In March we had a great event to celebrate INTERNATIONAL QUILT DAY with 38 lovely ladies making blocks for two charities:
Siblings Together - who take siblings separated in the care system away together in the Summer
Quilts for Care Leavers - who spread Christmas cheer among young adults who have just left the care system
We had an amazing day and made enough blocks for five or six quilts. It always takes a little while for the tops to be put together - life gets in the way - but here are the first few
In our Siblings Together Sewing Bee Group, we take it turns to be a Bee Mama for the month and we set the blocks and choose the colours then all the bee members make and send us that block. It means no-one has to put together and quilt more than one quilt a year, a great way of sharing the work as well as trying new blocks and perhaps being more adventurous with colour.
May's block set by Kate - Apple Crate - ready to be posted on Monday
I was Bee Mama in March: just laying out the fantastic blocks I received ready for sewing together
I am lucky enough to have lead a very privileged life. I am not talking about having a lot of material possessions (although I do possess a lot of material!) I am talking about being surrounded by a network of loving and supportive family and friends. I may chose to spend some time on my own, however I have never really had cause to feel lonely. There have been dark and difficult times, but I haven't had to face them alone. So I say I am lucky; the secure and nurturing environment I grew up in has given me self-confidence and self-esteem. It has also given me sufficient intelligence to understand that not everyone gets this start. I cannot imagine how hard everything in life appears to someone who is young, lonely, scared, unsure of themselves and facing an uncertain future. Making quilts for children in, and young adults leaving care may seem like a tiny thing, but if just one of those young people feels better for it, then it's all worthwhile.
Of course there is always room for a quilt for Project Linus!
This little beauty was made from the "marbles" blocks I was demonstrating at the QGBI Region 8 BIG Exhibition at Blackthorpe Barns last weekend. Free-cut drunkards' path curves, really quick and easy. Click on the photo to go to the QGBI Modern Group website for free instructions.
Now all we have to do is quilt them all! One of our regular class members, recently retired from professional long-arming, has kindly offered to quilt two. The rest will get quilted in time - somehow.
