A lot of Giving Going On

Julie at <a href="http://phoenixquilts.blogspot.de/">Phoenix Quilts</a href> is so grateful for everyone's efforts to help and thought it would be fun to highlight the quilters, and helpers, and supporters that are making all of this work.

So today we start with an amazing quilter (um, hello, look at these beauties she has donated!)  She chose to remain anonymous, hoping  that her story would inspire others to believe they can do this as well!  For the sake of this blog post, I am just going to call her Charity!

Charity made all these quilts with the intention of donating them to a good cause,  with the exception of the jewel-toned vegetables quilt that was made specifically for Phoenix, and not knowing where these quilts would end up at the time she made them.  

Charity has mad quilting skillz, she has been quilting for 40 years, and now that she has already made quilts for all her friends she is donating these stunning quilts to charitable cause.  She said, "It’s very freeing; you get to pick colors and patterns that appeal to you, and delight in the knowledge that someone receiving the quilt will enjoy and be comforted by it!"  

Here is why Charity was inspired to donate to Phoenix Quilts:

"I was compelled to donate to Phoenix Quilts after I read about Julie’s leap of faith in deciding to do this.  Julie was herself evacuated from her home by a wildfire, and her response, to make quilts for those who had lost their homes to the fires, impressed me so much.  It seems as if we all want to “do something” when confronted by a need, but most of us sit by wringing our hands.  Julie and her husband jumped in with both feet, quickly expanding their efforts as fires in other areas claimed more homes.  She offered us a chance and a direction to help – and be a part of a project that provides comfort and support to people who may have lost everything.  As quilters we know that there is something special about the effect of being covered by a quilt someone has made for you.  A part of ourselves is stitched into each quilt we make, and you take comfort as well as give comfort in sharing that with another human being."

The queen sized sampler quilt was the result of participation in a year-long free online Block of the Week put on by quilt historian and author, Barbara Brackman in recognition of the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War.  Charity has long been a fan of Barbara’s work, and this was a terrific adventure – each week she presented a traditional block either of the period itself or that symbolized some aspect of the conflict.  She accompanied the block with a write up about some aspect of the Civil War.  Fascinating, and educational.  Barbara just started another BoW on Women’s suffrage called Grandmother’s Choice:http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/ 

From Charity: "The smaller kids’ quilt (very top picture) was a very simple pattern offered by the manufacturer of the fabric which featured cute little sheep. It had been hiding in my UFO collection for some time, and Phoenix Quilts prompted me to finish it.  All of these quilts were quilted by Nancy Weed, my long-suffering long-arm quilter who kindly fits my quilts into her busy schedule."

"The Hovering Hawks quilt (I took a photo before I put borders on it) was my New Year’s quilt.  Every year on New Year’s Day I start a new quilt for charity not knowing where it will go, but knowing that some good cause will arise to claim it.  Nice way to start the new year looking forward!"

Thanks so much Charity for sharing your beautiful quilts with those who are in need!