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Monday, April 21, 2014

Charity is Another Word for Love

One of the "charity" projects our Guild sponsors is Phyllis's Angel Babies - making baby quilts for children born with Down Syndrome (DS) in the Nashville area.  We began making quilts for these precious little ones after one of our members (Phyllis) welcomed a Down Syndrome grandson into the family.  Today, that child's mother, Alecia Talbott, is the director of the Down Syndrome Association in Middle Tennessee.

Needless to say, this is a charity that is near and dear to many of our hearts!  So when one of our members was gifted with a large amount of fabric, she gave it to the DS Committee for making Phyllis' Angel Babies quilts.  And this past Thursday at our monthly sit-n-sew, a large group of us got together and made quilt tops.  The committee chose a simple pattern - the Scrappy Bargello from Quiltville (Bonnie Hunter) which you can find HERE.  

This is my finished quilt top....


The ladies on this committee spent MANY hours cutting all that fabric into strips!


This picture was taken about half-way through the day, so this is only HALF of the strips we started with!!!  By the end of the day, it honestly didn't look like a whole lot less either.  I think we'll be making these again at our next month's sit-n-sew :*)



While we were working away, Alecia (on the right below) came in and thanked us all for making quilts for these sweet children!  Then she announced that she would be presenting a quilt that day to a little DS girl who had been struck by a car last month.  We were very excited to see a child receive one of our quilts!


This precious little girl innocently chased a ball into traffic and was struck by a car.  Fortunately, she survived, even though she will still have to undergo surgery for some remaining brain injury.  She is a very brave and sweet girl... you can tell she was pretty overwhelmed by the sight of all of us in that big room staring at her LOL!!!!

I'm planning to try to get my quilt top sandwiched, quilted and bound by our next meeting on May 6.  I've also volunteered to bind some for those who are only able to sew up the tops.  It really makes me feel good to know that my Guild is part of a greater community of people who give to others in need.  And I am humbled to think that a little child will someday own this simple quilt I have made, and hopefully feel all the love and joy and prayers I have poured into each stitch!

The Scrappy Bargello baby quilt is now OFF the Design Wall!  But I still have Fantasia ...


and Happy Dance ...



           .....up on the Design Wall, ready to receive some love.  I've resolved to make 4 of these Happy Dance blocks each week so it doesn't get stagnant - they are so much fun and go so quickly, I don't think that will be a problem :)


Check out the other projects on design walls at Judy's Patchwork Times!

And I'm linking this up with Sharon's Let's Book It linky party
because Bonnie's Scrappy Bargello has been in my Patterns to Try book for ages now!!!


Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=


29 comments:

  1. such sweet quilts to give away! and uhhhh LOVE the sashing on fantasia! it's fantastic!! and of course I have the X and + blocks too

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  2. It was a fun day! I LOVE your happy quilt!

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  3. What a gift you are giving. Knowing first hand what it is like to have a baby with Down Syndrome, those first few months are overwhelming. Receiving such a wonderful gift of love would mean so much. Thank you all for doing this!

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  4. I love what your guild is doing--those special children truly are angel babies!
    Your design wall is very fun, with pretty projects, my dear! : )

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  5. What a wonderful quilt and so happy to see that you had such a great turn out to do charity quilts!!!

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  6. Wonderful post. It always makes me smile to see posts about wonderful charity projects and what a great turn out you had. Amazing. But what got my heart going is we are working on curved blocks also. Seeing yours laid out exactly as I want mine it really reinforced my need to cut down the size of my blocks. Rats. More work but it will look so much better once I do. And, my colors might not be strong enough to carry the quilt. Thanks for some great eye candy and some inspiration.

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  7. Love all that string goodness!! And what a wondeful turn out for a sit-n-sew.

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  8. Great reason to quilt! Sew many quilts can make sew many differences in lives.

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  9. Looks like you all had fun with strips. I am really loving your happy dance quilt - the pattern and colors are wonderful.

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  10. Beautiful quilts and for a wonderful cause too. Sew ins are fun and rewarding too.

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  11. Thank you so much for your post and for all the quilts! These quilts are so meaningful to new parents of a child with Down syndrome. Like I said, it is like love from all the quilters and all the DSAMT families are sewn right into these quilts and surrounds that child and family with happiness, health & love.

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  12. What a wonderful project! I recently heard someone who was making a charity quilt say she would use just any old fabric - it was only a charity quilt. That made my heart hurt. We make charity quilts out of love for others so we should show that by giving and doing our very best. After all, what if it was our child on the receiving end. Wouldn't we want her to have the very best? What you are doing is a tangible, touchable piece of love - thank you for all the time and work you put into this act. You are giving your best and I know it is so appreciated. blessings, marlene

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  13. What a wonderful day and an exciting project to be a part of! Your quilt is gorgeous and will bless the life of someone special!

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  14. The best thing about quilting is the giving part! I know your quilt will be loved and treasured. And what a fun way to spend a day with friends!

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  15. The Bargello quilt looks fabulous and the cause is just terrific. It is always so nice when you can see someone who receives one of the quilts.

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  16. Love that sashing! You're doing great with it! Nice charity project for your group, too.

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  17. Luv it when we can pay it forward. I will have a post soon showing over 200 kwilters who gathered to do just that! Love your projects as usual!

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  18. Scrappy Bargello is one of my favorite patterns. Beautifully done!! Love your Happy Dance blocks.
    Hugs

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  19. Wonderful charity to receive your quilty gifts of love! Kids with DS are such happy souls that I loved having in my classroom. Y'all are awesome!!!

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  20. Thank all of you so much for the beautiful quilts. We had a wonderful time that day. Bekah and Gracie were absolutely fascinated by the work that was being done. My children love their quilts and they take them everywhere we go. We have something to treasure for the rest of our lives. What a wonderful group of women working together for a great cause.

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    1. Teresa, it was a treat to receive your sweet comment! I'm so glad the girls are happy with their quilts!!! They are delightful girls and we really enjoyed having them there last Thursday. Our ladies will remember that day always! Lifting up prayers for Bekah's full recovery!!!

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  21. Your quilt turned out adorable and such a nice turn out for a sit and sew. Also a lovely charity.

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  22. Love the sashing on Fantasia! What a sweet, sweet gift ... praying that the love stitched into that quilt will help comfort that sweetie.

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  23. Great idea for charity quilts. You can do so many different settings with the scrappy trip blocks. Love them

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  24. That is soooooooooooooooo awesome!!!!

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  25. I completely admire your guilds efforts in making these very special quilts! That little girl is precious! And you can tell she loves that quilt! Kudos to all involved in this effort!

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  26. Wonderful quilt for a special little girl , I admire your groups efforts .

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  27. Great your guild is doing such a lovely thing - the quilts are beautiful and I am sure the children will treasure them. Lovely to see one presented.

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  28. Great quilt for a great cause! You ladies really earned your angels wings that day!

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