Quilters are by far some of the most generous people I know.   While searching for possible charity projects that the guild might be interested in, I came across the Moda challenge, Just One Star. As part of the Quilts of Valor program, Moda is planning on making 100 quilts in 100 days. They need 1800 to complete the 100 quilts.  When finished the Flag of Valor quilts will be sent to injured military personnel as they return to the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan.

True to this generosity, Thumbstall guild members are joining together to support this cause.   At our monthly sew day earlier this week, we got together as usual to work individual projects.  Some people worked on the star blocks while others were planning on completing them at home.   Given the short time to complete these blocks (May 1) I was certainly heartened by their generosity.  I’m anxious to see just how many blocks are actually finished by our monthly meeting next week.

Just One Star

Saturday was National Quilting Day.  As we do every year on the third Saturday in March, a few members of the  Thumbstall Quilt Guild got together to share our favorite pastimes: quilting, camaraderie and good food .   This year 10 of us spent the day making  Memory Bags for local Central New York hospitals.  We were able to finish, or nearly finish 15 bags.   If someone dies in the hospital, their personal belongings are given to family members in these bags.  Certainly better than the see-thru plastic bags that the hospitals normally use.   To date the guild has distributed 34 bags to three area hospitals,  With the 15 we completed Saturday, we’ll be able to give them 35 additional bags by the end of the month.

Looking for a quick, easy charity project?  The directions follow here.

Sew and Flip Memory Bag (Adapted from Plank Road Guild pattern) rev. 11/2010

Materials: 19” muslin or lining material [subdued print] (must be at least 43” wide) 21 fabric strips 2 ½” wide, 19” to 20” long (muted fabrics; no brights or child prints) Strips may be pieced and pressed (Or substitute yardage19” x WOF for strips). 1 strip 8” by WOF (width of fabric) for handles, ties and binding.

Construction of Handles, Ties and Binding: From 8” by WOF cut: 1 – 2-¼ ” by WOF for binding 2 – 4” by 18” for handles 2 – 1” by 18” for ties Handles: Press each 4” by 18” piece in half lengthwise. Open out. Press each side to center, press in half again. Top stitch both sides of handle. Make two.

Ties. Press each 1” x 18” piece into thirds lengthwise. Top stitch close to raw edge on side and one end. Make 2.

Binding: Press in half.

Bag Unit Construction: Press lining and strips. Fold lining in half, salvage to salvage. Press crease to find center. Open lining and place right side down. Place strip one, right side up centered over crease in lining. Pin in place. (This is the only strip that will need to be pinned). Place strip two, right sides together over strip one and sew with ¼” seam from top to bottom. Keep lining smooth underneath as you sew through all layers. Open strip two and press away from strip one. Continue in this manner adding 10 strips to the right and 10 strips the left for a total of 21 strips, sewn and flipped, pressing as you go. Do not trim. From right side, secure last strip on each end to the lining with 1/8” basting seam. Stay close to end of strip so stitches won’t show in final seam. From right side, trim away extra lining material from top and bottom of bag. Turn the bag over to the lining side. Trim away the extra strip material from each side of the bag. Size should be 18” x 40” at this point. Make French fold seams on sides of bag (like pillowcase seams): With the wrong sides of bag together, join bag sides with a scant 1/4” seam, making sure that strips on the outside of the bag line up. Turn bag so new seam is on the inside; (right sides of fabric will be together). Sew. Push seam to outside and iron, so you have a nice sharp edge. Enclose the first seam with a ½” seam. Turn right side out. Iron side seams so they are flat.

Handles, Ties and Binding: Ties: Pin the ties at the center of the inside of the bag, making sure they are hanging into the bag and don’t get caught up when you sew on the binding.

Handles: On outside of bag, measure 4-½” from right and left bag edges. Pin the handle at the 4-½” marks. Do not twist the handle. Make sure the handles are not up and away from the bag – they should be lying on top of the sewn strips and will be flipped up later.

Binding: With both handles and ties hanging down, attach the binding strip with a ¼ ” seam allowance to wrong side of bag. Flip binding up and press seam up and away from bag. Bring binding to front, handles and ties down. Top stitch binding to front of bag. Flip handles up; ties remain down. Top stitch close to top edge through all layers including handle area to secure the handles a second time.

