Linusleics

2011 roundup

2012-01-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous year for Project Linus in Leicestershire! We have had a total of 243 beautiful quilts donated to children in need of a hug. It's slightly less than last year's total, but then last year we had an unprecedented number of quilts. This year's quilts were donated to children from ADAPT (premature babies), Credo Care (special needs children moving from local authority care into fostercare), Looked After Children in Kettering and Leicester, Women's Aid (children in the refuges in Hinckley and Leicester), Leicester Royal Infirmary, the Diana Service for Children with Life-limiting Conditions and Clic-Sargent. Wow! That's a lot of extra hugs going out there.
I would like to say special thank yous to all the people who have helped in any way, by donating fabric or stuff for my 'rummage box', by buying things from the rummage box, by making blocks, joining blocks, making tops, donating UFOs or tops, or by making quilts. Also those who have been to any of the workshops and submitted to being bossed about by yours truly!
Thank you, thank you, thank you and long may it continue! Happy New Year and happy quilting.

Qults for Women's Aid

2011-11-26T02:28:00.000-08:00

Last week I contacted Women's Aid to see if they needed any quilts for the children in their refuges, and the answer was a resounding 'yes please!' I took 25 quilts for them, which was a blessing, as I have so many quilts here, it would have been impossible for my son to sleep in his bed at Christmas.

Here is Kate holding up just one of the quilts. The reason I have so many, is that I have been over to Shepshed, to 'Quilting Together' and brought back 45 quilts (luckily quite a few of them were prem quilts, or we'd have had to extend the house!) all of which were of the most fabulous standard. This nursery rhyme quilt was one of them.

This is a panel, beautifully hand quilted.Choppy stars with the design echoed in the plain blocks - a great quilt for a boy!Another choppy stars quilt, but looking much more dramatic, and sashed with cornerstones.Anbother panel - don't they look lovely when they're quilted?Mile-a-Minute on point with spacer blocks. You can just see that letters, numbers and simple designs have been quilted in the cream blocks. It makes a simple quilt extra special!A scrap quilt with a difference - Chinese coins stripped with hot pink. Bound to be snapped up by a Barbie Girl!Blue strippy with dogs! What a clever way to use up scrappy blocks and a small piece of novelty fabric! The red border adds extra pizzazz!

A medallion quilt for a Star Wars fan. The colour choices here are perfect!Black, white and red always make a dramatic, masculine-looking quilt. The border and red binding really set it off.Some farm animal pictures bulked out to make a super quilt for a nature lover. Love the borders top and bottom.I recognise these blocks, as they were donated by someone who had done great work making them. They've gone together beautifully with the light sashing allowing them to shine, but kept in trim by the purple border. Smashing.A cute quilt for a small child, with 3-D prairie points to play with. More Mile-a-Minute with a subdued colour palette. The sashing compliments the colours in the blocks.And the last photo for today is of school-related images. Not sure how well that will go down, but the colours will certainly brighten a child's day!

Many thanks to all the ladies from Quilting Together for their lovely quilts, their lovely welcome, and the lovely way they dive into my donated scraps and not only take lots away, but then come back with more fabulous quilts!

Quilts for vulnerable children

2011-11-11T09:22:00.001-08:00

I had a call yesterday from Micheala from Catch-22 to see if I thought the children she works with would be eligible for Linus quilts. If, like me, you've never heard of this organisation, have a look here to see the kind of work that they do. As far as I'm concerned, vulnerable children like these are the ideal recipients of Linus quilts, as not only do they need the hug, but they also need the quilt!

Michaela kindly came to my house, and took 12 of the largest quilts I had (for young people aged 16 and over) and six cot quilts, as some of these youngsters are already mums. So if anyone out there has any large quilts or a good pattern which knits up big, please let me know!

Another TWG workshop!

2011-11-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

There was an emergency call from my Mum last week, hoping I could do another quilting workshop with the Chesterfield Townwomen's Guild, as their booked person had had to cancel.
I need to find out how to say 'no' (anyone out there with tips to help me?!) as it's a 120 mile round trip, but the promise of lunch with my parents was tempting, so off I went with my squares of Vilene and a bag of blue strings.
They were a lovely friendly group of ladies, and here they are all hard at work. I rather optimistically brought 49 squares, hoping for a good-sized quilt (blocks are 6" finished).They were very diligent about mixing up the fabrics and the values, to produce blocks which would go together well.My Mum, in the blue, helped out with the teaching, and we got on well. I pinned the completed blocks onto the back of a quilt I had brought as an example, and they quickly mounted up.Here are the blocks close up. They'll look even better when they're sewn together. There was a total of 20 blocks made in a two hour period, and the prize for the fastest worker went to Doreen who made five blocks. Well done, ladies. This will make a great quilt for anyone who likes blue!

Another workshop and more requests

2011-10-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked to hold a sewing workshop for the Wingerworth Townswomen's Guild (my Mum is the president, so how could I refuse!) I decided to make more of the string blocks on interfacing, as anyone who can do running stitch can make these!
Here are the ladies hard at work. They really enjoyed making these blocks, and produced enough for two cot quilts! Here is one set of blocks ready to be sewn together and bordered. I'm glad there are so many willing volunteers, as I had another call from the Looked After Children's Services, asking if I had any large quilts, two for girls and one for a boy who were all leaving the care system and moving into their own accommodation. At this time of the year when so many 18 year olds are moving away from home to go to university, it gave me pause to think about these youngsters, who will have no loving family to fall back on, when times are tough. I was glad to find some big quilts, and a whole pile more for other children in need of a hug.Debbie was delighted with the quilts, and even came to pick them up on her day off!

Summer update

2011-08-01T01:32:00.000-07:00

Despite the recent good weather, there has been lots of activity for Project Linus. The last Knit and Stitch was a bit depleted due to the holiday season, but we still managed to get plenty done!
We had a new quilter, Maria, who Paula took under her wing, and she proved to be a natural! Not only did she quickly get the hang of the Dutchman's Puzzle blocks (not straightforward at all!) but she also took some home to finish! Way to go! Julie decided to tackle a 'kit' of nine blocks which were ready to be joined together and bordered. The blocks are all in autumnal colours and will have a farmyard scene border to them.There were plenty of knitters making bonnets and triangles.And here is a completed Dutchman's Puzzle quilt! This was finished just in time, as I had a call from Leicestershire Looked After Children's Services. Rosemary had told them about Project Linus and they wondered if they could have quilts for their children too! They were a bit surprised when I said yes, and that I had a pile of quilts waiting, but we quickly arranged to meet and hand over the quilts.Here are Jo and myself in the car park at Meridian (a good place to meet up) and she is accepting one of the windmill quilts made at Knit and Stitch. This will certainly brighten up anyone's day!

More donations - and blocks!

2011-06-04T01:49:00.000-07:00

I've been very remiss about updating the blog, but a gentle reminder from Mandy has given me the impetus to do it. It's not as if things have been quiet on the Linus from - far from it! Mandy has taken 17 quilts to the Looked After Children's Services (no photo, unfortunately) and I have given quilts to the Diana Service and Adapt. Rosemary from the Diana Service rang me to ask if I had a quilt suitable for a 14 year old boy who was going in for a bone marrow transplant. I was able to say 'yes' thanks to the football blocks we made at 'Knit and Stitch', and Nicola came round to collect this quilt and 5 other larger ones, for older children.

Here she is, holding up a gorgeous quilt made by Sarah from Australian fabrics. Then Sue from Adapt came to collect 33 quilts - some prem ones and some cot ones - along with some knitted triangles and bonnets which had been made at 'Knit and Stitch'.
Sue has been so taken with the quilts that she has decided to make a quilt of her own! Watch this space for further details!
Then, on Thursday, we had another session of 'Knit and Stitch'. Despite the fact that Sue was away, the knitters were able to cope!

I took away a carrier bag full of things they have knitted. What talented and generous people!

Rosie made three Morsbags. Only Eileen and Anne were hand sewers, and Eileen kindly took all the papers from a hexagon quilt so it's ready to border and quilt, while Anne made yellow strippy blocks.
Paula and Julie continued making Dutchman's Puzzle blocks, and Stephanie finished a set of pastel mile a minute blocks, so they are ready to be joined up. Here is the design wall with some of the blocks made that day, and here is an arrangement of enough blocks to make a quilt! This one will be great for an older boy. Here's to the next session on July 7th!

Out of the mouths...

2011-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Rosemary has sent me a lovely lot of thank you letters and cards from recipients of Linus quilts in the Diana Service. I'm delighted to get them, although I'm a little worried about one letter. I know that some of us quilters are a little broad in the beam, and I myself would admit to a 'curvey' shape, but to call us 'Prod guts' is going maybe a bit far! Still, if the cap fits......! Seriously, it's lovely to hear that the quilts are all put to good use.

And here are more quilts, from Jo, which came in the post today (I love getting squishy parcels!)

This quilt is perfect for a boy,

and as you can see from this prem version, the fabrics have a fairy tale theme. Many thanks Jo, and keep sewing!

A sewing morning

2011-03-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Last year I gave a talk to Botcheston W.I. about Project Linus, and I must have been good, as they invited me back to run a sewing workshop this week. I was really looking forward to it, as they were such a lovely, friendly group of ladies, and I felt sure we would have an enjoyable and productive morning. However, I was overwhelmed when Mary presented me with these two books! She said she thought they would be good aids for further talks! How kind is that? Thank you so much Mary!
There were about 15 people there altogether, and they worked really hard. We put the tables together with all the fabric strips in the centre so everyone could reach them.

I began to get a bit worried towards the end of the morning, as they had worked so hard that I ran out of Vilene foundations, and practically ran out of fabric!

Here are the strippy blocks they made - aren't they gorgeous! This is a kind of diamond arrangement, and here a medallion. There were actually enough completed blocks to make 3 cot quilts, and I have taken them away to be assembled and bordered. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed the day, not only the achievement of making something pretty to brighten someone's life, but also the chat! The hands were busy, and so were the tongues, putting the world to rights in the best traditions of sewing circles! They are hoping to arrange another session in the autumn, and I can't wait for the next one, ladies!

