I get a lot of joy out of quilting and sewing, but most of the sewing that I do would be classified as “selfish sewing.” It’s sewing that I do for me because I want to. I don’t feel too bad about this because I work hard at my job and sewing is one of my two main outlets for relaxing and having fun.
However, in general, I do feel the need to give back to my community and I found that with quilting, I can actually do both. Last year I heard about do. Good Stitches. do. Good Stitches is a charity bee started by Rachel Hauser of Stitched in Color where quilts are made by groups to give to people in need. People can be either stitchers or quilters. Both types of contributors make blocks each month, but the quilters also assemble and ship off finished quilts as well. I figured it would be a manageable way to give back without a massive time commitment so I signed up to be a stitcher on the waitlist.
I was contacted back in June about joining one of the quilt circles. However, the circle was looking for a quilter, not a stitcher. I was a little nervous about the increased commitment as a quilter but I really wanted to be a part of this organization and give back so I agreed. The circle I was invited to was the Grace Circle whose charity recipient is My Very Own Blanket, an organization that gives quilts to foster children. One of my best friends recently started fostering children and I had learned from her about how hard it can be for those children. I’d read all the stories, of course, but it’s not the same as first hand accounts. For that reason, this circle seemed like a particularly good fit.
Through my involvement, I’ve met several wonderful women who are also a part of Grace Circle and I’ve gotten to try out a bunch of new blocks. The quilter for each month gets to pick the size, color, design for the block and sends it out. My first month as quilter was October so I’ll share my first quilt made for Grace Circle in a few weeks after I’ve finished it up.
In the mean time, here are some of the blocks that I’ve made as part of do. Good Stitches in addition to the one at the top of this post. One of the things that continues to amaze me is how cool the quilts look despite varied interpretations of the quilter’s request. The sum really is greater than the parts!
