Quilts have been flying out to hug children recently ('Thank goodness', says my husband!).  First I had Michela and Cheryl from Catch 22 who called round to pick up some quilts for vulnerable teenagers and teenage mums.  They particularly liked this strippy quilt which was made by Barwell U3A craft group.  Good choice! 

 

 

 Then it was off to meet Rosemary from the Diana Service for Children with Life-limiting Conditions at our usual spot outside Frankie and Benny's.  She had asked whether there was any chance of a Mickey Mouse quilt for a very poorly little boy who loves Mickey, and I was very happy to oblige!
   

 

Then some excitement, with quilting in a pub!  A new fringe theatre venue has opened in Leicester, at The Western pub, and when I saw a show called 'Patchwork Lives' was coming, I thought it could be a good opportunity to 'fly the flag'.  I asked the venue and company if they would allow it, and they were kind enough to not only allow it, but make us very welcome. 

 

We made ourselves at home and hung quilts from the picture rail (covering the pictures and signs!) and set to work.

 

Julie, Paula, Eileen and Maria made log cabin blocks (can you see the Blue Peter hanging over the dart board?!) Lesley was the ironer, and Muriel (only her left arm is in shot) made up our 'Easy Street' blocks. 

 

 

I just swanned about, played with the blocks and encouraged visitors and new quilters.  After a bite to eat, we stayed for the show.  We had a great time and are hoping to do it again sometime in the future. 

Busy time for Linus

At March's Knit and Stitch session we were joined by the lovely Sue from ADAPT, a charity which works with prem babies and their families, and here she is accepting a quilt.  She doesn't look particularly pleased there, but I can tell you, she certainly was!  Not only did she have that quilt, but 49 more (remember a lot of them were little prem quilts, so it was only three bags full!).  It was a good job she's got a big car, as there were lots of knitted items for her to take away too!

 

 

Look at all these knitted triangles, hats, cardigans, toys and gorgeous things to show people going through a tough time that they're not alone.  Fabulous!

 

We had a great turnout of quilters, who all beavered away.  No time for slacking when I'm in charge!

 

We even had to get out an extra table to accommodate Sue and Doreen - I love it!  Then three WI ladies arrived from Foxton, who were already knitting triangles, and wanted to set up a group like ours, where people can get together and make charity items.  They were very impressed at the variety and standard of the work, and were all fired up to get busy!  Sue and I agreed to go and talk to them about our group.  That should be fun.  Will we be eligible for a franchise fee?!

 

And this is what we've been working on for the last few months - Bonnie Hunter's 'Easy Street'.  Despite Maria's comment that she couldn't do it as it was too difficult for her (this was after she'd made all the components!) it went together like a dream.  We only need two more corners and a border and it's a finish!  Everyone loved the colours, and why wouldn't they when there's lime green involved!

 

We have more sewing days planned.  A new theatrical venue is opening in Leicester at The Western pub, and on 28th March there is a show called 'Patchwork Lives'.  We couldn't miss the opportunity to fly the flag, so will be sewing at the pub from 3.30, then having a bite to eat, then watching the show.  Please come and join us if you fancy it.  Look here for details.

Roundup of 2012

I would like to say a big thank you to all the people who have supported Project Linus during 2012 – a massive 354 quilts were donated for Leicestershire children ‘in need of a hug’!  They have been given to Looked After Children in Kettering and Leicester, ADAPT (a charity working with premature babies and their families), Surestart, the Paediatric Oncology Ward at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Nottingham University Hospital and the Diana Service for Children with Life-Limiting Conditions.  So whether you made quilts, made tops, finished quilts, donated UFOs, orphans, fabric or sewing related items, please pat yourself on the back, and remember that what goes around, comes around! 

And now for 2013! 

Here is the first Linus quilt of 2013, made by the indomitable Paula.  It's some Mile a Minute blocks she found in the Linus box, but that wide blue border and yellow binding really make it into a work of art!  Wonderful, Paula.
 

 

Forty-six!

I was invited back to 'Quilting Together' the very creative group in Shepshed, and they didn't disappoint.  Apart from lovely ladies, fresh cream cake and talk about sex (well, testicles counts as sex, don't they?!) there were 46 quilts for me to take away with me!  And these weren't just ordinary quilts, but really gorgeous, imaginatively designed ones.

I always take orphans, panels and fabric, and the ladies have great fun sorting through it and getting inspired!

 

Here are the quilts waiting for me to take away with me.

 

I haven't posted all the quilts, just a random sample.  (I've found I've used up my allotted amount of photos on Blogger, so have had to delete some.)  This is a particular favourite - you can't beat a string quilt!

 

'Just' squares, but so effective.

 

The perennial problem with donated blocks is that there are never enough!  This design solves that problem admirably, by alternating the transport blocks with cowboy fabric, and then adding a different border top and bottom.  Clever!

 

The fabric for the border is really cute, and I love the way that three different colourways of the same design have been used.  Way to go!

 

I think this tree of life was a panel, but it's been beautifully bordered by flying geese.

 

Another set of just four orphans, but they look perfect amongst these colourful nine-patches.

 

More orphans, some mile a minute, some stars and a few squares within a square but all unified by the delicate pink sashing.  The blue binding just pulls it all together. 

 

This was a choppy star quilt.  Looks good with the sashing and cornerstones.

