Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - 20 Quilts Out the Door

Welcome to a LONG OVERDUE edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!  The outline of this post has been put together for a number of months.  I kept forgetting to schedule and release it.  Sorry for the delay, but here is the update that some of you have been waiting for.

20 Quilts Ready to Comfort...

What began in August 2020 (LINK) snowballed through the rest of that year.  The effort, which continued to build momentum throughout 2021, found a sense of urgency with the Wrap Ukraine in Quilts movement begun in March 2022 and the We Stand for Ukraine movement begun in April 2022.  In May 2022, I stopped waiting for ALL of the quilts to be completed.  The quilts that were done would be shipped to LWR... Now (a relative term, as you will soon see.)

As with everything in Joyful QuilterLand, it was a process...

(After several failed attempts) The LWR Mission Project quilts were retrieved from a friend's house - she had been storing them since before the move last year, as I was afraid to pack them and have any go missing:

June 2022

They rode around in the back of the car for a week before being brought in to be prepared for mailing:

Folded and boxed to be shipped off:

Sealed and ready to take to work for shipment:

July 2022

20 Quilts Out the Door...

Finally, the two BIG boxes were loaded in the car:

August 2022

Wow!!  That was something.

Check the Donation tab at the top of the page.  Makers and contributors have all previously been acknowledged.  Thank you to all who have participated!  I expected these quilts to be gone last year.  Moving house and a machine malfunction derailed that goal.  Two YEARS after the project began, the bulk of the quilts were on their way to providing comfort for those in need.

But WAIT!!  There's MORE...

The LWR Mission Quilt project here at The Joyful Quilter is still not complete.  The last few quilts still need to be quilted and one block set remains to be sewn into a top.  Never fear!  Those, along with the remaining donated fabrics will be stitched into another quilt or two (or 10!), as time allows.  My main concern was getting these 20 quilts out of here.  Not in a mean "I'm SEW tired of these" kind of way!  In an urgent kind of "these quilts have a purpose to fulfill" sort of way.  The stars aligned and off they went.

People often ask how they can help.  Well, I've stopped accepting fabric, quilt tops, and $$$ for the project.  I have batting for the remaining quilts and a number of generous contributors have covered the lion's share of the shipping charges that will be incurred for future shipments.  Thank you to EVERYONE who contributed to the effort in any way, small or large!  Special thanks to Eric Brinsfield, owner of Southern Season, for his generous contribution to the shipping fund, as well.  I couldn't have made such a large impact on my own.

As an example of how helpful people have been...

After a prominent quilter posted about Lutheran World Relief, Nann @ With Strings Attached and Mari @ The Academic Quilter, both generous contributors to the LWR Quilt Project here on the blog, for making me aware of the following...

For those of you who haven't heard, Pat Sloan took a tour to LWR warehouse. Thank you to Nann and Mari for sending this video LINK HERE. The factoid that caught my attention was that when they process quilts, they bundle/bale approx. 700 - 800/day! Some days they work on quilts some days they work on other aspects of the charity.

I'm SEW pleased to have facilitated our effort to contribute quilts to Lutheran World Relief.

Until next time...

SEND some LOVE!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Top #21

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  It's been a while since the last update for the Lutheran World Relief Quilt Drive.  I got a special surprise at my Weekly Quilt Group on Thursday.

Let me tell you about it...

Linda took a block kit, but hadn't been able to sew up her blocks until this summer.  As is the case sometimes, the blocks sat for a month or so before she had a chance to assemble the quilt top.

Last week, Linda had the good fortune to sew with Maggie up at the lake.  This quilt top (and several more projects) resulted:

She did a great job with her scrappy kit of random colors assembled from the squares contributed by Nann @ With Strings Attached: using the Carpenter's Square Layer Cake pattern available HERE from Pineapple Fabrics:

Special thanks to Candy for the sashing fabric to help Linda finish off the quilt top!  This one will either wait to be fit into Britt's rotation or wait for my longarm to be fixed.  I'm not quite sure when that's going to happen, though.  Rest assured, I will let you know when the quilt has been completed.

