Sewing and Quilting for Charity and Digressions

I never thought of myself as an altruistic person. My mother was the one who went out of her way to be charitable. And she dragged me along with her. Not that I minded. But Mama didn’t sew. I saw her sew on buttons. I do remember that she always took needle and thread in hand immediately when a new garment was brought home and reinforced all the buttons. They never fell off. Not even I could tear them off.

I digress.

Mama quilted, which is a form of sewing, with a group of women from the church (in many cities, towns, and churches.) Have you noticed that there is always a ‘women’s group’ in every church everywhere? That’s because women get things done. Men do, too, but women do things no one else can do – or, to be fair, that men don’t want to do. That is another hub for another day. The lines between the sexes functions have blurred. Of course, there is always an exception to that unwritten rule.

I digress.

The quilt was for charity. I loved to come home and sit in on the ‘quilting bee.’ I even helped once. That was way too much work for me, and besides I had homework to do. There would be anywhere from 10 to 15 ladies sitting around a quilting frame, all with a section of quilt that they were responsible for. Those quilts always were given to needy families. Some families were needier than others and got more than one quilt. The main reason I went was to hear the ‘old ladies’ talk. I loved elderly people!

I digress.

I took home economics in tenth grade. It was ghastly. The first semester was devoted to cooking and we had to cook shrimp. I got an F that period because I wouldn’t eat the shrimp. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t pay attention. When forced to swallow, I vomited on the clean tile floor and broke out in hives. I am allergic to seafood. I got the F for my attitude I think. I threw a fit and told Mama and she did nothing but write a note that I didn’t have to eat what I cooked. I believe that was what got me the F. I smirked.

I digress.

The second semester we were instructed on how to sew. We went home with a list and Mama and I went to town. I bought a Butterick pattern. The teacher said to me, “Why did you buy a Butterick pattern? Those are the hardest patterns to sew.” Why didn’t she say that up front? I never did finish that dress. She sent me home at the end of school with a pledge that I would finish the dress at home, which was a lie; because we both knew I was going to throw dress and pattern in the nearest trash bin. She gave me a low B for the semester just to get me out of her class and my attitude had changed a bit. I smirked only behind her back. I also participated in class more. She loved students who participated.

I asked her one day if she made her own clothes. She always looked as though she had stepped from between the covers of a fashion magazine. After a moment of thought, she replied, “No, I don’t sew. I have never made anything at all.” Well, I just hugged that information to myself with glee. I could do something she couldn’t. I didn’t finish that dress not because I couldn’t, but because I hated the pattern my mother had picked out.

I digress.

The word ‘charity’ puts a bad taste in my mouth. It sounds as though I think I’m better than someone. And I’m not. I don’t have very much because I don’t have very much. I work hard to change that. So do others, but now and again life hands people circumstances they can’t change.

But, charitable organizations are for helping people. There are literally millions of organizations worldwide. I found hundreds, maybe thousands of charities in sewing/crafty sites alone. My personal favorites are for the babies.

Here is a link that has resources to many charities that use ones ‘talent(s); they may be sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, or any other niche. http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/charity-links.html Disclaimer: I am not nor have I ever been associated with this website or any of it's affiliates. I am posting this link solely as a service to readers to point them to some charities.

Never think that you can’t be useful. Time is one of the greatest gifts one can give to others.

I get lazy sometimes and forget that I have unfinished projects in my shop. I have fabric just begging to be sewn into something to wrap around a tiny baby or a child in a cancer ward somewhere. My charity of choice at this moment is Downey’s Quilts for Kids. They send thousands of quilts to hospitals around the world to terminally ill or very sick children, from babies to teenagers. http://www.quiltsforkids.org/ There are free patterns for download with instructions on how to make quilts for children. I asked for a kit first so I would know exactly what they required.

For example, children who are very ill are usually hooked up to several machines with tubing running everywhere. Quilts for Kids cannot accept anything that can be snagged on the equipment. That's the reason for the exacting instructions for sewing and quilting.

There is a ton of information there and they need volunteers always. They will even send you a kit to get started with complete instructions. They need you (and me) to care. And, there are other ways to give or volunteer even if you don’t sew. It will cost you a few minutes time to click the link and look at what they are doing and attempting to do.

This is a rambling true story. It does ramble, and I can’t think of a suitable title. I do invite you to tell me what to do with this hub. It looks to me like there are several hub topics contained in this one hub. My mind is a quagmire of ideas and thoughts.