Knit and Stitch March

2011-03-04T01:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the second meeting of the Knit and stitch group in Lutterworth, and it was another very pleasant (and productive) afternoon. More than 20 people came to make charity items, learn something new, chat and drink tea, and we also had a visit from Andrew Carpenter, the local photographer, so look out for pictures in the 'Lutterworth Mail'!

Rosie was a bit hampered by one of her sewing machines suddenly refusing to sew, but luckily I had brought mine, so she was able to make 5 Morsbags, and had some kits for people to complete at home.

The knitters were busy making triangles for ADAPT. These triangles go inside the bras of mums with preterm babies, and then are put next to the baby, to help with bonding. Last year ADAPT gave away 3,000 of them, so we need to get knitting! The machine sewers made t-shirt blocks, and they were so focussed, it was like being in a sweat shop! They completed enough blocks for two quilts, and joined them together as well!

The hand sewers decorated penants made from Freetrade cotton, using Suffolk Puffs and embroidery. These were joined into bunting, and will be used to attempt to gain an entry in the Guiness Book of Records for the longest bunting in the world! It will eventually be draped round the Houses of Parliament in London! Gwyneth brought some fabric crayons, and the other members of the group decorated a flag too.

Here is our piece of the bunting. Look out for it if you go to London!

More donations!

2011-03-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

Today I went over to Queens Medical Centre to meet Lynne from Clic-Sargent to take some quilts for some very poorly children. First we loaded quilts into her car : she doesn't look very pleased about it, but believe me, it is only my poor photogaphy skills, she was actually delighted!

She is holding a lovely quilt made by Paula. (Incidentally, she's redecorating her bathroom and would like to know where you got the backing fabric, Paula, as it would be perfect for curtains! )

Then we went up to the Children's Ward to see Lois.

This photo captures her reaction to the quilt perfectly, and made her day, and that of her Mum's. We wish her all the best, and a speedy recovery.

Dear Project Liners ...

2011-02-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

Today I went to meet Rosemary from the Diana Service for Children with Life-limiting Conditions, as I had quilts for her, and she had thank you letters and cards for me! We had actually forgotten that it was half term, so our 'usual place' to meet was heaving with cinema goers and people out for a meal! Never mind, we managed to find each other and I gave her 15 quilts.

She particularly wanted some larger ones, so the children could use them to lie on the floor, and this one which Jane made is perfect! Rosemary gave me an envelope full of letters, which show how much the quilts are valued.

All the letters are wonderful, but one especially caught my eye. It reads, 'Dear Project Liners'! What a hoot!

First donation of 2011

2011-02-07T04:29:00.001-08:00

This year the quilts are rolling in, and today the first ones began rolling out! Kate, over at Credo Care, rang me to say they needed four quilts. Credo Care works to find disabled youngsters foster placements. These children come from hospitals or local authority care into a proper family. What fabulous work!

Kate chose the quilts from a small selection, as she knows the children and their likes and dislikes. She particularly liked this one, both front and back! I'm sure the recipient will too!

Knit & Stitch a resounding success!

2011-02-04T02:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had the first charity sewing and knitting afternoon in Lutterworth. It was a resounding success. Not only were there 32 people crammed into the room, but there was a lovely atmosphere, with people chatting and having a pleasant afternoon away from the stresses and strains of 'life', which is one of the many advantages of craft work.

Here is a view from the door, which gives you an idea of the popularity of this session!

Some people hand sewed some hexagons into rosettes - they will look lovely on a baby quilt - and others had brought their machines and were sewing windmill blocks for Linus. We had a kind of production line going, with Ruth and I pressing and cutting, which resulted in 42 blocks being completed in the two hours, and with the blocks that Rosie had brought along and the part ones I took home with me, there were 60 blocks, which is enough for 3 Linus quilts! Several sewers were first time piecers, and did an amazing job!

Here are some of the blocks, along with my 'Blue Peter' on my design wall . (And the even better thing is that I had two volunteers to make them up! Thank you Ann and Stephanie!)

Rosie had volunteers making Morsbags. She was pleased that six were completed, and promptly gave them all away!

Sue was kept busy with the knitters, and she was relieved that there were no beginners, as it has been a long time since she taught anyone to knit! I'm sure she was up to the task, although she had much the largest group, all knitting little hearts for charity.

Here's another group of knitters concentrating hard. My thanks to all those people who came, and I look forward to seeing you again on March 3rd!

Joined up thinking

2011-01-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

New year, new ideas! In Lutterworth, Linus has joined forces with Morsbags to run some 'Knit & Stitch' sessions every month. Rosie and Sue, who run the local Morsbag pod, found their venue wasn't too convenient, and while Jackie and I are very grateful to Sheilar for letting us use her workshop, it was really too small, so we have decided to all get together. We're all sewers (and knitters) and working for charity, so it makes perfect sense! The new sessions will be on the first Thursday of every month, in the Methodist Church Parlour, Bitteswell Road, Lutterworth, from 2-4. The first one will be on 3rd February, and I have already had three enquiries from our newspaper advert, which is very encouraging. We will be making some simple windmill blocks and jackie and I have cut lots of strips ready. Very exciting!

I have already had Linus quilts donated this year. Adri's knitting group in Knighton sent 10 knitted quilts (sorry, no photos), and I collected several from Piecemakers.

This one was made by me, as a request from Clic-Sargent for a quilt in 'pink and purple' for an 8 year old cancer patient. Hope this fits the bill.

Ruth had been busy over the festive period and had made this pretty pastel quilt from squares and other leftovers, and a bright one too!Paula had taken this set of blue blocks home, and put them together beautifully.

Then she had fun with this pink sweetie fabric and some lime green to make this quilt which will not only brighten a child's day, but has brightened Paula's too!

Hope to see you on 3rd February, for a cuppa and a natter (plus a bit of sewing!)

Hooray! Made it!

2010-12-16T08:30:00.001-08:00

Today, I decided to clear round upstairs (mother-in-law is expected to stay for Christmas!) and ended up reorganising some of the Linus fabric. I have lots of lovely orphans, but they need to be matched up to be useful, so I spent some time sorting blocks, measuring them, and trimming those which were strange sizes to make them easy to use.

Here's the 'Tops and orphan blocks' box with all the blocks in their correct bags. Now they are ready to use at our next sewing afternoon in January. I was interrupted by the doorbell, and I was delighted to see Jackie, who had seen my plea for another quilt to make this year's total up to 300, and had brought one!

It's a beautiful prem quilt with mother and baby rabbit! Of course, it being Jackie, she couldn't just bring one quilt.......

she brought three! Many thanks for that, Jackie, and keep on stitching!

Happy babies

2010-12-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

This week I managed to make a delivery of 35 quilts to ADAPT, the charity working with premature babies and their families. Sue Williams came over and took a large pile of quilts away with her. (Actually, 35 isn't as big a pile as you'd think, as lots were the small prem quilts and cot quilts, so not too big!) Sue was delighted, and said they would soon be finding new homes. She was as good as her word, and has sent me these photos of small ones enjoying their quilts!

This little one has chosen the quilt which was made by Caitlin, our youngest Linus quilter, at only 7 years old!

This youngster is delighted to have this cute cot quilt with farm animals on it.

And here is (possibly) a future textile artist, busy examining the quilt's construction!

I was so glad to see these quilts going out and giving hugs, as this year has been another bumper year for Project Linus in Leicestershire. So far, I have received 299 quilts! Is there anyone who has a quilt which can bring the count up to 300? Hoping so!

December sewing afternoon

2010-12-02T05:24:00.000-08:00

I wasn't really expecting too many people at this month's sewing afternoon, as the weather here has been horrendous! Not only has it been bitterly cold, but we've also had thick snow. Jackie and I had decided to brave it, as we both live in the town, but we were delighted to see Eileen brave the country roads to join us! Jackie and I sewed, and Eileen ironed, cut, sorted fabric and generally kept us busy!

This month we deiced to sew strips together, as these blocks are easy to make and are so useful. Jackie chose purple and I chose pink, and we decided to have a competition to see who could do the most.

Here is the result - Lynda 13, Jackie 7. Looking at the two piles I can see why I won. I think maybe the pink strips were wider, so making the construction of 8.5" squares quicker! Never mind, it's for a very good cause.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone connected with Linus (and those who aren't!) a very happy Christmas and a productive new year!

Comfort in cold weather

2010-11-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

Not only have I been receiving quilts, but I've been giving them away as well! Earlier in the week I went to Credo Care's Leicestershire office to take five quilts for disabled youngsters entering foster care. They are all boys, which made selecting quilts from the pile a bit trickier than normal. However, Kate was delighted at my choices, and happily posed for a photo. These youngsters will be starting a whole new life, moving from either hospital or local authority care into a family. Good luck to them.
Next stop Women's Aid, where Janet had requested 15 quilts for the children in the Leicestershire refuges. She was well organised, and had brought a trolley to take the quilts up to the office! Apparently they had had an influx of new cases recently, and the recent cold weather has made the idea of quilts doubly appealing! I'm just glad we could help.

Quilting Together

2010-11-24T08:21:00.000-08:00

What a lovely day for a run out! Today's been cold but sunny and I was fortunate enough to be on my way to Shepshed, to visit the 'Quilting Together' group who meet there. (Last time I went, there was cake, so I had my fingers crossed!)

The ladies didn't disappoint in any way : not only was there cake, and some of the most fabulous quilts I've had all year, but such a welcome and a lovely relaxed atmosphere! I wish I lived a little bit nearer so I could go regularly.

Altogether they had made 31 quilts for Linus (plus the four I collected from Eileen a few weeks ago) which is a fabulous total. Apart from the cake, I was also hoping for some boys quilts, as I'm quite short on anything masculine, and they didn't disappoint in that direction either!

What about this for a start? Footballs and lots of toning bright colours, to fill any boy's dreams with goals!

Another bright one without a hint of pink, with cats and other creatures.

Yet another one for boys, with trains in the feature fabric, and cars in the borders (and backing).

Of course, I want girls' quilts too, and this one is so refined and delicate.

A baby quilt made from a panel.

Another baby quilt with a frill - look how the quilting makes you overlook the fact that there wasn't enough fabric to do alternate squares. How clever is that!

