Kids Helping Kids!

Hi, all!

I wanted to share this picture with you - the children in our church decided to join in the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge this year when they found out that one of the charities was quilts for Ethiopian orphans.  They have been studying mission efforts in Ethiopia and this was a perfect tie in.  They worked together with the ladies in our quilting group to create seventeen quilts that were sent to Quilts Beyond Borders for distribution in Ethiopia.  

Carla from Quilts Beyond Borders has written a very sweet blogpost that features these quilts and some others donated through the Hands2Help Challenge that you can read here.  If you're looking for a place to donate a quilt for the 100 Quilts For Kids charity drive (you can read about that here), I would highly recommend these folks.  They do great work!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Do Some Good and Maybe Win A Quilt!

Hi, all!

I've got something a little different for us today - please take a minute to read this and consider participating!

I want to invite you to join in something very special.  My friend Pam (one of our quilt ministry members) started a quilt for her father long ago - a beautiful king size quilt that she chose to hand-quilt in a Baptist Fan pattern.  Well, by the time she got close to finishing it, her father had suffered some health setbacks and is now living in a nursing home, where a king-size quilt is just too much for his needs.  Not wanting to let her work of love go to waste, she decided to use it as a fundraiser for Blood:Water Mission.  She hopes to raise enough money to allow a well to be dug in an African village!  

Pam blogs over at Learning To Be Me, and you can read more about her raffle and the quilt there.  She's offering one entry to win the quilt for every $10 donated, and I know I'm going to be entering - I've seen this quilt personally, and it's a gorgeous thing!   And she'll even pay to ship it to the winner. You can also make a donation by clicking on the donation box at the top right of my blog - but be sure to go to Pam's blog afterwards and let her know that you did! She's got instructions there for how to contact her.

It would also be wonderful if you could help spread the word - this is a great cause and a chance to win a fabulous quilt!  Win-win!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Something New - Project 40!

Hi, all!

I'm willing to bet that, like me, most of you are multi-talented in the crafting areas - and may know how to knit or crochet in addition to your mad quilting talents.  So I've got an opportunity for you to use those skills in a simple and low-commitment way to give someone a warm "hug".

My friend Pam, one of the ladies in our church's quilt ministry, has started something called Project 40.  No, it's  not quilting, but it is still a creative and much needed way to give someone in need a hug - so please go check out her new blog and see what it's all about!  And at the same time, you can see the absolutely gorgeous king-size quilt she made - and hand quilted!!  It has a great story, one you really should read....

Hugs!

Sarah

Scraps of Love...

Hi, all!

I've got a special quilt to share with you all today - made for one of our quilt ministry members, who had a brain aneurysm rupture last week.  

The word blocks were donated by Sharon...

Christy is a new member - she had just joined a couple of months ago, and after making her first quilt for herself (she was afraid it wouldn't be good enough to give away!), she made six baby quilt tops and started on a quilt for a friend.  

The monkey fabric came from the first baby quilt Christy made...

And the red striped fabric above is left over from a dress I made
for my daughter about 20 years ago!

Then suddenly, last Monday, she suffered the ruptured aneurysm and has been in the hospital ever since.  She is still sedated and they are unsure of the extent of the damage.  

Lots of the ministry members joined in making blocks for this quilt - it was the first experience for many of them with dump-and-sew blocks, but it went well!  

In fact, the block on the right above was the first block a new member had ever made, and actually the first thing she ever sewed!  She was so excited....

And this block has the best story - one of the ladies in the group was making it at home before leaving on a trip, and her daughter was helping her pull fabrics.  When KatieBeth brought the princess fabric over, Deb said, "Honey, this quilt is for a grown-up lady - and that's a little girl fabric."  KatieBeth responded, "Well, she's a princess too, isn't she?"  As Deb said, how could she tell her not to put it in after that?

There are pieces of fabric in this quilt from many of the quilts we've made for the ministry, and many hands had a part in the making of it.  Our hope is that it will remind Christy of how many people are praying for her and cheering her on as she recovers from this horrible event in her life.  

Thanks for letting me share this special quilt with you.  I hope you'll join us in praying for Christy - she'll need a lot of prayer over the coming months......

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party #11

Hi, all!

Well, it's that time again (and it's still actually Tuesday - aren't you proud of me?)  So come along and link up blogposts or pics of your charity quilting efforts for the week...

