My Siblings Together quilt

Please wander over and read the blog post by Lynne over on Lily's Quilts about Siblings Together.  Lynne is the first stop on 100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop and is such an inspirational person.  You can also take a peek at some of the beautiful quilts made for the kids attending Siblings Together camps this summer.  It is a great feeling 'giving something back' and to be reminded why making a quilt for a child in need does matter.

When I first read about the Siblings Together project on Lily's Quilts I was still quite new to blogging.  I actually didn't know Lynne was here in the UK - I just figured she was an American with a fabulous blog and wonderful quilts and a cool sense of humour.  I've since met her in real life and she is pretty darn cool!!  And she makes a mean Union Jack Pillow Case, let me tell you! 

Then I went to a guild meeting (London Modern Quilt Guild) and Judith put a call out for log cabin blocks to be made for Siblings Together.  She had volunteered to make a couple of quilts for Siblings Together with all the blocks that were sent to her.  I thought that was a great idea!  I wondered how she would get those quilts to the USA... Then it was discussed further at the meeting and I was set straight - it is for a UK charity.  Ahh - it all started to make sense then! 

Several weeks passed by and there was a competition on Lynne's blog to win some Thomas Knauer fabrics.  The 'catch' was that you had to make a 50"x50" (minimum size) sized quilt using some, mostly or all the fabrics being given as the prize.  I entered.  I won. 

The fabrics arrived and I got busy!  Since Judith's deadline was the middle of May I kept thinking I had to have it all done by then so I worked hard to get it done by that deadline, not really knowing when the camps were.

I made a sketch of my plan for the quilt and cut the fabrics.  When I finished the quilt and posted a pic on the Flickr group and guess what - THE Thomas Knauer commented on it!  I was like 'holy cow'!!  So exciting!!  [Side note: I can't wait to him this Saturday 7th July at Raystitch in London (you're all invited!!)].

My Savanna Bop quilt was lovingly used to protect Mr Toyota [my sewing machine] getting to the retreat on the tube!  I took the finished quilt to the Fat Quarterly Retreat weekend as we could give them personally to Delma and meet her but security for the Jubilee weekend celebrations prevented her arrival.  So I gave it to Lynne to pass along who promptly whisked my quilt away -- seen here running away with several quilts!

I managed to get a photo of that stack of finished quilts - aren't they amazing!!??

Thank you to Lynne for introducing me to 'giving back' and for helping me learn about Siblings Together.  I understand the importance of family and how hard it is being apart, and how spending a quality day together is like sunshine after rain.  It is nice to know that with just a little bit of sewing we can help make a difference to someone, somewhere.  Quilts are like big hugs - and I am proud to be a part of giving someone a nice big hug that (hopefully) will last them a lifetime.