Change of life question... no, I don't mean THAT kind of change... !
 

Well, everything changes eventually.

I've loved having my little fabric business, but... it's a lot of hard work, a lot of worry and late nights.

So this summer when I got offered a "real job" that would pay enough to run the household, plus health insurance benefits... I couldn't turn that down! And having the opportunity to work just 40 hours a week instead of 70, well that just feels like a vacation to me.

Most likely I will be left with a lifetime supply of fabric to use for charity sewing projects.

Three possibilities are coming to mind: quilts for world relief, Project Linus quilts, and pillowcase dresses. For the dresses, I could use up a lot of the trims I collected over the years, too, and that would be good.

I bet a lot of people here on the Quilting Board have done charity sewing too.

So, here's my question:
Of all the charitable sewing projects you've done, which one(s) have you enjoyed doing most, and why?

I personally love making quilts for Project Linus, but I'm also thinking about joining in the Quilts of Valor. I would have a hard time pinning down (no pun intended) a single reason; I guess I just like helping those who need something nice done for them at a time when they need it the most! ;)

Many ladies at church and I make quilts, and the person who is ahead of the project determines where the quilts are distributed. They have gone to Indian reservations and people who have lost everything due to a fire. For me, it is nice to know how they are distributed, not put in a warehouse in a far off distant place.

I make quilts for Project Linus, but also like to help out locally when I can. For people at work who are facing hard times (cancer, house fire, loss of child or parent ...), the chaplain at lets me know when there is a need and delivers it to the person. The label says simply "With love and prayers from your family at (name)". Many police officers keep quilts and pillow cases in their cars to comfort kids. Often when children are in foster care they have only the clothes on their backs. The quilts can offer comfort and the pillow case is a better suitcase than a trash bag.

I make quilts for our local hospice. Often one of my quilts is the last thing the patient sees and it makes me feel good to know how much the quilts are appreciated and how good the quilt made the patient feel.

Our small group makes quilts for foster-kids and women's shelter. Our large group makes neonatal quilts. Our guild does dialysis center quilts and neo-natal quilts.

Why not keep it local to you and use some of the ideas posted.....
safe homes/women's shelters
hospice homes
family alliance
cancer treatment centers

Jan in VA

I think I would keep it local - who knows, one of those receiving a gifted quilt could have been a previous customer, and what better way of thanking them for their custom

i like to make quilts for our local guilds and quilting groups to be distributed locally. in one guild, we are making lap quilts for the 140 members of the local VFW.

Quilts of Valor

My Bee did pillowcases for a children's hospital, little dresses for Africa and a Linus quilt. I think the pillowcases were the most enjoyable because they could be stitched up quickly so we were able to make more and they went to a local hospital so it was almost like making them for our own loved ones.

Our local women's shelters, nursing homes (small lap quilts and shoulder wraps), and the children's hospitals seem to be where our items were needed the most.

I give to local women's shelter/safe house, and to a Mission place that serves the homeless. Also make smaller items for kids in need in my town. Dresses for Africa too.
Best to you in your new adventure!! And happy sewing!

Nan why if you are closing a door on a part of your life, why drag it around like a boat anchor for 'a lifetime'? If it were me I would dump some on ebay, give some to charity, write it off as a tax loss at the end of the year, and turn my face to the sunshine! A lifetime spent making charity quilts sounds a lot like punishing yourself for getting out of your fabric business.

Just sayin ...

Anyway, good luck with the new job and all the best!
sue

I LA for American Hero Quilts and also do some for Quilts for Kids....and try to give to disasters as needed. Sad to say, I feel like I still don't do enough for all the blessings that have been given to me.

How I will miss my trips to your store! It was a huge part of my trips "home" to Buffalo. I loved every single time I entered your store... the shelves of great Hoffman and Kaufman... and the Timeless Treasures fall prints always seems like they were waiting for me to come and discover them. It was a true quilters treasure hunt. I will never forget the time I was there with my Mom and Sisters .. we turned a corner ... and my sister gasped and said " we need a moment to just gaze " as there before us was what looked like the entire Hoffman Christmas collection....we just stood there as if we had just discovered "lost Dutchman's gold".
Your staff was wonderful and kind.. soooo patient when my Mom locked her keys in the car.! You made an impression on me I will always remember a wonderful!
As for charity quilts , Pick a cause maybe every year, or what ever fits your "production schedule" that will do a raffle of your work , as cash is so desperately needed and is the most versatile. Consider making some raffle baskets of fabrics for when they have auctions... many organizations have annual events where local's give baskets to be raffled.

I love to give quilts to the charities that have a personal connection to a member of my family. I donated quilts to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative in memory of my mother and grandfather, (AAQI is no longer accepting quilts).

I also donate a quilt every year to be raffled by the local autism group that has provided so much help to my son.

I direct a group that makes charity quilts that we give locally. We give to many organizations in our town, Hospice, Women's shelter, Battered Women and children's shelter, Pregnancy crisis center and the children's home run by Child Protective Services, and the homeless mission. We love helping out locally.

Oh my, Sue, I think you've just cut right straight through to the heart of the matter!

You've just saved me at least six months of soul searching.

Are you a counselor? You should charge for such good advice and accurate analysis!

I think that I actually *am* punishing myself for closing the business - or for having to say goodbye to my wonderful staff.

Though... three of them got even better jobs, and one retired early to become a full-time writer (which is what she's always wanted to do). Another just got hired at a local sewing store.

Maybe I should forgive myself for choosing the path that, in the end, gives me a better quality of life... why is that so hard?

