A sweet little girl, age 4, died this morning here in Upstate NY. I don't know her personally but her family and I have a mutual friend. She's been on my prayer list all week since she fell ill last Saturday with a really high fever. She's been hospitalized since Monday and passed this morning from the EEE virus which is contracted from mosquito bites.

Friends of the family are hosting a benefit this Saturday, (in 6 days) and are looking for donations to be raffled off and for food for the benefit. Most everyone has offered up enough food but only one other person has offered something to be raffled by making a Tastefully Simple basket so I volunteered to make stuff for the benefit. I already have two baby blankets that I made and were just sitting around but now I'm looking for some really fast sewing projects to put together as well. I have a pattern for a 10 minute Tablerunner but not a lot of other patterns. Any thoughts?

Maybe place mats and matching coasters.
Sorry to read of the loss of the little one.

tote bags, snap bags, humbug bags, mug rug with a mug with some candy in it, grocery totes, pot holders

I pieced a Double Irish Chain lap quilt in one day, and I love the pattern. You could do a log cabin quickly too.

Placemats with coordinating napkins, especially if you own a serger that can do a rolled hem on the napkins.

The 6-Hour Quilt, by Kaye Wood, would be appropriate, too, if you have ~6 hours to make it. It's machine-pieced using quilt-as-you-go (aka flip and sew) method. It can accommodate any number of themes and variations. (My favorite is a rainbow because it can easily be divided into 7 fabrics, which I assemble in opposite directions on the two sides.) On the other hand, I've made lovely quilts using only two fabrics.

Over the years, I've come to know a number of parents who were comforted by the image of the dragonfly when they lost a child. As you may know, it is one symbol of life, death/metamorphosis, and rebirth. (A dragonfly larvae hatches in water. Once it metamorphoses into a winged adult, however, it must fly away and is unable to return to inform the other larvae of their airborne future.)

So I'm thinking you might look for some dragonfly fabric to make whatever project you choose.

Just a thought. You're a wonderful friend-of-a-friend to help in this tragic circumstance!!!

Something using the rail fence. It can be strip pieced pretty fast.

http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts...ross_coas.html

This pattern for coasters is fast and very useful...Naomi


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

these are very fast http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-144848-1.htm

If you cook, you could raffle off "homemade dinner for 4" or something of that nature. You could also take a picture of a t-shirt quilt and raffle off making one. The winner would have to provide the t-shirts. You could also do a quick table runner and add some cookies or something to make it a basket.

Hope these ideas help.

My favorite quilt pattern is the "Speedy Baby II" made with 5" charm squares and borders with the sizes already listed. It could be pre-cut ahead of time if you would have any helpers or want to make a quilt kit for someone else to make.

You could make the kit and include lessons to make it later!

http://schoolgirlsamplers.com/pdftut...peedyBaby2.pdf