Community Quilts from Jazz

Jazz has been busy making lots of quilts for the Houston hospital that she supports. Here she is to tell you all about it.

“Hello Lovelies! So many quilts, so little time, especially as the holidays approach. This batch includes some seasonals using Christmas fabrics sent to me a few years ago. I bet Anonymous in Idaho thought I had forgotten about these dark green bear squares! But, no, I was saving them for the perfect green-ish gold fabric Becky M brought to me this summer from Alaska. The red cotton border was a gift from Linda L. (Racine, Wisconsin); the batting is from Jo, and Becky M. gave me the plaid flannel back.  I’m so sad that this brown flannel is almost all used up. She gave me a great quantity of it a few years ago and I’ve enjoyed it so much! It is so warm and soft and rich, just the thing for a newborn. This one finished at 34” x 40”.

Anonymous in Idaho also sent these red Christmas squares with little stockings, Christmas trees, and bells printed on them.  The solid green solid came from Linda L; the beige with gold sparkly snowflakes were from Karen V. (St. George, Utah) in 2020, and the gold sparkle sashes were donated by Ila M (Des Plaines, Illinois) this summer. They all know how crazy-nuts I am for glittery fabric. It’s what I love!  Missy R (Gainesville, Florida) provided the soft red flannel backing, which makes this 30” x 38” wrap so festive.

I incorporated the leftover scraps of Anonymous in Idaho’s red squares with the stockings, trees, and bells with the Teddy bears on dark green. The solid green is from Linda L’s supply; the frosty snowflakes are from Karen V. and the luxe gold sparkling sashes from Ila M. Again, Jo provided the batting, and the red flannel back and binding are from Melissa R. 40” square.

Still, in the Christmas spirit, I cut up some green strips from Linda L, some gold sparkly ivory from Ila M, and some other donations from Anonymous and Anonymous in Idaho (two different benefactors). A Nurse. from Nebraska and her friend Suzanne provided the whimsical prints. Linda L. provided the cheerful green back and the gingham. The batting was from the roll Jo sent. Marci V. donated the solid reds, and it all came together to make a 36” x 40” quilt for a Christmas babe.

I surprised myself with all my holiday enthusiasm, but this pattern seemed to inspire Yuletide wishes, and the blue snowmen, silver stars on dark blue contributed by A Nurse in Nebraska and her friend Suzanne, red and green from Linda L, and other seasonal pieces just arranged themselves into a 38” square, so I batted it with Jo’s gift and bound and backed it with shimmering blue from Anonymous. I stitched the back with twinkling silver thread to resemble a cold, wintery night.

It was such a fun quilt to make I did it again, this time with heart prints from Melissa R, Becky M, Ila M, Anonymous in Idaho, A Nurse from Nebraska, and her friend Suzanne, Jeanne M (Tucson, Arizona), and Jo. I included some scraps of embroidery I did. Batting from Jo; binding from Karen V.and the most perfect backcame from Melissa R. Binding is white satin.

Back heart from Melissa R.

Pam Z sent me a four-square stamped cross-stitch embroidery kit (love!) from Omaha, Nebraska at the end of 2021. The picture and instructions called for a variety of rainbow colors but when Jo offered me this mostly red and pink flannel sashing and back I knew just what to do. I selected complimentary hues from the DMCs gifted by Anonymous in Idaho, Karin C. (Hernando, Florida) Nina H. (Halbrook, Missouri), Bonny H. (Onawa, Iowa), and Holly M. (Brazil, Indiana), and Jo and went to work to make up this 40” square heart warmer. I enjoy these stamped cross-stitch projects so much! I hope a beloved newborn will like it, too.

And, because they knew how spent I was after that whirlwind, A Nurse from Nebraska and her friend Suzanne mailed this already pieced flimsy to me. All I had to do was bat, back, and bind it (all from Jo), to have a nice, big, cuddly quilt for a little kid patient at Ben Taub Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. It seems comfortably old-fashioned, so I kept the feeling by tying it at the corners with cream-colored thread from Carlena D. of El Cajon, California.

My wife (31 years in November!) Janice is not a quilter, but she deserves recognition for her generosity of inspiration and patience as I stitch away. She crocheted this 45” square mitered square baby blanket in a continuous piece (the blocks are not made separately to be sewn together later). She found the pattern on YouTube, presented by “Fiber Spider” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1JoGP3OPXA.

All these quilts are for the babies and children patients at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston. They get to take them home when they are discharged, which saves Harris County a meager amount on non-returned blankets. I hope they also serve as a reminder to each of you of all the love you all have extended with your generous endowments of kits, threads, fabrics, encouragement, and support. I thank you on the patients’ behalf and on my own. I am deeply grateful.

WOW…I loved seeing all of these. I love Janice’s work on the afghan!! It’s fun to see a different element, yarn, grace our page here as well. Many thanks to everyone…especially Jazz who is so generous with her time and talent!!