Another cute panel - they're always very popular.

Some quilts are unisex - or gender-neutral as my PC DD says. This is suitable for anyone.

This one could be boyish, but yellow and blue are always good together.

An alphabet quilt made from a panel, cleverly sashed with yellow to make it bigger and brighter!

A bright panel - I've found someone else who likes lime green!

A selection of lovely prem quilts.

This cot quilt was also made from a panel, with the individual blocks sashed and a novelty border added. Here is good use of some of the strippy blocks in red, white and black. I know that Jay made this one, and not only has she put the blocks on point to give them 'pizazz!' but also added the stars to pep the whole thing up a bit. Another one for a boy!

All the ladies in the group would agree that Jay is particularly creative. The green floral and lilac half square triangles were donated, and looked so bland, but not now that Jay has added a jazzy centre block and matching border, they look great!

Eight windmill blocks (why are there ever only three or five, eight or fourteen blocks donated?!) made into a nine patch with a central medallion.

Farm animals I, another gender neutral quilt with lime green borders. My favourite colour!

Farm animals II, this time only eight blocks, but cleverly quilted to look like sixteen!

Donated sampler blocks united into a pretty green quilt,

and a pretty yellow one!

This brown fabric has been made child-friendly by the addition of stars.

And last, but by no means least, another of Jay's quilts, made from half a dozen stack-and-whack blocks she found in a box and made into a vibrant quilt by the judicious addition of pieced borders. Fabulous!

Many thanks for the quilts and the cake, ladies, but most of all thanks for the welcome and the contribution you have made to giving needy children an extra hug!

PS. I forgot to say that I took three boxes of donated fabric and blocks, and have come back with only two not-very-full ones! Way to go, ladies!

Lots of activity

2010-11-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Project Linus continues to keep me out of mischief - well, pretty much! Last week, I met Rosemary from the Diana Service for Children with Life-Limiting Conditions at our usual haunt in the cinema car park and she took 8 large quilts for children who need to lie on the floor. We're both squinting in the bright sunlight, not reacting to the colours on the quilt!

Then it was straight into Leicester to the offices of Women's Aid, to take 21 quilts for the children in the refuges. We arrived just as a meeting was finishing, so there were plenty of important people willing to hold up a quilt (and to be impressed by them all too!)

So that makes a bit of space in my cupboard - for the moment at least. Today was the second Linus Sewing Afternoon in Lutterworth, and we had decided to make half square triangles out of the blue donated fabric. I had already cut lots of 5" squares and some 10" squares, and while Eileen diligently marked all the diagonals, Jackie and I sewed.

Here is the result. One hundred and sixty three half square triangles, not bad for a couple of hours' work, and the amount of chatting and tea drinking we did! 'But, that's not right,' I hear you say. 'You can't get an odd number of half square triangles.'

You can if you sew five of them on the wrong sides! Just off to fetch the unpicker!

Quilts, quilts, quilts!

2010-10-01T01:38:00.001-07:00

I knew that as soon as the schools went back, the quilts would start to come in, but I didn't realise they would pour in from all directions! Still, I'm not complaining at all, and am happy to share the photos of them.

These two snuggly prem quilts arrived by post from Jo. She was a bit concerned that they have shrunk slightly in the dryer, and don't quite measure 18". I was able to reassure her that babies don't usually have tape measures! Thanks Jo.
And look at this lovely stamp she's used on her parcel. (In case you can't quite read it, it says, 'Keep calm and sew stuff'! My sentiments exactly!) I want one, please.

Piecemakers can always be relied on to have some quilts for me, and this month was no exception. This 'Square Dance' quilt is beautifully machine quilted using fancy stitches. A real work of art! Paula is constantly making Linus quilts, and here is one she made from a panel. She's cleverly quilted it so it looks pieced. Great idea!Another panel, this time Dresden plate. It certainly makes for an easy way to make an impressive quilt!

And if that wasn't enough, she made this one up from an orphan block kit from my box! The central block fits well with these stack and whack blocks.I couldn't get to Rocheberie this time, so Jane very kindly accepted quilts on my behalf. Poor Jane had a boot full of quilts, and had to put her weekly shop on the back seat! She didn't complain though. She's another staunch Linus supporter. This simple square quilt is made special by the lovely cornerstones.Bright squares made more interesting by being assembled on point. It makes all the diference.

Jars are super if you have the contents fabrics. This collection of sweets is just delectable. (Incidentally, this quilt has already gone to a good home with a disabled child in foster care. Perfect.)More squares, this time not on point, but made a bit special by appliqued hearts. Lovely. This quilt has been made from a strip of little panels. They have been knitted up big by using them for the centres of log cabin blocks. A great idea for using these irresistible yet small pictures.This cot quilt has some cute images on it, and will delight a little girl and her parents. This string quilt is more masculine in feel, and has lots of 'I-spy' possibilities.

Chris is trying to finish all her UFOs. Good luck with that one, Chris! Her daughter has taken a photo of each UFO and pinned them up. Chris calls it her 'wall of shame'! She donated three quilts to Linus this month, of which this was one. The green accent really looks good. Keep sewing, Chris!A Lone Star quilt. I must have a go at this one day.A strippy windmill quilt. Perfect use of lights and darks.The colours in this quilt remind me of stained glass windows. Rich and luminous.Square within a square, and a good view of Jackie's legs. Poor Jackie came round for a coffee and ended up with arm ache, after holding up all these quilts. You're a star, Jackie!And talking of stars, these choppy stars look lively and fun. I still have more quilts to show (including two which came in the post this morning from Diane) so come back later and be prepared to be inspired!

Donations

2010-09-01T11:38:00.001-07:00

It's been quiet over the summer, but I have a feeling things will be gearing up once the temperature goes down and the schools go back. I have been away, but managed to squeeze in a visit to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. What a fabulous show that is! And my day wouldn't have been complete without a visit to the Project Linus stand, to meet Lyn Antill and any other reps who were there. People often bring in quilts, blocks, fabric etc. so I called back as I was leaving, and Lyn gave me a bagful of tops.

Now, I am always very grateful for any donation to Linus, but the tops in this bag divided themselves neatly into 'I can see why you didn't want that!' and 'why have you given that away?'

Here are the tops which will need a little work. This one is double bed sized, so will have to be cut down. Nice and scrappy, but needs borders to bring the colours out.

This one is big too. The lovely stack and whack stars are a bit lost. A bit of resizing here would help too.

This will be fine once the navy border has been halved and sewn onto the other side to balance it. The Japanese fabrics are very attractive.

Now for the ones I would definitely not have given away!

A Tree of Life in reproduction colours - very sophisticated, and only needing layering, quilting and binding!

A folk art vase of flowers - now what's wrong with that? Nothing that I can see! Maybe there should have been more birds, and the maker just ran out of steam! A nice blue border and it'll be absolutely charming!

A cake stand centre and lovely borders. This will make a sweet little cot quilt.

And now for my favourite kind of Linus quilt - a completed one!

This is Caitlin proudly showing her quilt. I think she must be one of the youngest quilters ever to donate a quilt, as she is just seven years old! Well done and thank you, Caitlin, and I'll look forward to more beautiful quilts from you in the future.

Exciting news!

2010-08-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

I have recently bought a book which has lots of lovely quilts made from either Layer Cakes or Charm Squares. What really attracted me to the book - apart from the lovely quilt patterns - was the gorgeous scrappiness of them! I could easily see them making a dent in the boxes of fabric which have been donated to Project Linus.

Here is the book, by Carrie Nelson.

And here is the quilt I have made from it! It's called a Nice Day, and while it took me more than one day to assemble it, it was really quick to make. Each block calls for 4x10.5" squares, and makes two identical blocks (if that makes any sense!) finishing at an impressive 12.5" each! Good for using scraps and big blocks to knit up fast! What more could a quilter want?

Well, I contacted Carrie and she has generously given me permission to give away kits for the blocks with fabric and pattern included! How kind is that! There will be enough fabric to make two blocks, and the deal is that you send me your snailmail address, I send fabric and pattern, you make the blocks and return them to me to make up for Linus, and keep the pattern! What's not to like? I will choose the colour, so you will have a surprise, and you pay the return postage. Of course, if you're so pleased with the results that you want to buy the book and make more quilts for Linus - who's to stop you?

Lots of quilts (and some quilted tops!)

2010-07-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Rocheberie Quilters, and came home with a boot full of lovely quilts. The ladies there are so generous, not to say talented!

This quilt was made by a beginner quilter, who was inspired to take some fabric from the Linus table, and then was unsure what to do with it! I think we'd all agree, she did well with it!

This one, made from leftover half square triangles is made even more attractive by the addition of a star block. The arrangement of the triangles is rather funky!

Another excellent use of left over blocks - can you see that it's actually a kind of strippy? There seems to be no end to the creativity (and thrift) of some people!

This one, while similar to the last one, becomes a sirt of medallion by the inclusion of a panel - a still life! - in the centre. Although the colours aren't all similar, the dark squares unify the design perfectly! This quilt was made from 25 patches, sashed in cream to keep the feel light and airy. The pale blue is a lovely addition.

This quilt was made from some cushion panels - ideal for a budding Bill Oddie!

Here is another scrap quilt, but with the addition of letters. I wonder if the whole alphabet is there?Here are two cot quilts which were made from the jelly roll which was a Christmas gift for members two years ago. Laura chose the colours beautifully. This one is the girl version,

and this one the boy version!

This quilt came through the post from Jo. My daughter has jokingly laid claim to this one - she loves the design and the unusual fabrics. I'm sure a child will love it too.

This weeekend I had a visit from Mary, who brought a lot of fabric, and several quilts.

This one is a complete alphabet, and will be a lovely cot quilt.

Mary also brought back a load of tops which have been long arm quilted by Linda. they are just waiting for some binding and then they're good to go. I'd better get on and finish them!

Botcheston WI

2010-07-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last year I was contacted by Christine, secretary of Botcheston WI to see if I would like to go and give a talk about Project Linus. Well, I like talking, and I like Linus, and they were going to give me a fee which I could use to buy wadding, so what's not to like?

