Hugs - Wrap Up and Reflections

As Valentine's day approached, I had the idea to turn expand the concept of gifting a sign of affection beyond a single day and beyond those very close to you.

What if we all united to turn the entire month into one of giving handmade to others who needed to know that someone cared?

My goal was to encourage others to give handmade and bring attention to organizations that I uncovered in my research that were doing good things.  There are so, so many wonderful groups out there focused on doing good.  I hoped to have people link up, use social tags to bring awareness to groups they cared about.

While I didn't get any takers on using my social tags, I know from the comments and emails I did get, that Hugs introduced a few people to groups who cause touched their heart and I hope that some of these people will be inspired enough to get involved.

Focusing on Hugs also helped me recognize how many wonderful blog posts show up all the time about how quilters are giving to others through their guild, through their church and through some of the organizations I was blogging about.

My reflections and advise as a result of my research in support of Hugs:

• The world is filled with many generous people.  Generous with their time and their handmade items.  (To be fair, I already knew this going into the series but it was wonderful to have it confirmed over and over again.)

• Before crafting for any organization, ask first.  Ask what they need the most.  Ask about what kind of materials are required.  Ask what size of quilt would best meet their needs.

• Consider how you can help people local in your own community.  Your local quilt shop or guilds are terrific resources here.  They are often collection points for local delivery and can also be sources for donated fabric and supplies.

• There are many organizations in the world doing their best to support people in need.  Find one that you are very passionate about and figure out how best to support them in a way that works for you.

Hugs became more about my personal journey than I anticipated.

The research I did associated with these posts helped me sort out where I wanted to focus my time in support of others.  All of the organizations  I wrote about and donated to are doing amazing work and I truly enjoyed donating the items that I made.

What I've sorted out is I want to donate locally, for children and perhaps for children with Down syndrome.  I'll now explore how best o support this focus.

Thank you for reading along and doing what you do to give a handmade hug to someone who needs one.

Hugs.



Have a wonderful day! Patty

Hugs - Charity Through Your Local Guild

Elm Street Quilts is not affiliated with any of the organizations in the series.

The objective in the series of Elm Street Quilts Hugs blog posts is to encourage the giving of handmade to someone who needs extra support.  This could be a family member or friend or perhaps to someone in your community.  I'd like to turn February into a month of giving handmade hug. #handmadehug #ESQHugs.   


A great place to find like minded individuals who want to quilt for charity is to look no further than your local guild.  Capital Quilters is one of the guilds in my area.  They've been donating quilts since the guild began in the early 1980's with quilts in those early years going to Ronald McDonald House and local Neonatal care units at area hospital.

While not yet a member of the guild, I did attend one meeting to get to know the organization.  I was very impressed with the parade of charity quilts that surrounded the large audience.

Bonnie Hunter was speaking that night which clearly drew in a lot of people.  Which met circling the audience with the parade of  charity quilts even more impressive!  (Bonnie's post from that evening.)

The guild newsletter said more than 80 quilts were collected that evening alone.

Photo credit to Bonnie Hunter from http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/11/and-then-there-was-some-raleigh-show.html

The Capital Quilters guild has focused their charitable quilt making for 2015-2016 on quilts for kids, Quilts on Wheels and SAFEchild.  Goals to donate 225 quilts have been set for each group.  The quilts for kids are donated to  the Neonatal Intensive Care units at two local hospitals.  Quilts on Wheels is a program that provides lap sized quilts to residents of local nursing homes.  SAFEchild (Stop Abuse for Every Child) organization provides support for children who have been identified as abused or neglected in our local county.

The guild provides kits to members for some of their charitable quilting and accepts donations of supplies.

The guild's primary purpose for making comfort quilts is to provide a personal gift of a lovingly created textile creation to area hospitals nursing homes and families graduating from the SAFEChild parenting education program. The are well over 300 members who make these quilts to share their love of quilting with the community.  

In the guild's December newsletter, there was a great quote from someone whose mother-in-law had received a quilt through the Quilts on Wheels program:

"Thank you so much for the beautiful quilt you made for my mother-in-law. .......When she was younger she made about 125 quilts to give to her four children. They are a treasure to us!! She is 95 years old now and is not able to quilt. We appreciate your thoughtfulness!!”

The members of the Capital Quilters guild are certainly doing a lot for our community.  I thank them for all of the handmade hugs they are creating.

Have you done charity quilting through your guild?


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Hugs: Little Dresses for Africa

Elm Street Quilts is not affiliated with the Little Dresses for Africa organization.  With this post and others, my goal is to raise awareness of organizations that collect and distribute handmade items to people in need.  

The objective of Elm Street Quilts Hugs is to encourage the giving of handmade to someone who needs extra support.  This could be a family member or friend or perhaps to someone in your community.  I'd like to turn February into a month of giving handmade hug. #handmadehug #ESQHugs.   