This week, I have something a little different to show.  As you may know, I host a charity quilt challenge on my blog each spring, called Hands2Help.  This year one of the charities we were sponsoring was my church's senior high mission trip to New Orleans.  They go to St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans several times a year, working with school age children in this area which was hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina.  They are still recovering from the devastation, and just a few weeks ago, Hurricane Isaac hit this area again and flooded many families out of their homes again. We have collected nearly 70 quilts to send with the mission team to give out in this area, and here are a couple of pictures of the quilts....

I love this pic - a massive expanse of quilt-y goodness!

And here's a picture of all the quilts laid out on tables so that church members can pray over them before they go to New Orleans.

And just for fun, here's a great picture of my sewing sisters from church - they helped lay out all these quilts for the pictures on Saturday!

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And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party #10

Hi, all!

Tuesday rolls around again, and I've actually remembered it this week!  Woohoo!!  I hope you're ready to share some of your charity quilting from the last week or so - we want to see what you've been working on!

Today I get to share some beautiful quilts that I didn't make - they were placed on my doorstep last Tuesday, while I was having surgery.  And by Thursday, three of them had new homes!

This quilt is going to a woman who just found out that her cancer has returned...

... this one is going to a woman recently diagnosed with lung cancer....

...and this one is going to a child whose entire family was murdered recently.

So thank you, Anonymous Donor - your quilts are already comforting and encouraging people in my neck of the woods!

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And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party #9

Hi, all!

It's that time again - a chance for you to show and tell about your charity quilting efforts!  Tell us about your favorite place to send quilts, or a story about a particular quilt.  It's all good!

Here's a quilt I worked on last week that was truly a group effort.

The blocks for this quilt were donated to our quilt ministry.  If I remember correctly, they came from Kate, who lives in England and sends us all kinds of goodies when her mom comes back to the US after visiting her.  I think the center blocks are Farmer's Wife blocks - at the very least, they are really intricate paper piecing!  Just gorgeous!  And the two outside rows of blocks came either from Kate or from Sharon - I hate that I can't remember for sure but either way they are very much appreciated - and they were the perfect way to finish off this quilt!   Emilie took these blocks and some muslin squares and pieced the top, Sabrina made the back, and  I quilted and bound it.   This quilt then went to a young woman who has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in her leg. She is a single mom with a young child, and has no family in the area.  We hope that this quilt will not only bring her comfort, but remind her that there are people all around her who are praying for her and would be willing to help her in times of need.

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So that's just a little bit of what I've been working on this week!  

And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party #8

Hi, all!

Once again, I have to apologize for being late with Quilting For Good Tuesday - I just can't seem to remember to do this for some reason!  But thanks to a good kick in the seat of the pants, I am here with you now.  If I forget again, please don't hesitate to do a little kicking of your own - I really appreciate it sometimes!

So here's one of the charity quilts I worked on this week - - -

This is a 1600 quilt pieced from patriotic fabrics by the mother of one of our regular ministry members.  It will be going to a young Marine who has been diagnosed with cancer throughout his body.  But I also want you to see the back of this quilt....

The four blocks in the back were donated to us by Sharon of Vrooman's Quilts.  (Hi, Sharon!)  You might recognize the second one down - her fabulous eagle block! I was so excited to see that block in the box of donations she sent - and then within half an hour we got the request for a quilt for the young Marine.  I think that the eagle was definitely meant to be part of this quilt!

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So that's just a little bit of what I've been working on this week - I'll share some of the other things with you in the coming weeks!

And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party #7

Hi, all!

It occurred to me today that I completely forgot Quilting For Good Tuesday last week - sorry!!  But hopefully that means you've got lots to share from the last two weeks!

I want to show you a quilt that I worked on this week - I needed something traditional for an older woman with cancer, and fortunately, a lady at church had just donated a beautiful fan pattern quilt top that just fit the bill!

The original donated top was huge - this is only a part of it.  There is at least enough to make one more quilt from it, and maybe two!  I did a little creative seam ripping and took out this six by six block section, added a pretty floral border, and this pretty quilt was born!

I had fun with the quilting on this one - since I'm out of batting and can't get to as many quilts as usual this week, I decided to play around with my new long arm machine, Jolene!

I did petals in the quarter circle, squiggly vines in the fans, and organic echo quilting in the negative space.  It really went pretty quickly, considering - and it was lots of fun!!

A pieced back - and isn't it pretty with the sun shining through
showing off the fans?

This quilt is going to a woman who had battled cancer once before and has just found out that it has returned.  It was requested by one of the women in our quilting group, who works with her.  We're hoping that this will give her a big dose of comfort and love!!

And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party, Week 6

Hi, all!

Well, at least it's still Tuesday - although barely!  I've been meaning to get this post written all day - but the story has been evolving, changing each time I try to sit down and write it.

