What’s Going On in Charity These Days
Exciting News!!
Charity fabric storage has been moved to a room at All Saints Episcopal Church, 372 NE Lincoln St., Hillsboro.
Our new storage space will also be where charity quilt kits are made. The room accommodates 36 bins of charity fabric, batting, kits for quilts, adult clothing protectors, receiving blankets, and pillow cases, along with tables for putting them all together. The church is secured and access is limited as was our old storage so if you need batting, backing or fabric to make a charity quilt please contact me or Carolyn Drosd.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, Nancy Stober, at vpcharity@westsidequiltersguild.com or give me a call, I am in the directory.
Kit Making Sessions:
Kit Making days will generally fall on the second and fourth Friday of each month. The exception will be October because of the change in Sewing Saturday and our Quilt Show. The dates are:
September 13 and 27
October 18
November 8 and 22
December 13 and 27.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to Noon.
Place: All Saints Episcopal Church, 372 SE Lincoln, Hillsboro.
Please email me in advance at vpcharity@westsidequitersguild.com to let me know you plan to come. You will need to text me so that I can tell you how to get into the building.
Thank you for your interest in your Guild’s Charity Quilting projects. Nancy Stober, VP Charity
Following is some information and suggestions regarding WQG’s current Charity projects.
First up is what I now refer to as The Becky Project. Those instructions on Post-It Notes found with these kits are made by me (Nancy Stober). Sizes are approximate since the tops have not been pressed. Please press the top, making sure the seams are laying in the correct direction and flat, then measure for borders. These tops can be a bit “thready” and threads need to be clipped (do not pull). These are just observations I have made while working to put kits together. The finished Becky quilts I have seen come back so far have been wonderful. Your help on this project is greatly appreciated.
As we have gotten deeper into the bins and bags they seem to be getting more complicated and will need more effort to complete, e.g. blocks needing to be sewn into rows rather than just needing borders, etc. I estimate that about 30 or so Becky kits have gone out and many of those have been completed and distributed to WQG recipients. If you complete any Charity quilt there are a few guidelines that we would appreciate you following:
• Check to make sure all pins have been removed
• Clean up loose threads
• Wash quilt in unscented detergent and do not use any perfumed softeners or dryer sheets. Some of the recipients may have compromised immune systems or allergies and be sensitive to these products.
Again, thank you all for making Charity Quilts.
Each of you is making a difference in someone’s life by helping to provide a little comfort.
QUILTING SMALL QUILTS ON DOMESTIC MACHINE
Many of the unfinished quilt tops left by Becky Lietl are small square or rectangular with dimensions no more than 30” to 45”. I generally don’t do my own quilting, but I find these small ones to be quite manageable. Unlike preparing a quilt for longarm quilting you need only make the batting and backing a couple of inches larger all around. Press the top and backing making sure seams are flat and steam out any wrinkles in the batting. Layer and baste the top, batting, and backing making sure all three are nice and smooth. There are different ways to baste – safety pins, spray, or thread. Simple crosshatch patterns, either straight or diagonal, are easy and work well when using a walking foot. If you like to do free motion quilting on your domestic machine a simple meander or “puzzle” pattern is fine.
Please do your best when making a Charity quilt. These quilts are “not just a charity quilt” they are a gift to someone who needs warmth and maybe the comfort of knowing that someone cares to provide them with a quilt.
Here are a couple of books and on line tutorials that may be helpful. And, of course, many of your fellow WQG members will be glad to guide you.
https://christaquilts.com/2021/02/04/machine-quilting-tips-and-tricks-part-3-preparingthe-quilt/
https://suzyquilts.com/how-to-machine-quilt/
Quilter’s Complete Guide, Leisure Arts, Fons & Porter
The Quilters’ Ultimate Visual Guide, Rodale Press
Charity Day at the Jessie Mays Community Hall in North Plains was a great success with lots of quilt tops, backing, and binding made. Everyone made easy work of unloading, setting up, cleaning up and having a good time. A big thank you to all who participated!
Your generosity of your time and energy are very much appreciated
Westside Quilters Guild through its Charity program encourages all members to make and donate quilts of all types and sizes to children, teens, and adults to provide comfort and warmth. Our current regular recipients are CARES Northwest, Kaiser Permanente Hospice, Camp Erin, and Northwest Children’s Outreach. Many members, independently, donate quilts to Quilts of Valor, Linus Project, Quilts for Kids, Lullaby Quilts and other organizations. We would love to know for what other groups our members donate quilts. WQG also donates a few quilts each year to other non-profits or charities for them to raffle or auction.
Also, each year Charity holds a Charity Sew Event which is usually led by one of our former speakers. Everyone is welcome to come spend a day making as many quilt tops as we can manage. Date and location to be announced.
