Quilting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time by Katherine Bell is a beautiful book. It has a soul that will touch you much more profoundly than you might anticipate at first. It inspires by documenting the movement that has existed since women first started creating with needle and thread: the incredible generosity of quilters and sewists who create to comfort, aid and help those in need.
The format of the book features an in depth look at 25 charity organizations. Grass roots initiatives that started with a single person that had a simple idea and felt compelled to follow it. I especially enjoyed the interviews where the group’s organizer shared that single moment in time where they felt their mission was revealed to them.
Instructions for 15 detailed quilt and sewing projects are included. The book contains contact information on how to participate in each project. A guide I found to be educational, inspiring, and practical.
The projects themselves are gorgeous. Amazing photography. Thorough project instructions. And oh so doable! The categories include Community Quilting, Wartime Quilting, Quilting for Kids, and Quilting to Change the World. The majority of projects are quilts but it also includes Mirabel the Owl, a Bib and Matching Burb Bloth for newborns, and a Sleeping Bag for the homeless made from recycled textiles.
I’ve always been a true believer that my hopes, dreams and well wishes for the recipient transfer themselves into the stitches of my quilts. It was uplifting to read this book and be reminded of how universal that sentiment is amongst us all. Quilting for Peace celebrates how profoundly lucky we are to possess our love of sewing and a desire to share that gift with others.
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I’ll be giving away one copy of Quilting for Peace (donated by the publisher Stewart, Tabori & Chang). 20 sets (4 fabrics each) of fat eighths of Little Folks Voile by Anna Maria Horner (donated by Pink Chalk Fabrics) bundled with a promotional notepad for Anna Maria’s new book Handmade Beginnings (donated by Wiley).
Leave a comment telling me about your favorite charity sewing project. This is a quickie. You have 24 hours! I’ll draw the winners Tuesday morning. Winners selected here, congratulations and Happy Holidays!
My latest charity sewing is always my favorite. I just donated a quilt to Project 320. Check it out here: http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=1929
We have a local charity called COTS (Committee on the Shelterless). They are an amazing organization that does so much to help individuals and families who are without a home, or in need of help. My quilt guild makes quilts for these families and the children that come in to the shelter, and I have helped make some of these quilts and it is something I love to do.
I really love Craft Hope. This is an amazing group that finds needs that crafters can meet and organizes crafting for various causes. They sent quilts to orphans, sock monkeys to burn victims, and much more. I love the variety and the great causes they support.
What a great giveaway! I haven’t participated in a sewing charity yet, but I love giving away the things I make!
The local quilt guild (of which I am a sometimes member) gives quilts to the county sheriff and prosecutor to give to victims of domestic assault, rape, etc. We have an entire album of testimonies/thank you about how meaningful and comforting these quilts have been during a terrible time for the recipient.
I would like to one day participate in the “Linus Project”. Once I get thru all my UFO’s !!
I loved the Brushfire quilt project as it was such a tangible way to help people so far away. Craft Hope is a wonderful blog too that always has on-going projects to help – it’s so wonderful to be able to do something you enjoy and help someone else at the same time. Great giveaway!
My quilting guild donates quilts to two different homeless shelters; one which helps homeless mothers and their children secure permanent housing, and another, which provides shelter to entire families (men, women and children) with an emphasis on keeping a family intact while they attain more permanent solutions to their crises. My guild also donates quilted placemats to Meals on Wheels, which provides meals to more than 1,000 people (homebound individuals who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals) throughout the year. A placemat is given to each new client. In some cases, this may be the only gift that this person may receive.
Kathy, so far I haven’t participated in any sewing charity projects. However, my favorite charity crafting is simply any time I have the opportunity to make a scarf for a charity auction. I try out new combinations of yarn and pattern, usually something a little lacy, and I just love how pleased people are with the result. It’s always a good feeling to be knitting something warm and attractive, knowing that it’ll go to a good cause whether directly or indirectly. I really ought to try some charity sewing, though, as I have a generous stash and sewing really can be faster than knitting.
Oh, that’s an easy one! My favorite is Project Linus. I had a goal this year of making one quilt per month – I just started quilting last year, and I figured this would be a good way to learn! I’ve got 9 done so far, and 4 tops ready to be basted and quilted. Now that I’m done with my holiday crafting, I might just meet my goal in the nick of time! And then it will be on to next year’s goal!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway. I have “Quilting for Peace” on my wishlist, so I’d love to win it!
I am participating in the virtual quilting bee, Cancer is Sew Done. The finished quilts will be auctioned off to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. I have a 13 year old grandson who is a cancer survivor and a sick child is the worst!
