Hands2Help: a Because You Matter bonanza!

I asked friends to collect our mail for us when we left to spend two months in the Yukon because I was going to be gone right in the middle of the time that quilts might be arriving from the Hands2Help charity quilt drive. I told my friends that I was expecting two or maybe three parcels. Imagine my surprise when I opened my door and walked in to this great stack of boxes!

boxes
I have no idea why this picture is showing upside-down. Sorry!

This is so exciting! To date, 14 quilts, 3 tops and enough extra 9-patch squares to make a baby quilt have arrived from towns all across Canada and the United States:

  • Mt. Juliet, Tennessee;
  • Saint Paul, Minnesota;
  • Katy, Texas;
  • Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire;
  • Southampton, Ontario;
  • Simi Valley, California;
  • Rochester, Washington;
  • Strathroy, Ontario;
  • Dansville, Michigan;
  • The Villages, Florida; and
  • Kingsville, Ontario.
quilts
I have no idea why this picture is showing upside-down. Sorry!

I’m unpacking them right now and have to say that I’m feeling completely overwhelmed with the care and attention that went into the making of every one of these quilts. It’s obvious that their makers were thinking of the children who will find comfort and joy when they wrap up with a picture book, make a  fort, snuggle up. I can feel love oozing out of every single one of these beautiful quilts.

I’m completely blown away at your generosity, dearest readers.  Oh my goodness! Because You Matter has taken on a whole new meaning. It isn’t just the children and teens that matter and deserve a quilt, it’s YOU generous people who make the quilts that matter, too – that give these beautiful gifts to deserving folks in need of them. Because we all matter!

One more parcel is still waiting at the post office, so if you sent something and don’t see your town listed, that’s probably it. I’ll pick it up next time I go to town.

Stay tuned for part two…the photos!

A Very Wrenly Quilt for Sweden

The other day I told you about a young family that had lost their house to fire, and how I’d started making quilts for the children. I showed you Beckham’s quilt. Today I finished his big sister Sweden’s quilt!

013

I am calling it Wrenly for Sweden because I had been playing around with a jellyroll of a designer fabric called Wrenly (by Valorie Wells.)

002

This quilt is in a similar vein to the Stacked Coins quilt that I made for my sister (here). Sort of.

004

I think all the swirls and glimpses of birds are perfect for a 5-year-old girl.  It’s girly, but in a rough & tumble sort of way. Kinda like Sweden, herself 🙂

022

But what I’m really happy with is the back!

008

I’ve been drawn to some of the modern quilt movement’s elements, including use of grey and lots of negative space.

017

Of course, quilt backs are usually all about negative space, but I wanted to play around with it, making a two-sided quilt. No front, no back, really, except for the label. Sweden can flip it around as she pleases.

015

I added some big-stitch hand quilting in perle cotton, just because…

019

…and I practiced my machine quilting skills (which are sorely lacking, thus practice is a good thing) using my walking foot and wiggling the top from side to side to create the wavy lines.

001

I hope Sweden will spend many happy hours snuggled up in her quilt, reading her favourite books and dreaming her favourite dreams.

010

Charity Quilt

This is a Hands-2-Help charity quilt 🙂

002This one is going to the RCMP Victim Services Unit here in Salmon Arm.

003It is 69×53″ and hand tied. I love hand tied quilts. They are so cozy and loveable!

008Almost as cozy and loveable as my assistant!

009I always want to see the back, don’t you? I used doodle fabric from IKEA 🙂

011I received enoughdonated blocks to make this big lap-sized quilt plus a smaller cuddle quilt. I was going to take the cuddle quilt with me to Whitehorse this fall, but I’ve decided to donate it along with its “big sister” here in Salmon Arm instead. Because maybe there will be a sibling group that would like to have matching quilts.