Charity quilts

I’d like to say something about charity quilts.  This stems from a conversation I had a long time ago with a quilter friend.  She had commented on a quilt saying that it was horrible and she would be ashamed to turn in such a quilt, even for charity.  She said it to me not knowing that the quilt she was commenting on was mine.  I didn’t tell her, but I did say that someone would appreciate it and dropped the subject.

A long time ago when we came home from Europe and my boxes of fabrics were delivered to me after being in storage for almost seven years, I found myself drowning in double knits.  They went into storage because they were too heavy to ship and I really didn’t think I’d have time to sew while overseas.  And in that time double knits faded from the apparel world.  But I had yards and yards of it and now had no idea what to do with it.  Then I heard a local news bit about “Ugly Quilts” and jotted down the phone number and called in the morning. 

We were having a record breaking cold winter and people were literally freezing to death on the streets.  This church was making quilts or blankets out of whatever they could find for homeless people on the streets.  They were handing out any blanket or quilt they could get their hands on.  I took all of the double knits I had and sewed them together double thick and delivered them to downtown DC.  One of the church members was just heading out and asked if I wanted to go with him so I did.  I watched my double knit blankets be handed to a mother and her children huddled in a sheltered nook of a large building, she cried.  I watched a homeless man get one of my blankets and he said thank you in words that I knew came from his almost frozen heart. 

That got me started and I don’t worry if my quilt is the most beautiful quilt ever made, I know it will be appreciated.  If you are freezing, anything will keep you warm.  If your heart is broken, anything gifted will be a spark of joy. 

Never be ashamed of your charity quilts, they mean the world to someone.