The Healing Power of Quilts

On a recent trip overseas I found an interesting article in Delta Airline's Sky magazine on quilting! Actually, it was about a program run by the Delta employees to provide Salt Lake's Primary Children's Medical Center with quilts for their patients. And it was such a neat article because it said wonderful things about the power of a quilt!The program is called "A Quilt for Every Bed" and Delta employees make quilts that are passed on to the children in the medical center as something to comfort them in their scary situation.

(Pink and Purple Baby Quilt by Pamela Quilts.)

The article gave several examples of children who were immediately comforted by the quilt and who kept it near them at all times, and how, even after they left the hospital, the quilt remained a favorite comfort. There were even stories of children who died and the parents chose to have the quilt buried with them as a symbol of giving the child "security and comfort even in death."

I really liked what a lot of the parents and employees of Delta and the hospital said about the quilts. Things like "...the quilts remind the children of home. Nothing can replace the love that goes into each stitch." And, "It was symbolic of comfort and security and love that someone cared enough to make that quilt for a total stranger." And also, "We feel like quilts add another dimension of healing for children and their families."

Again and again, these quilts became a tangible symbol for our most powerful feelings of comfort and love!



(Homespun Hearts crib quilt by Whimbrella.)

If you want to make a quilt for Primary Children's, then take a look here. Not a quilter? Click on the link anyway...they have a long list of things you can do!

Resources:

The Delta magazine article

The Primary Children's Medical Center

(This is a variation of a post that originally appeared on Baby Anne Quilts' blog in November 2007.)

Quiltsy Shop: TweedleBee

Toni runs a wonderful Etsy shop called TweedleBee where she mostly sells adorable baby-friendly toys and quilts. Her quilt designs are charming, creative, and unique!



Here's what Toni has to say about why she quilts:

"I had always wanted to learn to quilt but am one of those people who doesn't like to do something until I know how to do it. This leads to never doing anything if one is not careful!

"After my mom died in '01, I was really feeling my mortality as I am the next female in the family line. I was determined to learn how to quilt "before I die". That was almost 7 years ago and I'm not dead yet!

"I figure quilting is my therapy and even though it may be an expensive hobby, it is still cheaper than 'real' therapy and I have all this cool stuff to show for it too.



"I love the colors of the fabric, I have an embarrassing amount of it all stacked in bins on a huge shelf in my sewing room. I take it out and organize and re-organize depending on what I feel like making. Right now I am really into dots and stripes, baby toys and quilting swirls.



"My ultimate advice would be to have fun. If you are not having fun because the pattern is not working or you can't find the exact fabric in the picture, take a chance and do it another way. You will surprise yourself with your own ingenuity!"

Toni's beautiful ingenuity can be found in her shop: http://tweedlebee.etsy.com.

Tutorial: Sewing on a Quilt Binding

One of the questions I get most asked about my quilts is how did I sew on that binding? It seems there are as many ways to sew on a binding as there are quilters! But a quilt with a binding with clean mitered corners really look fantastic!

Carol of QuiltLady50 has created a wonderful, easy-to-understand tutorial on binding your quilt with mitered corners. Just click here for the complete tutorial! (Just click on the first image then follow each image through the set for step-by-step instructions printed below each photo.)





If you have any question about the tutorial feel free to contact Carol through her flickr.com account (where you'll find the tutorial...just go to her Profile and click on Send FlickrMail). She'll be happy to lead you through any of the tricky parts!

And the beautiful quilt she used to demonstrate the binding is currently for sale in her shop!

Protect the Quilter

We all know that the fine skills that are required for quilting can take a toll on our bodies after a time. The Lost Quilt Come Home website has some wonderful information on protecting the body of a quilter. Here are some great tips on how to protect yourself when quilting!

Protect Your Back and Neck

Quilters tend to sit a lot, whether quilting by hand or at the sewing machine. You can protect you back and neck, first of all, by taking frequent breaks. And avoid sitting completely still: gently sway or shift your weight occasionally. An if you need to stand for long periods of time, at the ironing board or a long-arm machine, then place one foot on a short stool -- 6 to 9-inches high -- and make sure your posture is as straight as possible when standing or lifting.

Protect Your Muscles

Quilting requires a lot of fine motor skills and many repeated actions. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be a real threat. Make sure you keep good posture and use an ergonomic workstation. Vary your hand quilting techniques and take frequent breaks.

Protect Yourself with an Ergonomic Workstation

With all the stress that quilting can put on your body, make sure your workstation isn't adding any more unnecessary stress. Your chair and table should be the right height for your body. A table that is too high can cause strain on your back arms, and wrists. A chair should support your lower back and your feet should be flat on the floor with you legs at a right angle.

Protect Yourself with a Break

Take a 10 minute break every hour. In fact, you can increase your productivity by doing so while prevent possible injury. You should also vary your activity: cut fabric then witch to machine sewing, then iron for a while. This will help prevent overuse of any one muscle group.

Protect Your Eyes

Make sure you have plenty of good lighting so you don't have to strain your eyes. An give your eyes a break: every few minutes look up at something across the room or out a window. Also, drinking plenty of water will help your eyes stay well lubricated.

Protect Your Health

Quilting is a wonderful, but sedentary, activity. Make sure you are giving more than just your creativity a work-out! Adapting a regular exercise program as well as a healthy diet will help ensure that we'll all have many more years ahead of quilting!



















