2017 was another highly successful year for Siblings Together Quilt Group. With the help of lots of lovely quilters from both home and abroad we surpassed our aim of providing the Siblings Together charity with 100 quilts for the children they support.
The quilts are born in various ways! Some are made by individual quilters, others by quilt groups who get together to make their quilts. We have had quilt tops pieced by one person who passes it on to another who does the quilting. We now have four 'bees' making quilts, with a fifth about to start. The bees are groups of quilters who each make a block or blocks every month, these are then sent to the months 'bee mama' who makes a quilt from the donated blocks. Many thanks go to
Jenny who has taken on the task of co-ordinating the bees.
We have also been contacted by the charity "Fine Cell Work" who work with prisoners teaching them to sew and ultimately sell their work, as one of them would like to make a quilt for Siblings Together. We can only guess at what may have happened in this person's life that has lead them to want to support Siblings Together.
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| A selection of quilts made by Bee 1. |
Siblings Together Quilt Group our now are own little community of quilters working together to provide these children, who have had a rough start in their lives, with a warm comforting hug in the form of their very own quilt which we all hope will remind them of precious time spent with their siblings. The quote below is from the Siblings Together Facebook page
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| More quilts made by Bee 1, special thanks to Mark for his quilt holding skills. |
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| Quilts made by the ladies of Bee 2. |
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| This beautiful quilt was donated by the ladies of bee Blessed from Ireland. |
The quilt top right was made from fabric purchased with money
donated my Maria's parents who asked guests at their Golden Wedding
celebrations for money to put towards Siblings Together quilts rather than gifts . There are still enough funds to make more quilts
for 2018.
In 2017 Nicky made some wonderful quilts from donated blocks as part of her 'block drive'. She put out a call on Instagram requesting Shoo Fly and Courtyard Garden blocks, and of course lots of generous quilters answered by sending her many blocks. Here are some of the quilts Nicky made from the blocks. Nicky was helped with the quilting by Pippa, Terri and Carolyn on their 'longarm' quilting machines.
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Nicky is again bravely going to take on a block drive for the 2018 campaign for 100 quilts for Siblings Together. These are computer mock ups of the quilts she is planning on making from her own design.
Gorgeous aren't they? If you would like to contribute please visit Nicky's blog
here for details. If you are unable to commit to making a quilt these blocks are a great way of getting involved.
We've been very lucky to secure sponsorship for quilt labels over the last few years. Firstly we were sponsored by Spoonflower, and in 2017 and going forward to 2018 we are being generously sponsored by
Prinfab. Many thanks to
Catherine for securing the sponsorship and for sending out the labels. If you would like a label(s) please email us for Catherine's contact details and she will forward the label.
In previous years all the quilts have been sent directly to the Siblings Together office which is evidently a small space and so many quilts take up a lot of room. Nicky therefore offered to have some sent to her home where they took over her dining room!
Delma then collected them from Nicky and they spent a lovely evening admiring each and every one.
Nicky has offered to collect the quilts again this year and has asked that they be labelled and washed before sending. Contact Nicky via Instagram Direct Mail @nickyeglinton or email us at the address in side bar for her email. They will need to be with her by the end of June for the summer camps and the end of September for the October camp.
Siblings Together Quilts have been featured in Sewing World magazine in an article written By Kerry Green, and in an article in Quilt Now. A fantastic way to spread the word to the wider sewing community.
When we first started making the quilts for Siblings Together our aim was to supply enough quilts to for the siblings attending the three summer camps. In 2017, Delma (CEO of Siblings Together), was sent enough quilts that she was able to gift quilts to children at other events organised by the charity. She was recently able to give up to 45 quilts to children attending the charity's monthly activity days and reports that each and every one of the quilts were very warmly received.
Delma also gave some quilts to older care leavers as she hoped they would "assist their healing from their lives in care". The following words are from a recipient of a quilt.
“I know that the people who made this quilt for me did not realise what a powerful thing it was to do and receive.
It
was fantastic to know and feel it was made with love but it was awesome
to be validated after all this time. I spent all of my life in
residential care where I was
made to believe no one actually cared. I’m now 51 an the pain is still
there.
I
lost my sister in the system and later we were parted by death and it
brings her close to me and we continue to wrap our arms around each
other through love and comfort
of that quilt.
Thank you will never seem enough, but thank you so much for the love you put into each and every one of the quilts you make”.
If you would like to make a quilt it needs to be made from good quality 100% cotton quilting fabric and be suitable for a child age 7 - 17. The quilt colours/design can be for a boy, girl or suitable for either. We ask for a minimum size of 50" by 50".
We are always grateful to receive donations of backing fabric, wadding, offers to quilt a top, binding and lots of cheer leading!
Many thanks for reading to the end and for supporting Siblings Together quilts.
Here's to a successful, quilty 2018!
Although she's still ploughing away quilting the bee quilt she has already put together the second quilt which is next in line for quilting.
