Thank You Beryl1

This beautiful quilt was received yesterday as part of the Hands2Help 2015 charity quilt drive and was made by Beryl of Utah.

Beautiful quilt for someone in need!

Hands2Help 2015 Quilts Completed

I just finished the last quilt of the 2 I signed up to send to a Canadian charity for the 2015 Hands2Help Charity quilt drive.

I know it seems odd to make 2 for a charity while we are listed as having a need, but these were for children and ours are much larger and it gives me something to clear my mind with.

 I used cheater binding for this one. I realized I had extra fabric all around, so I folded it and made the corners and no need for batting which made this very quick to come together!

 

Red Ball On A Seam Ripper

I just saw this on Facebook, it is not mine, I am taking it from someone who shared this with all of us and it comes from Pam Amour over at the Decorating Diva.  Click on this and you will be shocked (I know I was). 

Who knew? All these years and I never knew this and I am not even sure my grandmother knew it. Then again, not sure she made many oopsie's!

http://www.keepnuinstitchesquilting.com/the-great-seam-ripper-controversy-just-how-do-you-use-a-seam-ripper/4/

Another 911 Quilt

Mike Jones. Sacramento County Sheriff Dept. He was working the radio when Deputy Danny Oliver was killed. He is SSD dispatcher of the year. Pictured with his wife Arlene and quilts from Layers of Hope - Quilting 911.

I was told one of the 911 professionals couldn't make it to the banquet, so they are holding the quilts up for them for all to see!

All Ready For the Hands To Help 2015 Charity

Front

Back

While we accept quilts and are always so happy to receive them, I also donate quilts to help other organizations and this years Hands2Help charity quilting I chose to send to a Canadian organization to help children in need.

They were looking for lap sized quilts and I felt I could actually start and finish one since someone had donated the completed blocks, all I had to do was sew them together add 2 borders, the back and binding and voila...done!

I volunteered this year to send 2 quilts and am now on the search through my stash to find fabric for a quilt for a boy.  I am not sure how other charities fare, but we seem to wind up with many more female and baby geared quilts than we have requests for.

There are more needs for us to have gender neutral or male quilts because YES, 911 professionals are male and female.  

One down and one to go! 

From Placer County California 911

I just received this wonderful picture and thank you on my Facebook this morning and of course I had to share it with you because I know someone will recognize these quilts these amazing ladies are holding!

'A great big THANK YOU from Placer County Sheriff's Dispatch for the beautiful quilts we received. this photo was taken as we received the quilts and were told the beautiful story behind them. thank you, thank you!'

What an amazing job you all do to keep these 911 professionals knowing someone does care about the job they do!

Your Quilts Matter, Thanks from Okanogan County and Room One

On The Road to Okanogan County

So many feelings and thoughts racing through my mind right now and knowing that God truly is blessing and wanting me to continue this ministry.

This morning, going through the closets and seeing about the only quilts I have left are for babies and small children, I prayed and said, Lord, I can't do this alone we have so many quilts still needing to be sent and the bins are empty, I think it is time to say good-bye to Layers of Hope and move forward.

Can I say, God works miracles? Normally I do not answer calls from Private Caller, however, I am expecting a call from a counselor and thought perhaps it was her.

Instead, it was a Disaster Case Manager calling me from Room One
a non-profit organization located in Twisp, WA in Okanogan County and the disaster center for those that lost all in the Carlton Complex Fire last summer.

On November 1, 2014, a friend of mine left our homes and drove to Okanogan County and delivered quilts to many of the agencies (police and fire) that helped with the fires as well as to the local hospital who needed supplies and dropped off for Room One.

It is during these times, I gather quilts, I deliver or mail quilts, you mail quilts and we move on to the next need. If we get a thank you, I always pass them on and if we don't, I totally understand people are trying to rebuild their lives, they don't have time for thank you notes.

The woman on the phone told me, the quilts we took up to the area, the boxes of quilts the families who lost everything got to go through meant more to these families than a $5000 check to repair their home because it was the first thing many of them received to give them hope.

The quilts she said many times opened the flood gates of emotions these families were holding in because it showed them the compassion of strangers and most of the times it was the first thing that was theirs to keep and hand onto since they lost their homes.

The quilts were the best thing that happened to these people I was told and she only wished I could see the smiles, the tears and feel the joy she has been able to see and feel as the families come in and go through the boxes to pick out the quilt that fits them whether it is color, quilt pattern, theme, it is something that is theirs and she said they are so overwhelmed and thankful.

To all of you, who continue to support Layers of Hope - Quilting 911 with quilts, with fabric, with prayers, you have my deepest love and admiration and thanks from my heart, God Bless you all!

HELP! How To Prevent Fleece Build Up on Cutting Mat

I need to know if anyone else has ever had this issue when cutting a fleece backed quilt?

This is the fleece that was left behind after each time I would pick up the quilt to move to make a new cut. It was like the mat was a sticky mat.

I have never had this happen in the past and I am not sure what to make of it.

This is not in the cutting grooves as my mat is fairly new, it just appears it collecting the fleece as I would pull it away from the quilt.

I am open to any suggestions on ways to prevent this, what may have caused this from those that have far more experience than I do!

 

Quilt Inventory is Almost Gone!!!

I am finally getting around this week to packing up a few boxes to go out to 911 dispatchers and first responders in need.

The first box of 4 goes out to Elizabeth and her family whose home burned down while her and her father (a K-9) officer were at work. Their family included Elizabeth's daughter, mom and sister.

Then, I began packed up the boxes for the 30 quilts we need to get up to Okanogan County high country and I was able to find a large box that will hold 7 quilts which will go up in the mail next week.

Sadly, that will leave me approximately 5 large quilts and then I am down to about 35 infant quilts and our closets at Layers of Hope - Quilting 911 will be completely empty.

I am currently making 2 for the Hands 2 Help Charity quilt drive to send to our neighbors in Canada. I feel after all the support they have given to us during our times of tragedy it only right to send them a few hugs from Layers of Hope.

I am almost finished with a friends quilt, the quilting is going much better on my Brother machine than it did on my Singer and it would have been done a week ago, had I not relapsed with this respiratory junk that is going around.

I have done all I can to get the word out that the closets are almost empty and we need more quilts, but I am all out of ideas. I have contacted quilting magazines, women's magazines, the local newspapers in all the communities I have delivered to as well as live in, local quilt shops and sent hundreds of letters asking for quilts. Yes, Marilyn, I have even talked to my local schools, but no one is interested in a small operation like Layers of Hope-Quilting 911.

The truth is, I am out of ideas on how to raise more quilts. I am so blessed to have people step up and send quilts whether directly to me or to the family in need and that has kept me moving forward.
However, without quilts large enough to cover adults, we will never be able to meet our commitments to our 'unseen heroes.'

That, breaks my heart in so many ways! So, if you have a quilt laying about and you want it to make a difference, please send it along, we really need our shelves restocked!