More quilts where they belong

Last week I was contacted by Asha, who works for the NHS Partnership, working with vulnerable children in the Saffron Lane area of Leicester, as they needed more quilts.  Had I got any they could have?  The answer was, of course!

She came round to my house on the way back from a training day and collected 30 quilts.  

Here she is with a gorgeous Scrappy Bargello quilt.  I hadn't met Asha before, but she remembered quilts coming in to her office and tracked me down.  I'm delighted that the quilts will all be finding good homes.  That leaves me with 'only' about 30 quilts left, but I'm sure there are plenty in the pipeline! 

Sew Sociable

We had a busy week, as on Friday we went over to Sew Sociable's monthly meeting in Leicester.  We were delighted to be invited back for some Linus sewing, and a big thank you to Debbie, Emily, Julie and Liz who came along and helped out. 

The group meets in Saint Martin's cafe in Leicester, and it's a very comfortable venue.  The group started as a free event, but unfortunately they now have to pay for the venue, which means they have to charge a £3 fee.  They also have traders to help out with funds, but that's always a bonus as far as most people are concerned!  And before you ask, yes, I did buy some fabric!  Couldn't resist! 

Despite the charges, the event seemed very popular, and there were over 40 people there, of all ages and both sexes.  

The person in the green dress is Julia, one of the organisers.  She is lovely and a delight to chat to.  

This month's project was to make a simple rail fence block from three strips of fabric.  You only needed to be able to do a small running stitch to be successful.

I took my trusty design wall aka fleece backed plastic tablecloth, and as the blocks were completed, put them up for people to see. 

And here is the completed design.  Rainbow stripes! There were 113 blocks made in total, which will easily make a couple of Linus quilts, and has used up lots of scraps and strings.  Thank you to all the people at Sew Sociable for your hard work, and we'll hope to see you soon! 

Hospital visiting

Last Monday, Paula and I went to visit Ward 10 of the Leicester Royal Infirmary's Children's Hospital to deliver some quilts.  They were keen to take as many as possible, as, this being a surgical ward, there is a fairly rapid turnover of patients.  We took 50 quilts, which is quite a lot to carry!  We were lucky enough to be allowed to use one of those big cages which the porters use (you can see it in the photo)  and despite the fact that it was a difficult to steer, made the whole job much easier.  

When we arrived on the ward, the duty nurse said, "You must be the blanket ladies!  we've been looking forward to seeing you!"  Pip, the ward housekeeper came in from her break and oohed and ached over the quilts.  She said that the quilts are really appreciated by children and parents, as they are so snugly, and give comfort in a tough situation.  

The photo says it all!

Knit and Stitch is four!

This week, Knit and Stitch had its fourth birthday, which is a great achievement.  Sewing and knitting for good causes is obviously very popular.  We had cake (provided by me - so far no one has phoned in sick!) and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

Here are some of the sewers.  Most people are bordering or binding tops, but the little group on the left are 'de boning' some donated pyjamas, which will make some lovely quilts once the fabric is on useable pieces.  They worked away at this tedious task, and then Dorothy kindly volunteered to take the rest home and finish the task.  Very kind.  

Here are the knitters, busy knitting and chatting.  There were about 30 people there altogether, with the knitters making up the majority.  

Here's a better photo of the sewers.  You can see Emily and Doreen busy with the pyjamas, and right at the back, Fiona (who had a sewing machine for Christmas!) busy under Paula's excellent tuition, making her first blocks.  

The knitters are able to spread themselves along the tables, as they aren't constrained by the position of the electrical sockets.  Recently we managed to fuse the hall, so are being a bit more careful these days! 

Maria is an extremely prolific and talented quilter and she brought along her usual half dozen completed quilts.  Like me, she is a big fan of Mile a Minute, and usually makes one each month!  This one looks so good sashed in red.  

Here is another i sashed.  They both look great, don't they?  Anyone is welcome to come along, so see if you can squeeze it into your diary in March. 

Bingham

Paula and I had an eventful journey up to Bingham today - wind, rain, hail, sunshine, rainbows, blue skies and black clouds, we had it all!  Judy from Fostering Futures was there to meet us in our usual cafe, and it was lovely to see her and catch up with her news.  She had told us she was keen to learn to crochet, and Paula went equipped and ready to initiate her into the craft.

