I am a firm believer in karma. Positive karma is something I am always looking to add into my piggy bank. There is so much negativity that it is good for my soul to send out some love and warmth into the world. Typical ways that I collect positive karma are Quilting for Others and hosting giveaways for my readers. A few years back I created a “Giving Challenge” in November where I did both for the whole month. Today I want to give you ideas on quilty projects you can make for others and locations where you can donate finished quilts.

When I joined the Tucson Modern Quilt Guild, I jumped at the chance to be in charge of the Quilting for Others role. Mainly my job is collecting our charity quilts and donating them to various charities around Tucson.

Lately I have been able to expand my role. Being curious or maybe the nosy person that I am, I overheard members talking about upcoming medical issues. I did the only thing I felt I could do because I am really bad at social interaction. Let’s face it, I work from home and my side hustle is this blog. I could totally pass as a shut in lol–well that is if I didn’t have to go to the LQS to buy fabric. However, what I can do is create. So I enlisted our members in helping me send some love out into the world.

The first project was for Kristy. She is currently undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic for blood cancer, Myelofibrosis. She will be in staying in Phoenix for three to four months, first at the Mayo Clinic and then at a “home for cancer” (think Ronald McDonald). Can you imagine? That is three months of being poked and prodded far away from her home. She is so strong. There is a Go Fund Me page set up for her to help offset all of these costs. To learn more about it click here. To keep her spirits up we will be sending mini quilts, mug rugs and fat quarters. Hopefully this will keep a smile on her face because a positive attitude is so important. Her first month is going well. Here is an image of what her room looked like after the first few weeks at the Mayo Clinic.

The second project that we just finished is for Marlene. It was at last month’s sew day when we learned of another member that was going to have surgery and thought we could put something together for her, too. Something a little quicker. We had a hexie flower drive. Our members created the flowers and I put them together creating a wall hanging. If you are interested in making one yourself, this is how to do it.

What you need for this project

15 EPP flower hexies – Click here for a printable template.
4 yards of ribbon (cut eight 7.5″ segments)
Fray check – fray check all of ribbon raw edges
5 sheets of felt for backing
Craft paint
36” wooden dowel

Making the Hexie Flowers

Here is a quick time lapse video on making the flower hexies by English Paper Piecing (EPP). If you have never done EPP, you can visit this blog post to learn more about it.

Backing the Flowers

If you have some flowers with paper still inside, take out the paper.
1) Pin three flowers to a felt sheet.
2) Take it to the sewing machine and topstitch all of them to the felt.
3) Cut the felt from the flowers, cutting as close to the seam as possible without cutting into the flower. See the end of the time lapse video above for a visual reference.

Creating the Hexie Flower Mobile

4) Paint the wooden dowel. I mixed a green paint and a yellow paint (that I have had in my paintbox forever) to get the green that I wanted.
5) On the left side of the dowel measure 3” and mark a line. After that mark, measure 5”. Mark a line. Repeat for a total of seven lines.

6) Hand stitch the ribbon to the dowel, leaving about a 1/2” seam. I wrapped the ribbon over the dowel, also covering the seam, and stitched another row reinforcing the ribbon into place, making a few stitches close enough to the dowel so the ribbon would not move anymore. The order of the ribbons that goes on the dowel are 17″, 11″, 6.25″, 11″, 6.25″, 11″, and 17″.

7) On the other end of the ribbon, fold over 1/5” and stitch the ribbon to the flower.
8) For ribbon 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, on the bottom of the flower, add a 7” ribbon by folding over 1/5″ and stitching it to the back of the flower. On the other end of the ribbon, fold over 1/5” and stitch the ribbon to the flower.
9) For ribbon 3, 4, and 5, on the bottom of the flower, add a 7” ribbon by folding over 1/5″ and stitching it to the back of the flower. On the other end of the ribbon, fold over 1/5” and stitch the ribbon to the flower.

Here is a diagram to help with placement.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial. If you have any questions or comments please let me know, my email is edemoo@brownbirddesigns.com.

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Quilting for Others

If you are interested in making a charity quilt or have made a quilt with the intent to donate them but are not sure where you should bring them, here are a few ideas for you. These are the locations I have taken our guild quilts to, but you can find the same type of organizations in your area, they will just have different names.
1. Children’s hospital – TMC for Children
2. Foster home – La Frontera Center and TMM Family Services
3. Programs for our military – Fisher House and Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing.
4. Transitional housing – Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse

I have not donated quilts to the following organizations but hope to in the future.
5. Quilts for a Cause  – They auction quilts to raise money for support of breast and gynecological cancer research.
6. Quilts of Valor – They award our military with a quilt. They have guidelines and will not accept every quilt. To learn more about what quilts they do accept click here.

As I was researching for this post, I ran across a website called Shelter Listings; it is a great resource that lists all of the shelters in different areas of the USA. Click here and then click on the state you live in. It will take you to a page that has a list of cities, choose the one you are interested in by clicking on it. If you can think of other great locations to donate quilts to, let me know and I will add them to the list. Did I answer all your questions? If not let me know.

I hope you have a wonderful week filled with good karma!!