Stash buster for a good cause

So I am really pleased to have found, and joined a community on Facebook called Quilts for Care leavers (Q4CL ) we make quilts and gift them to young people leaving care.

A lady never discusses the size of her stash !

It’s a well known joke among quilters, we all have a stash of fabric and it’s probably bigger than we know; it’s certainly bigger than our loved ones realise.  Who has not sneaked fabric into the house without admitting it to our other half?

Lately I have been thinking about my stash, I’ve been buying and setting aside fabric for years, and now in my 60’s I realise I will never have time to use all that fabric to make quilts or even have a purpose for them.

So I am really pleased to have found, and joined a community on Facebook called Quilts for Care leavers (Q4CL ) we make quilts and gift them to young people leaving care.  It means I can use my stash; piecing blocks to my heart’s content, and never have to make a complete quilt. If you would like to join us you can find us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuiltsforCareLeaversMakers

 The quilts made are called “hugs“; made longer than they are wide so they can be wrapped around the shoulders and worn without dragging on the floor. They are intended to be a means of warmth and comfort, perhaps even more necessary in these times of fuel poverty.

Each month a member will propose a “block of the month” (BOM) and set out the instructions for how to put together the fabrics and the size of the block, so that all the contributed blocks will fit together.  Each contributor can make as few or as many blocks as they choose, and send them to the organiser, the person who proposed the block.

 I don’t know if the organiser then puts the quilt tops together themselves, or whether there are teams of people waiting for the incoming blocks.  I’m not sure how the quilts are put together or quilted, no doubt all will become clear in time.

Group members can also create their own “hugs” either just the quilt top then donated to be made into a quilt or they can donate finished quilts.

I contributed to the BOM for January 2022.  So far 4469 blocks contributed; 28 hugs made and counting.

I contributed to the BOM for February 2022.  So far 3237 bocks contributed will make 34 Hugs.

 And I contributed to the BOM for March 2022. Numbers not in yet.

I’m looking forward to the BOM for April,

I’m still working from my scrap box, and picking out scraps from my mother’s stash; at 90yrs old, she doesn’t sew anymore, and she is happy for me to raid her stash whenever I want. Mum would be happy for me to take all of her stash, but where on earth would I put it?

I can’t say I’m having sleepless nights about the size of my stash…yet, but I don’t want to have to strengthen the rafters to take the weight of my mother’s stash, after all she was sewing before I was born, and her stash is impressive, even though she’s been retired for 30 years.  

My block for the Covid Commemorative Quilt

I wanted to give a clear shout out for Social Care, I knew that many contributions would be thanking the NHS, I was going to stand up for the many key workers in Social Care who also went above and beyond during the Pandemic.

What do you do when a planned week of leave is promised cold, wet weather?  I always have a wet weather plan. I spent calm, quiet mornings sewing. As a longstanding member of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles I was invited to contribute a block to the Covid Commemorative Quilt; a collaboration between the Quilters’ Guild and Bernina who make very fine sewing machines.

The remit was to “create a block which reflects your thoughts on the pandemic and the recovery from it… commemorate a loved one lost…the NHS…a key worker … (or) just be a ray of optimism as we emerge”

I wanted to give a clear shout out for Social Care, I knew that many contributions would be thanking the NHS, I was going to stand up for the many key workers in Social Care who also went above and beyond during the Pandemic.

Taking the ‘ Shout out for Social Work’ logo as my design, I resized and printed the logo so that it would fit the piece of calico provided. To ensure all the blocks contributed are the same size, and will go together effortlessly, the organisers very cleverly gave clear and strict instructions. My design must fit inside a 6 inch square centred on the 8 inch calico square provided and must use somewhere in the design a piece of the small 4 inch square of print fabric provided.  Spotty mustard print, its not my thing but the idea is that it will tie each block to its neighbours in the finished quilt.  