 

A trip round the world in a controlled colour palette, made extra special with multiple borders.

 

Half square triangles with a few quarter square triangles, unified by all being blue!  No sashing, no borders, no nonsense, just lovely dark blue binding.  Perfect.

 

Another choppy star, this time with striking sashing and offcuts used as a border.  Waste not, want not!

 

More excellent use of scraps.  Strippy blocks alternated with framed motifs, then with a jazzy orange sashing.  Perfect child's quilt!

This quilt started life as a panel, but the pictures have been bigged up by side pieces and then sashed to make a bright and cheerful quilt.

Another set of strippy blocks and framed motifs, this time on point.  This setting always adds loads of movement and fun to a quilt.

 

Friendship stars floating in a blue sky.

 

More scrappy blocks and motifs, this time with a bright piano keys border.  What a fabulous use of scraps!

 

Here's a panel, just simply quilted in curves across the design.  Perfect.

 

Another panel, which will be treasured by a lucky child.

 

I'm sorry I can't remember precisely who made which quilt (although I know Anne, Helen and Jay made quite a few of them!) and if I haven't included your quilt, don't think it wasn't gorgeous, just that I made an arbitrary selection.  I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon, and wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year!

Oh my goodness!

I knew I hadn't been keeping up to date with my Linus blogging, but was shocked when I saw it was May when I last posted!  I hope nobody thought we were inactive -very far from the case!  So far this year I have received 273 quilts, which have been distributed to ADAPT, Surestart, Kettering and Leicestershire Looked After Children's Services, Leicester Paediatric Oncology, Leicester Royal Infirmary and Nottingham Paediatric Intensive Care Unit! Here is Debbie who works with Looked After Children in Leicestershire.  She wanted larger quilts if possible, as most of her children are teenagers.  I was happy to oblige!

 

 

And here is Kayleigh who works at the Leicester Paediatric Intensive care Unit.  She recently moved up here from Southampton, and she worked in the PICU there.  The first thing she said when she arrived on her first day, was, 'Where are the Linus quilts?'  In Southampton, they always put a Linus quilt ready on each bed when it was made up, and she wasted no time in looking on the Project Linus UK website and getting in contact with me.  (Strangely, I am the nearest rep to Nottingham!)

 

 She took 30 quilts, and then forwarded me photos of them ready for their new owners.

 

 In such a stressful situation, it must be comforting for parents and children to have a lovely quilt.

 Here is a cot, complete with quilt.

 

Without the quilt, this room would look very functional and quite scarey.  Well done, Linus Ladies!

Sewing day in Churchover

Project Linus is a charity which seems to inspire so many people, and this week has seen several of them!  Julie, who lives in the village of Churchover, kindly offered her village hall for a Linus sewing day.  What a treat - a whole day's sewing and no interruptions!  The hall was well equipped (it even had a bar, but we resisited the temptation to investigate it!) and there was plenty of space.

 Jill wanted to get to grips with Mile a Minute, and there were plenty of crumbs and strings for her to practice with.  Julie took a bag of small squares and arranged them beautifully into a charming cot quilt top.

 Paula chose a bag of 12.5" orphans, and would you believe it, when she took them all out, there were 23!  Why oh why is it that leftover blocks never seeem to be in useful numbers?  But it didn't faze Paula: she took the 6.5 bag and made a four-patch for the final block!

Here is the final arrangement - fabulous!  Some of the blocks look as if they were made for a sampler or sew a row, but they play beautifully together.

 












Jane discovered that the snooker table was a perfect size and height for layering up quilts.  She layered up this panel and another top, quilted one and took them home for binding. 

Julie started by sewing half square triangles into windmills, but once the snooker table was free, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to practice layering up.  She got on so well that she was able to start to quilt it too!  

Liz was happy putting orphans together, and sewed them on her gorgeous Featherweight sewing machine. 

 Debbie, a new quilter popped in and brought her first ever quilt to donate to Linus!  How generous is that!   

 And talking of generosity, Sue has given me this beautiful little Singer Starlet (with all the attachments and even the manual!) for people to use at Linus workshops.  She is a starlet herself!  Thank you so much, from me, from Debbie (who was the first person to use it) and from all the children whose quilts will be sewn on it!  And a big thank you to the ladies who came to the sewing day.  We'll have another one later in the year.

Quilts out and in

Some while ago, I was contacted by Chloe, who lives abroad and wanted to make some quilts for Linus.  Her question was, would I accept them from her?  Of course, the answer was a resounding yes, please!  Well, it's taken a while to get them delivered (via a local friend) but yesterday they arrived safely, and boy, was it worth the wait!

Here are the three cute little prem quilts, made from gorgeous Easter fabric and Paddington fabric.  Perfect for new babies.  Thank you so much for making these quilts, Chloe, they are perfect!

Recently I was contacted by Mary, from Surestart, to see if they could have quilts to give out to the children they work with.  I was happy to say yes, and so met her outside Frankie and Benny's at Meridian (lots of parking there, and it's near her home).  Here we are with a quilt Paula made.  It clashes a bit with my coat!

And I just had to share this beauty with you.  Paula put it together (she is tireless!) but lots of people made some of these scrappy blocks.  It looks so bright and cheerful, and is a good size for a teenage boy.  Many thanks to Paula, Chloe and all the people who have worked for Linus this month!