Quilts to…Everywhere!

Since last Summer, I have received many quilts and tops from as far north as New York, as far west as Tennessee and Ohio, and as far south as Florida!

The 150+ quilts below went to foster children across the US via Comfort Cases, to Ukrainian refugees in the US and Europe via Jeremiah’s Hope, and to refugees across the Middle East via Salaam Cultural Museum. Please enjoy these pictures, and you can click on each one to see it larger and to see the maker’s names.

Among these beautiful quilts and their generous and talented makers, I got to spend a lovely day with a group of community-minded quilters at a cabin in the woods near Gettysburg, PA. The Wellness Farm Stitchers are not a guild—they are just a group of friends that sew together on projects about twice every month for various charitable causes.  They chose us for a project last year and donated the bulk of that delivery to Comfort Cases.

Linda S – QBB Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator

Beautiful Spring Quilts

These colorful and cheerful quilts were recently received and sent to our distribution partners. Please enjoy the pictures below and much gratitude to the talented makers all over the US who continue to be so generous with their time and skills!

As always, you can click on each image below to see it larger and hover to see the maker’s names in the filename.

Lynda K. – QBB Regional Coordinator

Quilts from the Midwest Bringing Comfort

These 15 beautiful quilts were recently received from quilters in the Midwest, quilted an finished by me as needed, and sent to children entering foster care via Comfort Cases, or to Ukrainian refugees via Jeremiah’s Hope. Please enjoy these lovely photos and you can click on each one to see it larger and to see the destination and the maker’s names!

Janet F – QBB Midwest Coordinator

We Love to Hear from You!

We just have to share some recent comments from the blog and our partners..

“I just would like to send my sincere appreciation to the quilters and organizations that provided their efforts, time, and energy to creating these thoughtful gifts. On behalf of my grandfather from the Navajo Nation, we thank you all. He received one for Christmas one year and he seems to favor the quilt. it’s always visible and on hand. A fall colored piece with birds.
Thank you.”

 “I am just so proud to send you quilts – and your posts always inspire me to go to the machine and make some more”

“Greyhills Academy [a grant school on the Navajo Indian Reservation under the direction and management of the Bureau of Indian Education] is appreciative of the Christmas donation of quilts. Our students were incredibly grateful for the gifts of quilts. I know quilting takes time, a lot of creativity, and I know they were made with love for our students. Students were admiring their quilts, sharing the designs, and colors. They are truly valuable to them, and we can see how much it lit them up this afternoon.”

“What a beautiful story, very much like mine. I picked up a kit from IQF in Houston, 2016 and 445 quilts later, I’m still quilting for QBB.”

“I am a volunteer at the Comfort Cases National Center in Rockville, MD. My task today was rolling some of your stunning quilts as others packed them into the cases. I’m a quilter myself so I know the love that goes into these beautiful quilts. I kept thinking about the foster children who will receive these. I want you to know how much you works of love are appreciated.

“I cannot put into words entirely how this touches my heart. Thank you for sharing.”

 “You are AMAZING !!!! oh, I must go sew more quickly and send you a box of quilts !”

“As a foster parent for twenty some years I know how much this is appreciated! “

“WOW – great job everyone ! So much beauty and love shown here. Glad these have “gone to work” now.” 

“I love making quilts for QBB and its great to read about the final destination of all these quilts. I know my quilts are just a very small small part of the organization so it’s good to see the big picture every now and then.”

We love to hear from you, so drop us a line at Quiltsbeyondborders@gmail.com or comment on our blog, we do read all of them!

Be a Winner with our Fat Quarter Challenge!

Hopefully, Winter is almost behind us and we can get to some spring cleaning. Now is a good time to organize your fabric, get creative with your fat quarters and join us in this year’s Fat Quarter Challenge. Here’s a picture of one I made several years ago using fat quarters, there are so many patterns available!

Check out our website for our construction guidelines. Mail them to us to have your name entered into the monthly drawing for the rest of the year. Each month someone wins a $25 gift certificate to the online shop, Fat Quarter Shop. Send us 5 quilts and your name is entered 5 times. At the end of the year, we draw for an annual winner and the prize is a check for $100. Your name is entered for each completed quilt you send for the FQC for the annual prize, too.

We just drew the name for September 2022 and the winner is Teresa H. from Texas. Our annual winner is Connie G. from Texas. Congratulations to Teresa and Connie!  We truly appreciate each and every quilt sent to us!

Get busy and join us for the year’s FQ Challenge! A perfect time to try a new pattern and just use some of your fabric stash. Click here for more information about how to participate and where to send your Fat Quarter quilt..

Sew beautifully!

