Meeting in Bingham

A couple of weeks ago I had an email from Judy in Lincolnshire.  Here it is.

'I am a foster carer living in Lincoln but working for Nottinghmshire Social Services. I belong to a team of foster carers called Fostering Futures and we provide therapeutic homes for traumatised children of all ages from babies up to 18. Recently I was approached by the Lincoln coordinator for Project Linus, Lynn Fairhead, and asked if my children would like a quilt, which they accepted with great enthusiasm and pure enjoyment. Every weekend we settle to watch films together and have a family quilt night. I also use their own quilt in the therapuetic sessions we do as we often use cuddle and positive touch and the quilt is fast becoming a vital tool.

Last week we held our fostering team meeting and I relayed the news of the wonderful quilts my children have been given and the team have all wanted to get on board to enable their young people to also benefit from such a lovely donation. I collated a list of all the children we are currently fostering but then had problems sourcing a Nottinghamshire coordinator as there isnt one at present.'

 

Judy was resourceful enough to contact me in Leicestershire, and I was more than happy to pass on the quilts which I had.  We decided to meet halfway between our homes, and settled on Bingham (a delightful old-fashioned market town - would like to go there again when it's not raining!)

 

 

Here you can see us, with lots more quilts in my boot waiting to be transferred.  Then we went for a coffee and had the company of her lovely daughter, and two foster children who were absolutely delightful!  It's so good to know that these quilts are all going to be loved and used!  Now all I need are more, to replace the 53 quilts Judy took!

 

Linus sewing

There has been lots of activity on the Linus front over the last couple of days.  Yesterday I was invited by Sian to The Haberdasher's Hub in Nuneaton to give a talk on Linus and do some sewing with her group.  The group was welcoming and very interested in Linus, and all set to, making scrappy windmill blocks. 

 

 

I took the fabric ready cut and you can see it in the middle of the table.  They all enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with colour combinations, and were impressed with the results of this deceptively simple block.

 

Sian doesn't have a design wall in her classroom (note to Sian - get one!) but I managed to prop this fleece-backed quilt up and stick the completed blocks onto it.  Don't they look fabulous!

Then today it was Knit and Stitch and we had a bumper turnout! 

 

Bev came from Leicester last month, and enjoyed it so much, she persuaded two friends to come with her this time.  I think they had a good time - they certainly worked hard!  We made Delectable Mountains, and this was a block nobody had made before.  They made short work of mastering the technique, and here are the results!  I think there were a few more blocks added before we finished, and they will make a gorgeous quilt!

 

In an attempt to get some of the donated fabric out of its boxes and into some quilts, I brought a box of green fabric and a bag of purple.  No quilter can resist having a rootle, and Julie, Eileen, Bev and Sue are no exception! 

 

 

I hope they have fun with their finds.  I'll look forward to seeing what they make with it all!