Quiltsy Cares 2021 - Quilts

National Quilting Day is the third Saturday in March (March 20 this year). The Quiltsy Team celebrates National Quilting Day by giving away quilts. This year the group gave away several quilts and many, many more masks. Today we’re highlighting just a few of the quilters who donated quilts to their favorite charities during the year.

 
Jen Ivey of QuiltsClothsCovers, Pamela Boatright of PamelaQuilts, Sally Manke of SallyManke, Maryellen McAuliffe of MaryMackMadeMine, Lily Sweeney of TheBattyQuilter, and Mary of QuiltingGranny participated. Click on the photos to read what they had to say about their donations.

Jen Ivey of QuiltsClothsCovers in Auburn, California donated three bed size quilts to California fire victims.

Pamela Boatright of PamelaQuilts in Coos Bay, Oregon donated a quilt that will be auctioned off by the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Oregon during their 2021 dinner and auction in November. She supports the Boys and Girls club because of the great work they do for children in her town, and also because that is the location where her quilt guild has held their annual Quilt show for many years. She has donated for their auctions in the past. This quilt was also part of the Island Batik Ambassador’s February Challenge “Create for a Cause” and you can read more about it on her blog.

Sally Manke of SallyManke in Arcadia, Michigan donated a child’s quilt (or wall quilt) that will be auctioned off by the Michigan Legacy Art Park. The Art Park encompasses many of the things that are important to Sally including kids, nature, hiking, education, and the arts. This outdoor venue brings art, nature and history together with over 50 sculptures dedicated to Michigan’s history on a wooded hiking trail. Hundreds of area students visit the outdoor classroom to study math, science and history each year. There is also an outdoor concert venue. This quilt was also part of the Island Batik Ambassador’s February Challenge “Create for a Cause.”

Maryellen McAuliffe of MaryMackMadeMine in Franklin Square, New York donated a full-sized quilt to her high school, Sacred Heart Academy in celebration of her 40th high school reunion. The quilt will be raffled off to help a deserving student cover tuition. This quilt was also part of the Island Batik Ambassador’s February Challenge “Create for a Cause.”

Lily Sweeney of TheBattyQuilter in Bar Harbor, Maine, donated cat beds made with batting scraps to the SPCA of Hancock County, Maine. Lily’s family is home to two humans and three dachshunds. Two were adopted and they have added to the Sweeney home their happy, funny, and charming personalities. Lily is thankful every day for the ownership of their pets, and the wonderful SPCA that brought them into their lives! The SPCA in Hancock Maine takes in, spays, and re-homes over 600 cats a year. Wow! is that making her pooches bark, and bark, and bark!
How to help? When life gives you batting scraps, and tons of fabric, the answer is easy. Cat Beds! Each cat bed is 18 inches by 40 inches. How to make a cat bed:
   1. Fold the fabric and sew it like a pillow case, double sew each side for strength.
   2. Fill each cat bed 2/3rd's of the way up, with cut up fabric leftovers, and batting.
   3. Sew the pillowcase/cat bed shut and it’s finished.
To date Lily has donated 18 cat beds, and looking at her stash, she sees many more to come and she hopes these cats stay warm and comfortable until they find their forever homes.

Mary of QuiltingGranny in Lincoln, Nebraska donated placemats as part of the Lincoln Quilters Guild that made 560 to donate to the Tabitha Meals on Wheels, which provides nutritious and delicious home-delivered meals and fosters independence for seniors and people with disabilities. The placemats were delivered in December to help cheer up the meals on wheels clientele.

Quiltsy Cares 2021 - Baby Quilts

National Quilting Day is today, the third Saturday in March. The Quiltsy Team celebrates National Quilting Day by giving away quilts. This year the group gave away several quilts and many, many more masks. Today we’re highlighting the quilters who donated baby quilts and lap quilts during the year.

Gail Straka of QuiltSewPieceful, Carol Ann Johnston of MooseCarolQuilts, Adele Mogavero of TheQuiltedBungalow, Lynn Meadows of Lynndalou, Ilse Daehler of ISewTotes, Anne Lindsay of BearyCozyQuilts, and Pam Geisel of PamGeiselArtQuilts share a little bit about their baby quilt donations:

Gail Straka (left) of QuiltSewPieceful in Gilbert, Arizona, donated two baby quilts to Arizona Blankets for Kids with MaDonna Baker (right) who owns Mad B’s Quilt and Sew which is one of many drop off locations for Arizona Blankets for Kids.

