Adventures in the LRI

Today my husband and I went up to the LRI to take some quilts to Ward 10.  Pip, the housekeeper there, had rung me to ask if there was any possibility of getting some quilts.  After my visit to Shepshed, I was looking forward to more quilt requests!  

Pip said they had storage and could take up to 100 quilts!  Here are 75 quilts in the most rickety and recalcitrant trolley the LRI has in its keeping!  This one definitely had a mind of its own, but luckily Richard managed to keep it on track! 

And here we are with the quilts.  Pip is on the left with the houses quilts, and two other nurses chose quilts they liked too.  Pip said,' You should see the parents' faces when we bring the quilts out!  They are amazed and delighted.'  Just another reminder of how these quilts aren't just snuggly blankets but important markers of caring and love. 

A visit to Shepshed

There has been an advert on the to recently, for Travelodge I think, where a family is very excited about going to Slough.  Slough isn't known for its attractions, but in the advert, the attraction is grandma and grandad!  I felt a bit the same about my recent visit to Shepshed.  It's not the most attractive of towns, but I was very much looking forward to going there, to see the ladies of Quilting Together.  I always take some boxes of fabric with me, and they usually take most of it home with them. 

Here they all are, diving in!  Other people's fabric is always more desirable than one's own, and this must have been very desirable, as I brought very little of it home. 

And here are the quilts waiting for me to take home.   I was hoping they would all fit in my car.  

Last year I gave the group a bundle of lovely black, grey and red fabrics, which had been donated.  I thought they would be able to put them to good use.  I wasn't wrong, as this is what they have created.  It's ultimately for Linus, but it is being entered into the Uttoxeter Quilt Show, so look out for it there. 

I also left some of this racing car fabric last time.  The black and white checks look great here. 

This is quarter log cabin alternated with some framed ladybird fabric. 

This train fabric has been bigger up by clever framing of each block.  

This quilt uses up some strips of feature fabric. There's something to interest everyone there! 

The group have been exploring scrap and string quilts, and this one uses scrap blocks to great effect. 

This one is hidden nine patch.  It uses the scraps left over from the Uttoxeter quilt. 

This log cabin is a masterclass in using value.  Gorgeous. 

The block here is quite straightforward, but the arrangement adds an extra dimension.  It looks almost circular. 

A blast from the past- a tee shirt block made into a very modern medallion quilt. 

Churn dash with a pinwheel centre. Looks quite nautical. 

Another great use of strings. Mother bold colours are set off by the dark sashing.  

Hexagons with attitude! 

I don't know whether this was made by hand or machine, but either way, these stars look dreamy. 

This green spiders web looks very attractive.  Just like four comfy flowerbeds. 

I don't know quite what's going on here, but I love the colours! 

Clamshells, Jim, but not as we know them!  The peeping pandas are so cute! 

This one looks very complex.  Is the block an on point nine patch framed with triangles?  I think it's the coordinating fabrics which link it all together in an intriguing way. 

I have more photos, but couldn't show all of them, as there were a grand total of 99 (ninety nine!) beautiful quilts!  I was delighted to load them all into my car, and I can assure everyone that they will be finding new homes very soon. 

Thank you so much ladies, and I look forward to seeing you all again next year, if not before! 

More quilts spreading the love

This week has been a very busy one, as quilts have been coming in and going out like crazy!  I was contacted by Helen from Ward 27 of the LRI as they were wanting quilts.  They have no storage, so I just took 15 quilts, which was easy to manage. 

They chose this lovely quilt made by ladies at Quilting Together in Shepshed (more about these fabulous ladies later!) for their photo.  I had a tour of the ward, and one young lady got first pick!  She was delighted with her quilt, which was in her favourite colour, pink! 

Then I had a visit from my daughter, Gemma, who works for The Kite Trust, a charity which supports young LGBT people.  She took 15 quilts too, and was delighted.  

Result, children happy and husband happy, as he always likes quilts going out! 

East Midlands Foster Carers

Today I was delighted to have a visit from Antoni Mason who came to fetch quilts for local fostered children.  

He said he would take as many quilts as I had, so there were 50 beautiful quilts waiting for him.  I asked him to choose one he liked the look of for a photo, and he chose this one, which happened to be Paula's Rocheberie BOM!  It's so bright and cheerful!  He has had Linus quilts before and told me how much they were valued by the young people.  One girl takes hers everywhere with her - and she's 17.  It was heartwarming to hear that these quilts aren't just blankets, but notifications of how valued you are.  A great message.