I'd encourage anyone to write a blog post or Instagram or Facebook on an organization or your handmade giving.  Link it back with the social tags #handmadehug #ESQHugs, the blog linky party (here) or ESQ Facebook so we can all learn about opportunities to make a difference.


Today's post is about the Little Dresses for Africa organization.

I first learned about the  Little Dresses for Africa organization from my friend Jan from Sew and Sow Farm .  Last year, she sponsored a sew along for making dresses for girls and simple shorts for boys. 

For girls, the simplest dress will do.  There are actually patterns available which makes the dress from an actual pillowcase (pattern).   Using a pillowcase makes for a quick sew - the seams and hem are already finished.

Jan has a great post on her Sew and Sow Farm blog about the organization and a sew-along she is planning this spring.

Lorna also has a post on her blog Sew Fresh Quilts today on this organization as well.  See her post here.  (edited to add this link)

Please go visit Jan and Lorna to learn more and see some photos of what she made last year.

You can see the full list of posts in the Hugs series here.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Hugs: Quilts of Compassion

Elm Street Quilts is not affiliated with the Quilts of Compassion organization.  I  was inspired by what I learned about the group and wanted to share.

All photos shown are used with permission sourced from their Facebook site .

The objective of Elm Street Quilts Hugs is to encourage the giving of handmade to someone who needs extra support.  This could be a family member or friend or perhaps to someone in your community.  I'd like to turn February into a month of giving handmade hug. #handmadehug #ESQHugs.   

I'd encourage anyone to write a blog post or Instagram or Facebook on an organization or your handmade giving.  Link it back with the social tags #handmadehug #ESQHugs, the blog linky party (here) or ESQ Facebook so we can all learn about opportunities to make a difference.

With this post and others, my goal is to raise awareness of organizations that collect and distribute handmade items to people in need.  

Today let's talk about giving a quilt through the Quilts of Compassion organization.

For this post, I spoke by telephone with the founder of Quilts of Compassion, Janice Grimes. Janice's passion for the mission was evident throughout our talk.  It was clear that she cares about people and is doing something to help them on their path to recovery.

Quilts of Compassion is an organization founded by Janice in 1999 after she herself was gifted a quilt after an accident.  That quilt bought her comfort and was a source of encouragement throughout her entire recovery and rehab.  The fact that someone she didn't know cared enough to make something for her gave Janice much hope.

Once recovered, Janice learned to quilt herself and recruited others to create quilts for those in need.  For many years, her focus was on bringing hope and encouragement to those in her community delivering a quilt directly into the hands of the person who needed one.

The focus of Quilts of Compassion broadened after the devastating tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri in May 2011.  So many people lost everything in this horrific weather event.

To help the community of Joplin, Quilts of Compassion sent in a Disaster Response team delivering hundreds of quilts directly to the families.  They worked with the chaplains in hospitals to help them get to the people who needed it the most. Since that initial deployment, they have returned to Joplin multiple times

The Quilts of Compassion web site lists more than 25 deployments, most of them being to towns hurt by tornadoes.  Most recently they had a deployment team in South Carolina after the horrible flooding this October, bringing over 550 quilts to the area.  The intent is to make at least two more deployments to South Carolina.  The next deployment is likely March to towns in Texas.

Quilts of Compassion will deploy to an area six to sixteen weeks after the event.  (This photo to the right is one of their deployment teams.) Janice said they visit at area in the 6-16 week range because by this point, the basic needs for families have been taken care are and the focus in on  rebuilding lives.  This is where a quilt can really help.

There was a comment on the Quilts of Compassion Facebook page that really underscores their mission and how a quilt can help.

I am in tears! My husband and I are flood survivor residents of Pine Glenn in Columbia, SC and we have just received 2 of your quilts as we were leaving our church, Christian Life Columbia, this morning. Thank you! We are truly overwhelmed. They are absolutely beautiful! I have never had a quilt and I always wanted one, didn't want to get it this way though..... but what a blessing! This has really touched us. Thank you for such kindness and compassion. Thank you for thinking of us. A handmade quilt..... what a labor of love. I feel like I was given a giant hug this morning, just when I needed it. It's been a rough & emotional week. 

When a natural disaster strikes, it is always hard to sit by and feel hopeless.  Many of us look for a way to help.

Quilts of Compassion is an organization which has the experience to deliver a donated quilt gets to someone who needs it.  Consult their web site for the information about quilt donation.  They will accept quilts that are tied or are quilted and would like quilts for adults or kids.  The preferred size is twin.  Financial assistance is also appreciated to cover the costs of the quilt deployment teams.

Their goal of Bringing Hope & Encouragement to the Hurting summarizes everything I learned in my conversation with Janice.

For additional information, please see the Quilt of Compassion site or visit them on Facebook.

Have a wonderful day! Patty