say, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new, warm, fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined hands with Blanket America in order to act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is created by using thirteen different fabrics in order to represent our thirteen original colonies. The colors used are a blend of modern and aesthetically pleasing hues of red, white and blue that matches nearly every décor. The reverse uses a base fabric of creamy beige whose background features lady liberty standing proudly erect. President Barak Obama's inaugural address is boldly displayed in entirety and the words "patchwork heritage" are prominently highlighted.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The entire collection includes the Patchwork Heritage quilts in king, queen and throw sizes. Designed to match the quilts are decorative pillow shams and throw pillows. The collection can be used functionally or as a commemorative display. Any home would be proud to display such a patriotic collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Thanks to Mesh Gelman's innovative approach to charitable giving and the support of the Today Show, Gifts in Kind International, QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney stores, Blanket America's projected goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated may be reached, or even surpassed. To show support for the project, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-8237643940723382203?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-hits-ground-running.html" &gt;Blanket America Hits the Ground Running&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Blanket America charitable organization recently pre-launched its &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Patchwork Heritage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; collection on a national level. The national retail chain JC Penney has made the collection available on its website for pre-sales and will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. Amazon.com has given Blanket America a big boost by making the offering the Patchwork Heritage collection for pre-sale on its website. The shopping network QVC recently debuted the Patchwork Heritage Collection with enormous success. All signs are pointing to a success launch of the collection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection was inspired by President Barak Obama's inaugural address when he said "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Too often Americans find something to disagree about. Political gaps are widening in our nation and unity is at a critically low point. Obama called our nation to action by pointing out that though we may not agree, we all have something we can contribute in order to help our fellow man during these tough economic times.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Since the recession began in 2008, millions of Americans have involuntarily been plunged into poverty. It is estimated that over 35 million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2009. The economy is recovering, though it will take time. Job creation is slow and the market is seemingly growing at a snail pace. With the unemployment rate at 10%, it is obvious that there has never been a better time to help fellow Americans.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is a buy one, give one charity. That is, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. Gifts in Kind International has joined the cause and will act as an intermediary to distribute the donated &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; throughout &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Lester Holt of the Today Show had Mesh Gelman, the creator of Blanket America, on the show in order to highlight the growing poverty epidemic in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; and to show support for the cause. During the show, Gelman pledged 5000 &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. Since that time, the project has taken off. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; now has support on Facebook and through Twitter. It seems that support for the cause is coming in from all venues. It looks like Blanket America will be a huge success.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2401288403973767128?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-sets-goal-of-one.html" &gt;Blanket America sets Goal of One Million &lt;b&gt;Blankets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt; is a new charity formed in 2009 with the goal in mind of helping one million needy Americans get a warm fleece blanket. Since the recession began in 2008, many Americans have been involuntarily plunged into poverty. It is estimated that in 2009 more than 35 million Americans were living in poverty. During President Barak &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;'s inaugural address on January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 he called the nation to action. He also highlighted that "We know our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;In his &lt;st1:city w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;Manhattan&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt; office, Mesh Gelman and his crew watched the inaugural address. When these words were spoken, an idea formed. Being a designer, Gelman latched on to the words patchwork heritage. In the coming months the Patchwork Heritage quilt was born. During this creative process, Gelman and his crew asked themselves, "What if the greatest economy in human history matched what it consumed with what it donated?" Gelman and his team soon came up with a way to make that concept a reality. They created a new and innovative way to give and receive: Buy one, Give one. In a nut shell, Blanket America will donate a new fleece blanket for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The design of the Patchwork Heritage quilt and its subsequent accent pieces combine to create a collection which is inspirational, patriotic and attractive. President Barak Obama's call to action and patchwork heritage quote is highlighted as part of the entire presidential inaugural address printed on the back of the quilt. The face of the quilt is an eye catching combination of red, white and blue patchwork blocks sewn together in a traditional patchwork design. Each of the thirteen different fabrics represents one of the thirteen original colonies. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The decorative pillow shams compliment the quilt to perfection. The same patchwork design that graces the face of the quilt also graces the shams. The decorative throw pillows are an awesome accent piece, stating in graceful print that "we know our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." Two American flags and the American Bald Eagle in flight also grace the pillows. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;It's no surprise that when Mesh Gelman appeared on the Today Show to help kick off the project with style that pre-orders rose exponentially. The Today Show and Gelman used their platform to promote the Blanket America project and to highlight the growing poverty problem in &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;. Hopes are high that Blanket America can reach and surpass its projected goal of one million &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; donated to &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;charity&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-2113277557797746332?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/patchwork-heritage-quilt-gains-support.html" &gt;Patchwork Heritage Quilt Gains Support&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; is a new charitable project created to help one million of &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s poorest citizens get a warm blanket this year. Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, founded by Mesh Gelman, was inspired by President Barak Obama's now famous inaugural speech. When he said "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" Gelman took those words and ran with them. Gelman and his team of designers created a commemorative &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;patchwork&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; collection using modern design, tradition and innovation. As a result, an enormously successful collection was produced.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is comprised of 13 unique fabrics representing the 13 original colonies. Muted tones of red, white and blue lend the collection a modern, eye catching appearance. On the reverse of the quilt the entire presidential inaugural address is printed over a background featuring the statue of liberty. The quilt is an excellent blend of American statement quilting tradition and modern design. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The quilt is not the only piece in the collection. Gelman and his crew have also designed and created matching patchwork pillow shams that are the perfect compliment to the quilt. Accenting the shams and quilts with faultlessness are the decorative throw pillows. The pillows are sewn from a creamy beige fabric and highlight the words "we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." The pillows also feature and American Bald Eagle over two crossed American flags. The collection is eye-catching: an excellent addition to any patriotic home.