Quiltsy Cares March 2, 2016
Purple Raven Quilts
Our featured Quiltsy Team member today is Raven J. Pletcher of
Purple Raven Quilts ( The Little Shop, that's BIG on Color ).
Raven is from Arcata, California, where she and her mother create items for the Etsy shop.
A beautiful piece that was made by Raven.
Raven's charity is St. Joseph Health, Redwood Memorial in Eureka, California
Why is your charity special to you?
Why is your charity special to you?
St. Joseph Health is the local
hospital that accepts preemie quilt donations for premature babies. I like that these quilts
benefit local community members.
What did you donate (and any special details about it)
I donated two
preemie quilts, one boy-themed and one girl-themed. Preemie quilts are a
great use for quilting scraps. 
Fellow members of By the River
Stitchers Quilt Guild generously donate their quilting scraps to the
cause and I continue to make preemie quilts for the hospital.
Preemie quilts are 12-14 inches square. They
are made of 100% cotton fabric and cotton batting. These tiny quilts
are placed in the autoclave (medical instrument sterilizer) for many
hours to be sterilized. They are then placed above the incubators of
preemie babies.
Hospital lights are bright for the babies, so the quilts
help with that. Family visitors can only view the babies through the
window of the preemie ward and the quilts help identify the babies to
the families.
The mothers of the babies get to keep the quilt
given to their baby. I like to use colorful children's fabrics for
these quilts. The one rule I do have about fabric choice is no black
backgrounds no matter how cute the fabric is.
I think of the babies as I
sew and it brings me joy to add color to the life of such a tiny new
person!
I really enjoy color and working with fabric.
This I owe to my mother, Doris M. Pletcher, who is an expert
seamstress. Doris is my business partner at Purple Raven Quilts.
Our
shop was originally opened to offer the durable canvas grocery bags
Doris makes to a larger market. We always have new quilting projects at
hand and continue to offer canvas grocery bags and quilted items on Etsy, along with a few other colorful fabric items. My favorite items to make in my Etsy shop are doll quilts.
Where do you live? Northern California
How long have you been quilting? 11 years
How long have you been a member of Quiltsy Team? I joined in January of 2016.
Post Author:
Carol Ann Johnston
Boise, Idaho, USA
6 comments:
Bright, pretty little quilts, Raven, going to a great cause.
Such a good cause and beautiful quilts! Each is a little piece of art!
Neat donation quilts - thanks for sharing!
Fabulous generosity!
What fun to give a colorful handmade quilt for the little preemies who need so much extra care.
I never knew about these special quilts for premies. Your donations are beautiful and the mothers must be so thrilled! Thank you Raven!
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