Saturday 2 April 2016

Quilt Story: Charity doesn't always begin at home


 Today Jen of Glinda Quilts tells us the story of a wonderful quilt she has finished for Siblings Together:

 Charity doesn't always begin at home..........
Because in this case, charity began in the USA with Joan (IG account here) asking if someone would take her beautiful 42 quilt blocks and turn them into a quilt for Siblings Together ... and I said YES.


I started supporting this wonderful charity last year - there are dozens of quilters in the UK (and further) who make quilts for the children who come together at camps ... my contribution is tiny compared to others but this year, I am part of a monthly group, who exchange blocks of the Queen Bee's choice - I will post again about that and I will also be making a second quilt. 

When Joan came on the IG feed a few months ago asking for a volunteer to finish her quilt, I was happy to do so. Sending stuff across the Atlantic can be a bit risky (and we had a little battle with Customs but they refunded me, Joan!) but her gorgeous blocks arrived safely at the end of February:


I started putting them together - aren't they delightful?


And the rows just grew and grew:


This was asking for a border, which, thankfully I had just the right fabric in my stash for:


Dearest darling hubby helped me baste again in the decorating tables we put up in the hall:


I still cannot manage decent straight-line quilting on a quilt this size so stuck to my tried and tested stippling / meandering in a variegated yellow:


DH also chose the binding:


This really is my favourite part of the process:


And the all important label (donated by Spoonflower) attached yesterday (so it was a Friday finish, honest!):


And here she is in all her glory:


Joan, thank you again for trusting me with your blocks ... I hope I did them justice and that the child / young person our quilt will eventually go to loves it as much as we do. 




13 comments:

  1. I'm speechless! Not only did you (and hubby) do an amazing job with my blocks, but you found the time to document the whole experience and photograph it. Jen is an amazing sewing buddy and hard worker. Our "trans-atlantic" collaboration has resulted in a quilt that is sure to bring a smile to some youngsters face. This whole experience has brought many smiles to my face! Thanks Jen for everything!

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    1. Let's do it again next year, Joan! Loved every part of this ... what a joy X

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  2. Superb team effort ladies which resulted in a stunning quilt - well done.

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  3. I just loved reading this story, so heartwarming and lovely to think of two quilters, so many miles apart, combining to create a beautiful quilt. The colours are so different, a nice 'grown up ' look that I could imagine a teenaged girl snuggling under. Well done and thank you, Jen and Joan, for sharing your story.

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    1. Thank you, Linda - collaborating on this quilt was a wonderful experience X

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  4. This is a stunning quilt made even more special by its transatlantic collaboration. Lovely that that is on the label.

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    1. Thank you, Jenny, it was meant to be ... Joan and I made a great team - we are thinking of doing it again next year!
      Aren't we, Joan?!?!

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  5. Lovely story, super quilt.

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  6. Thank you, Sheila, it is an experience that will stay with me X

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  7. Thank you for sharing my blog post, Maria, and thank you for all your support and encouragement. I would never have known about this wonderful charity if it weren't for you (and Fran) and now I have another new quilty friend ... can't wait until the next one X

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  8. This is stunning - I am sure it will be truly loved xx

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    1. Thank you, it's lovely the quilt is getting all these wonderful comments; I hope it will be loved X

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