(Image from QuiltLover who will professionaly quilt your quilt tops using all these health tips, I'm sure!)

Make sure you follow the link to the Lost Quilt Come Home page where I found these great tips. There is more information to be found there! In addition, all of these health guides originated in the book Rx for Quilters: Stitcher Friendly Advice for Every Body by Susan Delaney Mech.

Quiltsy Shop: Artmixter

Marion is a Scottish artist living and working in Norfolk, UK. Like many women, she began sewing when her son was born, and was introduced to patchwork by a local artist. She loves working with colour,and after making a few bed quilts, turned to art quilting. She's currently working a lot with lutradur, a non-woven industrial fabric that is semi-transparent, and writing a book on using lutradur in textile art with a friend and colleague from Australia, Dijanne Cevaal. She dyes and paints her own cloth, and to use in her work as well as selling it in her shop.











































Marion opened her Etsy shop in September 2007, and has found it to be a great, supportive, and enthusiastic community. She says that the best piece of advice anyone gave her when she started on Etsy was to be patient...and it certainly has paid off!

She enjoys quilting because it is a wonderful means of self-expression. Marion is fascinated by colour, layers and textures, and most of her work includes that, whether it is a quilt or a painting. She encourages everyone not to be afraid of their own creativity: "Lots of people say, oh, I wish I could make the kind of things you do...but I'm not creative. I say that's just not true; we are all creative! Making your first art quilt might be scary...but it's also great fun! Just choose a topic, and dive right in! Make something small...and if you don't like it, you could always cut it up and make fabric postcards with it, or inchies... and start again. Nothing is ever lost when you're working with cloth, it can always be recycled!"

Don't miss Marion's unique and beautiful creations at http://artmixter.etsy.com.

Protect Your Quilt

Irish Chain Quilt from Mosey.

Quilts can become very precious to us. They can hold many memories, be passed down through generations, and become priceless to us. So when something happens and a quilt is lost or stolen, that's when you can turn to Lost Quilt Come Home found at www.lostquilt.com. This is a website "dedicated to displaying lost and stolen quilts and to providing information on protecting quilts". It's a place to not only help you locate your missing quilt but also help you to prevent the unthinkable from happening.

There are some great steps you can take now to protect your quilt and that can make a big difference in locating your quilt later. (All of these suggestions are explained in full on the website, so make sure you take a look at all the links!)

Document your quilt. If you made the quilt, document the creation process. If it's a quilt you bought or was given to you, document everything you know about it, how you got it, sales receipts, and anything about what you know about the quilt's physical history.

Make a label for your quilt. Record who made it, when, and where and add it as a label to your quilt. Another good security measure is to hide your signature somewhere on your quilt such as under a hanging sleeve.

Photograph your quilt. Take several good photographs of your quilt. showing both the quilt as a whole and detail shots. It's even a good idea to keep some fabric swatches of your quilts since photos do not always show true colors, or the colors in a photo can change over time.

Get your quilt appraised. A quilt with especially high worth can be appraised by a qualified quilt appraiser. If you lose your quilt to theft or fire, this step can help you get insurance compensation for it. Which brings us to our next step...

Insure your quilt. Not just antique quilts can be insured, contemporary quilts can be valuable, too. Be sure you talk to your insurance company about what steps you need to take to insure your precious quilts.

Copyright your quilt. You can also protect your original quilt designs. Make sure you look into all the steps needed to give your design a legal copyright. This link is a great place to start. If you feel like someone has violated your copyright, there are also steps you can take to get compensated. Tale a look at this link for copyright infringement.

Again, be sure to look through the Lost Quilt Come Home website for more details on how to protect your quit. None of us want to be in the situation of trying to recover something so priceless...but with these precautions, you'll increase your chances at recovering your quilt and, at least, be able to sleep a little easier!

Add your own tips to the comments!

Quiltsy Shop: Quilted Blessings

Michelle lives in Los Angeles is a stay at home mother of five children has been happily married for the past 12 yrs. and is the proud owner of Quilted Blessings.

Although Michelle has been quilting for over 9 years she is largely self taught. She finds that people are drawn to her quilts because of her high quality fabrics and the care and detail she puts into every quilt. She loves making custom orders.















Michelle also enjoys writing and has had a couple of articles published on the web. Her dream is to someday open a brick and mortar store selling fabrics, sewing notions, and finished quilts.















You'll find her shop filled with her wonderful quilted creations at http://quiltedblessings.etsy.com.

The Comfort of a Quilt

Personally, I'm fairly new to the quilting community. I started quilting about 3 years ago as a stress relief. I kept quilting because I became fascinated with how personal quilts could be in our lives. They hold so many memories for us and can be so symbolic. I explored this idea in an article I wrote for the Storque on Etsy, The Story of Quilts.

Of course, anything can become personal for us, can carry our memories, but I was surprised in my research at how deeply and universally quilts have achieved this. What is it that makes quilts so much more universally personal to us than other handmade things like pottery, clothing, paintings?

I think it's because they are so universally comfortable and cozy. They warm us. They comfort us. They feel good. We cuddle up with them when we're alone and need to not feel so alone...and we cozy up under them with the ones we love--our children, our boyfriends, our grandmothers. Try doing that with a pot.

















Image: "Blanket for Dolly" Mini Art Quilt from Shelece.

Quiltsy has so many quilts to offer for you to cozy up with to help you get warm and comfy and make memories. At least that's why I'm here...why are you here? What do quilts mean for you?