Catching Up With Jack's Basket Quilts--Part One

Wow!  Our members really make the sewing machines hum! 
Above is a stack of baby quilts recently donated to our ongoing Jack's Basket charity drive.
I know it's hard to see all of these at a quilt meeting, and I thought the whole group would like to know what wonderful baby quilts are going out to Jack's Basket from Ties that Bind.

This is part one, 8 baby quilts that have already been sent in November and received by the charity.  (Part two will cover 12 more, so stay tuned!)  I have tried to take a full photo and a detail of each one.

This lovely quilt will brighten up a nursery.  I really haven't been very good at knowing who made which quilt, so I apologize for that.  I do know that this one was made by Colleen T., and uses a pattern Nancy P. gave us in 2018.  (Click HERE to go to that pattern.  Scroll down past the photos of our hard-working members.) 

Don't you love this?    A big square of adorable fabric, coordinating borders, and very nice quilting make it perfect for a new baby.  This one was made by the team of Nancy P. and her mom.

Below is another one by Nancy and her mom.

I have sometimes seen these framed blocks called Happy Blocks, and the blocks in this quilt are very happy and sweet.  It's so nicely quilted, too.

These next 5 quilts are all made from the same basic pattern, but each takes on a different look when made with different fabrics.

This quilt, with the awesome jelly beans fabric, was made by Joan L.

All the rest of these quilts were pieced by Nancy P. and her mom.  Nancy did the quilting.

 

Aren't these great?  Cute fabrics, simple piecing, bright colors, great quilting!

The letter we received from the Jack's Basket organization was very appreciative of our work.  We can be proud of contributing to their cause of welcoming babies with Downs Syndrome, and assuring their families that they are not alone.

If you are making a quilt for Jack's Basket, please use soft cotton or flannel fabrics.  The quilts should measure roughly 36 in. square, and be suitable for a new baby.

Update on Jack's Basket

I thought you might like to know how we're doing on collecting quilts for Jack's Basket.  (Click HERE for information on this charity and our project.)  Here are some photos of the wonderful quilts that have been donated.

The little legs in the photos belong to my grandson, who was "helping" me.  (He took about a thousand photos himself, mostly of his shoes.)

You can see what a terrific group of quilts these are.

Bright and colorful, warm and comforting, all to go to a good cause.

Nice work, ladies!

I'm sure these quilts will brighten someone's day.
Want to see the backs?

Plus 10 more I didn't get photos of!

After the September meeting, we had a total of 13 quilts, seen here laid out on the table, ready to send.

Even with Marie Kondo-style folding, I could only get ten quilts in this big box.  So this is how many I sent.
There is an extra postage charge for using such a big box, so next time I will ship fewer quilts in a smaller box.  We have three quilts ready to go right now.
I will keep doing this as long as anybody wants to make the quilts.

Just to recap, the Jack's Basket charity requests quilts 36 in. square, to go in the baskets they give to new parents of Down's Syndrome children.

Congratulations on donating to a great cause!  We really are the little quilt group that could.

Quilts for Jack's Basket

Hello, Ties That Bind Quilters.

This is Jack.  He has Down's Syndrome.

Because of him, his family started a 501c3 charity that donates gift baskets to families like theirs, that include a child with Downs Syndrome.
The baskets welcome the baby, and contain items to help the parents cope, and especially to let them know they are not alone.  Each basket includes a blanket or a quilt.  All items are donated.

This year, as part of a charity quilt drive online, I made these quilts for Jack's Basket.  I brought them to the April meeting (I think) and of course I mentioned why I had made them.

May's meeting was cancelled, as you recall, and I was sick with a summer virus when June's meeting rolled around, so I stayed home in bed.
One of you lovely people made these three quilts for Jack's Basket!  Colleen brought them over, and I took these pictures.

These little quilts are terrific!  They're made from novelty fabrics, which you know kids love, with soft batting and cozy flannel on the back.

Both of the blue ones have under the sea themes.  These will be so cute for the babies.

Piggies!  I have to admit, this one is my favorite.  The quilting is great on all of them.

If you are the generous and talented person who made these quilts, could you let us know?

I have already mailed off the quilts I made to Jack's Basket, which is in Utah, since they were due by June 1.

But--what if we filled up another box?
How about this one?

All 3 of the quilts above are already in this box.  There is plenty of room for a few more.

So, if this is something you'd like to do, I will collect finished quilts and mail them to Jack's Basket.  I will do this through the August meeting (August 21, 2019).

