For children's hospital, bright cheerful colours, no 3D or embellishment.Always a shortage for boys ( especially older ones).
For homeless shelters, we were told to keep things medium tone ( ie not a lot of white/ beige) and more serviceable than " pretty". It's an unfortunate fact, that the prettier quilts will get stolen/ sold. Warm is better than looks here. ( Sad , l know, because these folks could use' cheerful').

I started quilting for Project Linus a couple months ago. My coordinator requested sizes 40x50, 42x54 or 50x60. No baby or toddler quilts. No squares. Think...rectangles fit better on a bed. My first donation of 13 quilts went to Ronald McDonald house.

I was sewing using fabric I like. That's why my stash may be lop sided when it comes to color choices. It was hard for me to sew for boys since my stashed was more girl friendly but eventually realized I was able to adjust fabric selection and quilts are now more boy friendly.

I told my coordinator about my struggle with boy quilts and she suggested panels. Sew a boarder and done. I now have 8 panel, boy friendly quilts ready to give to her but the boarders I made were not just strips.

Fabric sets the mood for the quilt, any quilt. Sew a pattern you like. I now look at patterns or pic on Pintrest and see how complicated it is. I want a quilt done ASAP...lol My focus right now is for boys and will toss in a girly quilt to work on every once in a while. It's harder for me to quilt 50x60 on my dsm, but I struggle with it and when done I reward myself.

I'm making quilts that make me smile. I bought several PPE face mask panels, cut the masks apart, fun fab for sashing. Two of these are really boyish but wouldn't be surprised it a teen girl grabbed one. A couple are gender neutral.

I just wish our state was open. It would be fun to sew with quilters.

I just wanted to share my opinions on charity quilting. OH, Pat Sloan has link on her web site for charity quilting. Some of these organizations will take tops to finish.

I have been donating to Project Linus and the most needed quilts are for older children, lets say 10 to 18. Like mentioned by others these are often the most neglected age groups, foster children, disenfranchised runaways, and the like. So, I tend to make quilts that are appropriate size for a lap quilt. I often work with scraps that do not not read as traditionally male or female. I use lots of greens, blues and black/white with a color pop. Some are just good old scrappy.

I use what ever pattern hits my fancy or one I just want to try but often a simple to execute. I do straight line stitching or diagonal or wavy stitching for quilting because it is fast.

our guild and my church has given quilts to so many different places. It is good to ask the local organizations in your community what they would like and if they have a need....yep, a few times we overwhelmed a organization or two with our quilts. We have many quilters who love to spend the cold northern winters in their quilting rooms. But, that said, there is always somewhere for quilts to go. Places that the quilts have gone include cancer patients, nursing homes, crisis centers for teens, newborn ICU, Ronald McDonald house, overseas to refuge camps (some quilts are sold to help pay for the shipping, these quilts are often used for wall dividers, dirt floor coverings, as well as beds) half-way shelters, batter women shelters. We also had a group that made teddy bears out of fabric which was given to the police and fire department for when a child was involved in a crisis. Oh quilts of velour, the local animal shelter, our local wildlife rescue group. We also have raffled off quilts to raise money for local groups like the Y and Sexual assaults' programs. There is also a group of local knitters who "Yarn" various locations with hats and mittens and a label that says "I am not lost, if you need a hat or mittens, take me" These are just hung on street signs etc. Our country and the whole world at the moment, can use warm hugs. And our quilts, mittens, and hats fit the bill.

I am working on a quilt for a local county children's center that gives out quilts/afghans to newborns. I am hand quilting it. I was afraid if I tried MQ and it didn't come out good, the top would have all those holes in it. If they don't want it, I will do something else with it.
I understand Project Linus doesn't want hand quilting. Any time I have tried MQ it has been a disaster.

PT, I straight line or wavy line quilting on all my quilts. FM not for me.

I donate to a hospice facility. They will take any size. I have sent anything from a small baby quilt to an oversized lap quilt (70 X 70). I will have a pattern I want to try. Or maybe it is a simple pattern just to use up some of my stash. All are appreciated. With HIPA laws I am not there to hand them out but, the staff tell me.

Patrickfuh's post above has been reported. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINKS!!!

In reply to what I made bold print, maybe you are referring to the Warm Wishes pattern, it was a free download used by many of us in our charity group.

Our Guild does charity quilts for 3 organizations, one is for a pregnancy center, another for a homeless shelter and the other is QOV. All sizes are accepted. Babies and new moms seems to be the most popular right now but there are evenly offered quilts for the other two charities. Things have been slower in 2020 because of COVID. I am hoping to see things come back to life in 2021-2022.