If you are new here, you can check out the other LWR quilts by following THIS LINK.  The Quilt Drive has been ongoing for the past 14 months and many friends have helped out along the way.  It's been SEW amazing to be a part of this special project.

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

Until next time...

Quilt to give!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Number TWENTY!!!

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love!!  A while back, I showed you a quilt top that Britt had put together at a Sew Day at my house.  Was that REALLY at the beginning of the summer?!  You can read more about that HERE.

She finished the quilt top that day...

And then it sat.

Britt managed to fit the project into her longarming schedule a week or so ago.

Once again...

The quilt sat.

Yesterday its patience was rewarded...

Here is a photo of the fully completed Quilt Number TWENTY:

Didn't she do a great job with the fabrics that Nann @ With Strings Attached provided for our LWR Mission Quilt Drive?  Britt admits to supplying a few squares of her own.  It worked out SEW well.

Special thanks to Britt!!  I appreciate the time, effort, and materials that you donated to complete this quilt.  With this finish, we have quadrupled my "pie in the sky" goal for this effort to benefit Lutheran World Relief.

Would you believe there are still MORE quilts to come???

It will be a while yet, as last few contributors have some other things to take care of before their block kits can be sewn into quilt tops.

Don't worry!  I'll let you know when they are received.

Until next time...

Sew some LOVE!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Number Nineteen

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  I'm here with an update on the Lutheran World Relief Mission Quilt Drive here at The Joyful Quilter.  It's been quite some time since the last post about this project.  You'll forgive me, won't you?  I'm still waiting on a few of the stragglers.

While I was waiting, another project came about and then...

A week or so ago, I received the follow email:

Question-- are you still taking quilts for Lutheran World Relief? I am putting the binding on one that is the right size for you. I got to rent a longarm today and it's the first one, so it's finished, though it's no showpiece. I'm planning to post it on Monday or Tuesday and can mail it off to you after that.

This photo was attached:

Here was my response:

Pretty (RSC?) quilt, Mari! While I'm no longer actively soliciting quilts for them, I'm not opposed to taking more quilts for Lutheran World Relief. You could also send the quilt to one of the two hospice programs that I support. Both Bernie @ Mercyful Quilts or Kat @ Covered in Love (TX) would be thrilled to receive your cheerful offering. Whatever you decide is fine.

The first box on my new front porch...

... Arrived this week from Mari @ The Academic Quilter and inside the box was this lovely quilt:

She blogged about the quilt HERE.

Those were the first quilt photos in my new studio.  I also tried my hand at porch swing photos like Kat @ Covered in Love...

... But found that I might need a bit more practice:

Thank you, Mari, for sharing your time, talent, and materials to bring comfort to someone in need!  I appreciate your contribution to the LWR Mission Quilt Drive.

With all that's been going on in Joyful Quilterland...

... It took a few days to get around to opening the box:

The goodies above and the lovely note below were also enclosed:

Thanks for the unexpected treat, Mari!  I'm particularly fond of that sweet rainbow print.  Bonus points for its pretty AQUA background to go along perfectly with August's Color of the Month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  :o))

Until next time...

Sew some love!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Top #20!!!

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  Last weekend, Britt and I enjoyed a Sew Day.  We began the day with donation quilt tasks.  Our focus was the Lutheran World Relief quilts in our queue.

Augmented with fabrics from her stash, Britt used a selection of fabric squares provided by Nann @ With Strings Attached to make this fun set of blocks:

Once the top was all laid out on my design floor...

Assembly went quickly and by the end of the day Quilt Top # TWENTY was ready for its big reveal!!!

Here is a shadowed inside photo:

And...

... An outside in better light:

Thank you to Britt and Nann for providing the labor and materials for the making of this lovely quilt top!  It went back home with Britt for a ride on the rails of her longarm during the next break in her schedule.

The LWR project is still chugging along.  Additional tops are in the works.  Hopefully, those will come rolling in by summer's end and we can get our stack of completed quilts off to the organization.

Until next time...

SEW some love!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Number Eighteen

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  I am pleased to present the latest update for the Lutheran World Relief Mission Quilt Drive going on here at The Joyful Quilter.  You can review program details on the DONATIONS tab at the top of the blog.

This colorful quilt top was sent in by Darlene...

