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

Quilting For Good Linky Party - Week 3!

Hi, all!


It's time to link up your charity quilting efforts again!!  It's really neat to see everything that is being made and given for good causes - and to hear about all the causes I didn't know about!  It was good to meet our first Australian linker, Gina, who shared all the places she donates to in Australia....


Here's what I worked on last week...

I joined together with several ladies from our quilt ministry and taught these thirteen up and coming quilters how to make a quilt top!  These quilts will be going to New Orleans this fall to be given to grade school children there.

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 - The Linky Party! Week 2

Hi, all!


It's Tuesday again, and time to link up and show what you've been Quilting For Good this week!!


Here are the three quilts our quilt ministry, Piece*Love*Quilt, made and distributed this week...

The top for this pretty quilt was donated by Verda, who I met when a blog friend of mine brought her local quilting buddies on a FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip) to my neck of the woods.  Verda sent us a huge stack of quilt tops for our quilt ministry.  This is just the first one to be quilted.  You'll be seeing many more of them in the coming months!!  This quilt is going to a woman who is dealing with leukemia.

This quilt was pieced by a member our our quilt ministry and is going to a man who has just been diagnosed with colon cancer as a complication of Crohn's disease.

And this beautiful red quilt, pieced by Pam, is going to a woman going through treatment for breast cancer.

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This week we'll be working with 1st through 5th graders, teaching them how to piece a simple quilt top for quilts that will be going to New Orleans in the fall.  I'll be showing you the quilts they create, hopefully next week!!

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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

The Linky Party is Now Working!

Hi, all!


Just FYI, the linky party for the first Quilting For Good Tuesdays is now working!  Many many thanks to Brent, who runs Linkytools - he spent the evening helping me figure out how to fix the problem via e-mail!  So go here and join in the fun!!


Hugs!


Sarah

Quilting For Good - the 1st Linky Party!!

Hi, all!


Welcome to the first Quilting For Good Tuesdays linky party!!  Here's your chance to link up and show everyone your charity quilting efforts for the week!  


The rules are simple - it doesn't have to be a finish to be linked up, but it should be something you're doing for charity.  It could be a donation you've made to a charity quilter, a post showing progress you are making on a charity quilt or blocks, or it could be quilts you or your group have made recently for charity.  Be sure to tell us who you are quilting for, and if the group isn't listed in the sidebar, be sure to let us know a little bit about it.  And please mention in your post that you are linking up to Quilting For Good Tuesdays!  Let's get lots of folks in on the party.....


And once you've linked up, take some time to check out the other links!  You might find a charity you didn't know about before, or a fellow charity quilter nearby!  The possibilities are endless....


Oh, and be sure to grab the button!  Help us spread the word and get all those charity quilters in on the party.....

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See that picture at the top of the page?  Those are quilts that my church ministry group, Piece*Love*Quilt, made last year for the 100 Quilts For Kids challenge hosted by Katie of Swim Bike Quilt.

This is an awesome charity challenge, and if you've never been involved in it before, you should give it a try!  This year, Katie is recommending that you donate your quilts locally, so you don't even have the expense of mailing your quilts away if you don't want to.  You can read more about it on her blog.  She's also having a blog hop every Monday in July, August and September, with her fellow bloggers doing a post highlighting the challenge and sharing some fabulous info to help you participate - it could be anything from a quilt pattern or tutorial, tips for choosing fabric, showing quilts they've made to donate, or their favorite charity.  I guarantee it will be interesting, inspiring, and there may even be giveaways on those blog hop days!   On Monday, July 2nd, Lynne of Lily's Quilts blogged about her favorite charity, Siblings Together, AND she has a giveaway!  You might want to hop over there and check it out - but don't forget to come back and link up here!!

Just to keep it real, here's the stack of
charity tops and backs I need to get
quilted this week!

And speaking of giveaways, Katie has lined up sponsors for the challenge, and you'll be entered if you link up pictures of your finished quilt(s) at the end of the challenge.  Doing good, AND the chance to win great prizes!  What more can you ask for?

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So now it's your turn.  What have you been working on this week that will be given to help others?  Link up below and show us!  (The linky will remain open until next Monday night at midnight CST, so you've got time to get a post together if you haven't got one ready already!)  Help spread the word by posting the button on your blog, and go visit the other party-goers and be inspired!! 

Hugs!

Sarah