Click Here to see our Charity Policy
Our dedicated Charity Co-Chairs are Carolyn Drosd and Marcia Elliott. Our representative on the Board is Nancy Stober as Vice-President of Charity. Many members participate in Charity Sewing the second Monday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at The Springs Living at Tanasbourne, 1950 NE 102 nd Ave., Hillsboro, OR. This is a place where new quilters can receive guidance and seasoned quilters can learn new techniques. We welcome all members to join us in the fun of making quilts for those in need.
Making a charity quilt at home? Please contact any member of our Charity Committee to donate a quilt or bring them to our general meeting, present them for show-n-tell and hand them to one of our Charity Committee members. Before handing in your quilts please wash them in detergent that is free of dyes and perfumes. Make sure your quilts are free of loose and end threads.
Best Quilt Sizes for WQG Recipients:
60” x 80” – Twin
50” x 60” – Lap
42” to 45” square
36” square
We also have kits available that will include a simple pattern and the fabric to make the quilt.
Contact Nancy Stober or pick up a kit at our regular Guild meeting and return when it is finished, no deadlines. If you would like to choose fabric for a Charity quilt we have lots of lovely fabric in our storage unit. Nancy can help you access that resource.
We are always looking for help with piecing quilt tops, quilting the quilts, making backing or binding – You can make a whole quilt from start to finish, or volunteer to do any one of these parts of it!
If you give a charity quilt top to a longarm quilt volunteer, as a courtesy to our longarm volunteers please adhere to the following guidelines when you give a quilt top to one of them to be quilted. You should include the batting and backing. Remember that many of our volunteers have their own business and have their own quilts to do as well! Click here for complete instructions for preparing your quilt for the longarm
Programs Supported by our Charity Quilt Efforts:
• Kaiser Permanente Hospice
• CARES Northwest
• Northwest Children’s Outreach
• Camp Erin Portland
• CARES Northwest – Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services is a collaborative community-based medical program. Their mission is to stop child abuse and neglect through multidisciplinary prevention, medical evaluations, and ongoing treatment in partnership with the community. Founded in 1987, the program is a collaborative effort among four of the region’s leading health systems – Kaiser Permanente, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Providence Children’s Health, and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanual.
• Northwest Children’s Outreach is an all-volunteer, Christian-founded and led group providing the most basic needs of children. They function as a collection and distribution center, collecting resources for children in need and distributing the goods to local care providers who meet directly with and prescreen the children. Last year they worked with over 500 agencies. Northwest Children’s Outreach does not discriminate against any child regardless of religious, political, or other affiliation.
Their mission statement is “We stand in the gap between poverty and caring agencies with resources to help children.”
• Kaiser Permanente Hospice Westside provides hospice care in home or care
facilities and adult home care situations. The Kaiser Chaplin distributes the quilts and lets the patient choose which one they would like to have. Nancy Willmes, Kaiser
Hospice Coordinator, told me that our quilts have brought joy and comfort to the recipients. Upon the passing of the patient the quilt will go to the family.
• Camp Erin Portland is a free, weekend bereavement camp for youth who are grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Children and teens ages 6 to
17 attend a weekend camp experience that combines grief education and emotional support with fun, traditional camp activities. Lead by bereavement professionals and caring volunteers, campers are provided a safe environment to explore their grief, learn essential coping skills, and make friends with peers who are also grieving. Camp Erin is a partnership between Eluna (a foundation supporting children and families impacted by grief and addiction) and Providence Hospice of Oregon.
• We may be considering adding another organization to our list.
The Charity Committee thanks all of you who have so generously given of your time and materials to make quilts for those in need.
In this Fiscal Year (Jul 2023 – Jun 2024), WQG Charity distributed:
• As of March, 2024 we have donated a total of 273 Quilts!
and we have more distributions to make soon.
Keep up the great work everyone!
Nancy Stober, VP Charity
Make a Charity quilt from these patterns!
Here are some patterns that we created for you to use. They are easy, beautiful and you are free to use them or use your own.
Just click on the Quilt images below and you can print the pattern with instructions.
Contact Nancy/Charity committee VPCharity@WestsideQuiltersGuild.com if you want to use fabric, batting and/or backing from our stash.
Enjoy! and thank you!
Click on the image below to open the pattern:
Charity Sewing at The Springs at Tanasbourne
• When: 2nd Monday of every month
• Where: The Springs at Tanasbourne – 1950 NE 102nd Ave Hillsboro (on Cornell Road, near Whole Foods)
• Time: 9 AM – 2:30 (Optional:Take a break and eat lunch at the restaurant)
We have cutting mats, rulers, and rotary cutters available, but you will need to bring
your sewing machine. You can bring your own charity project, or get one of our simple kits when you get there. Come enjoy sewing with others, laughing, talking and spending time with friends. All are welcome, and we would love to see you there.
Nancy Stober, VP Charity, VPCharity@WestsideQuiltersGuild.com