They would like quilts that are 36 in. x 36 in., made of soft cotton or flannel.

Please note:  this is NOT an official charity project of Ties That Bind.  We agreed years ago to limit our official giving to local charities.  We are just doing this as individuals.

If you'd like more information about Jack's Basket, click HERE for their web site.

Thanks to all the quilters who stitch for the joy of others.

February Notes

Welcome to February, Ties that Bind Quilters!  

It may be snowy or foggy, but it's a lot warmer than the last week in January!  I hope we are all staying warm and staying in stitches.

BOTM

Our block of the month (also known as BOTM) for this year is a little different.  We're having a quilt along!  Our fearless leader, Pam W., has created a special quilt just for us.  The blocks are all variations of Friendship Star.  This is a great theme for our friendly group.

I'm going to show you my blocks as I sew along month by month.  Please remember that I quilt to a different drummer and don't always follow the rules exactly.  My quilt will be scrappy, with lots of 1930s reproduction prints, but the pieces will be cut and sewn the same.

Here's my version of the first block:

I chose 4 fabrics for this block:  the red corners, white/blue polka dots, solid blue, and the center print.  Except for the center, all the rest of the sections in this nine-patch block are made from half square triangles.  All nine sections measure 4.5 in. unfinished, 4 in. finished.  This is a 12 in. finished block.

Check out the block center.  I've had this small piece of fabric forever.  It seemed appropriate to the season.  By the way, all the kids playing in the snow in this print are girls.

The printed directions for this block were available at the last meeting and/or emailed to you by Pam W.  If you didn't get the directions, please contact Pam.

Charity Quilt News
Every year, we just make more and more quilts for our neighbors in need.  This year our group gave 85 quilts to charity.  Most of the quilts went to families and individuals in Washington County.  Some of the recipients were Seeds of Hope (baby quilts), nursing homes, Carl's Place, Family Promise, and Threshold.
We can be very proud of all our hard work, and very thankful for the members who work so hard to quilt the tops, bind the quilts, make and hand out kits, purchase batting, organize and store the group's fabric, and pull everything together.  Our efforts are worthwhile, and appreciated.

Big Sale at Sew Many Pieces!!!
Don't forget the big anniversary sale at Sew Many Pieces. 
Friday, Feb. 15th (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Saturday, Feb. 16th (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Can you believe the store is 5 years old?  Save your money for this sale, it's going to be a good one.

And now, a little show and tell.

Nancy is on vacation, but sent this stack of quilts with Colleen.  Most (all?) are for charity.

These are only a few highlights from our fabulous show and tell. 

Want more?  Come to the next meeting on February 20th!

March Right In

Hello, Ties that Bind Quilters!  March winds sometimes make us think of pinwheels, at least when it isn't snowing.  This month's free pattern is Pinwheel Puzzle, from the Moda Bakeshop.  Click HERE to get the directions.   There are two different kinds of pinwheels in this quilt.

By the way, if you haven't visited the Moda Bakeshop, you're in for a treat.  There are dozens of free patterns there, using Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Squares, etc.  And there's no law you can't cut your own jelly rolls, etc. from your yardage.

Our March work day for charity quilts was Thursday, March 2, at Sew Many Pieces in Richfield.  Here's Pat D., pausing her sewing to smile for me.  There's Micky in the background, and Mary L. cutting pieces.

Everybody was hard at work!  I spy Joan L., Nellie, Carol, Pat D. and Pat P. in this shot.  Somebody tell me who's ironing here.  (Is it Kathy D.?)

Nancy, Ann W., and Pat D. are working and talking at the same time.  I don't think that would work  for me (I'm easily distracted!), but they're doing great.

Mary L. and Helen are getting blocks squared up and yardage cut.
We had a great group of workers, several of whom are not pictured since I left early.

Due to a problem with tendonitis, I was no help at all, but I did take home some homework for when my arm heals up.

Speaking of homework, how are you doing on the mystery quilt?

I'm done with Clue#1, 20 nine patches in medium #1 and medium dark.  I'm still working on Clue#2, 48 four patches in medium #1 and light.  Mary M. promised it was not too difficult, and so far it's working out.  I just hope my colors turn out okay.

Next meeting:  

Wednesday, March 15th, 2017, 7:00 p.m.

Place:  Pilgrim Lutheran Church
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, Wisconsin

GAME NIGHT!!!  Don't forget to bring 6 fat quarters!!!  We are going to have fun!!!

Food Pantry:  Pasta, noodles, pasta sauce, etc.

All are welcome!  See you there!