Carol Ann Johnston of MooseCarolQuilts in Boise, Idaho, donated a Care Bears baby/toddler quilt to the Women’s and Children’s Alliance, a shelter and charity to help folks fleeing domestic violence.

Adele Mogavero of TheQuiltedBungalow in Hancock, New Hampshire, donated a quilted baby blanket to Project Linus who gives love & comfort - through blankets- to children who are ill or in need. The quilt was made during the Scrappy Quilting Adventure that Adele offers to her email subscribers.

Lynn Meadows of Lynndalou in Nashville, Tennessee, donated a baby quilt to Project Linus, a charity that she’s donated multiple quilts to every year the Quiltsy Team has been doing Quiltsy Cares. This year’s quilt made with soothing pastels and white in a modern design called “Birch Bark” by Hunter’s Design Studio.

Ilse Daehler of ISewTotes in Silver Spring, Maryland donated three flannel quilts (small, baby/child size, and a lap quilt) to Small Things Matter, which was founded on the idea that small acts of kindness can make a big impact on someone’s life. Their motto is “kid-powered kindness for those in need” and they are committed to helping others in need through our food, literacy and charity crafting programs.

Anne Lindsay of BearyCozyQuilts in Colorado Springs, Colorado, donated baby quilts to Mary's Home of Colorado Springs. Mary's Home is a chance to rebuild, for single mothers who are homeless, may have experienced abuse, domestic violence or some other trauma. They provide supportive relationships, resources to heal and stabilize, long-term housing, life skills, and career development. Anne’s personal goal is to use up her fabric stash and so far she’s donated 5 baby quilts with 2 more in the making.

Pam Geisel of PamGeiselArtQuilts in Yellow Springs, Ohio, donated a baby quilt to Project Linus. With chapters in all 50 states, Project Linus continues to grow. Blankets are collected locally and distributed to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies, or anywhere that a child might be in need of a big hug.

Quiltsy Cares 2021 - Mask Donations

National Quilting Day is the third Saturday in March (March 20 this year). The Quiltsy Team celebrates National Quilting Day by giving away quilts. This past year not only did many of our members make masks, they also gave away thousands.

Catherine Butt of MoranArtandQuilts, Lynn Meadows of Lynndalou, Judith Messenger of FabriArts, and Jane Weier of MulberryPatchQuilts share their experiences making masks:

Catherine Butt of MoranArtandQuilts in Columbus, Ohio, made masks for neighbors, friends, and family. When someone contacted her about needing a mask, she'd make some and put them on her front porch to be picked up.

Lynn Meadows of Lynndalou in Nashville, Tennessee, donated a few thousand handmade masks to help save valuable PPE for frontline workers and provide safety for individuals and those around them during this ongoing crisis. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Summit Medical Center, Hermitage Animal Clinic, and Nashboro Family Dental were some of the organizations she sent handmade masks to, as well as her entire family, work colleagues, delivery persons making deliveries to her home, neighbors, and her neighborhood postal worker.

Judith Messenger of FabriArts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada donated cotton face masks, scrub caps, and isolation gowns to Sew4TO and other local clinics. She responded to the call in the spring of last year asking local sewists to make cloth masks for hospitals and front line workers. Having a large stash of cotton fabric on hand, she started making masks to donate. A group called "Sew4TO" (TO is often used to refer to Toronto) formed to coordinate efforts to get donations of supplies, and fulfill requests for masks, scrub caps and earsaver headbands. A local clinic also asked if she could make some fabric isolation gowns. Much of her time in the spring and early summer was spent making items for the various groups and for family members and friends. Even with making over 300 masks, a couple of dozen scrub caps and gowns, and donating fabric cut to size for at least 250 more masks, her stash hasn't seemed to shrink as much as she expected.

Jane Weier of MulberryPatchQuilts in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin made over 300 masks her doctor’s clinic, local EMTs, medical techs where her cousin works, nurses, and her family and friends. She felt it was a real labor of love, a way of doing something helpful during this difficult time. She never charged for her masks but some insisted on giving a donation which was given to her local food pantries. She even posted a free mask pattern on her blog.