Here I am in full flood, talking about Linus, the quilts and the children. I had taken a selection of quilts which I passed round for the ladies to examine. I can tell you, they were really impressed at the workmanship and the beautiful fabrics.

I couldn't resist showing them the lovely quilt made by the textile students at Ashlawn School, and they thought this quilt was especially gorgeous!

They loved handling and examining the quilts, and not a word of criticism about missing points, mismatching seams or inaccurate quilting was heard! They were a lovely group of ladies, and even went as far as to say that they would be interested in a workshop to make blocks for Linus quilts, later in the year. I would be delighted to see them all again (now I have discovered where Botcheston actually is!) so look out for photos!

A quiet time

2010-06-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

I think people have been taking advantage of what warm weather we've had to be busy in their gardens, rather than ensconced in their sewing rooms lately, as very few quilts have come my way! However, Piecemakers can always be relied on to be generous.June belongs to a knitting group, and gave me four lovely blankets which a member of the group had knitted for Linus.Ruth had made this sunny quilt from bits and bobs. Really cheery!
Some people may recognise this design as being the mystery quilt which members of Rocheberie Quilters made last year. The quilt was designed in quarters, and Chris said if anyone didn't want to finish the quilt, she would make up any lone quarters into a charity quilt. Since the pattern was designed to use scraps, the four parts look as if they were always meant to be together. Well done, Chris. What a great job!
Jane made this gorgeous quilt using a technique which would lend itself well to leaders and enders. You need lots of 3.5" squares and 3.5" x 2" rectangles. The method is simplicity itself: you simply join them into pairs and then join the pairs up as you like. I can see other design possibilities here. (I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'f'. Sorry.)

But recently, something quite exciting has happened. I was invited by Shakira, the Textiles teacher of a local secondary school to talk to her Y9 group about quilts, as part of a module on recyling. The group were so enthusiastic (and well-behaved!) that I offered to come back and lead a practical session in making blocks for Linus. They all enjoyed the session, sewing strips onto squares of Vilene, and I put the blocks together for them.

Here is the resultant quilt. Very sweet. I made a piano keys border for it, and used some little orphan blocks for the corners. Here is the group of pupils proudly showing off their handiwork!

Sorry

2010-05-14T11:06:00.001-07:00

I have really been very poor at posting pictures of the lovely quilts I have been given. I'm really sorry if you've given me a quilt recently, and not seen it on the blog. It isn't because it wasn't good enough or anything, just that I've been remiss about photographing, and then Sue from ADAPT came and took 45 quilts away with her, so they're gone!

Here she is with one of them. She chose it because it's bright and cheerful. Lots of the quilts were the prem ones (about 18" square) so they didn't require her to bring a removal van to take them. I also gave her a bag of little knitted hats, some white wool from the rummage box and an amaryllis!
So when I was given lots of quilts at Rocheberie Schoolhouse quilters (some brought by Kay fromleicestershire Quilters), I made sure my DH was available to hold them up for photos. This one has a kind of 19th century feel - but is bright and happy.

This one was made from a kit by Caroline. She has chosen lovely child-friendly fabric for the sashing.Here is a sashed mile-a-minute with a difference! This is an attractive medallion quilt made from leftover blocks. Looks good to me!

These blocks were made from leftover strips and are cleverly put together.This quilt would be perfect for a boy, as the little images and colours are quite masculine.A cot quilt for a girl, and this one too!And here's one for a future animal-lover.

This lovely panel of circus animals has been made extra special by the unusual border. The diamonds are on the front at the sides and on the back at the top and bottom. I haven't yet worked out how it's done!Mile-a-minute I-spy!

Another house quilt - this one with little smiling cats peeping from each window!The maker of this quilt made one for her daughter, and this one from the leftover blocks! It wll cetainly please a little girl greatly.

Another I-spy, made from charm squares?A dog lover's dream quilt.This knitted prem quilt was finished off at the meeting. It's nice and snuggly and in lovely colours. Perfect to stimulate the development of immature eyes, while adding a splash of colour to cheer worried parents!

Morsbags

2010-03-29T02:25:00.000-07:00

I am always keen to use everything which is so kindly donated to Linus. Any non-quilting fabric goes into the rummage box (or sometimes on a sales table) and the left-overs go to the charity shop. Recently, I had quite a bit of nice upholstery fabric, which was ideal for making bags, and I suddenly thought about Morsbags! If you haven't heard about them, click here to find out. I contacted my local pod, organised by Rosie, and asked her if she could use this fabric. She kindly came round to fetch it.

Not only that, but she brought me some Morsbags and some thread!

Now that's what I call collaboration!

Quilts delivered!

2010-03-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today I went to meet Rosemary and Ann from the Diana Service for Children with Life-limiting Conditions, and delivered 30 quilts! Rosemary has put in a plea for some larger quilts, so that children can lie on them on the floor. I gave her the biggest quilts I had, but if anyone feels like making a quilt bigger that 40" square, she'll be thrilled. She also gave me some feedback, which is always very welcome.

In these days when you can't even take a child's photograph, it's always good to have evidence that our stirling work is very much appreciated.

Quilting Together

2010-03-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Today I was invited up to Shepshed, to the 'Quilt Together' group of ladies, as they were having a Linus afternoon. I took wadding, backing, fabric and various kits and blocks.

They thoroughly enjoyed rooting through the bits and pieces, and all took away more than they had anticipated! (When I got home, I found I could rearrange the Linus fabric into two fewer boxes. Hurrah!) The ladies are so imaginative, and had lots of great ideas for using up the orphans and UFOs.

Once everything had been examined and lots selected and stowed away,, they quickly set to work. The wadding and backing was put to good use to layer up this panel.

Some people then carried on with ongoing projects (I was really impressed by all the hand quilting going on!)And of course, there was plenty of chat! Several ladies had brought quilts for me to take away. Jay had brought half a dozen - apparently her grandchildren don't like quilts! They'll be kicking themselves in a few years when they realise what they've missed out on!

Here is an I-spy with black sashing - that really makes the colours zing.This one is transport, with specially chosen borders. This quilt is actually a masterclass in using orphans. There are three picture blocks, three sixteen-patches and three four-patch blocks made using small pictures. They have been unified using attic windows, and beautifully sashed and bordered. It looks like this quilt was meant to be, when I suspect it was various odd blocks which would have stumped many people attempting to put it together. Well done, Jay!Here is a sweet cot quilt made by a lady who couldn't come. She really missed a treat, as apart from the rummaging and laughter, this meeting was one with cake! Scones and cream, coffee cake or courgette cake. The latter was absolutely delicious, although the lady who made it got her leg pulled by people who suggested her next cake might be Marmite and banana or sardine and apricot, a la Letitia Cropley in 'The Vicar of Dibley'!

Here are the ever popular Flower Fairies, six panels eked out with four-patches.

These log cabin variations practically spin!I had seen this alphabet panel in the shops, and thought it fun, but a bit dark. This pale blue sashing has really lifted it, and made it bright and cheerful.Judith had used a jelly roll to make this lovely quilt - it looks like a benign jungle!

This futuristic bear panel is a double joy.

It's reversable! Many thanks to the group for their friendly welcome, and for supporting Linus in such a big way. I'll see you all soon!

Happy New Year!

2010-02-03T05:57:00.001-08:00

I can't believe this is my first post of 2010, and I have a mountain of quilts (well, 33!) to show!

The weather here in the UK has been awful - lots of snow and ice and very unusual low temperatures. I think people have been taking advantage of the time indoors to do lots of sewing! Very good!

My first collection this year was at Piecemakers where there are always quilts for me to collect.

Here I am showing this easy one from a Bonnie Hunter pattern, 'I Spy a 4 Patch.' It's great for using scrap fabrics or yardage as you prefer. Check out Bonnie's patterns, as she has loads of super ones, all free!

Ruth has been busy using up scraps for this lovely bright basket weave quilt,

and these gorgeous prem quilts, all backed with fleece for extra snuggle.

Di took a couple of 'kits' with orphan blocks, and managed to get them to play nicely together. The sashing and cornerstones really set these blocks off nicely.

Paula seems to finish a quilt for Linus every month, and this time she too took a 'kit' of blue blocks and put it together beautifully.
Next I went to Rocheberie Quilters in Rugby, and brought a bootful of quilts home with me.

There were several lovely cot quilts which had been made up from leftover blocks - it's the fabrics here which give it appeal - the blue fabric is little sheep, and the top is all flannel!

This one is pretty in pink,

and this one, pretty in blue!

Here is a delightful quilt made from panels. Again, the sashing pulls it all neatly together.

And I had three of these bright and snuggly knitted quilts which are ideal for teenagers.

Then last week I had a visit from Mary. She brought this mile a minute quilt 'kit' which she had finished for me, two quilts from Linda (she with the long arm quilting machine who is happy to make up tops!). This one with zoo animals on it, which is backed with fleece,

and this one - which is the same design, although doesn't it look different in another colour? - with cats and dogs floating on clouds.

I haven't photoed all the quilts, but I hope I've given food for thought and future plans. Many thanks to all, and I'm always ready for more!

Last quilt of 2009

2009-12-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

I have just finished a quilt which I have made from a donated UFO of half square triangles. I put a nice turquoise border round it, and then a wider border of clowns. The whole thing was finished off with a turquoise binding. Unless someone comes round with quilts for me today (very unlkely, I should think!), this quilt will be the last one for 2009, and brings our grand total for the year to 245 quilts! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have made quilts, made blocks, donated tops, orphan blocks or fabric to Linus, or donated 'stuff' for my rummage box. I would also like to thank those who have been so generous in buying the contents of the box, as without you, there would be no money to buy wadding, stamps or cards. You are all wonderful people, and have played your part in giving comfort to children in need of a hug! Thank you very much!

Women's Aid

2009-12-05T02:56:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I braved the Christmas shopping crowds in Leicester to deliver 30 quilts to Leicester Women's Aid. Here they are all parcelled up and ready to go.

The ladies were delighted to get them, as they will use them as Christmas presents for the children in the Leicester and Hinckley Women's Refuges and also for some children on outreach.

Lin Wells insisted on showing the front and back of this lovely quilt, as she felt that both were so pretty!