Here they are, concentrating hard.  Judy turned out to be a natural, and once she's got her tension sorted out (a common problem with beginner knitters and crocheters) will be off!  However, our real business here was to bring Linus quilts, and with her team looking after 78 young people, I had brought 80 beautiful quilts for her.  When we had loaded all the quilts into her car, she and Paula posed for a picture, despite the wind and the fact that it had just started to rain again.  Unfortunately though I thought I had taken a picture, I had in fact taken a video, which I can't upload onto this post!  You'll have to take my word for the pleasure on both their faces at the generosity of all the Leicestershire quilting angels!

A visit to Shepshed

We were well overdue for a visit to our friends at 'Quilting Together' in Shepshed, as we usually manage to see them before Christmas, but no worries, we finally made it.  As usual I took fabrics and orphans. 

As usual, they wasted no time in having a good rummage!  What is it about other people's fabric choices which make them so appealing?  I'm always happy to see the donated fabric being used, and these ladies are so creative, and use it all to good advantage.  

There were several piles of quilts on the table, and here are just some of them. 

Something straightforward made from squares and half square triangles. 

Pinwheels with a difference - don't the circles add an extra pizzazz!

Sashed mile a minute, fabulous.

Crazy mile a minute!  I love the Orange sashing.

Different coloured boats sailing on a very calm ocean.  Which do you like best?

Great use of variously sized orphans.  The frames make the blocks knit up uniformly big.

A stunning quilt made from four patches sashed and bordered.  Gorgeous!

Clever use of feature fabric which apparently was taken from one of the boxes last time I visited!  It all gets used! 

Excellent use of a fairly small piece of racing car fabric.  So clever. 

Intriguing pattern, suitable for an older child.  Altogether there were 41 beautiful quilts.  How good is that!  We also had a sneak preview of a group quilt they are making to enter at Malvern and Utoxeter.  It's crazy pieced hexagons, which are each a little mini quilt.  They will be sewn together with half hexagons along the sides to square it off.

And last but not least, we admired a variation of Bonnie Hunter's 'Grand Illusion'. 

The maker felt it was too busy when the required four patch was placed in the centre, so substituted a pink square.  Very clever.  I can't wait to see the result, and hope it will be complete next time we visit.  (I haven't mentioned the cake - courgette, yum! - or the fact that I was the one mention sex when I told about dropping my drawers in the school car park!  Luckily they were panto costume drawers, and not my own!)

Happy New Year!

I'd like to say a big thank you and a happy 2015 to all the people who have donated to Project Linus during 2014.  It has been another wonderful year!  First and foremost have been the quilt donations. Two hundred and seventy seven quilts have been given to children in need of a hug.  These children have been from Fostering Futures, ADAPT, East Midlands Foster Placements, Leicester Royal Infirmary Ward10 and Paediatric Oncology Unit, Leicester Fostering Services, Looked After Children, and Leicester Social Services and range from premature babies to nineteen year olds. 

Many thanks to all the people who have donated tops, blocks, fabric and sewing supplies to help us out.  A special mention must go to The Warm Company and EQS who both donated wadding to us during the year. 

 We were also delighted to be invited out to various groups and local events.  In addition to our regular Knit and Stitch afternoons in Lutterworth, we have been to Wingerworth Townswomen's Guild, Lutterworth Piecemakers, Hinckley U3A Craft Group, Sew Sociable, Oadby Baptist Church Craft Group, 'Hannah's Room' in Coalville, Quorn Country Crafts Quilt Group and The Big Textile Show, to spread the word and encourage new and existing quilters. 

We will be starting the year off with another sewing evening at Lutterworth Piecemakers.  Previously, this talented group have made blocks, but this year I want them to help finish off the pile of donated tops.  (Why is it that piecing is so much more popular than bordering or quilting?).  

Here is a bag with 18 tops and borders ready to go.

I'm going to take backing fabrics along too, and hope that we can get these tops bordered and ready to quilt.  Will you be there to help?