... Along with backing and (what was intended to be) binding:

I cut batting...

... From the roll purchased with contributions made by the following quilt bloggers...

Alycia @ Alycia Quilts

Judy @ Busy Hands Are Happy Hands

Mari @ The Academic Quilter

Along with the following local donors:

Ruth S. and Sue

Britt took it for a ride on the rails of her longarm, quilting it with her fun new bubbly panto:

Once she had worked her magic, the quilt was brought back to me for binding.  I did that while Britt worked on assembling another LWR Mission Quilt top (but that's a story for another day.)  Here we are, working away at my dining room table for the first time in more than a year:

Remember those binding strips that Darlene sent?  They actually ended up serving as a small border and...

Britt used this yardage from Nann @ With Strings Attached to cut the necessary binding strips:

Here is the completed Quilt Number Eighteen:

Happy quilters with a quilt that is SEW joyful:

Thank you, again, Darlene!  Your contribution, combined with those of a number of other quilters, provided another example of the fabulous teamwork going on in the quilt world.  Special thanks to those of you who have helped this project bloom!  More updates to come.

If YOU didn't get involved in the LWR Quilt Drive, there's a different organization that might capture your interest.  Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts is currently hosting a QAL to benefit Mercyful Quilts.  Find all the details at the Positivity QAL tab at the top of her blog.  

Until next time...

Quilt to GIVE!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Number Sixteen {and Seventeen}

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  I'm here to share the latest quilt finishes for the Lutheran World Relief Mission Quilt Drive here at The Joyful Quilter.

The front of this quilt was made by Ruth B. using squares from Nann @ With Strings Attached, along with some of her own and Ruth also added borders to this quilt top:

The backing was contributed by Suzanne in Alaska:

Thank you, to the following donors to the Batting Fund:

Judy @ Busy Hands Are Happy Hands

Alycia @ Alycia Quilts

Mari @ The Academic Quilter

Along with the following local contributors:

Ruth S. and Sue

Your contributions filled these quilts with snuggly warmth.

Joy layered this up on her longarm and quilted it using a technique called Dwirling.  It's a favorite of Mary @ Making Scrap Quilts from Stash developed by Dawn Ramirez, The Pajama Quilter.  Unfortunately, her DVDs are no longer available (and I forgot to add the wave rows between the swirl rows.)

I'm pleased to present LWR Quilt Number Sixteen:

The binding for this quilt was supplied by Libby @ Life on the Hill.  That binding was applied...

... And sewn down by Joy:

What a wonderful example of the phrase "Many hands make light work."  Thank you, quilters!!  I appreciate each and every one of you.

Same stats, different quilt...

With the exception of the binding, which came from Nann:

I remembered the "rest" row...

... On Quilt Number Seventeen:

The pieced backing was donated by Suzanne in Alaska:

Thank you to all who contributed to the making of these two quilts for Lutheran World Relief.  If you can believe it, there are STILL more to come.  My heart is filled with gratitude for the generosity of my readers and friends.

Until next time...

Sew some LOVE!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR Q15 (and more) - Arrival of Elaine's Quilts

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  Some of you may recall that I recently did a Guest Blogger post for Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict as part of this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.  I gave a report on the LWR Mission Quilt Drive that I am organizing here on the blog.  As a result of that guest appearance, one of her readers offered to send some quilts my way.

This week Elaine W. sent the box at the bottom of this stack of packages - the other two packages are preowned jeans ordered off eBay, which I hope will fit my now (somewhat) slimmer frame:

Elaine included a note in the box...

... And not one...

... But TWO beautiful quilts:

One for Lutheran World Relief - Quilt Number Fifteen...

... And one for the charity of my choice, as it was a good bit smaller than the LWR Quilts that have been made or donated, thus far:

Thank you, Elaine!  Your contribution is SEW appreciated.  The smaller quilt will be mailed to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo, one of the participating charities in the 2021 Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.  Your vibrant batik quilt is certain to provide a bit of cheer to a chemotherapy patient.  The LWR Quilt you sent has been added to the top of the LWR Quilt stack for delivery once the final quilt has been completed:

Until next time...

Sew some LOVE!!!