While I will miss my trips to your store, it sounds like it's all turning out smoothly for everyone, so relax, don't sweat the changes and don't make a decision about what to do with the fabric in a hurry - at the right time, the right decision will come to you.
Good luck in the future,
GEMRM

Awww, thanks, GEMRM!

I'm still hoping that little by little I'll still be able to sell off some of what remains. 'Cause, it's all in my attic now and let's just say that it's a pretty crowded attic!

Let's just say that I have other plans for *some* of the space. Though it will ultimately turn into a nice sewing area. Three floors up, with a great view.

I enjoy the dresses the most, because of all kinds of issues that the girls have if their bodies are not covered. Every time I make a dress, I know another little girl is protected. Our church gives them to our missionaries and they dispense the dresses as needed.

I have to say I like the pillowcase project the most. It uses up a lot of stash fabrics and they go together very quickly, so I'm seeing a project to donate to, say, 20 kids instead of 2. I have done Project Linus or other kids quilt charities, but the time involved for one donation is more. I haven't done any Quilts of Valor yet, but that's on my list. But I will probably do them in other fabrics than the traditional patriotic, as I don't have that much and would have to purchase that.

I love the Quilts for Valor. It is the least we can do for the young men and women that have sacrificed so much for us.

There's not really one better than the other, just a different one. Call quilt groups, churches and find out what sewing charity project they do and offer some materials for their projects - join in on the one/s you want to. Our sewing group at church makes pillowcase dresses (use fabric also for this when we run out of donated cases), we make wheelchair/walker bags for a local long term care facility, blankets for fire & police departments to have on hand for children, lap quilts... There's an unending list of uses for fabric for charity and an unending list of generous sewers out there who can always use more donated materials. Enjoy your opportunity to give so much to charity.

quilts for kids. a grand program for very sick kids. also I make for the shriners hospital kids. church needs come next there are a lot of people who seriously just need blankets. a simple quilt is a treasure to someone who has nothing. or say Colorado victims of the flood who lost it all.. a sense of caring is what that is. same for all disaster relief people the churches take them and hand them out to those who really need one. just a thought :)

my is newborns in need i just love helping the babies and then hospice is my second.

Please enjoy the process of deciding what to do with your inventory and don't let it bog you down! Seems like the attic is holding your things just fine! I do want to correct the impression that Project Linus quilts are not serving the local population. My guild does a wonderful job with Project Linus and, by a huge percentage, the bulk of these quilts go to local kids. When I had to have PT, my therapist was raving about how much her son still loved the PL quilt he got when he was hospitalized at 4. Also, I don't have to do anything but piece tops for PL as others in my guild enjoy taking care of the other steps in quilt construction. We also take fabric donations which are then made up into simple kits as some like to work from precuts.
Just let the right organization(s) find you!

I enjoy sending dresses out for the Nancy Zieman's Dress a Girl or some name like that . .I do that once a year .. So needless to say the name escapes me .. LOL

We are working on quilts for forgotten children. These are ones who's parents are mentally disabled or ill and can't afford anything for the children.

My favorite is Project Linus. I know the children enjoy receiving the quilts, and the older kids can't believe someone they don't know would make a quilt just for them to keep.

Very satisfying!

Our quilt guild makes quilts for benefits, beginning to make for veterans in need and will give one away each veterans day, quilts are needed for issolettes ion hospitals, your local fire department can use some, women's shelters the list goes on and on.

Senior Citizens, some of them have worked all their lives and now are all alone. The gift of a quilt has made many light up and that is worth more than any amount of money. Wounded Warriors is also another of my favorites.

project linus and the local pet shelters and senior homes. pet beds and then wraps and lap quilts for seniors are so welcome when they spend a lot, too much, time just sitting; they get cold. And womens' shelters. a lot of times they have fled a bad situation and the kids are scared. a quilt gives them something to hold on to and snuggle while times and things change and are uncertain.

I like a variety. We do hospice quilts for guild and I just joined a group that sews pillowcases for kids with cancer. My guild also makes pet beds and another member does Quilts of Valor.

When DH bought me my beautiful Bernina 440QE, I decided to learn it and use up some of my stash by making pillow cases for the Million Pillowcase Challenge. I made 37 before I decided to get back to my own work. They went to the local homeless shelter. The shelter management had never heard of the challenge and I think they sent someone to google it while they chatted with me. On discovering that it is a real thing and that I wanted absolutely nothing in return (not even the picture they wanted to take for their donor newsletter) they gratefully accepted them.

I make pillow cases for Childrens' Hospital of the King's Daughters. Every child in their care gets their own pillow case (at least one) that they get to keep. The children get to take it home with them when they leave. It's something of their own in a place where life can get very scary and things are strange.

When I belonged to a quilt guild for many years, we made quilts for David's House, a home away from home for patients and their families who were hospitalized for long periods, similar to a Ronald McDonald House, but unique to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon, NH. I always loved when we could see pictures of the quilts we'd made with their recipients. Since we've moved and I no longer belong to that guild, I've been looking for another quilting group where I can do something similar. I found it a great way to try out different colors and fabrics outside my normal comfort zone, and knowing that my efforts went to helping a child during a difficult time.

Our small guild, 30 members, makes quilts for our county military, disaster quilts, baby quilts for the sheriffs dept, social service, Christmas baskets for 2 yo's & younger, lap and bed quilts for our nursing home, placemats for home delivered meals, donating about 200 quilts a year, So a few dedicated quilters can make a large dent in a small community. We don't have a hospital in our county or we would help out there, we also donate quilts for tornado victims. Quilters have huge hearts.

I like the local charities too, also the premie dept. at Childrens Hospital