Sometimes you wonder...now you don't have to!
10-24-2013, 12:01 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Jozefow, Poland
Posts: 4,474
Sometimes you wonder...now you don't have to!
Sometimes you wonder where a charity quilt goes.
Last fall I made a bunch of tops from my bag of 2.5" blah blocks. I made the tops mostly in Oct. of last year. This year I've been trying to finish them up plus some.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442912[/ATTACH]
It's like the story of Nail Soup, or Stone soup, or whatever you call it. Of course, I added to this bag as needed for sashing and stars, etc, but one of the tops ended up like this:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442913[/ATTACH]
I finished it earlier this year. It turned out super nice and I was having a hard time deciding to let it go. Usually I don't give away quilts that have this much work/time involved. But, I can't keep them all!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442915[/ATTACH]
On Tuesday of this week we were giving out food from our building/church/charity headquarters and I was sort of playing the role of "solve the problems that come up" while the others handed out food. One lady came inside to sit down because her health is such that she can't stand for long periods of time. I started talking to her, just being friendly. I found out she is a widow and has been for 10 years or so. She doesn't work because of her back and other internal issues (not psychological--physical), plus she has struggled with feeling "down."
After giving away some baby quilts to people who were coming, I talked some more with this lady and then I thought..."Offer her a quilt." She lit up and said, "Of course." So, we went upstairs to where I am keeping them (planning on a major distribution in December) and she chose this one.
Later we were talking some more and I told her one of the reasons that I started doing this was because in Poland, it is often grey and ugly and depressing outside. I wanted to make something for the ladies who can't necessarily afford something pretty in their homes. I knew how depressed I felt just looking around at cheapo cabinets and ugly walls when we first got here. I was used to sunny, cheery, pretty Florida! So, after my children started getting older, I started making quilts. I try to make them pretty, however, if someone gives me a top (unfinished) and I don't deem it too bad, I'll finish it as it can keep someone warm even if it isn't pretty.
Anyway, here is this lady. She left encouraged, I think. She seemed so.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442914[/ATTACH]
And I was too. There is a saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It is fun to see someone get something you made that will encourage them. It was even worth giving up one of the best ones out of that group....and I'm glad it went to her and I was encouraged to see her joy.
NOTE:
Some of you have asked where our charity quilts go. We live in a region of Poland where there are many poor. There is a lot of public housing here due to the vast numbers of Jews who used to live here before WW2. For obvious reasons, most of the Jews never came back to claim their land/houses. Those houses became public housing. Most of these don't have proper insulation as they were built as sanitariums for health issues--meant as summer homes. Most of them are cold in the winter. Blankets
are a welcome addition to any home like this!)
And now you know one short story of one quilt/recipient.
Last fall I made a bunch of tops from my bag of 2.5" blah blocks. I made the tops mostly in Oct. of last year. This year I've been trying to finish them up plus some.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442912[/ATTACH]
It's like the story of Nail Soup, or Stone soup, or whatever you call it. Of course, I added to this bag as needed for sashing and stars, etc, but one of the tops ended up like this:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442913[/ATTACH]
I finished it earlier this year. It turned out super nice and I was having a hard time deciding to let it go. Usually I don't give away quilts that have this much work/time involved. But, I can't keep them all!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442915[/ATTACH]
On Tuesday of this week we were giving out food from our building/church/charity headquarters and I was sort of playing the role of "solve the problems that come up" while the others handed out food. One lady came inside to sit down because her health is such that she can't stand for long periods of time. I started talking to her, just being friendly. I found out she is a widow and has been for 10 years or so. She doesn't work because of her back and other internal issues (not psychological--physical), plus she has struggled with feeling "down."
After giving away some baby quilts to people who were coming, I talked some more with this lady and then I thought..."Offer her a quilt." She lit up and said, "Of course." So, we went upstairs to where I am keeping them (planning on a major distribution in December) and she chose this one.
Later we were talking some more and I told her one of the reasons that I started doing this was because in Poland, it is often grey and ugly and depressing outside. I wanted to make something for the ladies who can't necessarily afford something pretty in their homes. I knew how depressed I felt just looking around at cheapo cabinets and ugly walls when we first got here. I was used to sunny, cheery, pretty Florida! So, after my children started getting older, I started making quilts. I try to make them pretty, however, if someone gives me a top (unfinished) and I don't deem it too bad, I'll finish it as it can keep someone warm even if it isn't pretty.
Anyway, here is this lady. She left encouraged, I think. She seemed so.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]442914[/ATTACH]
And I was too. There is a saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It is fun to see someone get something you made that will encourage them. It was even worth giving up one of the best ones out of that group....and I'm glad it went to her and I was encouraged to see her joy.
NOTE:
Some of you have asked where our charity quilts go. We live in a region of Poland where there are many poor. There is a lot of public housing here due to the vast numbers of Jews who used to live here before WW2. For obvious reasons, most of the Jews never came back to claim their land/houses. Those houses became public housing. Most of these don't have proper insulation as they were built as sanitariums for health issues--meant as summer homes. Most of them are cold in the winter. Blankets
are a welcome addition to any home like this!)And now you know one short story of one quilt/recipient.
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 10-24-2013 at 01:40 AM.
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