I am just getting back into the swing of sewing, after MANY years away, so all my charity crafting has been knitting hats for The Ships Project. We knit hats, slippers, etc. for the men and women serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I hope to get some quilting practice in by doing some quilts for Project Linus soon.
I’m just now getting back into sewing, and am making my first quilt. I would love to start sewing projects for charity soon. Hopefully it’s okay that I’m participating in this giveaway!
While I have donated quilts and artwork to our local Humane Society and worked on quilts for auctions to benefit the Woman’s Shelter, what I really want to do is dress dolls and make doll quilts to be donated to a charity. My plan is to find once loved dolls and give them a new home. Have a wonderful Christmas and much happiness in 2010~
I’ve just completed my first quilt for “Quilts for Kids,” and am excited to do more. The organization is great because they will send you a kit – you piece, quilt, and bind and send back. This is great for quilters on a tight budget like myself. I make one with their kit and donate one of my own and twice as many benefit! This book looks wonderful!
I have participated in IBOL, but hopefully this year can find time to particpate with Quilts for Kids since it was founded so close to my hometown.
Well I have donated a lot of my clothes but charity quilting isn’t very developed in France. In fact reading about it in this blog gives me a lot of ideas.
Every Valentine’s Day, my friend Cathleen dresses up in a pink and red fairy costume and distributes gifts at an old folks’ home and at the hospital. Making little fabric valentine’s for her to distribute is my favorite crafty charity.
Ya gotta love Project Linus. Simple, easy to understand, just make a blanket. And it’s great for when you want to try out something new, or just sew SOMETHING, and baby quilts are quick and easy!
I was able to make some squares for the Bushfire Project and am planning to make some quilts for the Linus Project for little ones in 2010. Kathy thanks for all your inspiration and best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New year.
My favorite is Threads of Love. We make preemie gowns, bonnets, blankets, etc. for babies who are born prematurely or who are stillborn or who die in the NICU.
Not exactly sewing, but I used up all of my yarn that was left over from other projects to knit scarves to give to a women’s shelter. Now that I’ve got my yarn cleared out, I’m ready for some quilting.
Someone in my church is always working on a charity sewing project and I am lucky to have participated in a few. I’ve helped make baby blankets for a local hospital, knitted hats on those easy circle looms, and helped tie quilts for a friend’s Eagle Scout project. I haven’t started my own charity project, but I would love to with the ideas from this book and the gorgeous fabric!
My favorite quilting charity project is making baby quilts for the babies in our local NICU. I have four little boys in my life, healthy and happy now, after time spent in the NICU. I appreciate all they’ve done for those in my life that crossed through their halls… I think this book is a fabulous project in itself, sure to inspire more charity sewing!
Doris
auntiedart(at)yahoo(dot)com
Hope Im not too late. My favorite charity sewing is one I do on my own. I found out that the local transitional housing shelter for abused women with children is always lacking nice blankets for their apartments. I began sewing quilts for them in my spare time and it brings me so much joy. It is nice to know that people who leave bad situations with nothing but the clothes on their back can now find comfort in something I created with so much love. I know that the fabric in this giveaway would bring one of these women a lot of joy and hope for their future!
My favorite sewing charity project was a group quilt project we made for a local hospital. It was fun doing it as a group and the recipient loved it!
What a great giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity to recieve such a lovely gift.
My favorite charity sewing project is one I do with a group of women from my church. We sew LOTS of tote bags and fill them up with essential items (that have been graciously donated) like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissue, socks, gloves, toilet paper, bottle water, etc., along with large flannel blankets (also sewn by the ladies.) We hand them out for ‘Outreach Program’ that we run at the local shelter once a month. It’s an amazingly humbling experience and a true blessing to be able to participate!
My quilting group just donated a beautiful Christmas quilt to a shelter for abused women. We had so much fun making the quilt and we were very happy to know the quilt will be hanged at the shelter to make the holiday season more cozy for the people going through a hard time.
This year I sewed and donated 13 little bags to raise money for a friend’s non-profit which is helping a small village in Kenya build schools, feed the school children, and become self-sufficient by starting a tea farm. I can’t wait to try something with AMH’s new line of voile!
What an inspiring and beautiful book!I participated in the Anti-Ouch Pouch Project by Deon Mamade. I made a few pillows for my local hospital. They are designed to be worn snugly against the underarm area to cushion it after breast surgery or during radiation treatment! They’re perfect- and take less than half an hour to be made!!