Some of you may know about Camp Bluebird, which is a camp designed for adult cancer patients and survivors.  It provides a place for education, fellowship with people going through similar situations, and generally a fun time for people to get together and visit with old friends.   My friend Cindy, who is a ten-year cancer survivor and also a member of our church quilt ministry, took me last year. New campers are paired up with experienced campers, and if they request it, they will be paired up with the same experienced camper each time they come.

Last week, my friend Cindy found out that one of her "campers" had been told that she had a recurrence of her cancer.  Cindy immediately jumped into action and started making a quilt for her.  The center of this beautiful, vibrant quilt is a small top sent to us by Kate of Kate's Arty Bits in Great Britain.  Cindy paired the beautiful batik center with some bright strips from our stash, some leftover hand-dyed fabric for the corners, and black sashing and borders.  A beautiful quilt top, all put together and finished in two days!

Sunday rolled around, and Cindy got a phone call - her friend found out that her cancer was not only back, but back with a vengeance - and hospice had been called in.  They only gave her a matter of days to live.  The quilting frame at church already had a quilt on it, so Cindy called me to see if we could load it up on my frame and get it done fast so she could take it to her friend.  Of course!  So she came to my house late Sunday afternoon, and we got the quilting and binding done in about an hour and a half. I don't think I've ever done one quite that fast before!  Cindy did a great job quilting this, using a hot pink thread on the top and black on the back.

Monday, Cindy went with some other folks from Camp Bluebird to visit her friend.  As they walked up to the house, her friend's husband was on the porch, speaking with someone.  They walked inside the house, and her friend's 11-year old daughter was sitting on the sofa in the living room, all alone.   Cindy said that seeing her sitting there was when she realized exactly who she had been making this quilt for - and she walked over to her, handed her the quilt, and said, "This is for you."  She wrapped it around her and hugged her.

Cindy got to see her friend, but said that she really wasn't aware of who was with her.  She and the other ladies from Camp Bluebird went back out and sat with the daughter for a couple of hours, talking with her about her mom and sharing stories.   The little girl stayed wrapped up in her quilt, hopefully gathering comfort from all the love Cindy put into it.

Cindy's friend went home to be with God a few hours after they left that afternoon.  

I'm so glad that Cindy listened to the little voice that told her to give this quilt to her friend's daughter.  I hope that each time she uses it, she will feel all the prayers that went into it.

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And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party, Week 5

Hi, all!


I'm so sorry - I completely lost Tuesday somewhere there!!  Getting back to taking care of my granddaughter after vacation apparently sucked out more brain cells than I anticipated - and I completely forgot about Quilting For Good Tuesdays.  But that's ok - it's always a good time to talk about charity quilting!!


Today I want to share, not a new quilt that our ministry created, but a story about a quilt that we made a while back.

This pretty quilt, named Heartstrings, was made from blocks sent to us all the way from England.  Kate, who blogs at Kate's Arty Bits, sends us some of her charity tops and orphan blocks when her mom comes to visit her in England.  


We got a request for a quilt for a young single mother who has pancreatic cancer, and this top was finished up and sent to her.  None of us had ever met this young woman, but we thought that this top would be a nice cheerful quilt-y "hug" for her, and would remind her that people were praying for her.  A few days ago, I received an e-mail from the friend who requested the quilt for her. She told us that this young woman's favorite symbol was the heart - something we did not know when this top was chosen!  She said that the quilt really touched her and that she kept it with her all the time.  She's recently been told that there is nothing else they can do for her medically, so we hope this quilt is giving her some extra comfort and serves as a reminder of God's constant love and care for her.

And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah

Quilting For Good Linky Party, Week 4

Hi, all!


It's that time again - time to link up and show off your charity quilting efforts!!  It can be a quilt you are working on or have finished, or it can be a post about a cause you support, or it can be about donations you've made to help out a quilting charity!  Join in the fun, and check out the other links to see what opportunities for Quilting For Good are out there.....


Today I'm going to focus on the lovely women that I quilt with at church...

These wonderful women stepped up this week and took six quilts that were quilted but not bound before I left on vacation, and are finishing them up this week.  I honestly don't know how we could do as much as we do without each and every one of them!  Most of them work outside the home, but still find time to piece tops for the ministry, and step up and go the extra mile when asked.  Thanks so much, girls!!  Next week I should have some beautiful finished quilts to show off here.

And now it's your turn!

Show us what you've been working on this week -

Progress shots,

Finished quilts,

Donations you've sent to others!

It's all Quilting For Good!

Hugs!

Sarah