I delivered 27 quilts to our hospital contact this week and that brings our 2022 total to 114! I know that they really love receiving them and I also know that they are seeing an uptick in cancer patients so the quilts are absolutely needed and appreciated. I'm trying to get Jenn to a meeting soon to talk with us again about how they use the quilts.
We haven't kept great records until the last few years but scrolling back I see that we have made at least 321 since January 2020. I think that's pretty amazing for our little group!
I have at least 12 tops here that Brenda and I will get started quilting soon.
For anyone new to the group and interested in making veterans quilts, here's all the info that you need:
- Quilts are to be as close as possible to 48" x 60". The hospital prefers patriotic or masculine colors/themes. Scrappy quilts seem to work very well too. Florals and pastels aren't so much in demand.
- You can quilt your own or we will quilt it for you. If you want to quilt your own quilts I can provide backing, batting and labels for you.
- If we quilt your quilt for you we have complete control over the design and thread choice. We can't keep up with special requests. Fortunately, so far, we haven't had any complaints. We quilt them as we have time. Since quilts are quilted in pairs (matched to a backing) sometimes it takes a while to get your quilt back for binding. Occasionally when the maker isn't at the meeting to pick up a quilted top someone else volunteers to do the binding. Many hand make light work.
- We appreciate all efforts to avoid fragrances in your fabrics. I can't have fragrances in my house because of my allergies and I have had to hang quilt tops and finished quilts outside for days to get fragrance smells out. I don't like doing that to your tops and quilts but sometimes I have to.
It's always rewarding to fill the back of my car and deliver a new batch of quilts. I'm already looking forward to a Spring delivery.
Vicki