Holding the design and the calico up to the window allowed me to check the size was right,  I traced each element of the design onto Bondaweb (it’s a kind of double sided iron on sticky tape for fabric) ; and ironed the elements of the design in place. First mistake, I ironed on the hand first then realised the thumb should be on top of another element. I had to carefully peel it off, just the thumb, and iron it again over the speech bubble.

 That mistake then decided the next step, as the quilt will be for display rather than use, I thought I might get away with raw edges, but having peeled back the thumb it looked a bit shaggy, so now I needed to embroider the edges to stop them fraying.  Thank goodness my sewing machine does a tiny and very neat blanket stitch.

The machine embroidery threads , I have dozens of them, which I bought in a big bag full for £5 in a local charity shop, I do love a bargain. The hand embroidery threads I’ve had tucked away for years, and the fabrics all came from my scrap box, so I didn’t spend anything putting this together, even the bondaweb was borrowed from Mum, she’s 90, and doesn’t sew anymore.

Finally the words are hand stitched, not because I have any skill in that respect, I just wanted to put something of myself into my block, rather than it all being the work of my sewing machine.

Each contributor is also encouraged to say a few words about their block, this is my explanation:-

The NHS received a great deal of well deserved praise for their herculean efforts during the Pandemic, but they weren’t the only group of people who worked tirelessly throughout to keep the country safe.

Being a Social Worker, I want to give a shout out for Social Care, and the people who worked in very difficult circumstances. Some working from their homes, isolated from their supportive community, with fewer and fewer resources to call upon.

 Others left their homes and isolated themselves from their own families, to support the most vulnerable.

These were dark days; so for everyone in social care who spent the time of Pandemic trying to keep vulnerable people safe, supported and out of hospital, a heartfelt Thank You. “

Charitable donations are welcomed to the BERNINA fund-raise for NHS Charities Together , you can do so here www.justgiving.com/covid-quilt

Another successful raid; charity shop bargains

I didn’t buy them to use but rather to asset strip.

Today was my regular trip to the hairdressers, for a cut and colour, as I was leaving we were all singing the praises of my favourite charity shop Wolfwood, which is just next door. I happened to mention that I am always on the lookout for nice glassware, when my Stylist remembered having seen some nice ones in there the day before. We went in together and found them, 4 lovely crystal wine glasses; £3. Not £3 each you understand £3 for all 4 of them, needless to say they came home with me.

4 crystal glasses
4 crystal glasses

Before I left I spotted two cushions, each in plain linen type fabric embellished with real shell buttons. two cushionsI snapped them up for £2 each. Now they are rather bland and beige for my taste but I didn’t buy them to use but rather to asset strip. Whilst walking home with my treasure I took a closer look, both cushions were sold by NEXT, and one still had its swing tag on, attached to the zip and tucked inside; whoever donated them paid £12 for that one. From the two cushions I have retrieved 1 cream zip, two cushion pads, 48 x 2.5cm natural shell buttons, which are quite thick and heavy , and 169 natural shell shirt buttons, plus two pieces of fabric suitable for backings once I’ve washed them. One is quite coarse, polyester /linen mix, the other a finer cotton/ linen mix.

169 shirt buttons
169 shirt buttons

Had I gone out to buy these materials the zip alone would have cost £4, the buttons I guess at least 5p each for the little ones and maybe 25-30p each for the bigger ones, say £30 worth of materials for £4.

can you believe it £2?
can you believe it £2?

I don’t feel bad about taking them apart because they were badly designed, the buttons being shell are heavy and the fabric they were sewn to is too flimsy, so the whole cushion front sagged, the buttons dragging the fabric down, which is probably why they came to be in the charity shop, almost unused. I have plans for all the materials, of which later, possibly much later.

can't believe my luck
can’t believe my luck

Having had good luck so far, I decided to check out the charity shops in town, and scored a pair of unworn Boden ¾ length pants in a pistachio green, the swing tag and spare buttons still attached, for £6, and a scarf which feels like silk but probably isn’t from River island for 99p. All in all not a bad haul, for £14. I love a good charity shop, bargains like hidden treasure, waiting to be discovered, if only you have the patience to search.