Lap Quilts--115
 

I wanted to know if it is possible to make 115 lap quilts by Nov 2012.There is a young (22) yr old that wants to make these for the homeless and put a small bible in a pocket on the quilts.I am new to the quilt world here.I have learned alot from everyone butt I couldnt answer her questions......she is also on a limited.......I mean poor limited budget.......I have ask my friends for any fabric--shirts--they dont want...............can she get this done..........ADVICE................what size is a lap quilt?????......Thanks.......

I don't know either, but I would be happy to donate fabric and even make a few myself. PM me if you think she would accept some fabric from me.

Sure it's possible.

That would be a real challenge. To do 115 quilts by November would mean approximately 3 quilts per week. I couldn't do that and I'm retired.

Hi Karenpatrick..........I will ask her about your offer and get back with you.Thank You for the offer........

Between September 2010 and April 2011, with the help of this internet group and my local guild, I had made and quilted 128 quilts for a battalion in Afghanistan; but it was a mammoth task, all-consuming, and very expensive. Thank God for the beautiful, generous members here who came forward with love and effort to cover these men. It is NOT something I could possibly have handled on my own!

I fear that her heart is larger than her ability alone. Is she willing to do the legwork for donations from the community and ask for local sewers to assist??

Jan in VA

I did about 65-70 last year...some lap, some baby, some full/queen...and it was a J-O-B!! PM me if I can help with fabric or anything else...

Hi Ladies......I just spoke with her mom and the number she wants to do is 105........not 115......butt who knows.I have her address and will email it to the ones than want to help.I contacted my xsister in law and she is going to ask at the nursing home where she works for their scrubs....and what ever else they can donate.....the xsister in lawl sews tooooooo....I am working on her.......aleast she dreams big...........Thanks

I think you friend has a big heart but she may not have enough practical information to make this project a success. One question I would have is where the quilts are going. Is there an organization that will accept them, and do they have any input into the size, quantity, and type of quilts needed? If the homeless that she wants to reach are those who are living outdoors, under bridges, etc. then quilts may not be the best way to help out, and lap quilts in particular would not be useful. Hand-made quilts will not last long under those conditions, and something more sturdy and less likely to be sold would be more practical.

I would think you could do it...if you truly keep them lap size and do a very simple pattern. But you be will be VERY busy.

I agree with Dunster, it may not be practical. Homeless don't really need lap quilts, they need larger ones like sleeping bags. Here is a link to the sleeping bag project- http://www.uglyquilts.org/

Money being an issue might make it even harder. Even if you buy old clothes at Goodwill, it still costs money. Plus something for the batting and backing-I guess old sheets would work but you still have to buy them. Unless you've gotten a lot of donations, but it usually takes time to develop a network for donations.

Have her check her local freecycle group. She may be able to get a lot of donations that way. Garage sales at the end of the day-people may just give her bags of stuff so they don't have to put it back into the house.

Maybe make large tote bags with a small pocket for the bible and add some toiletries or food inside the bag. Call around different designs stores to see if they will donate their old samples.

i am not sure how one on a "poor limited budget" would be able to make that many quilts (fabric, batting, binding, quilting or tying) in the time frame given. my 2012 quilting goal was to get one quilt completed every month so i can not imagine 115. perhaps the goal needs to be reassessed and look at what can be accomplished with the budget and any donations received. i would say on the small end a lap quilt size would be 45" x 60" up to 60" x 72".

there are many simple quilt patterns available free by doing an internet search. for quilt backs and batting, you can search the thrift stores for blankets to use for batting and sheets to use for quilt backs also used clothing that you can use for quilt pieces. does the 22 year old have others to help her make quilts? hopefully she has plenty of help. good luck on this journey.

Using fleece for backing would save time and money for batting. The stores here have tons of fleece and always on sale.. Sew pillow case style and turn. Sew open end closed. Light quilting keeps both layers in place. Fleece is warm and durable. Perhaps you can get a girl scout troop involved in this service project. They can very quickly tie fleece blankets. Not the handmade with love quilts, but a lot less work.

Yes it is possible. For three consecutive years I made a minimum of 200 lap quilts a year for our local hospice and hospital pediatrics ward. The key is to have someone tie the quilts instead of machine quilting them. The quilts I made were 42x60.