I am lucky that so many people support Project LInus, both by making quilts and blocks, but also by donating fabric and tother items, some of which I sell to make money for buying wadding. Recently I have had a donation from the High Sherif of Warwickshire, no less!

When she visited my workplace, we have a display about Linus, and she said she would see what she could find to help. She duely returned with a large bag with fabric suitable for blocks and backing, and lots of items to sell, inclluding buttons, embroidery threads, wool, lace and some gorgeous small fabric samples, which would be great for book covers or bags. Thanks Lindy!

November update

2009-11-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

As ever, it's been quilts out and quilts in! We have been redecorating my son's bedroom (also my sewing room) so I was so pleased when Sue Williams of ADAPT came over and took 35 quilts away with her!

Here she is holding a lovely pink one with ballerinas on it. Lots of the quilts were the small prem baby size, so luckily she didn't need a removal van to transport them all. She said how much they are valued by the families which receive them. One family (of a baby who unfortunately didn't make it) have framed their Linus quilt and have it hanging on their stairs with a photo of the baby inside the frame. I think it's good, in time of need, to know that others are thinking of you. Lyn Antill, who is the British President of Project Linus, says our motto is 'a quilt is a hug you can keep'. It sums it all up perfectly!

And here are a few of the quilts which have arrived to take the place of the ones Sue took.

This is one I made from a pattern in 'Quick Quilts' magazine. The boats are cut on the slant to make them look as if they're sailing along!

This quilt was left at Rocheberie with some others by a lady who didn't wnat to hold them up for show and tell 'because they weren't very good'. How wrong she was! The quilts were all lovely, and had snuggly fleece backings. Some, like this one, were made from lovely muted japanese fabrics,

and others were made from the brights many children love! This would cheer anyone up!

Kath also used fleece to finish this quilt, which makes it doubly snuggly, as the Christmas designs are flannel. Very comforting!

Caroline had made this one from a panel and machine quilted it with her favourite loop-de-loop pattern. Very suitable. And this quilt was made from pinwheels left over from a swap. They are perfectly complimented by the hearts, and have made a delectable quilt!

MYSTERY SOLVED!

In the last post, I showed a bag of quilts which had been left at my door with no clue as to who had left it. When I got to Rocheberie, Kay asked if I had received the bag of quilts she'd sent via her daughter. Apparently her daughter was instructed to give them to me, or if I wasn't in, to leave a note saying who they were from! Children! How do we cope with them!

Mystery parcel

2009-11-06T06:10:00.001-08:00

The other day, I came home from work and there was a carrier bag in my porch, with a note saying this was for Project Linus.

Inside there were four lovely quilts.

Half square triangles a la Katherine Guerrier,

a lovely panel with sheep,

and two cot quilts, one with teddies appliqued on,

and one with boats, cars, moons stars etc hand quilted on.

I have been waiting for someone to say, 'Did you get those quilts I left on your doorstep OK?' but so far, nobody has. If you left them, please accept my sincere thanks - and I'll have more, if that's alright!

Wonderful afternoon

2009-10-09T00:41:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday I drove up to Shepshed (only a couple of junctions up the motorway) as I had been invited to the group 'Quilting Together'. They are the group who had made the particularly lovely Linus quilts, and they proved to be as welcoming as they are talented, and I had a lovely afternoon.

Here they are, minus a couple of members who are on holiday and plus Natasha who was just visiting with her grannie. They were all working on different projects, from bags to cross stitch, although they sometimes have demos and workshops. On the floor, you can see the contents of my rummage box. The ladies had already had a good rootle through it, and donated £7.60 towards the purchase of wadding. Many thanks ladies, and I'll see you again soon.

Crazy times!

2009-10-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, Mandy contacted me to say she had had requests from the Children's Oncology Ward at the Royal Infirmary and the Looked After Children's Services in Kettering for more quilts. That's great, except for the fact that I only had half a dozen quilts here (except for a pile of prem quilts). I had no sooner informed her of this sorry fact, than quilts started arriving from everywhere! Last week she was able to take 20 quilts for each organisation, and I still have some left!

I had a visit from Mary and her friend (with the long arm quilter!) Linda. They brought some gorgeous quilts, and what's more, Linda took away a pile of tops which she has offered to layer and quilt for me! What a star! here are just a few of the quilts they left.

This one is made from charm squares, and is a really nifty way of making pinwheels without cutting any triangles! It looks really effective alternated with cream in this way.

Stack and Whack - I must try this one day! - using scrap fabrics. Looks as good as using all one fabric, and must be loads easier.

Attic window with bright jungle animals in them. This one needed binding, which is easy to do. I love the yellow flashes in the borders.

Bargello with a difference. Linda uses up her scraps this way, and I must get her to tell me how she's done it. It must be strips of six different fabrics sewn together and ... Oh, it'll be much easier to have her explain it!

Simple nine-patch made gorgeous by the colour choices. Another one to bind. No problem!

This quilt has been made from part of a jelly roll - they are very seductive, but people sometimes struggle to use them. Not in this case!

Mandy had some quilts she had been given by the talented Diana. All were beautifully made of squares, some in a trip round the world arangement,

and other s in a random, scrappy arrangement. All good.

Does anyone recognise this design? It's the Mystery Quilt which was made at Rocheberie Quilters this year. Perfect for using scraps, and what a fabulous design by Chris and Jane.

I was given some more quilts at the meeting, this one by Jane, who had added the snowball/apple blocks to a straight-forward nine patch. How clever!

At a recent meeting, I encouraged people to 'adopt-a-top' as I had quite a few waiting to be completed. This is a cute panel which has been beautifully hand and machine quilted.

Another panel, which apparently had been slightly damaged so was on the bargain table, but a little judicious cutting has made it perfect.

Yet another panel, showing how simple but lovely these can be.

And finally, a t-shirt quilt finished by Muriel. These always look good. And if your quilt hasn't been included, it isn't because it wasn't gorgeous, just that Mandy whisked it to its new owner so quickly, I didn't have chance to photograph it! Keep up the good work!

Quilts!

2009-09-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

You know the saying about waiting all day for a bus and then three turning up at once? Well, it's been a bit like that here with Linus quilts. Hardly anything over the summer, then quilts arriving from all directions!

I was contacted out of the blue by Eileen, whose group 'Quilt Together' over in Shepshed has been busy making some of the nicest Linus quilts I've had. They are all so child-friendly, with images of animals, ballerinas, princesses, moons and stars, dinosaurs, cats, guitars - you name anything a child would like, and it's there! And all the borders and sashings are so bright and cheerful! Fantastic!

This one is a kind of I-Spy quilt, with lots of interesting images and colours.

This one is perfect for a baby or toddler, with moons, stars and clouds on it.

This one has been made from a panel, but the lovely bright border sets it off perfectly.

This quilt shows how a comparatively small amount of a focus fabric (in this case ballerinas) can be used to great effect.

I know I'm a sucker for lime green, but this quilt would cheer anyone up!

More ballerinas, this time with four-patches.

Disney princesses, bulked out with a variety of toning squares, then set in a kind of Chinese coin arrangement.

The bright yellow fabric with cats on it makes this quilt so appealing.

The stars in the centre of the quilt are lovely, but the borders of dinosaur fabric lift the quilt into a class of its own!

And last, but not least, this quilt which would be ideal for a boy, has images of guitars, fish and sports, amongst other things!
Thank you so much for these quilts ladies (and the fabric donation) and I'll look forward to meeting you all soon.

Autumn update

2009-09-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't received many quilts over the summer, as most people are on holiday. So, I took the opportunity to deliver some quilts to Rosemary, who works for the Diana Service for Children with Life-limiting Conditions.

Here we are, in our usual meeting place outside Frankie and Benny's! (It's halfway for both, and has lots of parking. Plus there are usually people around who will take a photo for us.) This quilt is a beautiful one, with trees, hearts and log cabin. A clever use of orphan blocks.
We went over to see a neighbour, and were presented with 5 beautiful, knitted baby quilts. They are each a treasury of knitting stitches, and can you see the words which have been embroidered into the corner? This one says, 'cosy and warm',

This one says 'cosy baby'

and so does this one!

Really sweet! thank you so much, Nohline. They are future heirlooms.

More kindness arrived in the post from the Isle of Man. A kind blogger sent me a bulging parcel of scraps and orphan blocks, in lovely bright and attracive colours! I feel a few Chinese coin quilts coming on here! Many thanks for your thoughtfulness.

Then, on my return to work after the summer holidays, a colleague gave me some blocks which her Brownie pack had made for Linus. (Apparently they found it quite hard, particularly as their 'string' kept coming off their 'pins'!)

I only need to make one more block and border it. Many thanks for the hard work, girls, as it was worth it, and the blocks will make a super baby quilt. Watch out for pictures of the finished article.

Quilts and stuff

2009-08-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

The summer time is traditionally not a busy one for quilters (although I think this summer's horrendous weather will have seen more people sewing indoors than is usual in July and August!) However, I have recently had several donations of quilts and other items which I want to show.

Firstly there is this lovely quilt which was made from part of the jelly roll which Rocheberie Quilters' members received as a Christmas gift.

A lady who goes to this group had been given some fabric which had belonged to a friend of hers who had died. This was a sad legacy, but she has made about a dozen quilts from this fabric for Project Linus, and gave me a small box full of cotton fabric which will be inspiration for others to make more.

The quilts are all relatively simple but striking.

This quilt looks a bit dull in this photo,

but you can see in a close up that the grey fabric is actually very sophisticated music fabric - perfect for a budding performer.

Another parcel came from Teresa, with three quilts in it. The two I have photoed are ideal for boys, as the colours and fabric choices are not at all flowery. Thank you Teresa!

Then I had a plea from Jenny, who used to be a Project Linus co-ordinator, but has had to give it up. She still had quite a lot of fabric, tops and a few quilts which she wanted to pass on. We met in Market Harborough (a halfway point) and her husband kindly loaded a large box, two bin bags and two carrier bags into the boot of my car. I spent time sorting it out, and separated it all into different piles. First was a banner, which will come into very good use.

Next were about six small prem quilts, mostly beautiful Baltimore blocks. What a good idea for trying out new techniques!

