Green string center quilt

I started off with the intention of speed piecing string blocks for a green string block quilt. However, my calculations were off, and I didn't like the finished blocks for a complete quilt. But I DID like the blocks. So I built a quilt around them.

This quilt is now twin sized, and measures at 67" x 74". (Before washing, it measured at 71" x 79"--and no, I don't prewash my fabrics!) I forgot to take a picture of the back, but I quilted in straight diagonal lines in the center medallion, and the rest was a large meandering quilting stitch.

Here's a close-up of the binding. Love it!

As I type this, it is on its way to the Bronx, to be given to the homeless.

 I truly hope and pray some little boy or girl is blessed by this. :)

Three more

I was able to finish three more charity blankets in the past week.

They'll be mentioned over here:

I have more of these I'll be sewing this week (as well as crib sheets), but at least 3 are done for today. :)

Slacking off

Sigh; I'm such a slacker.

I only finished two blankets for this week. :)

In my own defense, last week was incredibly busy. Also, the women's shelter for which we are sewing these is in need of crib sheets more desperately than these blankets. So, we've trying to get those cut and sewn. I've sewn two of those. I hope to have more sheets and blankets sewn for next week's Monday report.

A picture of the charity blankets--and a cause

I am now at least able to share a picture of last weekend's blankets. These will go to a local women's shelter. The director has specifically asked for sturdy, heavy, warm blankets; quilts do not seem to be warm and heavy enough, and do not withstand wear and tear as well, at least for this shelter's needs. So, here are the ones I did last weekend. I did 15 (one is not shown here). I think I'll mention them here:

You are of course welcome to check out this link, and to see if you can possibly get a quilt or blanket sewn for someone in need, and donate it locally. After all, don't we all have plenty of extra fabric on our shelves? And if you don't, I dare you to let it be known that you sew, and that you will accept donations. You'll eventually be swamped with more fabric than you can handle. Ask me how I know. :)

Mennonite Relief Sale

In an earlier post, I spoke of the preview to the Mennonite Relief Sale. This past weekend was the actual Relief Sale. Over 300 quilts were auctioned, for the sake of funding various worldwide missions. They raised tens thousands of dollars this weekend!

There were food vendors. They are hard to see in this photo; they are stationed around the expo hall, along the walls. What you are best able to see in this photo are the tables where you could sit and eat the food you purchased. Beef cheesteaks; turkey, chicken, or beef barbeque sandwiches; roast beef or ham sandwiches; hot dogs; pizza; baked potatoes; soups. And for dessert, there was strawberry pie; homemade donuts; milkshakes; cookies; and much much more!

There was an a cappella men's group.

There was a station where you could donate your loose change, and it would be counted and bagged. (See the penny hanging in the top left hand corner of this picture?)

And there were QUILTS!!! Three hundred eighty three of them!

Some were antique and vintage.

I, of course, gravitated towards the modern styles.

But I have a major thing for the simplicity of a beautifully crafted Amish quilt.

Once it was time to auction the quilts, they were placed on the slanted rotating surface you see above, and the auctioneer could literally get a quilt auctioned in about thirty seconds!

We went Friday and skipped Saturday. Next year, we will go Saturday and skip Friday. Friday's quilts were the less beautiful ones; they went for anywhere from $15 to $250ish. Saturday's quilts, some of which you can see on the stage in these two photos, went for MUCH more.

The caption in the photo above says, "Meeting basic needs in the name of Christ." You absolutely have to love the dedication of the Mennonites when it comes to being His Hands and His Feet throughout the world.

Another charity sewing circle!

As you may know, I am a member of a local charity sewing circle, named Sewin' Sisters Sowing. I have blogged about some of the quilts I have made as a part of that organization, and I have put pictures of these quilts in my flickr photostream, as well.

In my online travels today, I came across this quilt, made by a member of another charity sewing circle, Give a Kid a Quilt:

She's not sure if she likes it, but I told her she should not question the beauty of this quilt. I love it! I told her I'd ask you how you like it. So, tell me (or skip on over to her blog and tell her), how do you like it?