It is very possible, especially if your friend has help. I have a nurse friend who quilts about 30 quilts a month for a slew of charities - the hospital, QOV, Linus, veterans, etc. She has 2 longarms - one is computer driven, the other is FMQ, so she often is quilting 2 quilts at the same time. She does some piecing, but she also gets a lot of donated tops that she quilts.

Yes, it is quite possible, but not cheap. They are a lot smaller than full sized quilts and take a lot less time. If you do have friends tie them, they will be faster, as well.

But, I also wonder about giving lap quilts to the homeless. Are these homeless men or women? Do they live in a shelter? Do they even want them?

I ask all these things, because I give away a lot of quilts here in Poland. I am not sure that the homeless here would actually utilize a quilt. A blanket would be a bit easier to carry around. And, frankly, if it is for the homeless who aren't looking to change, as opposed to a person who is going through a hard time, then maybe making those "ugly quilts" as some groups do, would be entirely appropriate. (I know that some believe that only beautiful quilts should be given to charity, and this isn't meant as a criticism, just an observation.)

I think it just means knowing your target group. If it is women who are homeless, but will soon be in a home again, then by all means, go for it, but if they are men who are homeless because they prefer the streets or tents to a shelter or home, then you need to decide if you are wasting your money on something beautiful for them. They would do fine with two sheets tied with a blanket in the middle for warmth since beauty means nothing to them. Save your money and effort for someone who will actually appreciate it and maybe even cry over how beautiful it is and how much it means to them.

But, yes, it is possible. Money is needed, however. If the girls' sewing skills are limited, she will need help.

Yes, it can be done if she enlists help from others. But honestly, why would a homeless person want a lap quilt? Small quilts for homeless children in shelters would be useful, but for adults?
Maybe she could consider a drawstring bag that would hold the Bible and toiletries. That would be something that could be used to carry things or perhaps later filled with a few clothes and used as a pillow. Even more useful would be if the bags were designed with straps and could be carried as a backpack.

Bless you for helping her plan her project!

Dayle

Yes you can,. However, it will depend on the detail of the quilts. I have done it but mine were one piece for top and quilted in long straight lines. I don't believe you can do it even with using just squares. It takes me between 3-4 hrs to do one. That is doing the hand work on binding while watching tv.
I sat a goal for myself for 2012 and am already behind. My goal was 3 per week which for me is doable but I don't work and can schedule my time.
In my opinion it is too ambitious for someone who does not have the trained skills even for simple quilting.
Where they go is also critical in the type made. I assume she is a student which will certainly interfere with getting them all completed.
Why 105?

First of all any thing is possible if you set your mind to it! This is a tremendous young lady to even want to take this on. I believe that wether the lap quilts are appropriate or not for the recpients is not an issue after all a lap quilt would feel very good on the stone pillow the homeless lay their heads on..... The bags are also a good idea . If there are still gidieons around I am sure they would donate the bibles. I would not shut her down with negativity,it is wonderful that a young person wants to take a project like this on when many young persons of this age are worried about what to wear to the party and having the latest and greatest fashion, the latest smart phone ..........

For sure, I agree about her goals and her being a wonderful girl, but I disagree about the Gideons. I got into trouble once by asking for New Testaments to give away at Christmas time and wow...I got a phone call from the head hauncho here.. who had gotten in trouble from headquarters because they aren't supposed to give multiple Bibles to someone to give away--THEY are supposed to give them away personally and not give them to others who then give them away. ??

So, unless they can work with a person who is a little less "letter of the law" than that Gideon, she won't get far by contacting them.

WOW I had no idea, of course it has been 30 plus years since I had anything to do with church/religious organizations. Times have changed a little since then lol. I guess I remember the gidieons that used to come to church to testify of their "life changing" stories that seemed to want notheing more than to "spread the word"

If she wants to do that many, her best bet is to keep them all to a standard size, perhaps 45 by 72, and just make the sandwiches of two pieces of fabric and whatever she wants to use for batting, thrift store blankets are fairly cheap. And just tack them, not try to do any quilting. That's about 4 a week.