Then a small pile of tops, including a lovely pink one which will quickly find favour!

Next the fabric. I took out all the curtain fabric, as it is too heavy for children's quilts and I also took out some of the sheeting if it wasn't very soft. Don't worry, as it hasn't been wasted - I took it to the local charity shop to be sold, and they were very grateful to receive it all. There was still a lot of useable fabric, including quite a lot of novelty fabrics, especially animal and sporting motifs, which will be lovely made up into quilts.

Thank you very much, Jenny. Your fabric is in very safe hands!

Generous people

2009-06-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

It has been fairly quiet on the Linus front recently, although I know lots of people are beavering away in the background! I have had a few quilt donations, but the major donations have been of rummage! I accept all sorts of fabric and fabric related items which I sell, and then use the money for wadding. This month I had a donation of curtain samples from a friend of my Mum's and then Jenny came with two carrier bags full of curtaining which were surplus to requirements. The ladies at Piecemakers were very generous and at the end of the evening, there was £17.45 in the pot! Here are a couple of the bargain hunters!

Added to which, I had a cash donation of £10 from Jean, who is a nurse at the LRI, which meant that I could buy enough wadding for at least 6 or 8 quilts. Many thanks for all your generosity ladies!

Paula seems to have a Linus quilt ready every time I see her, and this is her latest creation - Dancing Gingerbread Men - or are they star-jumping gingerbread men?!

This quilt has been made to use up five star blocks and various scraps. What a clever idea.

Here are some churn dash blocks in lovely bright colours. The yellow border really sets them off.

Please keep the quilts coming, as they are all fabulous!

Quilts for the Oncology Ward

2009-04-19T01:41:00.000-07:00

Mandy came round the other day to show me some quilts she had had donated, and to pick up some quilts to take to the Oncology Ward at the LRI. The staff there had asked for more quilts, and she only had a few. Luckily I had plenty for her to take.

She brought the ones she had so I could share them with you, some of which I recognised from 'kits' Jackie and I had made up.

Here is a house quilt, looking very colourful.

This one is a set of orphan blocks which have fitted together pretty well, since they are all blue!

Here is a Mile a Minute - always looks gorgeous.

This is a simple quilt made from squares, but the colours which have been chosen make it lively and appealing. The quilting is rather good too!

This quilt is made from strips and a golden background fabric.

A lovely batik quilt made from four patches and strips.

And last, but by no means least, a log cabin variation in bright colours.

Mandy will have been welcomed with open arms once these fabulous quilts are glimpsed!

Quilts in and quilts out

2009-03-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm always delighted to receive quilts for Project Linus, and my husband is always delighted to see them being donated! I think he's worried that one day the quilts will take over the whole house rather than just our (absent student) son's bedroom! So he was very happy that I had a visit from Sue Williams from Adapt - a charity supporting premature babies and their families. Here are 38 quilts waiting for her approval and ultimate donation to babies in the LRI and General hospitals.

Quite a few of them are the little incubator quilts, or the pile would have been much bigger!

Here is Sue with a lovely cot quilt. The babies each have a small (18") quilt for their incubator, to make it look more attractive, and then a cot quilt to take with them when they go home. Unfortunately some of them don't make it that far.

We are lucky that there are so many talented and generous people around who continue to make quilts. Here are some I was given at Rocheberie Quilters yesterday.

June made this top, which was made up so beautifully by someone else.

There are fishy motifs in the centre of each square.

Kath made this quilt and didn't include it in show and tell as she said it wasn't good enough! Well, maybe there are a few tucks in the backing, but the quilt has a lovely bus motif and is nice and snuggly. Any little boy would love this quilt!

Denise made this chevron quilt at a workshop and backed it with fleece for extra snuggle.
The fabrics all have a seaside theme, with shells, sea, beach scenes and boats. I don't know how she can bear to part with this, but it will make a child very happy and is perfect for the coming season, and to remember happy days.

Spring

2009-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Mandy has been busy collecting and distributing quilts. The lovely Diana has been turning out quilts like there's no tomorrow, and such gorgeous ones too! Mandy has a friend who has just started fostering and donated a quilt to her new charge, and then used this contact to visit Looked After Children's Services in Kettering to give them more quilts. I know that Kettering isn't in Leicestershire (unlucky Kettering!) but Joan, the Northants rep was very magnanimous in agreeing that we could take the quilts, as it was Mandy's contact. She said, it was all to the children's benefit. Thank you for that Joan - and to Mandy and Diana.

Here is a quilt made from an animal print - simple but effective.

This one is rail fence and plain squares.

Another rail fence, but I think the lime green just gives this one the edge.

An unusual arrangement of log cabin using batiks in this instance.

This one I recognise as being from a kit I put together myself, using leftover half square triangles made into square in a square. Blue and yellow always make a gorgeous combination!

The batik fabrics on this simple four-patch quilt make it look sophisticated and complex. And this baby quilt will certainly keep baby amused and stimulated with all the gorgeous, bright colours. Well done ladies at making such a lot of delectable quilts.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-31T02:53:00.000-08:00

You would have thought that January would be a quiet month for quilt donations, what with Christmas and New Year making it hard to find sewing time, but it hasn't proved to be, here in Leicestershire.

The first donation of the year came from Carol, and I followed on by completing a pink top which Tina had made from a pattern in a Fat Quarter book.

Then I had a call from Mary, who had 17 quilts for me, which she hadn't made herself, but had ended up in her care by some complicated route, from a group somewhere down south.

These quilts are all very child-friendly, with pretty colours and designs. It was so kind of the group to donate them, and also kind of Mary to bring them over.

This cats one is gorgeous (I wonder if I can work out the pattern?),

and quilts made from panels always look good.

While Mary was here, she made time for a coffee and a chat, and she generously shared a fabulous technique for making these windmill squares. The full instructions are here and the beauty of them is that they are made from five squares, of any dimensions! Great for using up charm squares or scraps.

When I went to Rocheberie Quilters there were several quilts for me on the show and tell pile, and Piecemakers had been busy too.

This kaleidoscope quilt was made by Eileen - if you squint, you can see the circles appearing - and Ann made this lovely square in a square. Thankyou ladies!

Then a lovely parcel arrived - I knew it was lovely before I opened it, firstly because I could tell by the squish that it was a quilt, and secondly because it was from Theresa, who has sent me gorgeous Linus quilts before.

As you can see, I wasn't disappointed! That makes 35 quilts donated to Project Linus so far this year - and we're still in January! Well done to all!

Thanks to Mandy and Diana

2008-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Do you remember that Diana came to our sewing day back in September and took away various fabrics to make into Linus quilts? Well, she's made the fabric up into 12 gorgeous quilts! There were some pieces of novelty fabric which are perfect for children's quilts as they are bright, colourful and interesting.

This one is jungle animals - always a children's favourite,

this one is cats, another winner.

This one a winter scene, which bordered with red looks very warm and inviting.

She also took some kits of strip blocks which she has made up,

This one looks quite tropical,

and don't these look great made up with lime green. It's my belief that every quilt can be improved by a little (or a lot) of lime green, and I think this quilt proves my point!

In all there were 14 quilts which have been taken to the Oncology Ward at the Leicester Royal Infirmary by Mandy for children living with cancer. Many thanks Diana, Mandy and ladies from the Embroiderers' Guild for all your hard work.

Everybody's happy!

2008-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

If any of Jane's neighbours had been twitching their curtains yesterday, they would have witnessed a rather strange event. First there was me arriving at her house, followed by Jane and I unloading five large boxes and umpteen carrier bags full of fabric and taking them all into the house.

Here it all is, before it got into my car! Then four hours later, we brought all the boxes and carrier bags out of the house, loaded them back into the car, and I drove off!

What they didn't know was that in those four hours, Jane and I had spent a busy time (apart from the coffee and the lunch bits!) sorting through the fabric, which had all been donated to project Linus, to weed out anything which wasn't completely suitable for making children's quilts. People have been so generous, and know that I am able to sell lots of non-quiltmaking fabrics, that I have been inundated with all kinds of fabrics, patterns and notions. However, since it all lives in my sewing room, otherwise known as DS's room, and he will want to come home and sleep in his bed over Christmas, I had to be realistic. But don't think any fabric you donated will be wasted or binned - on the contrary, it will all play its part. Jane and I managed to reduce the fabric to four boxes (one of tops, one of backing, one of fabric, and one with UFOs and 'kits' for tops in it) for me to take home. All the other fabric was bagged up and taken to the Leukemia Research charity shop in Lutterworth, where they will sell (and do sell) anything! When I arrived at the shop, the manager, Chris, was delighted to see all this fabric. She had been serving a lady who was buying fabric for nativity play costumes, and they were lacking something to make angels's costumes. I was able to dig out a large piece of embroidered white synthetic fabric which was perfect for the job! Any fabric which fails to sell in the shop will be sold as rags, to make money for this worthy charity. When I got home, I only had four boxes to take in, and these were easily stowed away.

So, not only have I reduced my fabric mountain to manageable proportions, but Jane and I had a great day and have helped to raise money for charity. Everybody's happy!

Quilts safely delivered

2008-11-26T11:21:00.001-08:00

Today I rang the Leicester Women's Aid to see if they would like any quilts. Last year they had a pile of quilts which they used as Christmas presents for the children in the Leicester and Hinckley refuges. They were very excited to hear from me, and quickly agreed to have 20 quilts!

Here are the quilts all packed up ready to go.

Last time I delivered quilts in Leicester, I had a terrible time, as half the roads in the city centre were being dug up and the other half were closed, as they were preparing for the opening of the new theatre, the Curve. It was difficult enough to find the place, never mind finding a place to park which was near enough to carry loads of quilts! They may not be heavy, but they're bulky and awkward. This time I was prepared, and despite them closing nearby roads again (Charles Street, in case you're going into Leicester) I got there easily.

Here you can see a lovely Paddington panel, which had been made up by Muriel, being held up by me and a representative from Women's Aid. I think I could have chosen a better place for the photo, but at least it shows something of the trials and tribulations of a Linus rep!

Generous people!

