Charity Quilts

I know I am not alone in our quilting community when donating time and talent to worthy causes.  I usually hesitate to make full on quilts after hearing how some organizations don't do our donations justice.  However, the guild I belong to is aligned with a charity that does such a great service to underprivileged children that I am proud to donate lovelies.

 

Every spring the COC along with Hidden Stitches (my guild) puts on a huge luncheon and quilt auction.  We have over 300 people attend the lunch and so many quilts for auction that we have added a silent auction as well so everyone's bums don't go numb during the bidding:)

 

As I contemplated what to do for 2015 an estate sale of a quilter came to the guild's attention.  

 



I found 6 machine embroidered Sun Bonnet Sue blocks for $6...I knew I could come up with something:)  The one missing will go into a small pillow done in peach because she was the one NOT like the others in colors.  After adding some nine patches and a border, I had it machine quilted by a lovely woman in our guild who will quilt our charity quilts for free once we supply the backing/batting which is more than fair!!

After I received it back from Toddy, I added the floral applique to the borders for an adorable baby quilt...I just love the red and white!  The floral applique mimics a floral design in the embroidery of one of the other blocks.

At the estate sale, I also found these 16 completed kaleidoscope blocks ($8) and the gold fabric yardage that matched perfectly. What to do..... There weren't enough for a whole quilt and if I separated them, then you would lose that cool purple square between them.  I decided to just put them together and add a bigger header and footer for a lap size quilt.

Again I sent it off to Toddy and her husband, Ray, to quilt it for me.  Once it came back, I added the purple flower garlands to the top and bottom borders.

I machine appliqued the flower garlands and then replicated the quilting details into the flower heads.  If you look at the photo below, you will see that the applique flowers mimic the quilting.  This is a great way to add more detail and keep everything cohesive.

The joy is knowing someone will LOVE these and the money they spend on them at the auction will go to help kids that just need a little bit of attention so we don't lose them.
I am not one to shout my good deeds to the world but I thought this was a good way to show how orphan blocks at yard sales, thrift shops, etc. can be of use even if they aren't necessarily your style.
I don't do Sunbonnet Sue or purples/golds but someone will love these and it didn't cost me all that much other than my time.

What are your charity projects for the year?