And forget "lap" quilt, make it at least as long a most people. Using standard size fabric---42-45" wide and about 6 ft long.

Good Will Stores are a great place to find cheap fabric....whether it be actual pieces to cut or shirts/dresses to cut pieces from....or sheets.....check garage sales too or Craigs List

Surely this is NOT the case through out the " Gideon" organization.... otherwise..... with that reasoning, a " Gideon volunteer " would have to individually place each bible in each hotel room. ? I doubt this was done...
It's worth a inquiry....

Probably so. I've wondered, but not pursued it further, choosing rather to sew instead. ;0

And we had some people whose house burned down a few days ago(a communal place that had 30 people in it)--I've got quilts for them if they want them as they relocate to new housing. One lady came on Sunday to ask for quilts--I felt so bad for her--she was in shock as she lost everything except their lives!

Great ideas! Also, she can spread the word to her friends and families and families of the friends, or even a college nearby that she could use their 'old' blankets, etc. I think she might be surprised what she might end up with. She might need to ask for some laundry detergent to go along with it! :)

If she decides to go the donation route, I will pledge 5 quilts totally finished. Perhaps giving the quilters the chance to "pledge" an exact number will seem more doable. Let us know if you want it to go this way. Carole

IT's possible with help from this wonderful group of people. Write a post in the request section, people will reply. I would help too. Send me a PM.

I will pledge too :)

If you do a very simple pattern like steps, it could be done. does she have a serger, she can do the batting, top and bottom all together, this way she could do a few in a day. If she needs material, I'll donate, pm me.

Cookie64

The key is the pattern and if her fabric stash is there for her to go non stop

Last year I made 38 quilts that were 54" x 78" in less than 2 months so I will say yes it's doable, but I've been sewing for well over 40 years and know my way around a sewing machine. Even though I just started learning the quilting basics in the past 3 or 4 years my previous experience with sewing helped out a lot.

I also did mine with some very cost effective short cuts and I DO NOT quilt my tops, I tie them which is so much faster when you use the cheap blankets ($5 each) as batting instead of the $15 - $25 or more batting that most quilters use. It works great and is very warm as well. You don't have to tie every 4 to 6 inches either, I usually ties at the block corners only which is any where between 8 and 12 inches. I know a lot of "real quilters" here are throwing stuff at me by now but when you are on a budget and still want to do something that will help keep these people warm & last under rough treatment then you have to do what you have to do. My daughter has one of my quilts that I made this way and she washes it almost every week, no special treatment just throws it in the washer with what ever else she has that will fit and keeps on going and YES she does throw it in the dry on normal high heat, same as jeans. It still looks pretty good except for the fading of the fabrics. She has had this quilt for almost 2 years. Personally I was shocked that it's held up so well with all she puts it through. But the point is, if these are for people that have nothing, will be dragging it around all over the place, will wash them in what ever manner they can if they can, then these quilts will work, look good and keep them warm without all the extra cost.

SO, with all that being said, I will say if she has the supplies to work with and keeps the patterns fairly simple, she will have no trouble with making them.

I participated in a project and we made 115 youth-size quilts in six months for an orphanage in Kenya. We had probably 12 people working on the project, some more serious than others. Most of our quilts were pieced, which takes more time than solid panels. It is doable, but it really takes a concentrated effort. As I figure it, you will need to make 13 a month to be finished on time. Perhaps you could recruit others to help?
It is a great feeling to see pictures of the recipients who had nothing to call their own with their quilts. Good luck!

I don't see why not! Age has nothing to do with it...22, shoot I had all three children by age 21! She can do it..and many here will help, I'm sure!

That is a tremendous undertaking. I do lap quilts here for the nursing homes and I can't churn out more than three a week even though I am also retired. I was fortunate to get some Christmas material at a good price so I use that for one side and piece the front.

If she is trying to help the homeless, then she might consider using double knit fabrics as well as they hold up very well and are less expensive to make. I have done this in the past and use inexpensive blankets instead of batting. Let me know if I can help.

This group has the Gospel of John in small pocket size. You can order quite a few a month, I forget exactly how many. They have it in several languages and several covers to be attractive to different people.
http://www.ptl.org/

Fleece would also be a lot warmer as well as easier & faster. Good thought cjr