2008-11-23T04:52:00.000-08:00

All of a sudden, Project Linus seems to be on everyone's lips (and agenda!) Firstly I went to Piecemakers in Lutterworth and Ann had made this beautiful hexagon quilt for Linus. It has been pieced and quilted by hand! The old favourites are always welcome especially when they are as bright and cheerful as this one.

Next the postman did his bit. He managed to push a squishy envelope through the door from Karol-Ann full of novelty fabrics, very suitable for making Linus quilts. Although I have quite a bit of donated fabric, pieces with child-pleasing motifs are especially popular. Thank you, Karol-Ann!

Then the next day, there was a card through the door, saying that the postman had tried to deliver a parcel which was too big to fit through my letterbox, and would I like to collect it from the sorting office! Luckily, the sorting office is only about a mile from my house, so off I went, to find this lovely 'Stars and Strips' quilt from Teresa!

She had met an old friend (Mary) who had just been to see me to bring a Linus quilt, and had told her that quilts for boys are always needed. She thought this one would be very suitable, and I agree!

Then, yesterday I went to Rocheberie Quilters in Rugby, and was given this pile of quilts made by various people. There are 15 altogether!

I intend to contact the Women's Aid in Leicester, as last year they took a pile of quilts which they used as part of the Christmas presents for the children in the refuge. They will all find really good homes I can assure you!

Linus news

2008-11-17T11:00:00.001-08:00

I have been accused of not keeping the Linus Leicestershire blog up to date - fair play, Nik, you're right. Things have been a bit quiet lately, although I have had several quilts donated.

Mary came all the way from Kirby Muxloe to bring me this gorgeous Mile a Minute quilt. Her friend longarm quilted it in red, to make it really cheery. After admiring it, we had a coffee and a really good natter!

Jane and Rebekah donated five prem quilts (one was beautifully hand quilted by Rebekah with little hearts). Very suitable. They had been made from cushion panels, and one top made from donated four and ninepatches.

The month of November is 'Learning at Work' month, and as part of it, I held a creative art workshop where people from our section came together to make a scrap quilt. If you want to see how it was done, look at my blog, here for the details.

The inspiration was from Roberta Horton's book 'Scrap Quilts' and I think it worked out great!

Karol-Ann kindly sent me some jars blocks she had received in a swap, some time ago - must have been when jar quilts were all the rage! I had missed out on that particular craze, so had great fun playing with the blocks and making a few more to balance the set. This is the resulting quilt.

Judging from the reception this quilt has had, it seems as if other people missed out on the jars quilts, so I have worked out a pattern and made up some kits for those people who want to make a few blocks.

Here are the kits, which make four different jars,

and here is the finished jar.

You need a strip of black fabric about 23" by 2", a piece of jar fabric about 4"x5" or anything up to about 6"x8". Cut 4 squares 1 1/2" and sew on the right side of each corner, on the diagonal. Cut off the outer triangle and flip the inner triangle. Cut a piece for the lid, about 3"x2"and sew a piece of the black strip on either side. Centre the lid on the top of the jar and sew. Sew another black strip on top of the jar, and one down the right hand side. easy! Now all you have to do is search through your stash to see what fabrics you have with motifs suitable for putting into jars!

2008-10-13T11:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Rocheberie Schoolhouse Quilters, in Rugby, kindly hosted a sewing day to make charity quilts. It was a great day, as we had the whole hall to spread out in, and although all the activity didn't seem to make much impact on the donated fabric mountain which lives in my spare room, several quilts were made.

Nik took the opportunity to work on a quilt she had already put together. It's fabulously bright and cheerful and ideal for a teenager or budding Turner Prize winner!

Muriel and Tina shared a table, and while Tina was layering a quilt, Muriel decided to tackle a Sudoku quilt. Despite the fact that she had completed the Sudoku previously and labelled her fabrics carefully, the first block was a bit taxing, but she soon got into the swing of it and completed the top.

Jane chose a 'kit' with a lovely Sunbonnet Sue in it, but wasn't too happy with some of the blocks. She soon got her creative juices flowing though, and after she and daughter Rebekah had sorted through the fabric, decided to cut the blocks up and thus produce a fantastic quilt. The border fabric looked hideous in the piece, but fits in perfectly with this colour scheme. Well done, Rebekah for finding it!

We had one table for cutting, which saved a lot of space.

Caroline enjoyed the challenge of working with blocks (and colours) which weren't in her usual comfort zone, and put together a lovely teddy quilt, backed with fleece. Poor Dorothy had sewing machine problems, but layered and tacked up a top which had been made by Tina, so now it is ready for someone to quilt and bind.

Denise worked really hard with this 'kit' of blue and green Mile a Minute blocks. She decided that they needed sashing, and it certainly sets them off to a tee. (Can you see the LOVE block in the centre that I made from a tutorial on Tonya's blog?)

Here is our group shot with all the quilts we've been working on. Mine is the one with the jars, which were donated to Linus by Karol-Ann. If you want to see a photo of me working on it, look at Jane's blog, where there's a sneaky pic of me!

As ever, it's great to spend some time with like-minded people, doing the thing we all like best, and benefiting others at the same time. Thanks to all who came.
Posted by webmistress at 10:44 0 comments

Donating quilts

2008-09-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today I met Rosemary, who is the Play and Emotional Support Worker for the Diana Service, at our favourite meeting place. This is outside Frankie and Benny's at the Meridian Leisure Park. We like it there, because it's roughly halfway between her base at the Glenfield Hospital and my house, and the plus is that during the day, there are always plenty of places to park!

She had rung me up last week to say that she had no quilts left, and was there any chance of more? The answer was a resounding, 'Yes!' thanks to the generosity of local quilters, and I was able to take her 16 quilts to be given to children with life-limiting conditions.

Here we are holding up an 'All That Jazz' quilt which was made up using donated blocks. We usually manage to find someone who can take a photo, but today there was no one at all about.

In the end, I went inside the restaurant, and asked a lady who was out for a meal with her husband and son if she would be kind enough to come outside and take a picture. Just shows (as ever) how kind people are!

Slightly disappointing day

2008-09-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the Sewing Day at Lubbenham Village Hall. Mandy had publicised it in the paper, on local radio and at the local embroidery group. I had publicised it on the Project Linus website and at local quilting groups. When I arrived at the hall (after a slight detour back home again, as I realised I had forgotten my sewing machine!) it was to find the tables up, the iron and the kettle on, the fabric and wadding ready and waiting, and Mandy and Gill in sole occupancy.

This was slightly disappointing, but we all enjoyed having the space and the time to devote to making quilts for children in need of a hug. Here is Gill pinning some borders on her polar bear quilt.

However, we weren't alone for long. The first visitors were Eva and her parents. Eva especially wanted to meet the 'ladies who had made her quilt' and solemnly gave us all a Tictac from her bag!

Then she presented us with a card she had made for us all.

She kept us entertained with her ballet dancing and flying demonstrations, until she was scooped up by Dad and taken off for her lunch (cheese and onion sandwiches, apparently).

Our next visitors were a couple who had come from Kettering (they had seen the event on the Linus website). The lady was a teacher at Isebrook Special School, and one of her classes was making prem quilts for the local Linus rep. Since we had so much fabric, Mandy cleverly persuaded her to take some away with her, and after joining us for a cuppa, off they went with it.

Next we had a visit from Diana, her friend and daughter (both non-sewers who couldn't be converted!) Diana has made quite a few quilts for Linus previously, and she brought seven quilts she has made recently for us. Here she is enjoying rooting about in the fabric mountain for pieces she can use to make more quilts.

Here are some some of the gorgeous quilts she brought. Thanks, Diana.

Our final visitor was Mandy's daughter, Sarah, and dog. She very kindly agreed to take a photo of the workers with the fruits of their labours.

Gill is holding her polar bear quilt (so cute and such beautiful colours!), I'm holding a merry-go-round panel, whichI am quilting and an 'All That Jazz' quilt made from donated blocks. Unfortunately you can't see Mandy's quilt well at all. It's for a 14 year old boy who really wants a quilt, but is too cool to say so! His mum said that he is a keen fisherman, so Mandy has found some great fishy fabric in masculine colours which may just hit the spot.
The day may not have produced a quantity of Linus quilts, but it certainly produced quality, and a great time was had by all!

Double figures

2008-09-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

We are only 19 days into the Linus Leicestershire year, and already I have had 12 quilts donated!

Chris gave me this lovely star quilt at Flutterwheels.

It's so clever that she had enough of each fabric to make a star and a ray so put a multi-fabric star in the centre to pull it all together!

At Piecemakers Sue gave me a couple of bright and cheerful prem quilts which she had made, and a lady who's having trouble doing hand sewing gave me a carrier bag full of stuff to sell (books, patterns, fabric, rulers, templates etc). Amongst it was a partly quilted cushion panel. She was quite embarassed as it had been included by mistake, but her embarrassment turned to amazement, when I said it would quickly be finished and make a lovely prem quilt. You can see for yourself how delicate it is. I have finished off the quilting and will border it today.

Andrea is on holiday, but managed to send this bright yellow strippy - that's dedication for you!

And Paula and Eileen are still having fun with Mile a Minute.

My rummage box took £9.70, so I'm aiming to buy some wadding to take with me to the Project Linus Sewing Day on Sunday. Thanks to all who contributed.

Quilts and publicity

2008-09-10T02:55:00.000-07:00

My husband fetched the local paper, and said to me, 'There's a photo of some quilts in the paper. Is it to do with you?' Well, it was a gorgeous photo of Mandy and her god-daughter Eva, in the middle of lots of Linus quilts.

(The photo was in the Lutterworth Mail and taken by Andrew Carpenter. )

Mandy is gearing up for the sewing day on the 21st September at Lubbenham Village Hall - 10-4, all welcome- and is a fabulous publicist!

Meanwhile, sewing has continued. At the Rocheberie Quilters committee meeting I received 3 quilts. Nik gave me this lovely square in a square quilt (I suspect made form a selection of her gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics) and Jane these two sweet prem quilts. Thank you ladies, for these.