LaDonna H., Fat Quarter Challenge Coordinator

‘Forgotten People’ Quilt Distribution

As we mentioned in our last post, Forgotten People is a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the well-being of the Dine (Navajo) people who live on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. QBB has a contact with Forgotten People, Marsha, who is instrumental in transporting the quilts and ensuring quilt distribution each year.

In December 2022, as some of the Navajo Nation’s Covid restrictions were lifted, quilts were able to be distributed in person at a few of the school holiday parties and to some local elderly. So many quilts were sent specifically for this initiative.  Following are pictures of quilt recipients and some of the quilts sent for distribution to school children and elderly.

Quilts for Navajo Nation Elders and Children

For several years, Quilts Beyond Borders has supported the Navajo Nation by supplying quilts to kids and elderly in nursing homes near the Big Mountain area of the Nation.  QBB is fortunate to have a contact with an organization called the Forgotten People.  Forgotten People is a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the well-being of the Dine (Navajo) people who live on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. QBB has a contact with Forgotten People, Marsha, who is instrumental in transporting the quilts and ensuring quilt distribution. In our next post, we will share photos of some of these distributions, stay tuned!

For more on the Navajo Nation check out this website.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_Nation

Quilters, you are so appreciated for your generosity in supplying quilts to Quilts Beyond Borders for all initiatives.  Thank you for all you do!

– QBB, Arizona Regional Coordinator  

Greetings from the Gulf South!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Louisiana, as we say “Laissez les bons temp rouler”, (let the good times roll)   I am Mary P., the new Gulf South Coordinator for QBB, serving Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama along with much help from my great friend and quilter, Linda L.  We both live in the suburbs of Baton Rouge and not far from each other.  Linda has been a long time quilter for QBB and introduced me a few years ago.   We are both long arm quilters and devote much of our time to charity quilting.  We are very excited for this opportunity to help QBB!

We were able to identify and partner with a a new local initiative in Louisiana – Brave Heart Children in Need.  Brave Heart is a charity organization serving foster children throughout the State of Louisiana.  Each year they help 1,000+  foster children who enter the system.  Each child receives a backpack with incidental supplies along with a quilt.  We were more than happy to help this giving organization.  Our first 50 quilts have already been delivered.  We hope to fulfill our goal of 500 quilts this year.  Thank you to all who are helping to make this possible!  As always, you can click on each image below to see it larger and to see the maker’s names.

Mary P. – Gulf South Regional Coordinator 

What a Year!

2022 was a record for us – 4626 Quilts Delivered!!   The “second place” year was 3578 quilts, so we topped our prior record by over 1000 quilts!  

We continued to partner with charitable organizations who distribute our quilts to foster and troubled children in the US, refugee programs around the world, and others serving children in need in the US and around the world. The groups receiving the most quilts in 2022 were:

Comfort Cases (Foster children around the US)

Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM) (As part of their medical missions to refugees around the world)

Jeremiah’s Hope (Ukraine Refugees)

Quilted Twins (Ukraine Refugees)

Forgotten People (Navajo Nation Holiday giving) – this partnership is one of our most enduring – over 10 years strong!

In 2022 we had a lot to be thankful for – we returned to Houston for IQF and loved seeing all your smiling faces after a long absence! We also have two new Regional Coordinators, who will grow our outreach and are both working with guilds to bring more quilts to us.

Unfortunately, 2022 brought sadness as well. Our beloved friend Carol Egan – prolific quilter, enthusiastic Fat Quarter Challenge Coordinator and overall Quilts Beyond Borders champion – passed away in December after a brief illness. Others on our team of volunteers are on the mend from serious health issues and losses. We are so grateful to our volunteer team and to the many hundreds of quilters across the US and around the world who keep making our mission possible. Thank you!

2023 promises to be busy as well, we have already committed to delivering over 1500 quilts to several returning partners and new ones, stay tuned and get quilting! Learn more here about the sizes and types of quilts we can take.

Thank you!

Carla Triemer, QBB President

From the Northwest and Beyond – Comfort Cases and Guardian Light Programs

                               Comfort Cases Program

   Our NW group continues to support Comfort Cases, a program for children going into foster homes. Backpacks are filled with personal care and comfort items along with quilts to be given to children and youth across the country. We are happy to share 34 quilts to help meet the needs of these children.

                           Guardian Light Program

 We were excited to send 10 quilts to Guardian Light Family Services in Sidney, Nebraska. This organization serves abused children and those entering foster homes. Their services include working with families to provide safe and healthy environments for children and youth along with training and support to foster families.

Thank you to all our quilters for providing beautiful colorful quilts that will bring comfort to children and youth as they begin living in a new home! You can click on each picture for the names of piecers and quilters. 

Susan Schmidt – Northwest Regional Coordinator