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Big name retailers have caught wind of the project and have signed on to help. JC Penney stores will begin carrying the collection nationwide on January 23&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt;. They will also have the collection up for sale on their website and in their catalogue. Amazon.com has made the collection available to customers for pre-sale. QVC launched the Patchwork Heritage Collection just after Christmas and is offering discount prices on the collection for pre-sale customers. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; tab-stops: 167.85pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Not only are big name retailers hopping aboard to lend a hand to this charitable cause. The Fast Company website wrote a lovely piece on the project. The collection was also featured on the Today Show, where Mesh Gelman pledged 5000 &lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt; to charity. To get news updates about Blanket America's charitable project and to show your support for the cause, visit &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-6805836596453690458?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/blanket-america-impresses-with-strong.html" &gt;Blanket America Impresses with Strong Opening&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Blanket &lt;st1:country-region w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;America&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;'s founder, Mesh Gelman, has given life to a project that has taken the nation by storm. On January 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, 2009 President Barak &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;Obama&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; gave his inspirational inaugural address and told our great nation that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. With those words the seed of thought was planted. What if the greatest economy in human history matched what it consumed with what it donated? Gelman and his crew then created an innovative new approach to charitable giving that answers that question. Hence, Blanket America's charitable project was created and the Patchwork Heritage collection was born.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Gelman's new project implements a buy one, give one model. That is, for every Patchwork Heritage quilt sold, a new fleece blanket is donated to charity. By implementing this program, we, as consumers, will match what we spend with what we give. Now that is a project worth investing in!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage Collection is an attractive blend of modern design, tradition and patriotic symbolism. The fabric colors are an eye-catching blend of red, white and blue that is modern enough to match nearly any décor while still capturing the fundamentals of American patriotic color schemes. The quilt is sewn from 13 unique fabrics to represent our 13 original colonies. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The reverse of the quilt is far less subtle in its patriotic message. The foreground boldly displays President Barak Obama's inaugural address, where he stated that "We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness." In the background the same lady liberty that graces &lt;st1:place w:st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:placename w:st="on"&gt;Elis&lt;/st1:placename&gt;  &lt;st1:placetype w:st="on"&gt;Island&lt;/st1:placetype&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;, stands proudly erect, holding her torch of freedom.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;The collection, which includes &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;throw&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt; pillows, decorative shams and quilt sizes ranging from throw to king, is perfectly harmonized. Anyone should be proud to display such a striking collection. The quilt keeps more than the body warm; it also warms the heart. Supporters can feel good knowing that their purchase is warming someone in need. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;"&gt;Throughout the month of December the Patchwork Heritage Collection has been available for pre-sales. The word has spread and big name companies have jumped on board to support the cause. QVC, Amazon.com and JC Penney Stores all have the collection available for pre-sales. To learn more about Blanket America, visit their website at &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com/&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7165680076846787655?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://blankets-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-commemorative-quilt.html" &gt;How to Make a Commemorative Quilt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;style&gt;&lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; direction:rtl; unicode-bidi:embed; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1915235523; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1547652960 67698705 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@list l0:level1 {mso-level-text:"%1\)"; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;}ol {margin-bottom:0in;}ul {margin-bottom:0in;}--&gt;&lt;/style&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;Since our nation's infancy, commemorative quilts have been a part of our national conversation. From American flag quilts to double wedding ring patterns, quilts have been used as a platform to make a statement. Quilting declined after the 1960's, as women entered the workforce and their spare time was eaten up. Since the Great Recession began in 2008 though, sewing of all types is on the rise. Our nation is once again picking up an old American tradition. Unfortunately, quilting is no longer taught to us as children, so it is up to us to learn as adults. If you follow these steps you can begin to learn the intricacies of quilting.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;1)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose a quilting pattern that commemorates the life event, political statement or holiday that you are trying to memorialize. There are dozens of websites where free quilt patterns can be found. Fabric stores also carry patterns. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;2)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Choose an appropriate fabric. Most quilts are made from quilting cotton, but other fabrics can be used too. Crazy quilts, for example, are often made from satins and velvets. You will want to choose a fabric that will not fade or shrink and can stand up to normal wear and tear. Don't forget to buy batting and fabric for backing. The thicker the batting, the warmer the quilt. Your backing material will need to be at least 4 inches larger than your quilt face.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;3)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Cut out your quilt blocks. Be sure to cut out enough blocks of each color to complete your quilt. The more colors you choose, the more complex the pattern.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;4)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Iron your blocks and crease the edges with a 1/4 inch fold. Be sure that the fold is straight. Sew your blocks together in strips. Set your sewing machine to 1/4 inch seam allowance. Most beginners don't realize there is a difference in the seam allowance of clothing and quilting. The 1/4 inch seam allowance will ensure that your quilt has a smooth surface. Now sew your strips together to form the face of the quilt. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;5)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Lay all three layers of your quilt out on top of each other. The backing material should be laid down on the bottom; your quilt face should be laid face down on top of the backing and the batting material on top.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;6)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew together your layers using a sewing machine. Sew three sides of the quilt together completely, but on the fourth side, leave a two foot opening. Turn your quilt right side out and finish the edge by hand. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;7)&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sew the layers together using matching or contrasting thread. Begin in the middle of the quilt and work your way out. You can do this by hand or by machine.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"&gt;The Patchwork Heritage quilt is an excellent example of a modern day commemorative quilt. To learn more about the Patchwork Heritage quilt and how it helps charity, visit&amp;nbsp;&lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;blanket&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.blanketamerica.com/"&gt;http://www.blanketamerica.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1617183762353153298-7915337762453735810?l=&lt;b&gt;blankets&lt;/b&gt;-comforters-quilts-pillows.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7586005566564616141-7847999742503601792?l=blanketamerica2009.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="feedflare"&gt;
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