I have finished the pink and purple dog quilt. Just shows what you can do with one of those cushion panels which are often to be picked up very cheaply. (Nobody in our house likes it. DD hinks the dogs are scarey-looking, but then, we're not a pet-loving household). I'm sure the recipient will treasure it. I used up some thicker polyester wadding which had been donated. I discovered that you can't do complicated quilting on it, as it's too puffy, which can be a bonus, as straight lines is all that is required! I'm sure it will be extra snuggly!

New Linus year

2008-09-03T02:51:00.000-07:00

It seems a bit strange to be starting a new year in September, but I started as Project Linus co-ordinator in September 2005, so it makes sense to me!

This year has been another fantastic one for Linus in South Leicestershire. I have been delighted to have had Jackie Pyle and Mandy Allen on board this year, whose dedication and hard work is no doubt reflected in the fact that the total for this year is a whopping 185 quilts! These have been donated to the women’s refuges in Leicester and Hinckley, the Diana Project based at Glenfield Hospital, ADAPT, a charity for premature babies at the Royal Infirmary and General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital and the Paediatric Oncology Unit, which are both at the Royal Infirmary.

Jackie is a whizz with the rotary cutter and has made up lots of kits. She is also very talented at getting orphan blocks to go nicely together to make tops. Mandy is a whirlwind who has not only made quilts, but organised two sewing days this year (one coming up on 21st September at Lubbenham Village Hall 10-4), taken quilts out to the Royal Infirmary and organised lots of publicity too. Many thanks to these wonderful ladies.

So the totals in the side bar are looking a bit sad so far. Only one quilt received, and that was made by me!

This is a fungly quilt, which was made as a challenge on Tonya's blog. You had to choose some ugly, some boring and some fun fabrics from your stash and make traditional blocks from them. It's a way of using up fabrics which would lurk at the bottom of your stash, and I think, in this instance, have made a fun quilt for an older child. If you fancy making something a bit different, look at her blog for more detailed instructions. (Can you spot the block which turned itself round when I wasn't looking?!)

Busy day

2008-08-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a busy day on the Linus Leicestershire front. Jackie and I got together for a natter and to play with all the orphan blocks to make up kits ready for the Project Linus Sewing Day on 21st September. Just as we started, Mandy turned up to collect the quilts I had fetched from the NEC, as she has had a request from Helena, the Children's Oncology Play leader at the LRI for more quilts, and she didn't have any. That was lucky. She also came to bring eight quilts that a lady she knows had made. There were three different designs, all gorgeous, and made from pieces of novelty fabric, bordered and quilted. Simple, but extremely effective.

Here is one with Noah's Ark animals on it.

She has finished them in an interesting way, by folding the front and backing together and sewing round the edge. This is in fact the way antique British quilts are usually finished - we have the Americans to thank for the trials and benefits of binding the edges!

Here is another novelty fabric, beautifully bordered,

and this one is much yellower and attractive than it looks here, and perfect for a small child.

After another coffee and natter with Mandy, Jackie and I got to grips with the orphans and made-up blocks in the box. We had great fun sorting them into colour and style sets. Some were easy, such as a setof 25 house blocks or 16 star blocks, but some of the orphans, lovely blocks in themselves, just wouldn't play nicely with the other orphans. We tried our best and in the end, we had made up 17 kits with only some strippy blocks which weren't enough for a set left over!
Here are the last two kits.

I have become quire ruthless about cutting blocks down if they are too big, but I think these work as a set. Once they are bordered and quilted they will look great.

I have unpicked the leaves from the yellow and red block, and kept this kit to make up myself. I think I probably have some bright fabrics to complete this one, so check back on my progress!

Festival of Quilts

2008-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Festival of Quilts at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. It was fabulous (as usual) with lots of quilts on display, special exhibits from all around the world, lots of famous teachers demonstrating and of course, the shopping! Who could resist all the goodies on offer? (Well, not me, for one!)

Naturally, I had to visit our stall at the show to see the volunteers there. I know that sometimes visiotrs to the show bring along quilts to leave at the the stall, as it can be easier for them than delivering to their local coordinator, and that the numbers of quilts can be a problem for the organisers - they have all the stuff on their stall to take away with them, and don't always have the space for extra quilts in their cars! So I asked if thye would like me to take any 'All That Jazz' blocks or donated quilts with me. Luckily all the blocks had been taken, but there were quite a few donated quilts available.

I took six away with me, which was lucky as I only have a few prem/incubator quilts here at the moment. These quilts were all lovely, and in such bright and friendly colours. Thank you unknown ladies for these!

Donating quilts

2008-07-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

Today I went up to the Leicester Royal Infirmary Children's Hospital to deliver some quilts to Julie, the PA to the Service Manager there. Because there were quite a few of them, I couldn't give them to her in person, as I couldn't physically carry 26 quilts in one go! It's quite a pile!

Luckily she worked out a way in which I could drive right up to one of the hospital doors, and put them in a trolley ably manoeuvred by Children's Porter, Paul.

The Children's Hospital was very pleased to receive them, and I was glad to be able to clear them off my son's bed, as he is coming home for a few days, and will need to sleep in it!

Mile a Minute evening

2008-07-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

The July meeting of Lutterworth Piecemakers was a sewing evening to make Mile a Minute blocks. Lots of people brought their sewing machines along, and those who hadn't, acted as ironers, cutters and general labourers for the sewers. If you want to look at some photos of the evening, click on the link in the side bar.

People had fun making these colourful blocks, and at the end of the night I had quite a few blocks to take home, some finished and some not. Some were straightforward rectangular-ish ones,

and some were very strange, but interesting shapes, made by Vicki and Anne. They will add lots of movement and interest to the finished quilt.

By completing these partial blocks, I have a total of 42, which is very good going in about an hour and a half total sewing time.

Some people had been busy making blocks for the 'All that Jazz' challenge. These need to be 9" finished and can be on a music theme, or just bright and colourful. I love the skeleton fabric!

Two quilts were donated. First was (very appropriately) a MAM quilt which had been made by Paula.

There's a lovely bright dog fabric in there, which will be very appealing to its recipient.The other is in softer colours, but just made of simple rectangles. Many thanks to one and all!

Squares and stars

2008-07-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have had a great day today. Not only have I had the pleasure of hearing Dawn Cameron-Dick speak and show her gorgeous quilts at Rocheberie Quilters in Rugby, but I also brought home seven lovely Linus quilts.

Here are two of them, showing how effective simple squares can be. The pink one will be perfect as an incubator quilt, and the larger one, a cot quilt. The diagonal lines of blue and turquoise disguise the fact that this quilt was made to use up squares cut out by mistake!

This quilt was inspired by Sudoku! There are nine different half square triangles in each block, all in different positions within the block. A solution to a Sudoku puzzle was used to determine where each colour should go. (Some people have been known to try to solve a Soduku in order to get the order of the squares, not realising that you can use the previous day's solution!) To make the Sudoku link clear, the maker has put the numbers for each colour onto the centre block. A puzzle and a counting aid in one!

This is someone's first quilt, and she has donated it to Linus! How generous! It's little babies in pea pods, snuggling in hexagons. It's wonderful how a few hexagons can make a very attractive quilt.At each meeting of Rocheberie Quilters, we have a few demonstration tables, and a couple of meetings ago, Jackie P showed how to make these scrappy stars. They caught quite a few people's eyes, and several people brought tops made of these stars to show and tell. This little incubator quilt sparkles with the irregularity of these bright stars.

Here is a photo of Jackie's instructions for you to have a go. If you can't cope with them on the screen, leave a comment, and I'll post you a set.

Mile a minute quilts

2008-07-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I went to a meeting of Leicestershire Quilters to hear a talk by Anja Townrow. if you have never heard her speak, put her on your list of talented, fun, inspiring and down-to-earth quilters. She showed us how she gets inspiration for her designs, mainly saying how she was a "fraud" and a "cheat" because she used all different kinds of inspiration for her work! There is nothing dubious about Anja's work - it is truely original!

While I was at the meeting, I was given seven Linus quilts, by Kay B.'s group and Kath V. They were all variations on the Mile a Minute block (also known as Chaos Crumb) because you use all scraps and crumbs to make it, and the blocks pile up at an alarming rate. If you fancy trying a new technique, there is a very clear tutorial on Patti's blog here. Have a go, and if you don't like it, you can send your orphan blocks to me!

It's really a kind of crazy log cabin, but allows you to use all odd strips you have left over, and creates a surprisingly harmonious quilt. You can slip in all sorts of ugly fabrics, and they snuggle up to each other in a very friendly manner, and make a great quilt, as you can see here.

If the idea of making a scrappy quilt scares you, you can group your scraps by colour family, which ensures a great finish.

This quilt has a lot of pinks, purples and pretty fabrics in it.
This one very successfully uses yellows, greens and oranges.
And this one autumnal colours, but soft, and suitable for a cot quilt.

The block also looks good used as you would any block, sashed and bordered.

Or sashed with cornerstones.

Many thanks to the members of Leicestershire Quilters (who are even happy to sew the labels on the back of the quilts for me!

Welcome to Linusleics!

2008-06-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

As Project Linus Representative for South Leicestershire, I have been overwhelmed by the beautiful quilts which have been donated to this worthy cause, and have decided to make a blog so that they can be seen by a wider audience. I'm also hoping to put some patterns on here too, so that it can be used as a resource as well as inspiration.

Here is a lovely quilt which has been made using the 'dreaded' hexagons! These blocks had been made some years ago, but are fresh and bright, and make a lovely Linus quilt. the problems of the shape at the edges has been solved by just slicing through them (it takes a brave woman to slice through someone else's work!) and then binding.

Thisa quilt was made using UFO star blocks and then a lot of half square triangles. We all have left-over blocks lurking in boxes somewhere, and wth a bit of thought, they will make super Linus quilts.Border fabrics make excellent quilts. this one was animals and alphabets, and has been bordered with green to add a bit of pizzazz.

This fabric with fields and tractors on it was just crying out to be made into a quilt to delight a little boy! A simple ochre border sets it off very well.

Here I am handing over some quilts to Sue Williams of Adapt, a charity which supports premature babies and their parents. I was able to give Sue 32 quilts, some small ones (18" square) suitable for putting in incubators, and some cot quilts, to go home with the babies. The quilt I am holding is a panel which was donated by Sue B, and quilted by me. It looks so cute.