Quilting for a Cause + Quilts for Orlando

Hey ya'll!! How's it going?! I totally got side tracked yesterday, but in a good way. I'm super excited to tell you about what's going on, and I hope you'll join in!

If you've been around my blog awhile, you may have seen this button on my sidebar

I created this group, Quilting for a Cause, yeeeeears ago on Flickr. It was an awesome group!!

Whenever someone wanted to make a quilt for someone in need, whether their own neighbor or friend, or an entire community, they would post in the group what they were making. They would include the block, size, colors, etc - basically all the requirements, and how many blocks they needed. Then anyone who was able to make a block, or a few, at the time would volunteer and send in the block(s), and they would make a quilt! People also volunteered quilting services, and more as needed.

There was no commitment to be in the group, but it worked out great because if you ended up having a free weekend, or some extra time to sew, or needed to work on something else for a minute, you could pop in the group and help someone with their quilt(s).

It was also great because the person in need of some help, had a huge pool of people to ask for help from! Sometimes I have a great idea of making a quilt for someone, but I quickly realize that there is no way I could get it finished in time. In steps this group! Suddenly I don't have to do it on my own, and we come together as the awesome quilting community that we are! The second best part of the group was just seeing all the quilts that people were making.

Maybe we feel helpless in helping others in need, but we can always make quilts!

When Flickr changed the platform and the quilting community on there fizzled out, the group died with it. With the recent tragedy in Orlando, I realized that while the group on Flickr may have died, the need for quilts, and help in making those quilts, has not died.

I realized it is time to bring this group back from the dead! And I'm hoping that Facebook is the place to do it!

I created a Facebook group which you can join, and either ask for help in making one quilt or lots of quilts, or offer to help make blocks for someone else.

I think it's pretty amazing to be able to warm the heart of one in need with a quilt. And what a powerful message of love to be able to tell them that people from all over the world helped to make that quilt! It makes me tear up just thinking about it.

If you would like to join the group, you can here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Quilting4aCause/

Notice that in the url, there is the number "4" in place of "for". 


Please help spread the word about the group!! The more people that are in it, the more quilts we'll be able to make!! Tell all of your quilting friends! And you can even add people to the group!

 

There is more info in the group, if you haven't seen it already. But the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild is asking for quilts for the victims and families of the Pulse shooting. You can also read more info HERE.

I of course couldn't help myself and designed a scrappy heart quilt that I'd love to make to donate! Here is a rough draft of what it will look like

I'll have the pattern ready to send out today. But I want to get an idea of how many people are going to help out so I can make assignments, and stay organized.

If you would like to make a block, or a few, that would be awesome!! To help me keep everything straight, please join the group and comment on the picture so I know who's in. If you're not on Facebook, of course you can still help! Leave a comment, or better yet, send me an email. But it will be easier for me to make sure I don't miss someone if everyone is in one spot.

The deadline for finished quilts is in September, so to allow time for assembling the blocks and quilting, I'm going to ask that all blocks get sent in by the middle or end of July. I'll post more details in the group soon.

Thank you so much!!