arkann

I have a ministry that helps people whose children have NOTHING. Anything you can make & give as long as it is in good condition is LOVED by the people who receive it.

themachinelady

Having read all the posts on this subject, I can say (and probably offend some in the process), I think that we as a people have become somewhat snobbish in our outlook. You don't want to make or give something you wouldn't want in your home and that is fine up to a point, but if you are someone who has NOTHING, most anything warm and durable would be welcome regardless of colors used. I don't think a lot of people even begin to realize lhow life is in some of these third world countries and how things might be used. Some of these people have absolutely nothing and would welcome most anything to keep them warm, perhaps use as a door covering and whatever and could care less if you would use it in your home or not. A lot of them have no idea of how to care for a quilt, and could care less on the care of it as long as it serves their needs, plus they have never been taught the 'how to' for a lot of things in life, their main concern is to exist from day to day.

Now, having said that, I realize there is a difference between those "utility" quilts and what you would make for Project Linus or children's quilts or a 'chemo patient or nursing home resident' but let's not worry so much about the colors as the quality and durability for the recipient.

We as a small guild have received donations of things that could not be used for quilts, but can be used in crafts etc by someone else. Then there some things that should have been 'trashed' before giving them to us, but again people try to assauge themselves by giving it away and doing a 'charatible' deed rather than toss it to begin with. We use what we can, offer the rest to others if they want it and then try to recycle the rest with a local recycling group.

Just because it is donated to you does not mean you HAVE to use it, not all donations are worthy ones. Use what you can and pass the other along either to users or recycle. Let's don't get so hung up on what we would use or not use in our homes, a wealthy person wouldn't use in their home what a middle income or poor person would use, but it is still usable and would be welcomed by others. Let's think about quailty, durablity and usefulness and leave our snobbish ideas out of it.

valsma

What is ugly to one is beautiful to another. It takes all kinds of kinds to make this world.




Back in the early 70's my family was on welfare and we would recieve food and gift baskets for Christmas. One year I got a brand new shirt for Christmas in the basket, it was a red, white and blue flag based design. I thought it was the prettiest shirt I had ever seen. It was the first non-hand me down clothing I had gotten in some time. So while I wouldn't be caught dead in it today, back then it was great.

TanyaL

Do all quilts have to look as if the fabric were selected by an angry blind person? When pictures of several quilts are shown a simple rearrange of colors from one quilt to another would have been a big improvement. A person who is cold, desitute and probably hungry still has a soul that can be comforted by beauty. Those people in 3rd world countries have traditional ethnic fabric that showcase fantasic beauty. They know beauty when they see it. Given a chance, they create it.

quilttiludrop

IMHO, the fabric needs to be of the appropriate cotton or cotton blend type fabric. Used or new is subjective to the sewer's opinion. It needs to be in like new condition.

DoxieMom

I like this idea. Thanks for sharing it!

Doreen

The guild members insisted on 100% cotton. We got rid of the polys by giving them to a women's group. Some of the cottons are not real pretty but you can add different colors to make them disappear.

patdesign

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER, well said. It seems to me that one or two members ought to sort the sash into like fabrics. Even used fabric often has many good years. There is a very high fashion look that hit the market place about 10 yars ago, called Shabby Chic which featured the thrift shop beauties which were soft and faded. The fabrics that fall into this category are often beautiful. I have a quilt that my grandmother made (the quilt is now 40 plus years), most of the fabrics are faded, some so threadbare the batting is showing, it started out with donated scraps and used fabrics (the used ones are the ones now shredded). 40 years ago I didn't LOVE it, but looking at it today I do, nothing changed but ME. I am in the process of restoring it and is nothing more than 7 x 9 rectangles, but the colors are soft and beautiful and artfully put together. There is no such thing as an ugly fabric!

carolynjo

Sometimes quilts are deliberately made ugly but warm in order to keep them from being stolen from a homeless person who might be sleeping in an alley in a cardboard box. So, ugly is okay in my book.

BarbaraSue

I can see how your discussion was going as I have heard that same talk in one guild. In fact, one lady stated that when she bought batting for the guild to use for charity quilts, she went to the local retail big box store and bought the cheapist she could get in quantity. "It was going to charity afterall."
There is an underlying attitude that charity means of less value, not just with what is given, but to the receivers as well. Comments inferring that "those" people are in a situation of their own doing.
I said nothing, which was probably wrong, but I would have not helped the conversation if I had opened my mouth.
I entered a challlenge in the fair that was a baby quilt for "donation only". I would not see it again, and it would not be mine. I designed the quilt around old McDonald's farm, and many of the blocks had a 3-D part. Ears that flopped, tails that moved, manes to pet, fins to flip, etc. I won the Blue Ribbon. I know all along that it would not be mine. That was not the point of the exercise for me. I wanted to be creative, and spread my wings, even though I would not get to keep it. If I want to make it again, I have the patterns I drew to make the first one.
Charity only means that I give it away. It does not mean of less value. That's just me.