Quilts for Kids

My friend Jeannette and I attended the first meeting of the local Quilts for Kids chapter.  The people running this chapter seemed to know each other from their connection to the Northwest Sewing Guild.  Even though things started out a little chaotic, the meeting went pretty well.  We could grab some fabric and a pattern of our choice and sew away.  Or we could prep kits for all the members to take home to make a quilt.  We chose to get the fabric and start sewing.  People behind us were cutting up squares and packing them in Ziploc bags with patterns to make take-home kits while we just sewed.

The leader was well-versed in the Quilts for Kids organization.  I was glad to get some history regarding how the group started.  They are older than Project Linus and the main take-away I got was that they only make quilts.  And when I say quilts I mean machine-sewn, machine-quilted items.  No hand-sewing, no knitted or crocheted afghan-like blankets and no fleece.  These items are meant to hold up and wear well for repeated washings for kids who need them to wear well.  They also provide fabric! The headquarters will give out fabric when needed (of course the guild uses the fabric as feature squares and they like the members to add their own fabric to the mix).  That sounds easy enough.  So as we sat sewing and chatting, the group was a little noisy with everybody chatting and sewing or cutting. But it was fun and it was wonderful that we could be individually creative or be part of an assembly line.  Some people didn't have any sewing skill, they just came to help out with the cutting and packaging.  Everyone was open and friendly and it was an great experience.

At the close of the day I took Jean over to Patched Works and I'm pretty sure she liked it. Their selection is amazing. Even though Bigsby's is our sponsor, I have to admit, I like the fabric selection better on the next block. I did buy fabric from both stores though so it's all good.