Good morning!! I have a special treat for you today. Today is another Pattern Release party! Say hello to a very special project, Hope’s Path Quilt. I designed this pattern so that Quilts for a Cause can sell it. What is Quilts for a Cause? I invited Terry Gallegos the president of Quilts for a Cause. We will be talking about how you can serve the community with quilts. I am so excited to learn more about Quilts for a Cause with you as I am new to the organization and board. Within one or two meetings, I volunteered my pattern designing skills, and I am happy to share with you what I came up with and that it is now for sale. Like all my pattern releases, I have a special gift so keep reading.

To get your copy of the Hope’s Path click here.

Quilts for A Cause

Terry, thank you so much for joining me. I must say we had a lot of fun during the Great Jelly Roll Bash, where I got to see your version of Hopes Path. Terry, tell me about yourself.

I retired from the City of Tucson Police Department, having worked there for 31 years in Forensic Science at the Crime Laboratory. I stepped away in March of 2020, just as Covid-19 hit and all my retirement plans fell by the wayside.  Now I have helped Quilt for a Cause with every auction since 2006 and I became the president in 2013 and have been in that position since then.

Terry, that is amazing!! I can’t imagine the things you have seen and the people you have helped. You are one badass chick!!

When did you start quilting?

I started quilting in 2004 because several of my friends were quilting, and I wanted to do it too.  

I know the feeling. My sister brought me into this wonderful world, and I am so thankful.

What is your favorite Quilt block?

My favorite block is “Moon Flowers” designed by Evelyn George (a former Quilt for a Cause Board Member) for the Block of the Month for the Tucson Quilters Guild in May 2008.  It represents the night-blooming Cereus flower, also known as the Queen of the Night flower.  It is an asymmetrical, pieced block. She suggests using dark midnight purple for the background, creamy white and golden yellow for the flower, and medium green for the stem and leaves. 

I see that you have a few of her patterns for sale on the Quilts For a Cause website. Very nice designs.

What do you love about quilting?  

The creative process of planning a quilt.  I think that is why I have so many unfinished tops!

Oh yes!! That is a trap I fall into all the time. My stack of charity blocks keeps growing faster than I can get the quilts created. Someday I will get ahead of the game. 

What is Quilts for a cause?

Quilt For a Cause is a group of dedicated people who work to help those in need.  We are focused on helping people with breast cancer or gynecological cancer and to assist with the detection and prevention of those cancers.

So fascinating! What a great concept. Simple yet precise.

Why Quilts? How did it start?

The two founders of Quilt for a Cause were both quilters and thought that they could sell quilts to raise money for others.  Jeannie Coleman and Carol Zupancic started the group in 2002 and held an auction in 2003.  They were both cancer survivors and saw a need for uninsured and underinsured people to get care, screening, and treatment. After the first auction, when they raised $53,000 and gave it away, they kept going. They are incorporated as a non-profit, and quilt donors and quilt buyers can receive a tax benefit.  

So I can get a tax write-off for my work. That is so cool. I always overthink when valuing my work. Most of the time, I decide not to because I don’t think I will get the amount that will cover the cost of fabric and batting, plus time.

What are the different ways Quilts for a Cause brings in money?

Other fundraising events have included taking bus trips to quilt shows, such as Road to California Quilt Show and QuiltCon in Phoenix last year.  We have a variety of patterns that are for sale.  A fashion show, the models “wore” the quilts and strolled down a runway for the viewers, who also had lunch and could purchase the quilts. They have played Strip Poker, with fabric strips for purchase for betting.  Every three years since the first auction, there has been an auction held at Tucson Medical Center, literally “quilting” the hallways with quilts for sale in a silent auction format.  We always have a raffle quilt to give away, and we sell tickets at events and online.

Oh my gosh!! They all sound like fun!! I must admit that I got a giggle at the Strip Poker event. Quilters are definitely creative! I love it!! 

What are the different ways Quilts for a Cause helps the community?

The community has received over $67,000 in the last 2 years from the fundraising efforts. It has been given to local organizations to help in the breast cancer and gynecological cancer fight.

Wow!! That is some good work, especially during the challenging years we have had because of COVID. If I remember correctly, we recently gave or are giving some of that money to a medical center so they can fund checkups in the community.

What is your favorite “Win” with Quilts for a Cause?

My favorite “win” is for a woman who needed emergency surgery for gynecological cancer, and she had no insurance to cover the cost.  Tucson Medical Center Foundation called us for help on her behalf, and we gave the funds she needed. We only asked how much to give, and we never knew her name.  We do know that the outcome for her was successful!

Uff! That is truly beautiful!! I feel so lucky to be part of this organization.

What are your hopes and dreams for Quilts for a Cause?

I hope that the organization continues to be successful with the model used for fundraising and that we could raise another $1,000,000 to give away. I would hope to inspire other quilters in other locations to create their own Quilt for a Cause to help their community and those in need.

As I was chatting in a Facebook group, and I shared a little bit about the organization, and someone responded that they didn’t know there were Quilty Non-Profits. Creating charity quits is something I do because it is so wonderful to do something you love and be able to use it to touch someone else’s life as well. I have been toying around with featuring Quilty Non-profits, and this is, in a way, my kick-off of that series.

The Pattern

Thank you for agreeing to share the rights of this pattern with me. This is Hope’s Path Quilt pattern. I thought it was the perfect design and name for a Quilts for a Cause quilt. The pattern gives you three sizes, baby, throw, and queen. Like the Garden star series, there is another totally different design it can create. A secret design. If you make the baby size quilt many times you can make a quilt with a different look and feel. Here is what 9 blocks would look like.

Blue Jeans Fabric

The fabric I used is from Christopher Thompson, AKA the Tattooed Quilter. His new line is called Blue Jeans, and I love that it is a simple color pallet of blues and blacks. Even though the color pallet is simple, there is a lot of depth in the designs. The collection includes flowers, jean texture, stripes, birds, and buttonholes. Let me just say I love the birds. They remind me of vintage tattoos.  

The Party treat or should I say Giveaway

Since this is not my usual way of selling patterns, I thought it would be fun to change the way to win the pattern release prize. Quilts for a Cause is a wonderful organization to support. Every purchase of Hope’s Path Pattern in October will get you an entry into winning a fat quarter set of Blue Jeans fabric. I will announce the winner here on Nov 4th. Good luck! — Giveaway is closed — WE HAVE A WINNER!! Peggy Watts!! We will be sending the bundle to you shortly. Thank you so very much for participating in the giveaway and supporting Quilts for a Cause.

I would love to hear about the Quilty Non-Profit organizations you support or are a part of, share them in the comments below.

Share your quilts on Instagram using #Hopespathquilt