Memory Bag is complete. Finished bag size is 17-¼” x 21-¾”. \

We’ve all heard that quilting makes the quilt!  – It’s so true!  When I sat down to machine quilt the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, I had intended to do some meander quilting, but

Quilting motif

the quilt definitely needed  something more.  Hearts!   The  intent of the project is to ‘warm the life, the heart and the lap of an ALS patient…”- so what better quilting design.

In addition some of  the quilts will be used to raise awareness and research money for ALS -’Lou Gehrig’s’ disease.  They will be photographed, displayed, auctioned and/or raffled.

This Consortium charity project will also

Pocket Label

have a pocket label.

It was suggested that we write a  note to the recipient to put into the pocket.  I thought that this extra block would be a perfect candidate for the label.

My quilt is finished – and now just has to have the border sewn into place.

Like many quilters nationwide, a group of us from the Thumstall Quilt Guild got together to celebrate National Quilting Day on March 13 .    My husband asked me how the day started.  I had no idea – it’s always been a great excuse to get together with fellow quilters, work on some charity projects – and just plain have fun.

However, my curiosity was spiked so I went to the ‘net’ for the answer.  I found that in 1991, the National Quilting Association (NQA) designated the third Satrday in March as National Quilting Day.  It’s an opportunity to quilt with friends, work on service projects. quilt and  among other things – socialize .

We chose one of our favorite places to quilt – the Marcellus Library to celebrate the day.  The new facility has an all purpose room that is extremely well lit – fantastic for quilting!

The day was spent working on bibs for men and women at a local Alzheimer’s Association Daycare Program.

Bibs

By the time we’re done, we will have made 31.  These are so much better than the paper disposable ones that are normally used at health care facilities.  Our program chair came up with idea of adding a fabric yoke to a large towel. Easy to make and useful too. These should be relatively absorbent as well as comfortable for the patients.  We coordinated fabric from our own stash with the purchased towels.

To fill out the week Julie and I got together and cut fabric and assemble kits for the pieced sections of our guild’s 2011 raffle quilt.  Now we’ll each make two sections of the block to show when we distribute  the kits.

Ending out the week 4 of us got together for a full day of quilting and camaraderie.  I was able to finish the binding on two of my quilts for the quilt show’s silent auction and the challenge .   What a way to spend time- a whole day – just quilting and sharing stories.

In addition to quilting with friends, I was able to finish a quilt top for a Consortium project:  a quilt for an ALS patient..   (A family member of one of our Consortium members has just been diagnosed with the affliction also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and she asked us to make quilts for the patients.)  I had been working on a disappearing 9-patch and thought this would be a perfect quilt for the project.

My plan for this week:

- prepare this quilt and my ‘Seasons’ quilt for quilting.  Let’s see how I do.

Thumbstall Quilt Guild members have been making Kid Comfort Quilts. for children of the 10th Mountain Division’s deployed service men and women, almost since the program began 6 years ago.  This month we received another group of pictures that we will fashion into quilts.

For this project my “kid’ is only 2-1/2 months old and has a brother who is 2 or 3.  I hope these quilts can bring them some measure of comfort.

A Quilt for William

As I  usually do, I went to my stash to see if there was any fabric that might be appropriate and found a half yard of Blues Clues fabric that I had used in an Ami Sims Picture Play Quilts for one my grandchildren.  I had just enough to make the inside border of the Kid Comfort quilt.  What a perfect find.  Now to finish it – I just have to add the binding.  I can hand sew the binding while watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics tonight.

Operation Kid Comfort actually began at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in 2003.  A toddler, who really was missing his deployed father, took comfort in carrying around pictures  that reminded him of his father.  A resourceful grandmother, Ann Flaherty, came up with the idea of putting the pictures on a quilt that he could easily keep with him both day and night.

With the help of Lynne Grates; executive director of the Fort Bragg/Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Armed Services YMCA and Clitha Mason, the arts and humanities director;  Ann founded Operation Kid Comfort.    Now 6 years later quilts are being made  by individuals, guilds and at quilt workshops throughout the country.

This must be the 4th or 5th quilt that many of us in the guild have made for this project.  I think I speak for every member when I say to  military families, “We support you.”