Quiltsy Cares: Jane Weier of Mulberry Patch Quilts

Jane Weier

Mulberry Patch Quilts
Mulberry Patch Quilts Blog

Jane Weier (Mulberry Patch Quilts https://www.etsy.com/shop/MulberryPatchQuilts ) has chosen to make six preemie quilts and four matching knitted hats for her favorite local charity, Mikayla’s Grace http://mikaylasgrace.com/ .  This organization, begun by Mike & Melissa Terrill of McFarland, WI, supports families with a baby in the NICU (neonatal ICU) and those who experience the death of an infant at hospitals in Wisconsin by providing NICU care packages and angel memory boxes that offer both practical and emotional support for the parents.

The small quilts were made in pairs using 100% cotton fabrics for the pieced fronts, and soft cotton flannel for the backings.  The knitted preemie hats have a heart pattern knitted into each one. 

 

Jane first learned about quilting while making a baby quilt for her first-born child.  That was over 35 years ago, and she still loves the process.  “There’s always something new to explore—a new pattern, a new technique I can’t wait to try; and I’ve expanded to make original art quilts, and learning to dye & paint on my fabrics.”  Mulberry Patch Quilts opened on Etsy in September of 2012—not long after Jane retired and was able to give the shop the time and energy it deserved.  She enjoys making smaller quilts (baby & lap quilts), but you can find wall hangings, art quilts, purses, and home décor items in her shop as well.  

“I joined the Quiltsy Team at the end of 2013, and am so glad I did.  We’re like a virtual quilting bee--sharing ideas (and our lives) with each other.  I love being part of this wonderful team!  It’s a great group of encouraging, caring quilters.”

Besides making small quilts for Mikayla’s Grace, she donates a portion of her profits from the shop to other worthy causes (such as World Vision and the Salvation Army).  

 

Be sure to stop at her shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MulberryPatchQuilts

Or see the process of making her quilts at her blog: https://mulberrypatchquilts.wordpress.com/

Or “like” Mulberry Patch Quilts on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MulberryPatchQuilts/

Guest Blogger

Carol Ann Johnston

 MooseCarolQuilts

Quiltsy Cares : Stephanie Hateley of Steph's Quilts

Our featured quilter today is Stephanie Hateley of Steph's Quilts 
Stephanie lives in beautiful Port Stevens in NSW, Australia. She hopes to move to Tasmania soon.

I love quilting after 'discovering' it when I made my first quilt for my son's wedding 4 years ago. That was a queen-size quilt made using the 'quilt as you go' method on a very basic sewing machine. I was hooked and most days will find me in my sewing room making my next creation.  I seldom follow a pattern and enjoy making one of a kind quilts using a different design for each one. I love experimenting. My latest craze is making scrappy quilts and I've just finished organising all my scraps ready for the next one. My favourite scrappy quilt sold last month, so I'm now making another, this one I might keep for myself! I also love making table runners and baby quilts. I joined Quiltsy Team at the end of 2014.

Charity: Lala Salama .. the 100 Quilt Project
The aim for this project is to provide a special quilt for every child's bed in the new Bethany Kids Pediatric Wing at AIC Kijabe Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya. This hospital will serve vulnerable children all over East Africa with medical and surgical conditions, especially Spina Bifida and birth defects.
The theme for the wards is "Islands of Hope." They wanted to create a feeling of comfort, encouragement and hope in the wards with these quilts. 

I have been following the arrival of the quilts via Facebook from all over the world. So many designs, and now they are on the beds and the children are coming in to the hospital.. It's fantastic to see my quilt on one of the beds. The first photo is of some of the quilts, mine is 3rd down on the left. The 2nd photo is of my quilt, the 3rd photo is of a ward just after it opened in January with the first patients and a quilt on every bed

Their FB page link is lalasalama100quilts/timeline
They are now trying to get another 100 quilts so that each bed has a change for when they need to be laundered.
The charity is special to me because the children are so vunerable in a poor country and now they can get help and in a bright and loving environment. Each quilt is labelled with a message of love from all over the world.  One of the doctors there is also a friend of a friend of mine at my church; they were missionaries together in Papua New Guinea for a while.  



 Guest Blogger
Carol Ann Johnston
MooseCarolQuilts 

 

Quiltsy Cares:

Featuring Dede Coulter of  Pepper's Attic 

 Dede's Charity is

Angel View of Coachella Valley

Angel View has a vast array of programs to help families, children and adults with disabilities. They were originally founded in 1954 during the polio outbreak, right here in my town of Desert Hot Springs, California.

Angel View runs a 40-bed rehabilitation hospital, as well as 19 homes for the developmentally disabled. It relies solely on charitable contributions, donors, and donations of goods to their thrift stores.

I donated a quilt to Angel View, which can be used as either a baby/toddler quilt or a lap quilt for adults. They can also opt to sell the quilt in one of their thrift stores, where the prices are generally marked 25% of retail value.

I have been quilt-making for over 40 years and love the entire process from design to fabric selection to creation and ultimately to completion ~ many of my quilts have been given to others over the years, or offered in my Etsy Shop. Though my favorite quilting thing to do is to create an heirloom quality quilt and hand quilt it – just like what was done in days gone by, and is still done in Amish and other religious communities across the country -- it is not a very practical method of quilt-making, in terms of speed and the many hours it takes, thus the hand quilted quilts do not appear in my Etsy Shop and are reserved as commission pieces. For my Etsy Shop, I favor a beloved sewing machine that purrs & hums as I put it through its paces.

The Quiltsy Team on Etsy has been my go-to place online since 2010. The team consists of men & women who create quilted items and, though the miles separate us, it is a wonderful opportunity to come together in an online chat group to share our latest creations and sometimes our personal life issues.

Guest Blogger

Carol Ann Johnston 

MooseCarolQuilts

And The Winner Is.........

All the Quiltsy Team members commented that they had a hard time voting because of all the wonderful quilts that were submitted. I am sure that everyone else felt the same way. I voted, but was torn between several because of the creativity and diversity of the quilts. But of course you voted, and we do have a winner. The winner of our Quiltsy Team Kaleidoscope Challenge is Sally Manke of Sally Manke with her beautiful quilt. Sally wins a FQ bundle for making first place.

The 2nd place winner is Jane of MulberryPatchQuilts.  Jane won 6 FQ's for a second place win for her gorgeous quilt. 

And finally, our third place winner is Sue Waldrep of Quiltsbysuewaldrep. Sue wins a charm pack for her 3rd place win for her wonderful quilt.

 Congratulations to these three and to the other 6 members who entered our challenge. They are all winners as for as I am concerned.