Hey all…I got a note from Ray. We need a helper.
Ray writes:
“Attached are pics of 2 more quilt tops that were given to me by a lady from my church. These are vintage and handmade stitched. Both have torn seams in various places. One is 56 x 87 and the other is 62 x 77. I am not a repairer or hand stitcher. They are beautiful quilts but not something I can use. Who do you know that could take them and fix them? Thanks. Ray”
Here are the two quilt tops….I love the fun eclectic colors. It’s so funky and fun but the quilt tops need some hand repair.
Here’s the second top…Being they have curved seams and are already sewn together, I’m guessing the repairs need to be done by hand.
Do we have a hand quilter out there who would help with the repairs? We’d like these to eventually be passed on to charity after the repairs are made. Ray would possibly machine quilt them once the repair is done if the repair person was interested in mailing them back to him. You can get in touch with Ray at raylagrange52@gmail.com. Thanks so much for considering this.
On another note, I was so sad to hear about the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Along with the death came a lot of destruction. The blast destroyed three of Lutheran World Relief’s 40-foot shipping containers, which were stored in the port and held more than 22,000 LWR Mission Quilts, 100 cartons of School Kits, 300 cartons of Personal Care Kits and 125 cartons of Baby Care Kits that were being prepared for distribution.
This is a huge blow to the many-many people who volunteer countless hours in the work to make these quilts, school kits, personal care kits, and baby care kits. Being someone who has made many of these in the past, I know how sad it is to those that work so hard to help others.
If you know of a Lutheran World Relief charity group, many are part of the Lutheran Church, please do what you can to support them. Donate fabric for quilts or even sew a simple quilt top for them. I know the groups will be scrambling to make more quilts than they ever have before. Often a top is as simple as 10 1/2″ squares sewn in a 6 x 8 layout as quilts need to be 60 x 80ish.
I know there are many blog readers who make quilts for Lutheran World Relief….my heart goes out to you all and to those who would have received your needed quilts and kits.
You can learn more on the LWR website found HERE.
I’m no expert, but I’d be willing to undertake some hand repair if it’s not extensive. I can’t do the quilting, though, so if someone else is better suited, that’s just fine. Whatever is best for the quilts.
That is horrible news about the Lutheran organization quilts being destroyed. So much time, money, energy wiped out the hard work of many people. Just heartbreaking.
I will check with my local Lutheran Church. I have some drawstring bags which will make a good base for the school kits.
I am Lutheran and have participated in making many many quilts. IT is a sad thing to see all that work go up in smoke. My job is to cut the donated fabrics into squares and to make backs from sheets and other donations. We never seem to have a shortage of fabric. The word is out in my guild and other sources that we Lutherans will accept any fabric and donations. When I saw those two tops I instantly thought perfect for LWR. With the repairs though, they might not hold up as a mission quilt. I’m not in a position to do the repairs at the moment. Maybe you can add my new blog that Kayla has helped me with to your list. http://www.tealeafquilts.blogspot.com.
Its a learning process.
I hadn’t heard about the LWR containers being destroyed. I, too, helped make quilts for the Lutheran World Relief. You are correct about the size. Our group was told to make them using 12 squares (3 x 4) of 21 inch squares. There was a time when we used 22 inch squares, but since most fabric isn’t as wide as it was at one time, the size of squares was changed. Also sometimes we had to piece the squares, but these are nothing fancy. On the weekend the quilts were dedicated, we placed them over the church pews for all the services. How pretty the church looked. Our group usually made around 200, but I know this year with Covid and not being able to meet, it is much lower. Hopefully they might be able to have a second all church quilting day. Since I moved 1200 miles away, I might just make some tops and send to them.
So sad to hear about the loss for Lutheran world Reliefs hard work. I know our church ships out a lot of quilts and kits. What a sad announcement to make today. Thank you for letting us know.
Dear Lord Jesus, please anoint and bless all those in Lebanon who have lost so much. Those quilts Ray was given are so pretty. Hoping someone can fix them. I have always admired how the Lutheran ladies step up to the bat and hit home runs in the quilting department. My home town Lutheran Church ladies send every newborn at the local hospital home with a quilt and other necessities.
is there a time frame for when they need to be finished and/or returned? or if no return required, i could donate them to salvation army disaster relief…
There is no time frame for when they need to get done. We’re happy whenever they get done.
I worked on LWR quilts for around 10 years up until around a year and a half ago. We were cutting the squares at 21″ and 11″ and then using 1/2″ seams. Each square would finish at 10″ or 20″ . Personally I also cut pieces at 11″ x 21″ as I used many large preowned shirts and that used the fabric well and added a bit of variety. The tops would end up at 61″x 81″ (instead of 60×80) because of the seem allowances on the border. The backing would be turned to the front for the binding. At the time we were told not to vary the sizes because of packaging for shipping.
What happy colors! I’d be glad to repair and finish these tops and then donate them. I will email Ray.
There are several members of my local guild that enjoy hand stitching and may be interested in working on those quilt tops. We could then donate them locally or ship them back to you. Let me check and see if there is interest in taking this on.
I am a hand quilter and would be happy to work on them for you. I am free anytime and I’m just finishing quilting my border so I will have time to devote to that. Thank you for caring and wanting them restored we need more people like you.