Charity quilts: Late December 2008

After the charity quilts that I mentioned in my first December update, I added seven more. That brings my personal total for December to thirteen. Add to that the ones that my younger daughter sewed, and that makes fifteen!

Charity quilts: December 2008

To update the most recent blog entry, I have completed six charity quilts (as can be seen in the picture) since my last count, which was two to three weeks ago. I had hoped to complete more, but I don’t think that six quilts in two to three weeks is too shabby…

The two quilts on top of the stack–the pink-striped one and the purple one–were made from fabric that I purchased at clearance sales. The first one, the pink and brown one, is two coordinating pieces of fleece that I simply stitched together with a 1.5 inch seam and a decorative stitch around the perimeter of the quilt. Because fleece does not ravel, I did not have to worry about concealing or finishing the raw edges. I took one stitch in the middle to secure them. The photo above shows two different corners of the quilt–the front or the quilt top, which is pink striped, and the backing, which is brown.

The second quilt, the purple one, was made from pre-quilted fabric. I made the multi-colored binding that is used on the edge of the quilt. This is not a difficult process; there are several good tutorials on the Internet as to how to make your own binding. To summarize it here, I cut 2.5 inch strips of fabric, and stitched them together into one long strip. I took this strip and pressed it in half lengthwise, so it became a strip that was now doubled and 1.25 inches in width. I opened it up and pressed the raw edges in toward the center fold, so it was a strip of fabric four layers thick that was roughly .6 inches in width, with no raw edges exposed. I then stitched this binding to the quilt. Pretty, n’est-ce pas?

The other four quilts were made of donated fabric. This one was two cuts of fabric; one was a cotton blend blue and purple print, and the other was a pre-quilted grey fabric of a nylon, rip-stop nature. Since the side opposite the gray was unfinished, I sewed the patterned fabric to it. For this quilt, I used the pillowcase method. In essence, I sewed the fabrics right sides together, and left an opening. I then turned the quilt right side out through the opening, and stitched the opening closed.

This quilt was made of pre-quilted fabric. It only needed a binding. So I took donated satin blanket binding and used the process mentioned above to achieve the four-layer binding. I stitched this on.

These four quilts were made from single lengths of fabric. They are therefore known as whole cloth quilts, for fairly obvious reasons. The last two quilts on the bottom of the stack are made from pieces of donated hotel-quality bedspreads, so they are pieced or patchwork quilts.

I think they turned out great!

Charity quilts: November 2008

For those of us who have been given so much--food to eat, a home, work that pays the bills--it is important that we give back to those less fortunate.

I am fortunate enough to be a part of a sewing guild known as Sewin’ Sisters Sowing. We gather once monthly to sew, and for those who are able, we gather a second time monthly to cut fabric in preparation for the sewing session. Our members range from my ten year old daughter on up to a member in her eighties. We are from all races and ages; we are from differing situations (some of us are married, some are single, some are widowed or divorced or separated, some of us have children at home, some of us are caring for elderly parents, etc.); we work full-time, part-time, or are retired, or are homemakers. It is truly a reflection of the Body of Christ.

Sewin’ Sisters Sowing is dedicated to meeting the needs of our community; we are most interested in being of assistance to those who live within a 20 mile radius. We have sewn for crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, local church ministries to the indigent and transient, and mainly for Salvation Army (SA). Right now, we are in the midst of sewing lap blankets for SA for their elderly lap blanket drive. They need 3000. (!) While we know we will not be able to supply them with 3,000, we are trying to get as many done as possible, because SA, predictably, is having a very hard year financially, and will need all the help they can get to supply the elderly with warm lap quilts and blankets this winter, who may go with little or no heat in this depressed economy.

My encouragement to you is to seek out your local sewing guilds–or perhaps you are already a member of a local quilting guild–to find one that has at least one charity project annually. It may be virtually impossible to find a sewing circle which, like ours, is dedicated solely to charitable projects. But I know you should definitely be able to find an organization with which you can complete at least one annual charity quilt. If you can’t, we would love to have you join with us! Go to http://sewinsisterssowing.blogspot.com for more information.