(Let me start with an apology disclaimer...I wrote this with nice paragraphs and
easy to read spacing but this vintage blog site appears to be lazy now. It is
also not letting me insert a link to Wrap the World With Quilts, so please just
Google it ) Doing quilts for charity has been my "retirement life" and I have no
intention of stopping anytime soon! I wish I had kept a tally of how many quilts
I have made, but can safely say it is over a hundred. I belong to a guild called
Yankee Quilters and we have a group that meets once a week to work on Comfort
Quilts.Some of us make the tops, some quilt them, others tie them,others sew the
labels on the back. Everyone does what they do best and we get it done!! Some of
the quilts go to Dana Farber for cancer patients, some go to a shelter for
mothers and babies, some to local families who have lost everthing in a fire,
but lately most of them have gone to Wrap the World With Quilts.
Also check out their videos on YouTube to see
this wonderful group in action. We have sent 3 boxes of quilts so far and have
enough for another shipment. They have shipped out over 49,000 quilts to
refugees in Ukraine and other places in the world that are in crisis. You don't
have to be a quilter to donate. Sending quilts, machines, tools, fabric, etc
across the world is not cheap and they can really use the help!! I'm not sure
why this organization touched my heart like it has. I think it is seeing the
women and children getting off trains and buses in Poland with just a backpack
of their belongings, seeing video of the minister who has set up shelters and is
working to get the people sheltered and fed, seeing the faces of people who are
so happy to have something for themself to keep them warm. It is exciting to see
the piles of quilts getting packed up and sent along with volunteer relief
groups. They don't just send to Ukraine refugees. They have organized drives to
send supplies and quilts to hurricane victims in the US, as well as other
worldwide disasters. Their current project is their Sunflower Quilt for Ukraine
project. They are collecting 12 1/2 inch blocks which will be sewn together to
display in Kiev in 2025, a project similar to the Aids Quilt in the 80's. The
goal is to give comfort and encouragement to the Ukraine people. After the
display they will be put together for quilts for people in need (Let me be
honest,I'm glad I don't have that job!) The US has pledged to donate 15,000
blocks and at the moment they are at the 4500 mark so there is a long way to go!
This block project has been my latest fun obsession. People donate so much
fabric and unfinished quilts (UFO's) and orphan blocks to Yankee and it seems to
be landing at my place! Add this to my own collection of ziploc bags, shoe
boxes, and totes full of UFO's and blocks and I seem to have an endless supply
of possible blocks. My rule for myself is that whatever I grab next is the next
project. You would not believe the sense of joy I get from empty ziploc bags and
boxes. If a block is already pretty and is 12 1/2 inch square it is exciting! If
it is smaller, I dig in the pile of fabrics and give it a border. If it is plain
(I inherited a pile of 12 1/2" 9-patches which should have been exciting but
there is no rhyme or reason to them so they are now background blocks). The
plain (boring) blocks are getting appliques put on them. The Wonder Under job is
the time consuming part. I have been busy tracing, pressing, and cutting out
sunflowers, hearts, words, and anything else I can think of. After they are
fused down, they have to be sewn, which is kinda slow. For several Fridays I sat
at the Farmer's Market cutting pieces. I had high hopes that the other women
would also contribute, but I guess everyone has their thing and this is not it.
One new woman brought in about a dozen pink blocks she had won in a block raffle
to commemorate breast cancer awareness. She had no idea what to do with them, so
there are several bright pink blocks in there. Another brought a couple blocks
leftover from a Ukranaine raffle quilt, so there are some bright log cabin
blocks. I did a wonky scrap log cabin workshop at our Staycation and 2 X Marks
the Spot blocks got made, as well as several wonky log cabin blocks. Barbara was
between projects and sewed down a couple applique blocks. It was a huge relief
to finally say DONE and I couldn't resist taking photos and counting how many I
did. I know this might sound like a "humble brag", but here are the pictures of
the blocks I am donating. I really just wanted a record of this project.
Final tally: 342
