Hello Fellow Quilters,

I read the earlier piece about donating quilts with interest because as stated I make and donate quilts to various places/organizations etc. I do not on the whole give them a second thought once they have left my hands mainly because I love to quilt and just can't keep every one I make, plus I like to think someone else is gaining some comfort from what I can share.

Donating can become expensive, we all know how the cost of living continually rises and so of course does the cost of our hobbies or creative outlets if you like. I am on a limited income so when it comes to making quilts for charity I tend to buy my fabrics on sale ($5 -10/metre) although even then the quilts can still be expensive to make. Since I started making these quilts a small group of fellow quilters have joined me and we meet monthly to "sew for charity" and as a result of people hearing about this we have received donations of fabric, some end of bolts, some left over from peoples projects and some samples which has been a wonderful help. Most of the donated fabrics are child prints and so only good for childrens quilts.

While I do use the donated fabrics for some of the quilts I make, I do not do so for all of them, for example if I make an adults quilt. Due to the rising cost of everything I now ask the charity I donate these particular quilts to for a receipt for the cost of materials (not my time) and will claim the cost of my donations on tax.

Win win outcome

Maybe1day

It is a great way to do it- i also always get a tax receipt from non- profits...sometimes i give to people who make requests- who are not a non profit organization-

I may be wrong, but I think only "qualified" charities (whatever that means" can be deducted. I do a lot of donation quilts, but none of them go anywhere that I can write them off.

Your quite right cjtinkle, it is only registered charities that your able to claim your donations through, that is why I said charity. While I consider all the quilts I donate to be charity quilts I do not donate quilts that I consider adult style quilts (as in they would likely not appeal to children) to the childrens hospital for example, but to registered charities such as the Cancer foundation, the Parkinson Assoc etc and from these places I do now ask for a tax receipt if I think it is appropriate. Mind you I also only donate one large quilt to each of these places per year. There is a limit on what you are able to claim and definately a limit as to how many large quilts I can make or am willing to make for each. Childrens quilts though I make and donate personally between 6 & 8 per year. Everything that I pass on to the childrens hospital is not claimable.