Lovely giveaway and strikes a chord with me. I think quilts bring joy in a special way to others. Quilts of Valor is a wonderful program aimed at those who have been wounded in battle and are trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. Also the local women’s shelter likes to give each child a hand sewn blanket/quilt. Both of these are favorite programs that bring quilts to those who are enduring difficulties. There is a story in one of the quilting magazines of someone who had donated one of her quilts to a hospice. Years later when she visited a quilting friend who was in the hospice, it was her quilt that had been laid across her friend. The fabrics were indeed ones they had actually shared while raising their families.
I love “Yellowbrick Road” by Atkinson Designs because it uses fat quarters and goes together very quick! Thanks for a great give-away.
I’ve sewn many quilts for a church project – the quilts are donated to new babies at one of the local hospitals and also to Project Linus.
I haven’t personally done the quilting, but I donate lots of fabric and batting to my church to make items to sell at their Christmas Boutique. They use the funds to contribute to aid homeless and low-income families. I have made some fleecy dolls for them to sell at the boutique and buy items there,too!
wow…so many good projects! … right now our quilt group makes quilts for the pregnancy help center ( http://www.pregnancyhelpcenter.com ) they offer ultrasounds and classes and then care packages. and i also have given to the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) becuase they are often forgotten, most people donate to the NICU (neonatal) but older kids (especially teenagers) get no special handmade items because donations are usually for babies – my son spent 2 weeks there when he was an infant and the non-hospital blankets and hats made a big difference
Although I don’t do any specific charity sewing, the bulk of my art sales each year happen at 3 large art/craft fairs in my home town. At each one 20% of everything I take in goes directly to the chosen local charity – this year it was the YMCA, Redlands Bowl (a performing arts orgainization) and a local church!
I tend to knit for charity more than sewing. I especially like to knit and crochet hats for cancer patients. I should start sewing some too
I’ve enjoyed all of the projects over at Craft Hope so far! I missed out on the first project and didn’t have time for the last one. But crafting for others is certainly a love language that I speak!
I’m currently working on quilts for Give a Kid a Quilt, which is a new and very local effort to supply quilts for children of families in need (Early Head Start, homeless shelters, etc.). A couple of bloggers started this project, but I have a feeling that it is going to be growing a lot in the year ahead!
Our local quilters guild has a program called Cuddle Quilts. Each member is asked to donate one quilt per year. Many members donate multiple quilts in the year. The quilts are donated to several local charities for distribution throughout the year, mostly to children. As I’m quilting my donation, I spend time in prayer for the recipient, who I most likely will never know.
My favorite charity is Quilts of Valor. Our quilt guild is very involved in this charity since we are in an area with a very large military presence. It is such a warm feeling when we get letters back from the recipients. It is a wonderful cause.
Oh wow. I love this book’s idea and would love to win!! Today is my daughter’s 5th birthday, so I’m going to enter though I usually don’t because I don’t win anything in contests. I”ve always wanted to do sewing for charity with a group of women but never met other women in my community that are crafty–great to know you can help out for far away people in need!
Though not a charity, my son and I made a blanket for a child facing yet another surgery. He was born with significant problems and spent most of his first year in intensive care. During that time the family received fantastic support, but as the years go by he still faces struggles and surgeries. When my son gave the mom the blanket we made she was so overcome. It was quite emotional and I think it reinforced to both of us how much it means to show that you care.
My favorite charity sewing project this year was making Christmas stockings for overseas troops. A local charity collected the stockings and filled them, then sent them overseas. My brother has been deployed twice, missing a total of three Christmases with his family, so this project was dear to me. I hope to participate again next year.
My favorite charity has caps for kids with cancer. This is very close to my heart because I’m a pediatric oncology nurse and I know firsthand how much these caps are enjoyed.
This year my MIL and myself made quilts for the children who have been taken out of their homes for one reason or other. I’ve worked with these children in the past and know how significant it can be just to receive an item for Christmas. It lets them know not that there are people out there who care.
The pumpking seed quilters in Vancouver, Canada. Great ladies who make quilts for children and others in local hospitals.
I like Project Linus. The blankets and quilts go to all ages of children, from newborn to teens, and various needs. The blankets can range from simple to complex, as long as they have some handmade part to them. They usually have a chapter in areas all over the country so that if you like it can go to somewhere in your area.
I really strive to make at least 2 quilts a year for project Linus…it is usually easy to do when thinking about the children in need! Thanks for a chance!!
Brina
blroholff at aol dot com
I am part of the Plymouth Piecemakers. We make quilts for Plymouth House of Healing and baby quilts for the babies at Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle. Wow, what a lot of wonderful charities in your comments!