Rutland Quilters

Things have been fairly quiet over the summer, Linus-wise, but no sooner have the children gone back to school, than we're off!  Jenny, from Rutland Quilters contacted me, as they had some quilts to donate. She wanted to meet somewhere and do a handover, but I suggested it would be nice for me to come to a meeting, meet the quilters and have a chinwag!  They meet in Uppingham, so yesterday I set my trusty satnav and set off.  It was a beautiful run from Lutterworth, through the villages, Gilmorton,  Kibworth Harcourt, Hallerton, Cranoe etc. and just when I was beginning to think I was going to end up in the middle of nowhere, there was Uppingham!  Good route. 

They are a small group, but have assembled a gorgeous set of quilts. I was particularly impressed that they had been careful to make sure there were some quilts for boys - look at the lovely aeroplane and sky one on the left. Perfect.  We had a cuppa and they had a look through my pattern folder, and then I had an opportunity to admire their work. 

Look at the tiny hexagons!  I think they were half an inch! The colours were more brown than green, and it will be made into a table runner, eventually.  Did you notice the wrist pincushion?  Great idea!

These were all ladies after my own heart.  This one was using leftovers in black, white and pink to make enough fabric for a bag.  It will look stunning. 

And these ladies were sorting scrap squares into sizes, for ease of use.  It's the only way to do it. 

Then, just as I was going, out came these fabulous cushions! 

Cats!  They were an excercise in positive and negative. 

And here are the two together.  Thank you very much for inviting me over, and for the lovely quilts.  I look forward to seeing you again.m

Coffee and quilts

My friend Jane has recently decided to stop teaching patchwork.  This is a shame, as she's a talented, patient and understanding teacher, but it was the right decision for her.  So, what to do with all the blocks, Blue Peters and samples she had amassed?  Make them into Linus quilts, of course!  We met for a coffee and a catch up, and she handed over a total of ten beautiful quilts!

Here she is with a gorgeous ribbon quilt.  You can see the bag with the other quilts in her boot.  If you want to see all the quilts, look on Jane's blog, www.janeweston.blogspot.com where she has photos of them.  Thank you so much, Jane, you're a star! 

Quilts to Cambridge

My daughter Gemma works for a charity in Cambridge which supports young people struggling with their sexuality.  She contacted her local Linus rep to see if there were any hugs to spare, to find there weren't!  Shame!  Luckily I had some, so I was able to deliver some today.  Here she is with a gorgeous quilt.

Having been involved with Linus for several years, and helped with fabric choices, layouts, label sewing and delivery, she was thrilled to be able to be on the other side of the counter (as it were) and be able to receive the love.  And here are some of the young people supported by Sexyouality, enjoying their hugs.

Interesting to see they have chosen a green quilt donated by Hazel, a scrappy windmill, a rail fence sashed in pink, and the red and black quilt which was made by members of Sew Sociable!  

Apparently they were really touched that " some old ladies" we're prepared to make such beautiful things especially for them!  Well, less of the "old ladies" thank you, and maybe we'll send some more!

Another visit from the fairies!

I just popped out earlier this evening to get some milk, when I found the fairies had payed me another visit!  Two carrier bags were outside the front door, one full of fabric (and very heavy) and the other with recent quilting magazines. 

There was a note on top of the large bag, but no identification! 

How kind of you, Good Fairy!  We will indeed appreciate using decent quantities of top quality fabrics, instead of using up scraps, which of course, are wonderful in their own way, but can be very frustrating when they are not quite big enough or the right shape for what you need them for! 

Here is the contents of the large bag.  Two jelly rolls (one with its background fabric and pattern), a huge fat quarter pack in blues and creams (ideal for boy quilts!), a quilt pack, some batik charm packs, some gorgeous animal novelty fabrics, plenty of cream fabrics (you can never have enough neutrals), some blue yardage, wool, an advent calendar, more fat quarters and decent cuts of fabric, some 2" squares and some batik blocks!  I will take all this to Knit and Stitch next week, and share it amongst the Linus ladies there.  They will be delighted, and put it all to very good use.  Thank you so much, Good Fairy, and a Merry Christmas to you too!

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!