Sadiemae

It does seem like the ones that really shouldn't go back are the ones that do...I am sorry if I was touchy, there are just those days when things hit us harder than others. Not being able to have kids I guess I am kind of touchy sometimes about the quilts I make for kids. Our hearts are in the right place.

Butterflyblue

I like that too!

Maggiem

Love the term 'comfort quilt'! It's exactly what I hope all of my quilts will become...

I've read this whole thread and was surprised at how the topic elicits an emotional response in me:
1) In Hebrew, we use the word 'Tsadaka' for 'charity', but it actually means 'justice' - sharing what we have is just and right, a way to make the world a little bit better, as we are commanded to do;
2) Who knows if the hand outstretched towards us is not that of an angel?
3) I really believe that the things we make and give (a meal, a quilt, whatever...) are full of the energies we put into them. We can put smiles, happiness, love, caring, hope, excitement, prayers, blessings and joy into a cuddle quilt and it will transmit those energies to the person snuggled into it.

Plus a lot of other thoughts running around in my head... I've come away convinced that my goal is for every quilt that leaves my home to be filled with as much love and happiness and caring as I can give it, whoever the recipient is.

Lobster

I'm currently working on a charity quilt which will be used for fundraising rather than given to one of the charity's recipients (who need a lot of things, but quilts don't make that list). Sometimes you can accomplish a lot more that way, as for example with this charity quilt (not one of mine): http://www.lothiancatrescue.org/fundraising.html#raffle, where it raised £951. I am making this quilt with skill and love, but it's less elaborate than many of my other quilts, which I think is fine. It's still a high-quality quilt, and it's still taken quite a while to make as it's hand-stitched. Unfortunately, the blocks were from a block swap, and not everyone in that - of the ones who bothered to make a block at all - took the same care that I do, including one block that is starting to fall apart now that I'm already quilting the whole thing. I don't know whether it was poor quilting skills, people not bothering because it was a block swap, or people not bothering because it was a charity quilt, but I made every block in that swap with as much care as I do my own, even if I did use it as an opportunity to use up some fabrics which are perfectly nice but not really my cup of tea. Anyway, I don't care who wins the raffle, though of course I hope they will appreciate the quilt. I don't care if they're rich or poor, the important thing is that they chose to support this charity.

I think there are situations where a quilt is a wonderful gift, and situations where it's not the most appropriate approach. Quilts are functional, yes, but a lot of the point is that they are beautiful as well. If someone has the basic necessities of life, for instance a cancer patient in a first world country, a quilt is a fantastic, affectionate gift. If someone does not have the bare essentials, for instance someone homeless or disaster victims, then I do not consider a quilt to be the best choice. You can buy a huge stack of blankets for the value of a single quilt, or other necessities such as food, water, medical care.

I was astonished when people started sending quilts to Japan after the disaster. A friend of mine was evacuated from Japan (while heavily pregnant and with a small child), and believe me, quilts were not what they needed. If you've already made a quilt, using it for fundraising is a better option in that case, I believe.

Speaking as someone severely disabled who could be considered an eligible charity quilt recipient, I would far far rather a quilt for ME/CFIDS was raffled off and the money used for biomedical research. That's what we desperately need.

Maggiem

Beautifully said!

Lobster

Oh good, I was worried someone would be offended. Nice to meet someone in Jerusalem, by the way, I have family there.

Sierra

WE all are different, but I'm with Maggiem and I feel, from my own experience (?) that quilts and dolls and even a pretty something that someone has made with love has a dimension beyond that of the utilitarian. Having said that, I sent 3 quilts to Japan (to a friend and asked her to give them to a distribution place) and the response came back the Japanese have made sure no one is cold so she gave the quilts to someone who would take them! I think I stepped on some cultural toes.....

Also, many of us have stashes we are working on and using what we have in a sharing way when things are a little harder for almost all of us is OK, even special. Once I raised just short of $2000 on a private quilt raffle for one of my grandkids, but unless you have a good target group many quilt raffles fall far short of expectations (one quilt brought in a couple hundred and I would have rather given it away at our churches' fall blanket drive).

But overall, isn't it nice we are such a range of differentness? Makes life more interesting.

Butterflyblue

If anyone is interested, I just posted a diagram for a simple child's quilt in the tutorial section:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-145568-1.htm

And I would like to say I agree with Lobster about really thinking whether a quilt is what someone needs, or whether money or other items would be more appropriate.

LyraJean

I think quality of workmanship is the important thing in a quilt.

After all I can make far more 4-patch quilts for charity than say Baltimore Album quilts. That doesn't mean the 4-patch quilts were made without care or thought. It's quality not pattern.

I haven't made any charity quilts but the two quilts I have actually completed I have given to family. One of those was a lopsided log cabin where the only way it would arrange was in the straight furrows pattern. My cousin still loved it for her baby anyways. I don't know if she knew it wasn't made properly.

justflyingin

I had this written yesterday when the board went down. I saved it.....

I think when you make charity quilts, what you do exactly, should depend on the target audience.

Quilts to go to moms--make them pretty. They need something beautiful in their lives. If they are drug addicts--get the advice of the people who work at the shelter (assuming it is through the shelter). They probably know better than you do.

Children...make them with neat fabrics that kids like.

Homeless men on the streets. Make them of double knit and/or extremely durable. They care less about how beautiful they are than that they keep them warm.

It isn't demeaning to evaluate needs and plan your quilt for the intended recipient. (Seems only smart to me.)

And BTW, someone gave me a double knit blue top which I finished into a quilt. I thought it was hideous. But one lady chose it over 50 other more traditional fabrics...

So each to his own.

I wouldn't think anyone would actually make an "ugly quilt" on purpose, would they? I mean, a simple quilt made out of sheets and blanket wouldn't necessary have to be ugly would it?

Several mentioned good workmanship. Why would anyone purposely do anything with bad workmanship?

BUT, to those who don't know quilts, long stitches (because you are learning FBQ) are not even noticed. Honestly. Not perfect points are completely ignored by children if the fabric is what they love.

So, we need to think "what is appropriate?" as we work. Of course, this is a perfect way to learn new skills, but the end product needs to be decent looking. No scrunched up fabric, ridiculous pleats and uneven (completely) squares with strange things going on. If it is terribly done (workmanship), then by all means, give it to the animal shelter! But it needs to be really bad, IMO, as animals can use our worn out ones--not new ones. They certainly don't know the difference!