A Charity Quilt

A few weeks ago a pin on my Pinterest feed caught my eye. It was a link to Ashley's blog post at www.makeit-loveit.com about making a charity quilt. While the Downy program that she participated in has ended, the charity is still active. Quilts for Kids uses volunteers to sew quilts to donate to children in hospitals. I decided to donate my time to make a quilt. Here's how it works: you pay $6 for shipping and Quilts for Kids sends you fabric and directions. You provide your sewing expertise & time, batting, and return shipping. The quilt must be returned within 4 - 6 weeks, you must use a low loft batting (a product like Warm & Natural is preferred), and you must machine quilt with high quality thread.

You are also able to make your own quilts to donate. There are a few stipulations so that the finished products are safe for the kids to use with medical devices and equipment--quilt shop quality fabric, no rag quilts, no tied quilts, use low loft, high quality batting, and machine quilt the quilt. You can find more details and free patterns at the Quilts for Kids website.

Here is a photo of the fabrics I received:

The yellow and blue fabrics were cut into strips to make four-patch blocks. The print on the lower right was cut into squares to alternate with the four-patch units. There is a coordinating print for the outer border and the green strips are for the inner borders. The remainder of the yellow fabric is for the back and binding. Since the majority of the fabric is already cut, you can get right down to the sewing. I've completed the four-patch blocks and am ready to sew the rows together.

While the instructions given are more than adequate, if you are sewing your own quilt to donate and want step-by-step photos, be sure to check out Ashley's instructions.