1).  Just Sew Fabrics is your one-stop shop for all your fabric and sewing needs. It is located near Morrisons, in the centre of Penrith, Cumbria, on the edge of the Lake District National Park.
They are open from 9.30 until 5 pm, six days a week (4 pm, Wednesdays).
Parking is free for shoppers at Morrisons, £2.50 or so in the central pay-and-display car park near Just Sew, or free one hour disc parking nearby. It's just a five minute walk from both rail and bus stations.  Pat Swainson, owner for 23 years of Just Sew has kindly agreed to let me add her website link below. 

2).  Morceau is one of the foremost Patchwork, Needlework and Quilt teaching centres in Britain, with a substantial and ever-changing exhibition of patchwork quilts. Morceau is not only a business that caters to tourists and visitors, but it is a centre for regular, local and visiting clients from across the UK.

The centre is located in Penrith, Cumbria, UK, on the edge of the English Lake District, and the classroom is above the fabric shop 'Just Sew'.  It is 20 minutes from Keswick, Carlisle and the Kendal motorway junction. Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Teesside are all within two hours easy driving, or by rail.

I’ve included the link to Morceau with the permission of the course teacher, Yvonne Bodecott. Have a look....some of her classes could be just what you are looking for.

3). Lowbyer Manor is a Grade II listed Georgian Guesthouse. The Manor has nine en-suite bedrooms in which six of these rooms are embellished with home made quilts.

My reasoning behind including this link to a wonderful piece of history is that the owners of the Manor are my cousins and for 27 months I was in partnership as an owner with them.

The quilts on most of the beds are my handmade quilts having been made in Canada and brought over especially for the business. The quilt in Room 2, The Iris Quilt was created while I was one of the proprietors of the Manor.  I've included pictures on the Gallery page of some of the quilts at the Guesthouse.

Permission has been given by Richard and Laura to include the link to the Manor. Have a look....the quilts aren't the only beautiful thing you will see.

4). On Christmas Eve 1995 in the USA, a magazine article showed a young child holding her security blanket. She was going through intensive chemortherapy and stated that the blanket helped her through the treatments. Seeing the article, a woman named Karen Loucks started making hand crocheted blankets for the Denver Rocky Mountain Children's Cancer Centre. Project Linus was born.

Project Linus was named after the security blanket toting character from the Peanuts comic strip. It's creator, the late Charles Schulz, was pleased to have Linus inspire blanket makers to help sick and traumatized children.

Project Linus came to the UK in March 2000, when it was found that there were no branches on this side of the Atlantic and it continues to grow each year.

The picture shows "Even Spiders Love Rainbows", one of two quilts I made this year for the Linus Project.  They were given to hospitalized children throught the Rainbow Trust branch of the organization. 

Check out the website link below. You may just feel the urge to help.