2019 donations

The quiltshave been steadily coming in, and so they need to go to their forever homes!  This week I went over to Whetstone to Jay Fostering to take 30 quilts.

Here I am with a lovely quilt and a member of staff (I’m really sorry, I’ve forgotten her name!). The organisation gives welcome packs to their children, and they were keen to include the quilts in them.  I’m sure the children will love them. 

Then on Thursday I went Ito the Leicester Royal Infirmary Ward 27 to take 53 quilts for the youngsters there. 

We have a system worked out now, where we unload the quilts in the car park pick up area, then load

 them in a cage for easy transport to the ward.  This is a great method, except that this cage had a mind of its own!  Luckily my husband was in charge of it, and managed not to kill anyone! 

Usually it’s very difficult to persuade people to have their photo taken, but this time Chandni (second from the right) must have advanced persuasion techniques and managed to assemble a great crowd this time!  Chandni was very enthusiastic about the quilts and the positive feelings they bring with them.  Good times. 

Sewing in Barwell.

Paula and I were delighted t be invited to Barwell earlier this month to sew with the lovely ladies from the U3A Craft Group.  They invite us every year and beaver away to make a Linus quilt or two! All equipment has to be PAT tested on their premises, so they aren’t able to bring their sewing machines.  No matter, all our Linus equipment is tested, so we took five sewing machines and let them loose! 

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Most of them were unfamiliar with patchwork techniques and rotary cutters, and some with sewing machines, but they soon got the hang of it. 

They had to share machines and sit near power sockets, so were a bit spread out! 

Everyone had a go at making some scrappy windmill blocks and were amazed at how quick and easy they were! 

They completed enough blocks for a complete quilt and half a quilt.  Good progress!  We need to get the quilts finished for when we go back to see them later on this year.  Thank you ladies for all your hard work! 

Happy New Year!

I'm a bit behind with my posts, but the quilts still come in - and go out!  Our 2018 total was an amazing 448 quilts to give hugs to young people in Leicestershire.  Many thanks to all those who have sewed, donated stuff or bought stuff.  Every one of you is a hero!

The Big Textile Show!

We had a lovely weekend, spending time at The Big Textile Show in Leicester!  We were lucky enough to be invited back to have a (free!) stand at this excellent show.  Many thanks to Jenny for this opportunity.  Paula and Maria were there on Saturday, and Caroline and I took Sunday.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos but luckily Caroline took some. 

Here is the project we worked on, a Strippy Snowball design from Stuart Hillard's book, '100 Quilts'.  Stuart was kind enough to give us permission to use this pattern, and lots of people loved it, plus lots of people have taken details of the book so they can put it on their Christmas list.  Good decision. 

Many thanks to all the lovely people who took the time to come over and say hello, and especially to those who brought quilts, fabric and goodies to donate.  It was so generous and rest assured that it will all be put to very good use.  

Look forward to seeing people at Knit and Stitch at the Methodist Church in Lutterworth on Thursday 1st November.  Happy sewing. 

Quilts on their way!

So far this year, we have had a bumper number of donations (over 400 so far!) but the requests have kept pace with them.  

Recently I had a visit from Asha, who works at the Saffron Lane Children's Centre.  

Here we are with a few of the quilts she's taking away.  Saffron Lane is a deprived area of Leicester, and I'm sure they will bring smiles to some faces. 

Then Paula and I had a trip to Doncaster!  I know it's out of our area, but Judy, from Fostering Futures, has moved house and this was a suitable halfway point between Lutterworth and her new home on the Yorkshire coast.  She is still working for the same organisation (lots of commuting) so the quilts will still be given to children in the same area. 

Here we are with Judy and a lovely beach house quilt made by Maria.  It was lovely to catch up with Judy and all her news, and she brought goodies for us.  

She brought a beautiful card made by one of her girls, and inside was tucked a donation which should keep us in wadding for quite a while!  Thank you so much to all those who donated this money.  Every penny will be spent on providing more hugs. 

And she brought this big bag of fabric!  A friend of hers had bought fabric to make quilts, but had decided it would be quicker to donate it to our willing band of sewers.  Thank you so much for all this.  Paula and I had a lovely day, and even managed to fit in a little retail therapy before setting off for home! 

September news

There has been steady sewing here in Leicestershire and the pile of quilts waiting to be delivered is growing.  We were invited to Barleston to do some sewing with a craft group there.  We went over last year, but I'm surprised we were invited back, as we had satnav problems, which meant we ended up in a field and were horribly late!  This time we made sure we were there in good time! 

We decided to do the Accuquilt dogs, and the ladies were delighted.  One of them said they'd thought it would be the same thing as last year, not knowing I have a number of different hand sewn ideas to choose from. 

Here are the ladies, hard at work.  Some of them had to be reminded how to do blanket stitch, but then it's been a long time since we made tray cloths and handkerchief bags in primary school! 

They quickly got the hang of it, and made lots of blocks.  I'd already made some nine patches to go in between, so it won't take long to complete.  They've booked us already for next year, so we must be doing something right!  

Then I had a visit from Penny from Quiltitude with five quilts they have made for Linus.  This one is from the Four Corner Jelly Roll pattern we used last year.  Looks gorgeous.  Thank you Quiltitude ladies. 

Then today I had a squishy parcel - they're the best kinds!  It was from Gemma, who had made three lovely quilts and posted them to me.  Bright and colourful is what we like!  I'll get those labelled and checked straight away, and they'll soon be off to their new owners! 

Sewing day!

Yesterday Rosemary from the Diana Service came round and collected 25 quilts!  The service only had 15 quilts in June, but she said they have just flown out!  She said she usually takes three or four quilts for a child to choose from, and they usually have a hard job!  'But I like them all.  I can't choose because they're all so gorgeous!' Is the usual refrain.  She helps them by suggesting they eliminate the ones they like least, until one is remaining.  Good strategy! 

She loved this quilt, but mainly for its football fabric on the back!  I'm sure some football loving child will love this too. 

Then today, we were able to replenish the stocks of quilts by having. Linus sewing day here in Lutterworth.  We usually see for the afternoon, but hired the hall for the day to get a good run at the pile of UFOs. 

Marjorie is busy putting together the black, grey and red blocks we made at Piecemakers, and Sheens has the blue ones.  Gail started to put together some donated star blocks, although they were a bit tricky to match up.  

Francesca had assembled a spiders web top and wanted to layer and quilt it.  She couldn't come for the whole day, but has taken it home to finish. Julie had a set of orphans to join together, and had brought her Accuquilt cutter and dies to help use up some of the donated fabric.  Maria had a set of elephant blocks to sash and assemble.  I didn't get Rachel's photo, but she wanted to get some techniques under her belt, and succeeded wonderfully! 

Paula took on some of the chickens we made last time.  There were a couple to complete and then the top to assemble.  Di finished a scrappy Bargello which has been waiting for a while to be completed.  Then she kindly layered it up and took it home to finish!  Fabulous. 

Sue and Ann came in the afternoon.  Ann brought her own hand project and Sue started sewing strips for another strippy snowball quilt in pink.  I think she enjoyed the pretty fabrics. 

The knitters were all busy creating loveliness.  They were a little fazed that we had taken over their usual side of the hall, and most of the tables, but soon made the best of what was left, including a child's low red table!  It was a lovely day, and we even had visitors. 

Julie's Mum, sister Lynne and friend came over to support us and have a natter.  It was lovely to see them.  We were sorry that Caroline didn't manage to come - her car broke down.  We certainly missed her, but everyone worked very hard and most people took some UFOs home to finish.  Many thanks to all who came and gave their time and skills.  You're not only talented, but big hearted!